Enantioselective cyanoformylation of aldehydes mediated by BINOLAM–AlCl as a monometallic bifunctional catalyst

BINOLAM–AlCl's, binaphthoxide aluminium chloride species generated in situ from either (R)- or (S)-3,3′-bis(diethylaminomethyl)-2,2′-dihydroxy-1,1′-binaphthalene (BINOLAM) behave as Lewis acid–Lewis base (LA-LB) catalysts in the enantioselective addition of methyl cyanoformate to aldehydes at room temperature, thereby leading to the asymmetric synthesis of (S)- or (R)-O-methoxycarbonyl cyanohydrins, respectively.     

A new convenient asymmetric approach to herbarumin Ⅲ

The asymmetric total synthesis of herbarumin Ⅲ 3, a naturally occurred phytotoxin, along with 8-epi-herbarumin Ⅲ 22, was succeeded in 12 steps from n-butyraldehyde based on Brown's asymmetric allylation, taking modified Julia olefination and Yamaguchi's macro-lactonization as key steps.     

An efficient asymmetric aldol reaction of Chan's diene promoted by chiral Ti(IV)–BINOL complex

1,3-Bis-(trimethylsilyloxy)-1-methoxy-buta-1,3-diene (Chan's diene) can be conveniently used in asymmetric aldol reaction with aromatic, heteroaromatic, α,β-unsaturated and aliphatic aldehydes in the presence of catalytic amounts (2–8% mol) of chiral Ti(IV)/(R)-BINOL complex.     

Predicting the R/S absolute configuration in asymmetric bifunctional catalysis (ABC)

A predictive model for assigning the R/S absolute configuration in chiral Lewis base-dependent asymmetric bifunctional catalysis (ABC) has been developed. Chiral Lewis base (LB^∗)-dependent ABC abolishes the chiral Lewis acid (LA^∗) component as the stereochemical determining factor in asymmetric catalysis. By correlating the constant LB^∗ chirality to the facial preference for the LA^∗-bound carbonyl group for nucleophile delivery, the R/S absolute configuration of the products can be predicted a priori.     

Isosteric expansion of the structural diversity of chiral ligands: Design and application of proline-based N,N′-dioxide ligands for copper-catalyzed enantioselective Henry reactions

Chiral N,N′-dioxide catalysts were designed based on isosteric approach. Using l-Proline as the starting material, a variety of chiral N,N′-dioxide ligands were obtained via conventional functional group transformations and were utilized in asymmetric Henry reactions between nitromethane and aromatic aldehydes. Using the N,N′-dioxide-copper(II) complexes as the catalysts, asymmetric Henry reaction produced the corresponding β-nitroalcohols in up to 66% yields and up to 83% ee's under mild conditions. The reactions were easy to carry out, and special care such as air or moisture-free conditions was not required.     

Enantio- and diastereoselective Darzens condensations

A cobalt(salen) complex has been shown to catalyse the asymmetric Darzens condensation between α-haloamides and aldehydes, allowing both the relative and absolute stereochemistry of the epoxy-amide products to be controlled. Under optimal conditions, cis-epoxides can be obtained diastereoselectively with up to 50% enantiomeric excess, whilst by changing the leaving group and base, trans-epoxides can be produced diastereoselectively with up to 43% enantiomeric excess.     

Development of chiral dinitrones as modular Lewis base catalysts: asymmetric allylation of aldehydes with allyltrichlorosilanes

Chiral dinitrones were synthesized by the condensation of a C₂-symmetrical chiral dihydroxylamine with various aldehydes. The electronic and steric properties of the dinitrones can be modified by changing the aldehyde component. The activity of dinitrones as Lewis base catalysts was examined for the asymmetric allylation of aldehydes with allyltrichlorosilanes. Using DMPU as an additive in chloroform, the reaction proceeded at room temperature to afford allylated products in good yields and good enantioselectivities.     

