Chiral Amine Synthesis Using ω‐Transaminases: An Amine Donor that Displaces Equilibria and Enables High‐Throughput Screening

The widespread application of ω‐transaminases as biocatalysts for chiral amine synthesis has been hampered by fundamental challenges, including unfavorable equilibrium positions and product inhibition. Herein, an efficient process that allows reactions to proceed in high conversion in the absence of by‐product removal using only one equivalent of a diamine donor (ortho‐xylylenediamine) is reported. This operationally simple method is compatible with the most widely used (R)‐ and (S)‐selective ω‐TAs and is particularly suitable for the conversion of substrates with unfavorable equilibrium positions (e.g., 1‐indanone). Significantly, spontaneous polymerization of the isoindole by‐product generates colored derivatives, providing a high‐throughput screening platform to identify desired ω‐TA activity.     

Asymmetric Catalysis Mediated by the Ligand Sphere of Octahedral Chiral‐at‐Metal Complexes

Due to the relationship between structure and function in chemistry, access to novel chemical structures ultimately drives the discovery of novel chemical function. In this light, the formidable utility of the octahedral geometry of six‐coordinate metal complexes is founded in its stereochemical complexity combined with the ability to access chemical space that might be unavailable for purely organic compounds. In this Minireview we wish to draw attention to inert octahedral chiral‐at‐metal complexes as an emerging class of metal‐templated asymmetric “organocatalysts” which exploit the globular, rigid nature and stereochemical options of octahedral compounds and promise to provide new opportunities in the field of catalysis.     

Tailoring D‐Amino Acid Oxidase from the Pig Kidney to R‐Stereoselective Amine Oxidase and its Use in the Deracemization of α‐Methylbenzylamine

The deracemization of racemic amines to yield enantioenriched amines using S‐stereoselective amine oxidases (AOx) has recently been attracting attention. However, R‐stereoselective AOx that are suitable for deracemization have not yet been identified. An R‐stereoselective AOx was now evolved from porcine kidney D ‐amino acid oxidase (pkDAO) and subsequently use for the deracemization of racemic amines. The engineered pkDAO, which was obtained by directed evolution, displayed a markedly changed substrate specificity towards R amines. The mutant enzyme exhibited a high preference towards the substrate α‐methylbenzylamine and was used to synthesize the S amine through deracemization. The findings of this study indicate that further investigations on the structure–activity relationship of AOx are warranted and also provide a new method for biotransformations in organic synthesis.     

Copper(I)‐Catalyzed Enantio‐ and Diastereodivergent Borylative Coupling of Styrenes and Imines

We report copper(I)‐catalyzed enantio‐ and diastereodivergent borylative coupling of styrenes and imines to produce enantiomerically‐enriched α,β‐dibranched γ‐boryl amine derivatives. Each of the four possible stereoisomers of the products, derived from the two contiguous stereocenters, was selectively accessible by choosing a proper chiral ligand for the copper catalyst. This method, which combines catalyst‐controlled stereodivergency and constitutional divergency derived from the lynchpin motif (i.e., the C?B bond), offers a strategy for addressing the construction of molecular structural diversity concomitant with precise chirality control.     

Cinchona‐based Primary Amine Catalysis in the Asymmetric Functionalization of Carbonyl Compounds

Asymmetric aminocatalysis exploits the potential of chiral primary and secondary amines to catalyze asymmetric reactions. It has greatly simplified the functionalization of carbonyl compounds while ensuring high enantioselectivity. Recent advances in cinchona‐based primary amine catalysis have provided new synthetic opportunities and conceptual perspectives for successfully attacking major challenges in carbonyl compound chemistry, which traditional approaches have not been able to address. This Review outlines the historical context for the development of this catalyst class while charting the landmark discoveries and applications that have further expanded the synthetic potential of aminocatalysis.     

Enantioselective Generation of Adjacent Stereocenters in a Copper‐Catalyzed Three‐Component Coupling of Imines,Allenes, and Diboranes

A highly enantio‐ and diastereoselective copper‐catalyzed three‐component coupling affords the first general synthesis of homoallylic amines bearing adjacent stereocenters from achiral starting materials. The method utilizes a commercially available NHC ligand and copper source, operates at ambient temperature, couples readily available simple imines, allenes, and diboranes, and yields high‐value homoallylic amines that exhibit versatile amino, alkenyl, and boryl units.     

Whole‐Cell Biocatalysts for Stereoselective C−H Amination Reactions

Enantiomerically pure chiral amines are ubiquitous chemical building blocks in bioactive pharmaceutical products and their synthesis from simple starting materials is of great interest. One of the most attractive strategies is the stereoselective installation of a chiral amine through C?H amination, which is a challenging chemical transformation. Herein we report the application of a multienzyme cascade, generated in a single bacterial whole‐cell system, which is able to catalyze stereoselective benzylic aminations with ee values of 97.5 %. The cascade uses four heterologously expressed recombinant enzymes with cofactors provided by the host cell and isopropyl amine added as the amine donor. The cascade presents the first example of the successful de novo design of a single whole‐cell biocatalyst for formal stereoselective C?H amination.     

