Stereoselective syntheses and transformations of chiral 1,3-aminoalcohols and 1,3-diols derived from nopinone

A library of 1,3-difunctionalized pinane derivatives were synthesized and applied as chiral catalysts in the addition of diethylzinc to benzaldehyde. 1,3-Aminoalcohol 6a was prepared from (−)-nopinone 2 via stereoselective Mannich condensation and reduction of the resulting β-amino ketone 4. The key aminoalcohol 6a was transformed into primary, secondary and tertiary substituted aminoalcohols in order to study the effect of the substituent on catalytic activity. Starting from (−)-nopinone, cis- and trans-β-hydroxy esters 15 and 16 were prepared in a two-step stereoselective synthesis. Reduction of the hydroxy esters resulted in pinane-based 1,3-diols, while hydrolysis of the esters, followed by DCC-mediated amidation and subsequent reduction, led to cis- and trans-N-benzyl-1,3-aminoalcohols 8 and 23. trans-N-Benzyl-1,3-aminoalcohol 8 was also prepared by selective mono-debenzylation of 6a via a continuous-flow process in an H-Cube® system. The resulting aminoalcohols and diols were applied as chiral catalysts in the reaction of diethylzinc and benzaldehyde.     

Enantioselective addition of diethylzinc to aldehydes catalyzed by γ-amino alcohols derived from (+)- and (−)-α-pinene

Primary, secondary and tertiary γ-amino alcohols 4, 5, 7 and 9 and 1,3-diamine 6 were synthesized from (+)- and (−)-α-pinene 1 via chiral N-Boc β-amino ester 3a and carboxamide 3b. The amino alcohols and diamine obtained were applied as chiral catalysts in the enantioselective addition of diethylzinc to aromatic aldehydes, resulting in chiral 1-aryl-1-propanols. The first evidence of the substituent-dependent enantioselectivity of 1,3-amino alcohol catalysts was observed, and the phenomenon interpreted by using molecular modelling at the ab initio level.     

Synthesis of chiral norbornane derivatives as γ-amino alcohol catalysts: the effect of the functional group positions on the chirality transfer

Starting from (1S,4R) chiral ketone (+)-6, we developed a synthetic route to the synthesis of new chiral γ-amino alcohols (+)- and (−)-syn-2-amino-7-hydroxy norbornane derivatives with excellent yields and enantiomeric excesses (up to 99%). These compounds were tested as chiral catalysts in the enantioselective addition of diethylzinc to benzaldehyde presenting moderate results. The results obtained, compared with others previously reported, showed that the relative disposition of the amino and hydroxyl groups on C(2) and C(7) positions, play an important role in the catalytic activity.     

Catalytic enantioselective reactions. Part 18: Preparation of 3-deoxy-3-N,N-dialkylamino-1,2;5,6-di-O-isopropylidene-d-altritol derivatives from d-mannitol and their applications for catalytic enantioselective addition of dialkylzinc to aldehydes

A series of new chiral β-aminoalcohols, 3-deoxy-3-N,N-dialkylamino-1,2;5,6-di-O-isopropylidene-d-altritol derivatives 2–4 possessing a variety of amine substituents at the 3-position and thiol or acetylthio group at the 4-position was prepared from d-mannitol and enantioselective additions of diethylzinc to aldehydes using them as chiral catalysts were examined.     

Synthesis and application of monoterpene-based chiral aminodiols

Primary, secondary and tertiary aminodiols were synthetized regio- and stereoselectively from (−)-α-pinene 1 via α-pinene oxide 2, (−)-trans-pinocarveol 3 and key intermediate epoxy alcohol 4. N-Benzyl derivative 5 was transformed to spiro-fused oxazolidine 13 in a highly regioselective ring closure. Aminodiols and their derivatives 5-13 were applied as chiral catalysts in the enantioselective addition of diethylzinc to benzaldehyde, resulting in chiral 1-phenyl-1-propanol. The substituent effect on the nitrogen was studied in detail and the best enantioselectivity was observed in the case of N-methyl-N-benzyl-substituted derivative 8. The phenomenon was interpreted by using molecular modelling at an ab initio level.     

