Three-component diastereoselective cascade synthesis of thiohydantoins

A new three-component cascade reaction for the synthesis of thiohydantoins is reported. The reaction between α-amino esters, nitrostyrenes, and aromatic isothiocyanates is efficiently promoted by organic bases to afford highly substituted thiohydantoins in moderate to good yields and diastereoselectivities.     

Enatioselective organocatalytic synthesis of highly functionalized tetrahydrothiophenes by a Michael-aldol cascade reaction

A catalytic asymmetric Michael-aldol cascade process for efficient synthesis of trisubstituted tetrahydrothiophenes is reported with high enantio- and diastereo-selectivities. Notably, three consecutive stereogenic centers including one chiral quaternary carbon center are efficiently created in the ‘one-pot’ operation.     

Direct amino acid-catalyzed cascade biomimetic reductive alkylations: application to the asymmetric synthesis of Hajos-Parrish ketone analogues

A direct amino acid-catalyzed chemo- and enantioselective process for the double cascade synthesis of highly substituted 2-alkyl-cyclopentane-1,3-diones, 2-alkyl-3-methoxy-cyclopent-2-enones and Hajos-Parrish (H-P) ketone analogs is presented via reductive alkylation chemistry. For the first time, we have developed a single-step alkylation of cyclopentane-1,3-dione with aldehydes/ketones and a Hantzsch ester through an organocatalytic reductive alkylation strategy. A direct combination of amino acid-catalyzed cascade olefination-hydrogenation and cascade Robinson annulations of cyclopentane-1,3-dione, aldehydes/ketones, a Hantzsch ester and methyl vinyl ketone furnished the highly functionalized H-P ketone analogues in good to high yields and with excellent enantioselectivities. Many of the reductive alkylation products have shown direct applications in pharmaceutical chemistry.     

Direct ionic liquid promoted organocatalyzed diazo-transfer reactions: diversity-oriented synthesis of diazo-compounds

A practical and novel ionic liquid promoted organocatalytic selective diazo-transfer process for the synthesis of highly substituted diazo-compounds in high yields is reported. The ionic liquid can be reused without affecting the reaction rates or yields over five runs.     

Facile synthesis of 1,4-benzodiazepin-3-ones from o-bromobenzylamines and amino acids via a cascade coupling/condensation process

CuI-catalyzed coupling of 2-bromobenzylamines and α-amino acids and subsequent condensative cyclization (directly or mediated with DPPA) provides 1,4-benzodiazepin-3-ones in moderate yields. Using l-proline and l-valine as the starting materials enantiopure products are obtained although partial racemization occurs for other amino acids.     

Organocatalytic enantioselective multicomponent cascade reaction: facile access to tetrahydropyridines with C3 all-carbon quaternary stereocenters

A novel organocatalytic asymmetric multicomponent cascade reaction for the synthesis of valuable tetrahydropyridines has been developed. The merit of this cascade process is highlighted by its high efficiency of producing five new bonds and an all-carbon quaternary stereocenter in one operation, which otherwise is a big challenge to access by traditional strategies.     

Organocatalyzed stereoselective construction of N-formylpiperidines via a Michael-aza-Henry-hemiaminalization reaction cascade

An efficient asymmetric synthesis of N-formylpiperidines via an organocatalytic Michael-aza-Henry-hemiaminalization reaction cascade of an aldehyde, a nitroalkene, and an N-arylideneformamide is reported. The reaction is triggered by diphenylprolinol trimethylsilyl ether and creates two C-C and one C-N bonds leading to the formation of highly enantio-enriched N-formylpiperidines with five contiguous chiral centers in a one-pot operation.     

Synthesis of highly decorated chiral 2-nitro-cyclohexane carboxylic esters through microwave-assisted organocatalyzed cascade reactions

Starting from (E)-β-substituted-β-nitroacrylates and α,β-unsaturated ketones, a stereoselective organocatalyzed one-pot methodology allowed to synthesize highly decorated chiral 2-nitro-cyclohexane carboxylic esters. The reaction is promoted by Cinchona alkaloid-derived primary amines in the presence of an acidic co-catalyst and affords two diastereoisomers, in good yields and high enantiomeric excess (often higher than 90% ee). By replacing conventional heating with microwave irradiation, cleaner reactions in shortened times (from 48 h to 30 min) were obtained, with improved dr (80:20) and high ee (up to 94%). The application of microwave technology to this organocatalytic methodology allowed also employing C1 substituted enones, leading to cyclohexanones with four contiguous stereocenters in two isomers only, and up to 99% enantioselectivity.     

Highly enantioselective organocatalytic cascade reaction for the synthesis of piperidines and oxazolidines

The synthesis of piperidines and piperidines derivatives in enantiopure fashion has been a challenging goal for organic chemists. In this report we developed a nice cascade reaction for piperidine derivatives based in an amidomalonate Michael addition to enals followed by an intramolecular hemiaminal formation with good yields and enantioselectivities. Moreover we studied the ‘in situ’ intramolecular cyclization of this hemiaminals with alcohols forming fused piperidine-oxazolidines.     