One‐Pot Synthesis of Chiral N‐Arylamines by Combining Biocatalytic Aminations with Buchwald–Hartwig N‐Arylation

The combination of biocatalysis and chemo‐catalysis increasingly offers chemists access to more diverse chemical architectures. Here, we describe the combination of a toolbox of chiral‐amine‐producing biocatalysts with a Buchwald–Hartwig cross‐coupling reaction, affording a variety of α‐chiral aniline derivatives. The use of a surfactant allowed reactions to be performed sequentially in the same flask, preventing the palladium catalyst from being inhibited by the high concentrations of ammonia, salts, or buffers present in the aqueous media in most cases. The methodology was further extended by combining with a dual‐enzyme biocatalytic hydrogen‐borrowing cascade in one pot to allow for the conversion of a racemic alcohol to a chiral aniline.     

Development of an amine dehydrogenase for synthesis of chiral amines

A leucine dehydrogenase has been successfully altered through several rounds of protein engineering to an enantioselective amine dehydrogenase. Instead of the wild-type α-keto acid, the new amine dehydrogenase now accepts the analogous ketone, methyl isobutyl ketone (MIBK), which corresponds to exchange of the carboxy group by a methyl group to produce chiral (R)-1,3-dimethylbutylamine.     

A Deprotonation Approach to the Unprecedented Amino‐Trimethylenemethane Chemistry: Regio‐, Diastereo‐, and Enantioselective Synthesis of Complex Amino Cycles

The first realization of the amino‐trimethylenemethane chemistry is reported using a deprotonation strategy to simplify the synthesis of the amino‐trimethylenemethane donor in two steps from commercial and inexpensive materials. A broad scope of cycloaddition acceptors (seven different classes) participated in the chemistry, chemo‐, regio‐, diastereo‐, and enantioselectively generating various types of highly valuable complex amino cycles. Multiple derivatization reactions that further elaborated the initial amino cycles were performed without isolation of the crude product. Ultimately, we applied the amino‐trimethylenemethane chemistry to synthesize a potential pharmaceutical in 8 linear steps and 7.5 % overall yield, which previously was achieved in 18 linear steps and 0.6 % overall yield.     

手性伯胺催化剂用于顺式选择性的不对称Cross-Aldol反应

基于酸碱作用,将手性伯胺与质子酸原位结合制得有机小分子催化剂,并用于醛与醛的不对称Cross-aldol反应.与一般手性仲胺催化剂不同,该类伯胺催化剂得到的是顺式选择性构型的Cross-aldol产物,其产率达90%,顺反比和ee值分别为9:1和90%.相比而言,采用简单易得的(1S,2S)-(+)-环己二胺即可得到较高选择性的顺式产物.     

Iridium‐Catalyzed Asymmetric Hydrogenation of Unfunctionalized Enamines

Optically active tertiary amines are readily prepared by iridium‐catalyzed asymmetric hydrogenation of unfunctionalized enamines (see scheme). The best enantioselectivities with >90 % ee were obtained with N‐aryl‐ and N‐benzyl‐substituted enamines with a terminal double bond. The hydrogenation of enamines derived from cyclic ketones, which has not been reported yet with other catalysts, gave enantiomeric excesses of up to 87 %.

     

Titanium Binolate Catalyzed Aminolysis of meso Aziridines: A Highly Enantioselective and Direct Access to 1,2‐Diamines

It's as simple as that : An in situ prepared chiral catalyst from the commercially available compounds Ti(OiPr)₄ and (R)‐binol catalyzes the highly enantioselective ring‐opening of meso‐aziridines 1 with anilines 2 and furnishes valuable chiral 1,2‐diamines 3 in high yields and up to 99 % ee.(R)‐binol=(R)‐2,2′‐dihydroxy‐1,1′‐binaphthyl.

     

Construction of Axially Chiral Compounds via Central‐to‐Axial Chirality Conversion

Central‐to‐axial chirality conversion represents a fascinating class of chemical processes consisting of the destruction of stereogenic centers and the simultaneous installation of axial chiral elements, which provides efficient methods for the preparation of axially chiral compounds. Using the strategy, a wide range of axially chiral compounds, including biaryls, heterobiaryls, aromatic amides, allenes and vinyl arenes, have been synthesized with high efficiency and excellent enantioselectivity. In addition, central‐to‐axial chirality conversion strategy has been applied to the synthesis of natural products. The strategy has undoubtedly become and will continue to be a hot research topic in the field of asymmetric catalysis and synthesis. In this minireview, we selected some examples to introduce the developments and trends in the central‐to‐axial chirality conversion strategy up to April 2020.