Synthesis of N-α-pyridylmethyl amino alcohols and application in catalytic asymmetric addition of diethylzinc to aromatic aldehydes

A series of novel chiral ligands 2a–2f were conveniently prepared from β-amino alcohols through a two-step reaction and applied to catalyze the enantioselective addition of diethylzinc to benzaldehyde. Among them, ligand 2c was found to show the best asymmetric induction and catalyze the reaction of various aromatic aldehydes to provide (R)-secondary alcohols in up to 98.3% ee.     

Straightforward synthesis of [(2S,4R)-1-cyclohexyl-4-methylpiperidin-2-yl]methanol and [(2S,4R)-1-cyclohexyl-4-methylpiperidin-2-yl](diphenyl)methanol: novel chiral ligands for the catalytic addition of diethylzinc to benzaldehyde to give rise to an extensive turn in the sense of asymmetric induction

Enantiopure [(2S,4R)-1-cyclohexyl-4-methylpiperidin-2-yl]methanol 5a and [(2S,4R)-1-cyclohexyl-4-methylpiperidin-2-yl]-(diphenyl)methanol 5b, new β-amino alcohols based on l-pipecolinic acid (homoproline), have been prepared straightforwardly from rac-alaninol and rac-2-amino-1,1-diphenylpropan-1-ol, respectively. The described route constitutes as a model procedure for the preparation of other related C(4) or/and C(3)-substituted 2-piperidinylmethanols.The new chiral ligands have shown a singular behaviour on the stereocontrol of the benchmark reaction of benzaldehyde and diethylzinc compared with other C(4)-unsubstituted analogues prepared by ourselves from l-pipecolinic acid (compounds 5c, 5d, 5e and 5f). The catalytic activity, the sense of asymmetric induction and the degree of the enantioselectivity depend on the appropriate combination of the substituents on the structural scaffold, but also on the metal-alkoxide involved in the catalysis (zinc or lithium alkoxides). The enantioselective addition of diethylzinc to benzaldehyde mediated by ligands 5a and 5c has been studied with DFT methods. The theoretical evaluation was performed in connection with a working hypothesis based on the different loadings of cis- and trans-catalysts in the reaction medium.     

Polyoxygenated ketopinic-acid-derived γ-amino alcohols in the enantioselective diethylzinc addition to benzaldehyde

Three N,N-dialkylated γ-amino alcohols, specifically 10-(dialkylamino)isoborneols, with different grades of oxygenation in the nitrogen’s alkyl groups (alkoxyalkyl groups), have been obtained from commercial (+)-ketopinic acid and tested as chiral ligands for the enantioselective addition of diethylzinc to benzaldehyde, in order to evaluate the effect of polyoxygenation on the ligand’s catalytic activity. An interesting effect of the oxygen atoms on the ligand activity is observed. The observation is in agreement with two unique previous results on amino-acid-derived polyoxygenated β-amino alcohols. A noticeable dependence of the observed effect with the conformational flexibility of the polyoxygenated chains is also demonstrated. The effect is explained by a pincer role of the polyoxygenated dialkylamino moiety, activating and directing a diethylzinc molecule.     

Regio- and stereoselective synthesis of the enantiomers of monoterpene-based β-amino acid derivatives

The regio- and stereospecific addition of chlorosulfonyl isocyanate to cis-δ-pinene enantiomers has furnished monoterpene-fused β-lactams. The observed regioselectivity can be explained by ab initio DFT modeling of transition state structures. In contrast with the less reactive α-pinane-fused β-lactam 4, the resulting β-lactams 5 and 13 containing an amino group connected to a secondary carbon possess similar reactivity to the cycloalkane-fused analogues and can be easily converted to the β-amino acid and its protected derivatives. The base-catalyzed isomerization of the cis-amino ester afforded the corresponding trans-amino ester in moderate yield.     

Synthesis of chiral C/N-functionalized morpholine alcohols: study of their catalytic ability as ligand in asymmetric diethylzinc addition to aldehyde

