Rearrangement or gem-difluorination of quinine and 9-epiquinine and their acetates in superacid

In HF-SbF₅, quinine 1a or its dihydrochloride rearranges into compound 3 (89%), the preferred conformation of the substrate favouring the observed cyclization. Under similar conditions epiquinine 2a dihydrochloride yields in equal amounts two 10,10-difluoro derivatives, epimeric at C-3. In this case, the more stable conformation of the substrate in which the benzylic hydroxyl group is ‘exo’ to the quinuclidyl moiety, prevents the cyclisation. Similarly acetates 1b and 2b give the corresponding 10,10-difluoro derivatives epimeric at C-3. Formation of gem-difluoro compounds implies the formation of chloro intermediates at C-10 followed by an hydride abstraction, yielding an α-chloronium ion. This one is trapped by a fluoride ion and leads to the product by halogen exchange.     

New approaches to enantioselective fluorination: Cinchona alkaloids combinations and chiral ligands/metal complexes

The selective construction of carbon-fluorine bonds is of great interest to medicinal chemists because the replacement of a hydrogen or an oxygen atom with a fluorine atom in biologically active molecules can confer the molecules with improved physicochemical properties and biological activities. Since the first discovery of enantioselective fluorination using N-fluorocamphorsultam, our synthetic interest had been focused on the development of chiral N-fluorosulfonamide derivatives capable of enantioselective fluorination. However, these initial efforts revealed several limitations in both chemical yields and enantioselectivities of the fluorinated products. We present here the background of our personal story of the enantioselective fluorination reaction and some successful applications of the methods to the design and synthesis of biologically active products. Two novel approaches using cinchona alkaloid/Selectfluor^® combinations and chiral ligands/metal complexes have been pursued, respectively. In addition, the recent advances in this area by other groups are also described briefly.     

Rearrangements accompanying fluorination of 2-amino alcohols and 1,2-diols with Deoxo-Fluor™

2-Amino alcohols and 1,2-diols treated with Deoxo-Fluor™ in methylene chloride resulted in the formation of rearranged major products concomitantly with minor amounts of the straightforward fluorinated replacement products in good yields.     

The structure of intermediate products of ‘fragmentation’ of 10-bromodihydrocinchonine

10-Bromodihydrocinchonine 1d, similarly to analogical derivatives of other main cinchona alkaloids, transforms into nicinquine and isonicinquine 2d formally loosing its C2 carbon atom in a form of formaldehyde. This reaction was found to proceed via the so-far unstudied intermediate compounds (5a) 4-S-(Z-propenyl)- and (5 4-S-(E-propenyl)-6-R-7-S-(quinolyl-4)-8-oxa-1-R-azabicyclo[4.3.0]nonane which at the same time are products of a novel rearrangement of the parent cinchonine. The stereostructure of these compounds was determined using, mainly, NMR techniques. The energy minima of conformers 5 and 5a were supported by molecular mechanics calculations. The mechanisms for the 1d → 5 → 2d sequence have been discussed. The alkaloid 5 is sterically preferred to its Z-isomer. The accompanying nucleophilic substitution (1d → 6) and elimination (1d → 7) are also stereospecific.     

Site selectivities in fluorination

In the synthesis of bio-active compounds, fluorinated compounds play a prominent role. However, the site-selective fluorination of organic molecules is often challenging, because activation of a reaction site using a fluorinating reagent can be difficult in a substrate possessing many functional groups. This digest introduces recent examples of site-selective fluorination reactions.     

Fluorination in superacids: a novel access to biologically active compounds

In HF-SbF₅, reaction of various alkaloids with NBS, NCS, H₂O₂ yields fluoroderivatives: anti-addition is observed at the C6C7 double bond with tabersonine, but a more complex reaction is operative with vindoline, leading to 7-substituted (Br, Cl, OH)-20-fluoro derivatives. A completely different reaction pathway is observed with bis indole alkaloids (vinblastine, anhydrovinblastine, vinorelbine) in HF-SbF₅. In the presence of NBS (or better of CCl₄ or CHCl₃), 20′,20′-difluoroderivatives are obtained. Vinflunine (20′,20′-difluoro-3′,4′-dihydrovinorelbine) has been selected for its promising antitumor activity.     

