Enantioselective total synthesis of (−)-strychnine: development of a highly practical catalytic asymmetric carbon-carbon bond formation and domino cyclization

An enantioselective total synthesis of (−)-strychnine was accomplished through the use of the highly practical catalytic asymmetric Michael reaction (0.1 mol% of (R)-ALB, greater than kilogram scale, without chromatography, 91% yield and >99% ee), and a domino cyclization that simultaneously constructed the B- and D- rings of strychnine (>77% yield). Newly-developed reaction conditions for thionium ion cyclization, NaBH₃CN reduction of the imine moiety in the presence of a Lewis acid to prevent the ring-opening reaction, and chemoselective reduction of the thioether (desulfurization) in the presence of exocyclic olefin were pivotal to complete the synthesis. The described chemistry paves the way for the synthesis of more advanced Strychnos alkaloids.     

Enantioselective nitrile anion cyclization to substituted pyrrolidines. A highly efficient synthesis of (3S,4R)-N-tert-butyl-4-arylpyrrolidine-3-carboxylic acid

[reaction: see text] A practical asymmetric synthesis of N-tert-butyl disubstituted pyrrolidines via a nitrile anion cyclization strategy is described. The five-step chromatography-free synthesis of (3S,4R)-1-tert-butyl-4-(2,4-difluorophenyl)pyrrolidine-3-carboxylic acid (2) from 2-chloro-1-(2,4-difluorophenyl)-ethanone achieved a 71% overall yield. The cyclization substrate was prepared via a catalytic CBS asymmetric reduction, t-butylamine displacement of the chlorohydrin, and a conjugate addition of the hindered secondary amine to acrylonitrile. The key nitrile anion 5-exo-tet cyclization concomitantly formed the pyrrolidine ring with clean inversion of the C-4 center to afford 1,3,4-trisubstituted chiral pyrrolidine in >95% yield and 94-99% ee. Diethyl chlorophosphate and lithium hexamethyldisilazide were shown to be the respective optimum activating group and base in this cyclization. The trans-cis mixture of the pyrrolidine nitrile undergoes a kinetically controlled epimerization/ saponification to afford the pure trans-pyrrolidine carboxylic acid target compound in >99.9% chemical and optical purity. This chemistry was also shown to be applicable to both electronically neutral and rich substituted phenyl substrates.     

A new strategy toward indole alkaloids involving an intramolecular cycloaddition/rearrangement cascade

The intramolecular Diels-Alder reaction between an amidofuran moiety tethered onto an indole component was examined as a strategy for the synthesis of Aspidosperma alkaloids. Furanyl carbamate 23 was acylated using the mixed anhydride 26 to provide amidofuran 22 in 68% yield. Further N-acylation of this indole furnished 27 in 88% yield. Cyclization precursors were prepared by removing the carbamate moiety followed by N-alkylation with the appropriate alkyl halides. Large substituent groups on the amido nitrogen atom causes the reactive s-trans conformation of the amidofuran to be more highly populated, thereby facilitating the Diels-Alder cycloaddition. The reaction requires the presence of an electron-withdrawing substituent on the indole nitrogen in order for the cycloaddition to proceed. Treatment of N-allyl-bromoenamide 48 with n-Bu(3)SnH/AIBN preferentially led to the 6-endo trig cyclization product 50, with the best yield (91%) being obtained under high dilution conditions. The initially generated cyclohexenyl radical derived from 48 produces the pentacyclic heterocycle 50 by either a direct 6-endo trig cyclization or, alternatively, by a vinyl radical rearrangement pathway.     

Concise total synthesis of antiarrhythmic drug dronedarone via a conjugate addition followed intramolecular heck cyclization

A concise, scalable, and an efficient total synthesis for dronedarone ( 2 ) was described using conjugate addition followed by intramolecular Heck cyclization. The other key reaction includes selective reduction of nitro functionality and addition of lithiated terminal alkyne to the aldehyde. The overall yield of this approach is 44% in six steps.     

Highly stereoselective Friedel-Crafts type cyclization. Facile access to enantiopure 1,4-dihydro-4-phenyl isoquinolinones

The present report describes a stereoselective synthesis of 1,4-dihydro-4-phenyl isoquinolinones 5 based on a stereoselective Friedel-Crafts type cyclization. Cyclization precursors 1 were prepared in two steps, from the readily available (S)-mandelic acid, in 60-80% overall yield. The stereoselective electrophilic cyclization was accomplished in 20-86% yield and with 20-97% ee. In the course of this work, the presence of the amide carbonyl was found to be particularly important to guarantee a stereospecific process during the electrophilic aromatic substitution.     