A broad variety of chiral C/N-functionalized morpholine alcohols sharing a common structural motif in the 3-(hydroxymethyl)morpholine 6 were prepared from enantiomerically pure serine for the purpose of studying their catalytic ligand properties. The asymmetric addition of diethylzinc to benzaldehyde in the presence of 10 mol % of chiral C/N-functionalized morpholine alcohols gave 1-phenyl-1-propanol in 59–81% yield with 10–30% ee. The addition of 10 mol % of n-butyl lithium to the reaction mixture resulted in a significant enhancement of the stereoselectivity in the case of ligands bearing the two geminal phenyl substituents on the backbone. In the presence of n-butyl lithium and using (S)-3-(hydroxydiphenylmethyl)morpholine (S)-19 as the chiral promoter, (S)-1-phenyl-1-propanol was obtained in 81% yield with 76% ee. The geminal diphenyl-class of morpholine ligands was examined for the diethylzinc addition to four different aldehydes in the presence of n-butyl lithium. (S)-N-Benzyl-3-(hydroxydiphenylmethyl)morpholine (S)-27 was found to be most enantioselective in the case of 4-methoxybenzaldehyde to give (R)-alcohol in 87% yield with 80% ee. Catalysts (S)-19 and its N-methyl derivative (S)-26 gave alcohols with an (S)-absolute configuration while the N-benzylated derivative (S)-27 gave the opposite enantiomeric products. The tentative transition state models to account for the observed product stereoselectivity with morpholine ligands holding the geminal diphenyl group on the β-amino alcohol segment are proposed.     

Enantioselective synthesis of β-amino acids. Part 9: Preparation of enantiopure α,α-disubstituted β-amino acids from 1-benzoyl-2(S)-tert-butyl-3-methylperhydropyrimidin-4-one,

Double alkylation of enantiopure N,N-acetal pyrimidinone (S)-1, a masked chiral derivative of β-alanine prepared from (S)-asparagine, proceeds with high stereoselectivity to give C(5) disubstituted adducts (2S,5R)-6, (2S,5S)-6, (2S,5R)-7, and (2S,5S)-7. Acid hydrolysis of these derivatives affords enantiopure α,α-dialkylated β-amino acids (R)-8, (S)-8, (R)-9, and (S)-9 in very good yields.     

Chiral ligands derived from abrine. Part 7: Effect of O,S, N in aromatic ring substituents at C-1 on enantioselectivity induced by tetrahydro-β-carboline ligands in diethylzinc addition to aldehydes

The effect of O, S and N atoms in aromatic ring substituents at C-1 position of tetrahydro-β-carboline ligands on the enantioselectivity of diethylzinc additions to benzaldehyde was studied when esters or tertiary alcohol functions were present at C-3. A mechanism is proposed to explain why the ester ligands 2c and 2d, in which the pyridyl N atom is at C′-2 in 2c and at C′-3 in 2d, catalyzed the addition of diethylzinc to benzaldehyde to form the (R)- and (S)-enantiomers of 1-phenyl-1-propanol, respectively. An explanation was also proposed for the moderate enantioselectivity induced by tert-alcohol 3c versus the very small enantioselectivity induced by 3d, containing a 3-pyridyl function at C-1, during diethylzinc additions. A -CH₂-t-Bu substituent at C-1 leads to very high enantioselectivities.     

The role of conformational flexibility on the catalytic activity of norbornane-derived β-, γ- and δ-amino alcohols

Enantiopure norbornane-based γ-amino alcohols 1–4 have been obtained from (+)-camphor and their catalytic behaviour as chiral ligands for the enantioselective addition of diethylzinc to benzaldehyde compared to these described for homologous β- and δ-amino alcohols. This has allowed the first study on the influence of the size of the catalytic zinc-chelate ring on the catalytic activity, which results in the unexpected observance of a non-linear correlation between enantioselectivity and chelate ring size (conformational flexibility). An empirical rationalisation of the observed phenomenon was realised on the basis of consideration of the energetically-favoured Noyori-type transition states.     

Aromatic motifs in the design of Ephedra ligands for application in the asymmetric addition of diethylzinc to aldehydes and diphenylphosphinoylimines

Using N-benzylephedrine as a model, a collection of N-arylmethylephedrine derivatives has been prepared. These derivatives were prepared by treatment of ephedrine with selected aldehydes to create oxazolidines 8a–e. Reduction of the oxazolidines with lithium aluminum hydride afforded the target β-amino alcohols 9a–e. When applied in the catalytic asymmetric addition of diethylzinc to aldehydes and diphenylphosphinoylimines, the derivatives yielded product enantioselectivities that were comparable to those of N-benzylephedrine. An N-cyclohexylmethylephedrine derivative was also prepared; this β-aminoalcohol did not perform well in the catalytic addition of diethylzinc to 2-naphthaldehyde, thus suggesting that the aromatic motif is important in terms of maintaining a reasonable level of asymmetric induction. Finally, N-benzyl-N-methyl-2-amino-1,2-diphenyl-1-ethanol, an analogue of the N-benzylephedrine derivative, was prepared. This compound yielded comparable enantioselectivities in the catalytic asymmetric addition when employed as a ligand.     

