A Novel Asymmetric Synthesis of 3‐(1H‐Pyrrol‐1‐yl)‐Substituted β‐Lactams via a Bismuth Nitrate‐Catalyzed Reaction

The reaction of racemic α‐keto β‐lactams 5a – 5c with the commercially available chiral compound trans‐4‐hydroxy‐L ‐proline ( 6 ) in the presence of a catalytic amount of Bi(NO₃)₃?5 H₂O in EtOH gave a diastereoisomer mixture of β‐lactams with a pyrrole ring at C(3) ( 7 to 12 ). This is the first enantioselective synthesis of optically active β‐lactams (=azetidin‐2‐ones) that possess a pyrrolyl residue at C(3), in a single step.     

A Study on the Diastereoselective Synthesis of α‐Fluorinated β3‐Amino Acids by α‐Fluorination

The treatment of a β³‐amino acid methyl ester with 2.2 equiv. of lithium diisopropylamide (LDA), followed by reaction with 5 equiv. of N‐fluorobenzenesulfonimide (NFSI) at ?78° for 2.5 h and then 2 h at 0°, gives syn‐fluorination with high diastereoisomeric excess (de). The de and yield in these reactions are somewhat influenced by both the size of the amino acid side chain and the nature of the amine protecting group. In particular, fluorination of N‐Boc‐protected β³‐homophenylalanine, β³‐homoleucine, β³‐homovaline, and β³‐homoalanine methyl esters, 5 and 9 – 11 , respectively, all proceeded with high de (>86% of the syn‐isomer). However, fluorination of N‐Boc‐protected β³‐homophenylglycine methyl ester ( 16 ) occurred with a significantly reduced de. The use of a Cbz or Bz amine‐protecting group (see 3 and 15 ) did not improve the de of fluorination. However, an N‐Ac protecting group (see 17 ) gave a reduced de of 26%. Thus, a large N‐protecting group should be employed in order to maximize selectivity for the syn‐isomer in these fluorination reactions.     

Highly Efficient Regio- and Stereoselective Synthesis of β-（1 →6）-Branched β-（1 →3）-Linked Glucohexaose and Its Analogue

A β-（1→）6）-branched β-（1→）3）-linked glucohexaose （1） and its lauryl glycoside （2）, present in many biologically active polysaccharides from traditional herbal medicines such as Ganoderma lucidum, Schizophyllum commune and Lentinus edodes, were highly efficiently synthesized. Coupling of 2,3,4,6-tetra-O-benzoyl-β-D-glucopyranosyl- （1--）3）-2-O-benzoyl-4,6-O-benzylidene-a-D-glucopyranosyl trichloroacetimidate （7） with 3,6-branched acceptors 8 and 12 gave β-（1→）3）-linked pentasaccharides （9） and （13）, then via simple chemical transformation 4＇,6＇-OH pentasaccharide acceptors 10 and 14 were obtained. Regio- and stereoselective coupling of 3 with 10 and 14 gave β-（1→）3）-linked hexasaccharides （11） and （15） as the major products. Deprotection of 11 and 15 provided the target sugar 1 and 2. Thus, a new method for the preparation of this kind of compounds was developed.     

Bismuth(III) Chloride‐Catalyzed Highly Efficient Transesterification of β‐Keto Esters

Bismuth(III) chloride was found to be an efficient catalyst for the transesterification of a variety of β‐keto esters with a wide range of alcohols to afford transesterified products in good to high yields in short reaction times (see Table).     

Regio‐ and Stereoselective Reaction of α‐Epoxyketones with AlCl3: An Efficient Approach for the Synthesis of Functionalized β‐Chlorohydrines

A simple and efficient synthesis of functionalized β‐chlorohydrins is described from the regio‐ and stereoselective reaction of α‐epoxyketones with AlCl₃ in acetonitrile at room temperature.     

Regio‐ and Enantioselective Synthesis of Trifluoromethyl‐Substituted Homoallylic α‐Tertiary NH2‐Amines by Reactions Facilitated by a Threonine‐Based Boron‐Containing Catalyst

A method for catalytic regio‐ and enantioselective synthesis of trifluoromethyl‐substituted and aryl‐, heteroaryl‐, alkenyl‐, and alkynyl‐substituted homoallylic α‐tertiary NH₂‐amines is introduced. Easy‐to‐synthesize and robust N‐silyl ketimines are converted to NH‐ketimines in situ, which then react with a Z‐allyl boronate. Transformations are promoted by a readily accessible l ‐threonine‐derived aminophenol‐based boryl catalyst, affording the desired products in up to 91 % yield, >98:2 α:γ selectivity, >98:2 Z:E selectivity, and >99:1 enantiomeric ratio. A commercially available aminophenol may be used, and allyl boronates, which may contain an alkyl‐, a chloro‐, or a bromo‐substituted Z‐alkene, can either be purchased or prepared by catalytic stereoretentive cross‐metathesis. What is more, Z‐trisubstituted allyl boronates may be used. Various chemo‐, regio‐, and diastereoselective transformations of the α‐tertiary homoallylic NH₂‐amine products highlight the utility of the approach; this includes diastereo‐ and regioselective epoxide formation/trichloroacetic acid cleavage to generate differentiated diol derivatives.     