Stereocontrolled solid-phase synthesis of fluorinated partially-modified retropeptides via tandem aza-Michael/enolate-protonation

N-Acylation of Wang resin-bound l-α-amino acids with 2-trifluoromethyl-propenoyl chloride, followed by asymmetric tandem aza-Michael/enolate-protonation by a series of l-α-amino esters and final release from the resin, afforded a representative library of partially-modified retropeptides incorporating a stereodefined trifluoroalanine surrogate. The stereocontrol can be dramatically improved (up to 15:1) by using apolar solvents like carbon tetrachloride and DABCO as base.     

Study on the Solute–Solvent Interactions Using the Solubility of Asymmetric Metal Complex, CoX2(R-py)2, as a Probe of Interaction

The solubility of some cobalt(II) chloride and bromide complexes of pyridine bases was determined in 10 inert organic solvents. The measured solubilities were analyzed using two different solvent parameters, i.e., Hildebrand's solubility parameter and Richard's E _T(30). These contributions to solubility are interpreted in terms of the asymmetric structure of the probe metal complex.     

A new synthesis of enantiomerically pure syn-(S)-β-hydroxy-α-amino acids via asymmetric aldol reactions of aldehydes with a homochiral Ni(II)-glycine/(S)-BPB Schiff base complex

syn-(S)-β-Hydroxy-α-amino acids were synthesised stereoselectively via elaboration of the asymmetric aldol reactions of aldehydes with a chiral Ni(II)-(S)-BPB/glycine Schiff base complex in the presence of equimolar NaH in THF. The stereoselectivity of the reaction was studied as a function of time, the reaction conditions, the nature of the carbonyl compounds and the base used. The synthetic potential of this asymmetric method was demonstrated in the preparation of syn-(S)-β-hydroxyleucine on a multi-gram scale.     

5,12-Dimethyl-3,10-diphenyl-1,3,4,8,10,11-hexaazatetracyclo[6.6.1.02,6.09,13]pentadeca-2(6),4,9(13),11-tetraene,a new Tröger's base analogue

The synthesis of the title Tröger's base analogue, C₂₃H₂₂N₆, was undertaken in order to study the influence of a methyl substituent on the structure. Minor differences were found in the bond lengths of the title structure in comparison with the values for free pyrazole and for the first pyrazolic Tröger's base reported in the literature. There are two mol­ecules of opposite chirality in the asymmetric unit and the packing in the lattice is characterized by a non-crystallographic n-glide plane relating these mol­ecules.     

New chiral NiII complexes of Schiff’s bases of glycine and alanine for efficient asymmetric synthesis of α-amino acids

New modified chiral auxiliaries (S)-N-(2-benzoylphenyl)-1-(2-chlorobenzyl)pyrrolidine-2-carboxamide (2-CBPB) and (S)-N-(2-benzoylphenyl)-1-(3,4-dimethylbenzyl)pyrrolidine-2-carboxamide (3,4-DMBPB) and their Ni^II complexes of Schiff’s base with glycine and alanine have been synthesized and tested in asymmetric C-alkylation and aldol condensation reactions of amino acid moieties. The tests proved that both new auxiliaries were efficient with the ee’s of the final amino acids as high as 98% even in case of α-methyl-α-amino acid synthesis.     

Enantioselective borane reduction of aromatic ketones catalyzed by chiral aluminum alkoxides

The asymmetric borane reduction of prochiral ketones with an alkoxide catalyst prepared in situ from aluminum tri-iso-propoxide and (R)-binaphthol was examined. Using these conditions, alcohols were obtained in high yield and e.e.'s of up to 83%.     