A catalytic and stoichiometric approach to the synthesis of the steroid B-ring en route to estratrienes

Zirconocene catalyzed cyclization of 2-(5-methoxy-3-penten-1-yl)styrene in the presence of organomagnesium reagents was studied. The cyclization proceeded in high isolated yields (up to 84%) with excellent trans-selectivity (>98%), which is unusual for the formation of cyclohexane derivatives. Catalytic cyclization in the presence of Cp₂ZrCl₂ proceeded as well with similar results. The reaction with (R,R)-(EBTHI)₂ZrCl₂ gave a cis/trans mixture of 5 in low yield and poor ee.     

Asymmetric synthesis of tetrahydropalmatine via tandem 1,2-addition/cyclization

[Reaction: see text]. The enantioselective synthesis of both enantiomers of tetrahydropalmatine (2) (ee = 98%), a natural alkaloid belonging to the tetrahydroprotoberberine family, is described. The key step of this total synthesis is based on our tandem 1,2-addition/ring-closure methodology employing lithiated methylbenzamide and benzaldehyde SAMP or RAMP hydrazones as substrates. An initial route was investigated for the formation of N- and 3-substituted dihydroisoquinolones starting from 2-substituted benzaldehyde SAMP hydrazones, but although high diastereoselectivity was achieved, only disappointing yields were obtained. In our subsequent synthetic strategy, 2,3-dimethoxy-6-methylbenzamide 6 and 3,4-dimethoxybenzaldehyde SAMP or RAMP hydrazone 19 gave the dihydroisoquinolones 20 in high diastereomeric purity (de > or = 96%) and reasonable yield (54-55%), taking into account the complex functionalities established in one step. Cleavage of the N-N bond of the chiral auxiliary and reduction of the carbonyl group of the amide moiety were performed in the same step, and the resulting tetrahydroisoquinolines 22 (ee = 99%) were N-functionalized by treatment with various electrophiles to investigate the ring closure by Pummerer, Friedel-Crafts, and Pomeranz-Fritsch reactions. The Pummerer cyclization led to the formation of (S)-(-)-2 with slight racemization (ee = 89%), whereas the Friedel-Crafts reaction proved to be unsuccessful. Finally, Pomeranz-Fritsch-type cyclization afforded the desired title compound (R)-(+)-2 in excellent enantioselectivity in 9% overall yield over seven steps and after optimization of the last step (S)-(-)-2 in 17% overall yield.     

Synthesis of 3,5-disubstituted 1,2,4-triazoles containing an amino group

3,5-Disubstituted 1,2,4-triazoles containing linear and cyclic amine fragments have been synthesized by thermal cyclization of N′-(1-iminoalkyl) hydrazides prepared by condensation of imido esters with carboxylic acid hydrazides. The initial imido esters have been synthesized by the Pinner reaction, as well as by reaction of nitriles with methanol in the presence of a catalytic amount of sodium methoxide. A procedure has been developed for the synthesis of 5-substituted 3-(3-nitrophenyl)-1,2,4-triazoles which have been converted to 3-aminophenyl derivatives by reduction with hydrazine hydrate over Raney nickel.     

Stereoselective synthesis of cyclic ethers using vinylogous sulfonates as radical acceptors: effect of E/Z geometry and temperature on diastereoselectivity

Treatment of the E-vinylogous sulfonates 1a-g with tris(trimethylsilyl)silane and triethylborane, in the presence of air, furnished the cyclic ethers 2/3a-g with good to excellent diastereoselectivity favoring the cis-isomer 2. This study demonstrated the level of stereocontrol in a 6-exo radical cyclization and may be attributed to the type of radical intermediate. Hence, the modest selectivity obtained for the cyclization of 1e may be a function of the acyl radical geometry (sp2) and high inversion barrier (29 kcal/mol) as compared to the alkyl (1 kcal/mol) and vinyl (2.9 kcal/mol) radicals. This is consistent with the acyl radical cyclization having an earlier transition state than the corresponding alkyl and vinyl radicals. The modest diastereoselectivity can be improved dramatically using the Z-vinylogous sulfonate (> or =34:1; R = Ph) to promote kinetic trapping of the s-trans rotamer I and III, respectively (Figure 1). The 5-exo alkyl radical cyclization reaction under nonreductive Keck-allylation conditions was also examined, in which 8 was formed in 91% overall yield. This transformation provides a convenient method for in situ homologation and should be applicable to target directed synthesis.     