Reactivity of Vinca alkaloids in superacid: An access to vinflunine, a novel anticancer agent

This is a summary of a lecture presented at the 100th Anniversary, Moissan Symposium in Paris on Friday 10th November 2006.In HF/SbF₅, Vinca alkaloids react selectively at the D’ring of the molecule. In the presence of CHCl₃ (or CCl₄), vinorelbine yields 20′,20′-difluoro-3′,4′-dihydrovinorelbine (vinflunine), presently in phase III experimentation for treatment of bladder cancer and non small cell lung cancer.     

Electrophilic aromatic fluorination with fluorine: meta-Directed fluorination of anilines

Anilines are mainly or selectively fluorinated in the meta-position with F₂ when dissolved in triflic acid, sometimes in the presence of small quantities of antimony pentafluoride. The regioselectivity is increased when an electron-donating substituent is present at the para-position.     

Enantioseparation of various amino acid derivatives on a quinine based chiral anion-exchange selector at variable temperature conditions. Influence of structural parameters of the analytes on the apparent retention and enantioseparation characteristics

The influence of temperature on the performance of an enantioselective anion-exchange type chiral selector (SO) was systematically investigated. The resolution of the enantiomers of 23 N-acylated amino acids (selectands, SAs) on a covalently immobilized quinine tert.-butylcarbamate chiral stationary phase (CSP) was studied under linear chromatographic conditions over a temperature range of 0–85 °C with hydro–organic buffers (pH_a 6.0) as mobile phases. The apparent enantioseparation factors increased considerably at low column temperatures, indicating that enthalpic contributions are the dominating thermodynamic driving force for chiral recognition for all investigated SAs. Retention factors gave non-linear van’t Hoff plots, while the corresponding apparent enantioseparation factors showed linear van’t Hoff behavior. Correlations between magnitude and sign of the relative thermodynamic parameters of enantioselective adsorption (ΔΔG, ΔΔH and ΔΔS) and specific structural features of the analytes, i.e., steric and electronic nature of the various side chains and the N-acyl groups, are discussed with the aim to rationalize their possible contributions to the overall chiral recognition.     

Convenient fluorination of nitro and nitrile compounds with Selectfluor

A variety of nitro and nitrile compounds were fluorinated in good yields by Selectfluor under mild conditions. For these transformations to be successful, it is crucial to select proper amounts of an appropriate base as a function of the properties of the substrate and also to use Selectfluor only as required.     

Kinetics of tetrachloromethane fluorination by hydrogen fluoride in the presence of antimony pentachloride

Contradictory information concerning the kinetics of tetrachloromethane fluorination by anhydrous hydrogen fluoride in the presence of antimony pentachloride has been explained. The present studies were performed using a stainless steel autoclave. The exchange of the first chlorine atom was carried out in the temperature range of 35-95 °C, with the molar ratio of HF/CCl₄ varied within the range of 1.2-1.7 and at a constant molar ratio of SbCl₅/Cl₂ equal to 1.9. The degree of conversion of CCl₄ to CCl₃F and the reaction rate constant as a function of temperature fit to an Arrhenius straight line. The Arrhenius constants (pre-exponential factor) and the activation energy were determined. Studies concerning the exchange of the second chlorine atom, i.e. the conversion of CCl₃F to CCl₂F₂ have been performed. The results of kinetic investigations were created in the same way. Based on these results it was found that the Arrhenius equation is fulfilled also in the second stage of the fluorination. The same slope of the straight lines confirms that the fluorination stages proceed according to the same mechanism with the same activation energy but with different pre-exponential factors.Several kinetic problems associated with the performance of the reactor can be solved on the basis of the equations derived. However, knowledge of CCl₄ conversion as a function of time, temperature, catalyst concentration and the type of the reaction is required for this purpose. Such calculations enable the selection of the optimal process parameters.     

Controlled fluorination of clays

The fluorination of clays by a mild fluorinating reagent, HPF₆ was investigated using a sample of bentonite. The reaction resulted in the fluorination at the aluminum sites to form octahedral aluminum oxyfluoride species. This led to considerable modification of the surface characteristics such as surface area, porosity and particle size of nano-clay particles. The fluorinated clay was characterized by X-ray powder diffraction, XPS, SEM, EDS, infrared spectroscopy and solid-state NMR.     

