A practical catalytic asymmetric addition of alkyl groups to ketones

Many catalysts will promote the asymmetric addition of alkylzinc reagents to aldehydes. In contrast, there are no reports of additions to ketones that are both general and highly enantioselective. We describe herein a practical catalytic asymmetric addition of ethyl groups to ketones. The catalyst is derived from reaction of camphor sulfonyl chloride and trans-1,2-diaminocyclohexane. The resulting diketone is reduced with NaBH4 to give the C2-symmetric exo diastereomer. Use of this ligand with titanium tetraisopropoxide and dialkylzinc at room temperature results in enantioselective addition of the alkyl group to the ketone. The resulting tertiary alcohols are isolated with high enantiomeric excess (all cases give greater than 87% ee, except one). The reaction has been run with 37 mmol (5 g) 3-methylacetophenone and 2 mol % catalyst to afford 73% yield of the resulting tertiary alcohol with 99% ee.     

Nucleophilic addition of heterocyclic amines to conjugated enyne ketones

Nucleophilic addition of secondary heterocyclic amines (morpholine, piperidine, and piperazine) to the double or triple bond of (E)-1,5-diarylpent-2-en-4-yn-1-ones is controlled by the kinetic and thermodynamic factor, respectively. The regioselectivity of the addition of piperazine to these enynones is determined by the substituent nature in the benzene rings. Conjugated ketones with electron-donating substituents take up piperazine molecule at the double bond, and those with electron-withdrawing groups, at the triple bond.     

Organocerium reagents. Nucleophilic addition to easily enolizable ketones

Organocerium reagents, prepared from organolithiums and anhydrous cerium (III) chloride, react cleanly with easily enolizable ketones to afford the addition products in good to excellent yields.     

Proline-catalyzed asymmetric addition reaction of 9-tosyl-3,4-dihydro-beta-carboline with ketones

[reaction: see text] 9-Tosyl-3,4-dihydro-beta-carboline (1) reacted with a ketone in the presence of (S)-proline as a catalyst to give the corresponding addition product in good yield and high enantioselectivity. In the process, a small amount of water was found to affect the stereoselectivity of the products. The system was applied to reaction of compound 1 and 3-buten-2-one to give 3,4,6,7,12,12b-hexahydro-1H-indolo[2,3-a]quinolizin-2-one, which is a versatile precursor for the synthesis of some indole alkaloids.     

Cu-catalyzed enantioselective conjugate addition of alkylzincs to cyclic nitroalkenes: catalytic asymmetric synthesis of cyclic alpha-substituted ketones

An efficient and highly enantioselective (>/=92% ee) catalytic method for conjugate addition of alkylzinc reagents to cyclic nitroalkenes is reported. Reactions are promoted in the presence of 0.5-5 mol % (CuOTf)2.C6H6 and 1-10 mol % of chiral amino acid-based phosphine ligands at 0 degrees C in toluene. The Cu-catalyzed reactions can be effectively carried out with small-, medium-, and large-ring nitroalkenes. Depending on the reaction conditions used, either the nitro or the corresponding alpha-substituted ketone product can be readily accessed by the present protocol.     

A new method for the catalytic aldol reaction to ketones

A new method for the catalytic aldol reaction to ketones, using CuF.3PPh3.2EtOH complex as the catalyst and (EtO)3SiF as the additive, is described. The reaction can be applied to a wide range of ketones and trimethylsilyl enolates. On the basis of mechanistic studies, a working hypothesis for the catalytic cycle is proposed, in which the dynamic ligand exchange mediated by copper silicates produces the active copper enolate. Moreover, the present reaction can be extended to the catalytic enantioselective reaction using tol-BINAP as a chiral ligand.     

New ligands and structural insights into the catalytic asymmetric addition of organozinc reagents to ketones

The catalytic asymmetric addition of alkyl groups to ketones has received considerable attention. Outlined herein is the synthesis of two new ligands based on the C₂-symmetric 11,12-diamino-9,10-dihydro-9,10-ethanoanthracene. The scope of the new ligands has been evaluated in the catalytic asymmetric addition of diethylzinc to a variety of ketones. Enantioselectivities as high as 99% have been achieved. The structures of two of these ligands have been determined by X-ray crystallography and are compared with related structures. Additionally, the structure of a titanium complex bound to a bis(sulfonamide) diol ligand is reported.     