Application of log D for the prediction of hydrophobicity in the advanced Marfey's method

In the advanced Marfey's method, the resolution between the diastereomers derivatized with 1-fluoro-2,4-dinitrophenyl-5-l-leucinamide (l-FDLA) and 1-fluoro-2,4-dinitrophenyl-5-d-leucinamide (d-FDLA) is reflected by the difference of hydrophobicity of the two functional groups at the asymmetric carbon. However, no effective method has been developed for the estimation of hydrophobicity so far. For this purpose, we introduced log D from the ACD Labs LogD and applied it to relatively simple primary amines, amino acids and secondary alcohols in the present study. It was found that the difference of the retention times (Δt_R) correlated with that of log D (Δlog D) for both diastereomers based on the obtained experimental results. Based on these results, the following procedure was proposed for the non-empirical determination of the absolute configuration of primary amines including amino acids and secondary alcohols: (1) estimate the hydrophobicity by the calculation of log D for the two substituent groups at the asymmetric carbon, (2) locate the trans-type arrangement of the two more hydrophobic substituents in the l-DLA derivative and judge the asymmetric carbon to be R or S in the trans-type that is eluted first, (3) derivatize the desired compound with l- or d-FDLA and analyze by LC/MS, and (4) compare the elution order with the prospective one and determine the absolute configuration at the asymmetric carbon. Furthermore, log D could also be used to predict the retention times of unavailable amino acids and small peptides, indicating that the combination of the advanced Marfey's method with log D would provide more reliable structural information on a mixture composed of amino acids and small peptides. The developed method is being applied to more complicated compounds.     

Recent advances in asymmetric fluorination and fluoroalkylation reactions via organocatalysis

The past decade has witnessed the significant advances of asymmetric organocatalytic fluorination, monofluoroalkylation, gem-difluoroalkylation, and trifluoromethylation. This digest summarizes the latest progress of these reactions. In the research area of asymmetric organocatalytic fluorination, a new catalysis concept, chiral anion phase-transfer catalysis strategy, has emerged and has proved to be highly efficient. Asymmetric organocatalytic monofluoroalkylation and gem-difluoroalkylation have been much less explored and the Lewis base/acid catalysis has been the most used strategy. Compared with electrophilic trifluoromethylation, nucleophilic trifluoromethylation has been intensively studied in the research field of asymmetric organocatalytic trifluoromethylation.     

Asymmetric synthesis of the erythrinan alkaloid system using a chiral lithium amide base desymmetrisation as the key step

A new asymmetric approach to the erythrinan alkaloid system is described, which involves chiral base desymmetrisation of a ring fused imide and a 6-exo-trig radical cyclisation as the key steps.     

Influence of the ester group during the enantioselective methylation of α-aldehyde esters via their chiral oxazolidine derivatives

Depending on the nature of the ester group, fair asymmetric induction (ee's up to 82%) can be attained in the title reaction.     

Conformational lock in a Brønsted acid–Lewis base organocatalyst for the aza-Morita–Baylis–Hillman reaction

(S)-3-(N-Isopropyl-N-3-pyridinylaminomethyl)BINOL has been established as an efficient asymmetric bifunctional organocatalyst for the aza-MBH reaction. The acid–base functionalities cooperate in substrate activation and fixing of the organocatalyst conformation to promote the reaction with high enantiocontrol.     

Synthesis of a 2-deoxy-ribose type 1-N-iminosugar

A 2-deoxy-ribose-type 1-N-iminosugar 5 was synthesized, in multi-gram scale, from fumaric acid monoethyl ester employing Sharpless asymmetric epoxidation followed by a Lewis acid-catalyzed (Yamammoto's aluminum reagent) cyanide epoxy ring-opening reactions.     

Enantioselective oxidation of diaryl carbinols by Nocardia corallina B-276

Whole cells of Nocardia corallina B-276 oxidized diaryl carbinols enantioselectively to give ketones in moderate yields, and some of the unreacted alcohols showed high ee's. This asymmetric oxidation is a simple and efficient method for preparing meta- and para-monosubstituted optically active diaryl carbinols from the racemates. The para-substituted chiral alcohols have an R configuration.