Neutral and Cationic β‐Ketoiminato Bismuth Complexes

The first examples of neutral and cationic bismuth complexes bearing β‐ketoiminato ligands were isolated by employing salt metathesis route. BiCl₃ reacts with [O=C(Me)]CH[C(Me)N(K)Ar] ( 1 ) resulting in a homoleptic β‐ketoiminato bismuth complex Bi[{O=C(Me)}CH{C(Me)NAr}]₃ ( 2 ). The reaction between BiCl₃ and [(CH₂)₂{N(K)C(Me)CHC(Me)=O}₂] ( 3 ) leads to the formation of a cationic bismuth complex [Bi{(CH₂)₂(NC(Me)CHC(Me)=O)₂}]₄[Bi₂Cl₁₀] ( 4 ).     

Synthesis of Substituted α‐(Hydroxymethyl)‐β‐iodoacrylates via MgI2‐Promoted Stereoselective Aldol Coupling

The efficient and highly stereoselective syntheses of a variety of (Z)‐configured, substituted α‐(hydroxymethyl) ‐ β‐iodo‐acrylates from prop‐2‐ynoate and various aldehydes was achieved. The synthetic protocol involves a simple one‐pot coupling reaction under mild conditions, promoted by MgI₂, which serves both as a Lewis acid and iodine source for a Baylis? Hillman‐type reaction. All adducts were generated in good‐to‐excellent yields, the (Z)‐isomers being formed in high selectivity (>98%). The conversion of methyl prop‐2‐ynoate into an active ‘β‐iodo allenolate’ intermediate, which then nucleophilically attacks an aldehyde, is proposed as a plausible reaction mechanism.     

Synthesis of 5‐(Arylselanyl)‐2‐(arylsulfanyl)benzoates by [3+3] Cyclocondensation of 3‐(Arylsulfanyl)‐1‐(silyloxy)buta‐1,3‐dienes with 2‐(Arylselanyl)‐3‐(silyloxy)alk‐2‐en‐1‐ones

Functionalized 5‐(arylselanyl)‐2‐(arylsulfanyl)benzoates were prepared by [3+3] cyclocondensation of 3‐(arylsulfanyl)‐1‐(silyloxy)buta‐1,3‐dienes with 2‐(arylselanyl)‐3‐(silyloxy)‐alk‐2‐en‐1‐ones.     

Regio‐ and Stereoselective Modification of Chiral α‐Amino Ketones by Pd‐Catalyzed Allylic Alkylation

Chiral α‐amino ketones are excellent nucleophiles for stereoselective palladium‐catalyzed allylic alkylations. Both chiral as well as achiral allylic substrates can be applied, while the stereochemical outcome of the reaction is controlled by the chiral ketone enolate. The substituted amino ketones formed can be reduced stereoselectively, and up to five consecutive stereogenic centers can be obtained. This approach can be used for the synthesis of highly substituted piperidine derivatives.     

Efficient synthesis of β‐(1,6)‐linked oligosaccharides through microwave‐assisted glycosylation

A microwave‐assisted glycosylation method was developed for efficient synthesis of oligosaccharides. Di‐functional AB monomers, 2,3,4‐tri‐O‐acetyl‐α‐d ‐galactopyranosyl bromide ( 3a ) and 2,3,4‐tri‐O‐acetyl‐α‐d ‐glucopyranosyl bromide ( 3b ) were designed and synthesized as weakly reactive monomers to avoid unwanted glycosylation or degradation during preparation and storage. The glycosylations of these monomers gave low conversions and low molecular weight oligosaccharides at rt, reflux, and under low microwave energy irradiation. However, the glycosylation became very effective when high microwave energy was applied, giving 100% conversion and producing oligosaccharides with M_n = 4.76 kDa for 3a and M_n = 4.05 kDa for 3b. The acetylated oligosaccharides were further subjected to deprotection for structural analysis, which indicated the oligosaccharides contain predominantly linear β‐(1,6)‐glycosyl linkages. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part A: Polym. Chem. 2013, 51, 3693–3699