Substituent effects on the cyclization mode of 7-sulfonyl-3-hepten-1,5-diynes and 11-sulfonylundeca-3,7-dien-1,5,9-triynes

In probing of cycloaromatization of 7-phenylsulfonyl-3-hepten-1,5-diyne systems to generate biradical intermediates under an alkaline condition suggested that the aryl moiety on C3-C4 also plays an important role to switch the Myers cyclization to Schmittel cyclization in the allen-enyne system, although the aryl group on the alkyne terminus does not work in the proceeding of the cycloaromatization. For example, treatment of 1-phenyl-7-phenylsulfonyl-3-hepten-1,5-diyne (8) with triethylamine in the presence of 1,4-cyclohexadiene in benzene offered biphenyl 13 in 51% yield. Under the same reaction conditions, cyclization of 1-(2-phenylethynyl)-2-(3-phenylsulfonyl-1-propynyl) benzene (28) gave naphthalene 34 in 42% yield along with indene 35 in 32% yield. Moreover, the substituent effect also occurred in the cyclization of 11-phenylsulfonylundeca-3,7-diene-1,5,9-triyne (38), which provided indene 39 in 50% yield as the major product.     

Synthesis of cyclic and multicyclic polyisoprenes

Cyclic polyisoprenes have been synthesized by reaction of α,ω-dilithiopolyisoprenes with dichlorodimethylsilane or 1,2-bis(isopropenyl-4-phenyl) ethane (BIPE). Using the dihalide compound, the effect of the solvent polarity on the coupling reaction is more pronounced in the case of α,ω-dilithiopolyisoprene than with monofunctional polyisoprenyllithium. The yield in cyclic compound falls from 88% in pure hexane down to 53% in the presence of 15 vol% of tetrahydrofurane (THF). Using the nonconjugated diene (BIPE) as linking agent the addition of THF is required but the formed cycle retains its living character and allows the synthesis of cycles having two arms (after addition of isoprene) and of a bicyclic structure after a second cyclization reaction.     

Effect of the reaction temperature on the transglycosylation reactions catalyzed by the cyclodextrin glucanotransferase from Bacillus macerans for the synthesis of large-ring cyclodextrins

The synthesis of cyclodextrins with from 6 to more than 50 glucose units by cyclodextrin glucanotransferase (CGTase, EC 2.4.1.19) from Bacillus macerans was investigated. Analysis of the synthesized cyclic α-1,4-glucan products showed that a higher yield of large-ring cyclodextrins were obtained with a reaction temperature of 60 °C compared to 40 °C. The yield of large-ring cyclodextrins obtained at 60 °C represented about 50% of the total glucans employed in the reaction. Analysis of the cyclodextrin-forming cyclization reaction and of the coupling reaction of the CGTase resulting in the degradation of mainly the larger cyclic α-1,4-glucans indicated higher rates of the cyclization reaction at 60 °C compared to 40 °C while the opposite was found for the coupling reaction.     

Heterogeneous-catalytic fischer reaction

The catalytic synthesis of 7-azaindole and its 2-methyl derivative has been accomplished for the first time by cyclization of acetaldehyde and acetone 2-pyridylhydrazones in the presence of -Al₂O₃ and fluorinated aluminum oxide. The temperature dependence of the yields of reaction products — azaindoles and 2-aminopyridine — was studied. The cyclization of acetaldehyde 2-pyridylhydrazone proceeds under more severe conditions. The maximum yield of 7-azaindole is 15% at 450° on fluorinated aluminum oxide. The yield of 2-methyl-7-azaindole reaches 50% at 315°. Fluorinated aluminum oxide displays higher catalytic activity.See [1] for communication III.Translated from Khimiya Geterotsiklicheskikh Soedinenii, No. 5, pp. 656–658, May, 1972.     

Total synthesis of (+)-acanthodoral by the use of a Pd-catalyzed metal-ene reaction and a nonreductive 5-exo-acyl radical cyclization

[reaction: see text] The first total synthesis of the antibiotic acanthodoral (1) has been achieved from 3-methyl-2-cyclohexen-1-one in 19 steps in 2.1% overall yield. The synthesis features the use of a Pd-ene reaction in the presence of CO to form the endocyclic alkene 8, a nonreductive acyl radical cyclization reaction, and a ring contraction reaction by the Wolff rearrangement. (+)-Acanthodoral has also been synthesized starting from (+)-S-2,2-dimethyl-6-methylenecyclohexanecarboxylic acid.     

Platinum(II)-Catalyzed Novel Synthesis of 3,4-Fused Furans

A novel synthesis of 3,4-fused furans (both tricyclic and bicyclic) through platinum-catalyzed cyclization of 3-(2-formylcycloalkenyl)-acrylic amides 2 in methanol is described (up to 90% yield). Tricyclic 3,4-fused dihydrofuran derivatives were also obtained via reductive cyclization of 2. The substrates 2 were obtained from β- bromovinyl aldehydes by a Pd-catalyzed Heck reaction.     