Enantioselective synthesis of bridged- or fused-ring bicyclic ketones by a catalytic asymmetric Michael addition pathway

Efficient methodology has been developed for the conjugate addition of ketene acetals to cyclic alpha,beta-enones. The chiral adducts allow access to fused- or bridged-ring structures such as those shown.     

Dramatic ligand effect in catalytic asymmetric reductive aldol reaction of allenic esters to ketones

A general catalytic asymmetric reductive aldol reaction of allenic esters to ketones is described. Two distinct constitutional isomers were selectively produced depending on the reaction conditions. A combination of CuOAc/(R)-DTBM-SEGPHOS/PCy3 as the catalyst predominantly produced gamma-cis-products in high yield with excellent enantioselectivity (up to 99% ee). The reaction was applicable to both aromatic and aliphatic ketones, including unsaturated ketones. On the other hand, CuF-Taniaphos complexes produced alpha-aldol products with high diastereo- and enantioselectivity (up to 84% ee). The new Taniaphos derivative L3, containing di(3,5-xylyl)phosphine and morpholine units, produced optimum results in the alpha-selective reaction. The products are versatile chiral building blocks in organic synthesis. Furthermore, the basic reaction pattern (i.e., conjugate addition-aldol reaction) was extended to a catalytic enantioselective alkylative aldol reaction to ketones using dialkylzinc reagents as the initiator.     

The first example of a catalytic asymmetric aldol-Tishchenko reaction of aldehydes and aliphatic ketones

A number of combinations of Lewis acids and chiral ligands has been screened for the enantioselective direct tandem aldol condensation--Evans-Tishchenko reduction of aldehydes and ketones. Chiral ytterbium complexes were found to catalyze the condensation of aromatic aldehydes with 3-pentanone (and other ketones) giving rise to the anti-1,3-diol monoesters in good yield, and with high diastereocontrol and moderate levels of enantioselectivity. Three adjacent stereogenic centers are created in one reaction sequence in acyclic systems.     

Organocatalytic asymmetric conjugate addition to allenic esters and ketones

The first example of an organocatalytic enantioselective conjugate addition of cyclic beta-ketoesters and glycine imine derivatives to electron-deficient allenes is described. We disclose that the corresponding chiral beta,gamma-unsaturated carbonyl compounds are formed exclusively under phase-transfer conditions using either cinchona-alkaloid-derived or biphenyl-based chiral quaternary ammonium salts as catalysts. The scope of the reaction for beta-ketoesters is outlined for allenes having a ketone or ester motif as electron-withdrawing group as well as different substituents in the 3-position, giving the optically active products in high yields and excellent diastereo- and enantioselectivities (90-96% ee). The conjugate addition also proceeds for a number of cyclic beta-ketoesters having different ring sizes, ring systems, and substituents in high yields and enantioselectivities. Glycine imine derivatives also undergo the asymmetric conjugate addition to electron-deficient allenes in high yields and with enantioselectivities in the range of 60-88% ee, thus providing a rapid entry to optically active alpha-vinyl-substituted alpha-amino acid derivatives. It is shown that the enantioselectivity is strongly dependent on the size of the ester moiety of the nucleophile in combination with the catalytic system used. The high synthetic value of the chiral products arising from these new catalytic processes is demonstrated by two straightforward transformations leading in one case to optically active hexahydrobenzopyranones and in the other to substituted pyroglutamates (gamma-lactames).     

Added-metal-free catalytic nucleophilic addition of Grignard reagents to ketones

On the basis of the investigation of the combinational effect of quaternary ammonium salts and organic bases, an added-metal-free catalytic system for nucleophilic addition reactions of a variety of Grignard reagents to diverse ketones in THF solvent has been developed to produce tertiary alcohols in good to excellent yields. By using tetrabutylammonium chloride (NBu(4)Cl) as a catalyst and diglyme (DGDE) as an additive, this system strongly enhances the efficiency of addition at the expense of enolization and reduction. NBu(4)Cl should help to shift the Schlenk equilibrium of Grignard reagents to the side of dimeric Grignard reagents to favor the additions of Grignard reagents to ketones via a favored six-membered transition state to form the desired tertiary alcohols, and DGDE should increase the nucleophilic reactivities of Grignard reagents by coordination. This catalytic system has been applied in the efficient synthesis of Citalopram, an effective U.S. FDA-approved antidepressant, and a recyclable version of this catalytic synthesis has also been devised.     