Rate increases in the fluorination of bulky chlorosilanes caused by ultrasound or by water

The conversion of bulky chlorosilanes to fluorosilanes under anhydrous conditions with hexafluorosilicate salts is accelerated by ultrasound. The fluorination of sterically hindered chlorosilanes such as ^tBuPh₂SiCl, in the absence of ultrasound, is greatly accelerated by the addition of water to the reaction mixture.     

Mechanochemical electrophilic fluorination of liquid beta-ketoesters

An improved substrate scope for the mechanochemical electrophilic fluorination of dicarbonyls is reported. The applicable substrates have now been broadened to include liquid β-ketoesters. Key to this capability is the inclusion of a grinding auxiliary (NaCl) to improve mass transfer and prevent pasting or gumming of the reaction mixture. Notably, the use of a small amount of acetonitrile is critical to increasing the rate of reaction, ensuring complete consumption of starting materials during the short reaction times as well as improving the selectivity for the monofluorinated product in the mill.     

Contrast performance in catalytic ability—new cinchona phase transfer catalysts for asymmetric synthesis of α-amino acids

Two new cinchona phase transfer catalysts are prepared from dihydrocinchonidine using 13-picenylmethyl bromide and 1-pyrenylmethyl bromide, respectively. A total contrast in catalytic efficiency is observed during the asymmetric alkylation of glycinate esters; with one catalyst, the reaction is either incomplete or the enantioselectivity is very poor (15% ee) while the other catalyst afforded high selectivity up to 94% ee.     

Selective and efficient fluorination of chlorodiazines under solvent-free phase transfer catalysis

3-Chloro-6-phenylpyridazine, 2,3-dichloroquinoxaline and 1,4-dichlorophthalazine were reacted with KF under solvent-free conditions in the presence of a phase transfer agent, with or without microwave irradiation. The chlorine-fluorine exchanges were obtained with enhanced yields and selectivities when compared with previous methods.     

Molybdenum oxide-mediated facile aliphatic nucleophilic fluorination

A facile aliphatic nucleophilic fluorination with cesium fluoride in the presence of molybdenum oxide as a catalyst has been demonstrated. Reactivity of molybdenum oxide in nanocrystal form was found to be chemoselective in the presence of water. Furthermore, the reaction is highly specific with alkyl sulfonate substrates.     

Enzymatic fluorination using fluoride ion generated from degradation of fluorinated materials

The recycle of fluoride ion generated from the degradation of 1-methyl-3-butylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate, diethyl methyl methoxyethylammonium tetrafluoroborate in the presence of Tris-HCl buffer solution and/or the biodegradation of fluorobenzene and benzotrifluoride, was described. The generated fluoride ion was reused to produce 5′-fluoro-5′-deoxyadenosine (5′-FDA), fluoroacetate and/or 4-fluorothreonine.     

Catalytic fluorination of 1,3-dicarbonyl compounds using iodoarene catalysts

Catalytic fluorination of 1,3-dicarbonyl compounds with aqueous hydrofluoric acid proceeded efficiently with the aid of iodoarene catalysts in the presence of m-CPBA as a terminal oxidant. o-Iodotoluene, o-iodoanisole, and o-ethyliodobenzene showed a high catalytic efficiency to give 2-fluoro-1,3-dicarbonyl compounds in good yields.     

Cocatalysis in phase-transfer catalyzed fluorination of alkyl halides and sulfonates

Phase-transfer catalyzed (PTC) fluorination of alkyl halides and sulfonates with solid KF proceeds efficiently when cocatalyst triphenyltin fluoride is used. The cocatalytic action of the tin compound consists in continuous formation of difluorotriphenylstannate anion that as the tetraalkyloammonium salt enter the solution where it reacts with alkyl halides to produce alkyl fluorides. The cocatalytic system was used to synthesis of 1,1-difluoroalkanes in two steps from aldehydes. A new kind of PTC was elaborated in which Ph₃SnF acts as phase transfer catalyst via continuous formation of potassium salts of diflurotriphenylstannate anions soluble in dipolar aprotic solvents. A new, simple and general method of synthesis of tetraalkylammonium and potassium salts of difluorotriorgano-tin, silicon and germanium anions is reported.