Efficient and diversity-oriented total synthesis of Riccardin C and application to develop novel macrolactam derivatives

Riccardin C (RC, 1) is a macrocyclic bis(bibenzyl) natural product exhibiting remarkable biological activity as a nuclear liver X receptors (LXRs) ligand and a lipid metabolism mediator. RC is expected to be a lead compound to develop drugs for atherosclerotic diseases, and therefore exploiting diversity-oriented synthesis of RC is a promising approach to drug discovery. In this paper, we report novel total synthesis of RC (7.4% overall yield in 16 steps) by using the intramolecular S_NAr reaction as key cyclization reaction. This is the first example of efficient macrocyclization using 3-nitro-4-fluorostilbene as an electrophile. The methodology could be applied to synthesize novel lactam analogs of RC. The diversity-oriented synthesis of RC is versatile method for the synthesis of various types of bis(bibenzyl) natural products and their derivatization.     

1,2-silyl-migrative cyclization of vinylsilanes bearing a hydroxy group: stereoselective synthesis of multisubstituted tetrahydropyrans and tetrahydrofurans(1)

Acid-catalyzed intramolecular addition of a hydroxy group to alpha-alkylated vinylsilanes has been studied. Treatment of (Z)-5-alkyl-5-silyl-4-penten-1-ols 1 (R = alkyl) with 5 mol % TiCl(4) in CHCl(3) gave trans-2-alkyl-3-silyltetrahydropyrans 2 exclusively (trans/cis = >99/1 to 97/3). The cyclization efficiency and rate strongly depended on the geometry of the C-C double bond and the silyl group. The use of (E)-vinylsilanes resulted in lower yields with poor cis-selectivity. In the cyclization of (Z)-1 (R = Bu), the silyl group used, the reaction time, and the yield of 2 were as follows: SiMe(2)Ph, 9.5 h, 75%; SiMe(3), 7.5 h, 66%; SiMePh(2), 24 h, 58%; SiMe(2)-t-Bu, 0.75 h, 85%; SiMe(2)Bn, 1.5 h, 78%. This 1,2-silyl-migrative cyclization could be applied to stereoselective synthesis of trisubstituted tetrahydropyrans. The acid-catalyzed reaction of 1-, 2-, or 3-substituted (Z)-5-silyl-4-nonen-1-ols 8 gave r-2,t-3,c-6-, r-2,t-3,t-5-, or r-2,t-3,c-4-trisubstituted tetrahydropyrans with high diastereoselectivity, respectively. (Z)-4-Alkyl-4-silyl-3-buten-1-ols 5 as well as 1 underwent the 1,2-silyl-migrative cyclization to give 2-alkyl-3-silyltetrahydrofurans 6 with high trans-selectivity. This silicon-directed cyclization was also available for the stereoselective synthesis of tri- and tetrasubstituted tetrahydrofurans.     

A novel highly stereoselective synthesis of 2,3-disubstituted 3H-quinazoline-4-one derivatives

[structure: see text]. An efficient three-step synthesis of chiral 3H-quinazoline-4-one derivatives from commercial materials is disclosed. The Mumm reaction of imidoyl chloride with alpha-amino acids followed by reductive cyclization affords enantiomerically pure (ee >93%) quinazoline-4-ones in good overall yield. A comparison with existing approaches indicates that this method is superior for hindered substrates.     

5-氨基-5,6,7,8-四氢-2(1H)-喹啉酮的简便合成

改进了合成5-氨基-5,6,7,8-四氢-2(1H)喹啉酮(5)的方法。以环己二酮为原料,通过亚胺化,Michael反应-环化反应,成肟反应和碱性条件下镍铝合金催化还原共四步反应合成了5,总收率19.6%,其结构经1HNMR,IR和MS确证。     

Effect of ethanol on the synthesis of large-ring cyclodextrins by cyclodextrin glucanotransferases

Cyclodextrin glucanotransferase (EC 2.4.1.19, CGTase) synthesizes cyclodextrins (CD) composed of 6 to more than hundred glucose units from amylose by an intramolecular transglycosylation reaction. The addition of ethanol to the reaction medium resulted in an increase of the yield of large-ring CD obtained with a CGTase from Bacillus sp. BT3-2 and Bacillus macerans. The presence of 15% ethanol in the reaction mixture with the CGTase from Bacillus sp. BT3-2 resulted in a 30% increase of the amounts of CD₁₀–CD₁₃ synthesized after 5 h of reaction. The addition of 20% ethanol increased the yield of CD₁₄–CD₂₁ up to 1000%. The hydrolysis of the large-ring CD by the CGTases was suppressed in the presence of ethanol. The ring-opening coupling cyclization reactions of the CGTase were effected differently by the organic solvent which may contribute to the observed increase of the yield and size of the CD obtained in the synthesis reactions.