Nucleophilic behavior of DBU in a conjugate addition reaction

Reaction of DBU with a diarylpyrone results in 1,4 addition of the DBU and subsequent fragmentation of the DBU moiety into an aminopropyl caprolactam. Incorporation of the fragmented DBU into the diarylpyridone is postulated to occur by an addition/elimination pathway.     

Organocatalytic asymmetric direct Michael addition of aromatic ketones to alkylidenemalononitriles

The asymmetric direct Michael addition of aromatic ketones to highly active alkylidenemalononitriles was investigated by employing a chiral primary amine 9-amino-9-deoxyepicinchonine. In general modest to good enantioselectivities (71–84% ee) could be obtained in acceptable isolated yields (48–85%) for an array of substrates.     

Highly concentrated catalytic asymmetric allylation of ketones

[reaction: see text] We report the catalytic asymmetric allylation of ketones under highly concentrated reaction conditions with a catalyst generated from titanium tetraisopropoxide and BINOL (1:2 ratio) in the presence of isopropanol. This catalyst promotes the addition of tetraallylstannane to a variety of ketones to produce tertiary homoallylic alcohols in excellent yield (80-99%) with high enantioselectivities (79-95%). The resulting homoallylic alcohols can also be epoxidized in situ using tert-butyl hydroperoxide (TBHP) to afford cyclic epoxy alcohols in high yield (84-87%).     

Pyrrolidine-carbamate based new and efficient chiral organocatalyst for asymmetric Michael addition of ketones to nitroolefins

The novel ((S)-pyrrolidin-2-yl)methyl phenylcarbamate was synthesized and used as an efficient organocatalyst for the asymmetric Michael addition of cyclic/acyclic ketones to nitroolefins. Interestingly, the resulting Michael adducts were obtained in good to high yields (up to 96%) with excellent stereoselectivity (ee up to >99%, dr up to >99:1) without using any additive.     

Catalytic asymmetric addition of alkylzinc and functionalized alkylzinc reagents to ketones

We describe our full report of the catalytic asymmetric addition of simple and functionalized dialkylzinc reagents to a broad range of saturated ketones and enones. The functionalized organozinc reagents contain esters, silyl ethers, alkyl chlorides, and alkyl bromides. In general, the resulting tertiary alcohol products are isolated with high ee's. With some substrates, yields are low as a result of the formation of aldol byproducts. Most substrates undergo additions with good yields reaching as high as 91%.     

The first catalytic asymmetric addition of dialkylzincs to alpha-ketoesters

[formula: see text] The first catalytic, enantioselective addition of organoznic reagents to alpha-ketoesters is described. Modular bifunctional salen catalysts that contain Lewis acid and Lewis base activating groups accelerate the carbonyl addition to a much greater extent than the competing carbonyl reduction. alpha-Hydroxyesters containing new quaternary stereogenic centers are obtained in high yield and moderate enantiomeric excess. Enrichment to 98% ee can be effected by recrystallization of the corresponding alpha-hydroxy acid.     

A direct catalytic asymmetric Mannich-type reaction via a dinuclear zinc catalyst: synthesis of either anti- or syn-alpha-hydroxy-beta-amino ketones

The use of imines bearing a hydrolyzable nitrogen substituent in direct asymmetric Mannich reactions with alpha-hydroxyketones is developed. Previous work focused on the use of N-arylimines or nonenolizable imines, and the latter with only methoxy-substituted alpha-hydroxyacetophenones. Using a dinuclear catalyst devised from 2,6-di-(S)-2'-diphenylhydroxymethylpyrrolidino-N-methyl)-4-methylphenol and diethylzinc, a broad array of hydroxyacetylated aromatics, including phenyl, 2-furyl, 1-naphthyl, and 2-naphthyl, react well. In addition, the reactions focused on the use of enolizable imines. With the N-diphenylphosphinoyl, the reactions are anti selective with enantiomeric excesses ranging from 83 to 99%, except for the reaction of the 2-methoxy-2'-hydroxyacetylbenzene. With the N-Boc-imines, the reactions were syn selective with enantiomeric excesses from 90 to 94%. The dependence of the diastereoselectivity on the nature of the N-substituent presumably arises from the steric demands of the diphenylphosphinoyl group.