Syntheses of chiral β-amino α-perfluoroalkylpropanol derivatives

Chiral β-amino α-perfluoroalkylpropanol derivatives were synthesized from N-Boc-l-phenylalanine methyl ester by substitution of the methoxy group into the corresponding perfluoroalkyl chain, followed by reduction and deprotection. Among them, a Schiff base prepared by condensation of (2S,3S)-2-amino-3-perfluorooctyl-1-phenylpropan-3-ol, (2S,3S)-1, and 1-naphthaldehyde catalyzed the asymmetric ethyl addition reaction of diethylzinc with the aldehyde to afford the product up to 93% ee.     

Novel C2-symmetric chiral O,N,N,O-tetradentate 2,2-bipyridyldiolpropane ligands: synthesis and application in asymmetric diethylzinc addition to aldehydes

First synthesis of C₂-symmetric chiral O,N,N,O-tetradentate 2,2-bipyridyldiolpropane ligands is described. The Mukaiyama–Michael reaction was applied as an important reaction for the synthesis of 2,2-bipyridylpropane 9. Among the ligands synthesized, ligand 11 exhibits excellent chiral induction (up to 97% ee) in diethylzinc addition to various aldehydes. The use of additional Lewis acid such as Ti(OⁱPr)₄ in diethylzinc addition reaction is not required for the present catalytic system.     

Highly enantioselective addition of diethylzinc to N-diphenylphosphinylimines using dendritic chiral ligands with hydrocarbon backbones

Chiral dendrimers bearing three or six chiral β-amino alcohols on the hyperbranched hydrocarbon chain-ends act as efficient chiral ligands for the enantioselective addition of diethylzinc to N-diphenylphosphinylimines to afford enantiomerically enriched N-diphenylphosphinylamines with up to 94% e.e.     

Stereocontrolled approaches to (+)- and (−)-γ-trifluoromethyl-GABOB,a new hydroxymethylene (statine) dipeptide isostere

Two efficient approaches to both enantiomers of syn-γ-trifluoromethyl γ-amino β-hydroxy butyric acid (γ-Tfm-GABOB) (10), a new hydroxymethylene (statine) dipeptide isostere, are described. One exploits the recently disclosed `non-oxidative' Pummerer reaction, by means of which α-lithium alkyl sulfoxides are used as chiral α-hydroxyalkyl anion equivalents in the synthesis of β-amino alcohols. Trifluoropyruvaldehyde-N,S-ketal (R)-11, a novel stereochemically stable synthetic equivalent of α-amino trifluoropropanal, is used in the second approach.     

Enantioselective conjugate addition of ketones to β-nitrostyrenes catalyzed by 1,2-amino alcohol-derived prolinamides

Various l-prolinamides 14, prepared from l-proline and chiral β-amino alcohols, are active bifunctional catalysts for the direct nitro-Michael addition of ketones to β-nitrostyrenes. In particular, catalyst 14e prepared from l-proline and (1S,2R)-cis-1-amino-2-indanol exhibits the highest catalytic performance working in polar aprotic solvents such as NMP. High syn-diastereoselectivities (up to 94% de) and good enantioselectivities (up to 80% ee) were obtained at rt.     

Synthesis and microbial transformation of β-amino nitriles

Rhodococcus equi A4, Rhodococcus erythropolis NCIMB 11540 and Rhodococcus sp. R312 were investigated towards their ability to produce β-amino amides and acids from β-amino nitriles. The microorganisms show comparable trends: five-membered alicyclic 2-amino nitriles were transformed significantly faster than the six-membered compounds and the products of trans-2-amino nitriles (amides and acids) were formed considerably faster than the cis-counterparts (amides). The trans-five membered nitriles gave the amides (1b, 5b) in excellent enantiomeric excess (94-99%), the biotransformation of trans-six membered substrates resulted in the formation of the acid (3c, 7c) in excellent ee (87-99%). The ee's of the cis-compounds were throughout lower. Fifteen new substances were synthesized and characterized in the course of this work.