A novel and green protocol for two-carbon homologation: a direct amino acid/K2CO3-catalyzed four-component reaction of aldehydes, active methylenes, Hantzsch esters and alkyl halides

A novel and green approach for the two-carbon homologation of aldehydes using amino acid catalysis has been developed and further extended to the generation of pharmaceutically active cyano-esters via four-component reactions in one-pot.     

Organocatalytic synthesis of α-quaternary amino acid derivatives via aza-Friedel-Crafts alkylation of indoles with simple α-amidoacrylates

The first (organo)catalytic method for regio- and chemoselective aza-Friedel-Crafts (FC) alkylation of indoles and pyrroles with commercially available methyl α-acetamidoacrylates has been discovered. It minimizes/eliminates common competing reactions that occur due to the high and multiatom-nucleophilic character of indole and pyrrole. Diverse quaternary α-amino acids were successfully prepared in good yield and high selectivity using low catalyst loading. The enantioselective variant using BINOL-derived phosphoric acids was also explored with indole providing the desired F-C alkylation product with moderate enantioselectivities.     

Enantioselective organocatalytic synthesis of medicinally privileged 2-amino-4H-chromene-3-carbonitriles via a cascade process

An efficient organocatalytic cascade approach toward medicinally privileged 2-amino-4H-chromene-3-carbonitriles is reported. The enantioselective synthesis of these compounds is achieved in high yields and good to high ee values (up to 96% yield and 89% ee) using bifunctional amine-thiourea organocatalysts developed in our laboratory.     

Direct organocatalytic hydroalkoxylation of α,β-unsaturated ketones

The direct addition of a variety of alcohols to in situ activated olefins was observed in the presence of mild bifunctional amine/acid catalysts. Unlike existing methods, the reactions proceed at room temperature and in the absence of transition metals. The use of simple commercially available catalysts, amines and acids makes this an attractive method for the preparation of β-alkoxy ketones, which are prevalent targets and intermediates in organic synthesis.     

Synthesis of phosphinic and phosphonic analogs of aromatic amino acids

The reaction of aryl and aralkyl aldoximes with hypophosphorous acid resulted in aminophosphinic acids, which were oxidized into the corresponding aminophosphonic acids. Translated fromIzvestiya Akademii Nauk. Seriya Khimicheskaya, No. 1, pp. 137–140, January, 1997.     

Preparations and properties of amino acid/dodecylamine/ibuprofen/H2O vesicles and microspheres

Stable vesicles and microspheres are directly prepared in amino acid/dodecylamine (DA)/ibuprofen/H₂O system. Vesicle can be automatically formed in glycine/DA/H₂O system. No vesicle and microsphere are found in l-glutamic acid or l-histidine/DA/H₂O systems. When ibuprofen is added into amino acid/DA/H₂O system, vesicles and microspheres can be formed and coexisted. Ibuprofen can regulate the quantity ratios between the vesicles and the microspheres. The structure properties of amino acid affect on the stabilities of the vesicles and microspheres. The formation mechanisms of the vesicles and microspheres are also discussed in this paper.     

Lewis acid-catalyzed cascade radical addition/cyclization for the synthesis of 3-substituted isoindolin-1-one derivatives

Radical addition reactions to 2-formylbenzoate-derived hydrazones in the presence of a Lewis acid were developed. Under the reaction conditions, the resulting products were readily converted into 3-substituted isoindolin-1-one derivatives. Diastereoselective synthesis of 3-substituted isoindolin-1-one derivatives was also established employing L-proline as a chiral auxiliary. The cascade radical addition–cyclization reaction allows direct access to 3-substituted isoindolin-1-one derivatives under tin-free conditions.     

Use of hydrolases for the synthesis of cyclic amino acids

The synthesis of several cyclic amino acids that have all the necessary structural features to make them ideal scaffolds for use in medicinal chemistry is described. A key step in each synthesis is the use of hydrolase enzymes to define a chiral centre. In order to elaborate these building blocks into more complex molecules, crystallization and asymmetric hydrogenation were used to define further stereocentres.     

Bifunctional solid catalysts for chemoselective hydrogenation-cyclisation-amination cascade reactions of relevance for the synthesis of pharmaceuticals

The benzodiazepines olanzapine and clozapine are nowadays manufactured by a three-step process with a final yield below 50%. An approach to environmentally-friendly intensive processes consists in the development of multifunctional solid catalyst able to catalyze multistep reactions. Here, a bifunctional metal-acid solid catalyst has been prepared and is able to carry out hydrogenation-cyclisation-amination reactions in a cascade process. The catalytic system is illustrated for the synthesis of these important antipsychotics, being an alternative for the current industrial process that requires three steps batch reactions, using mineral acids and bases, and stoichiometric amounts of SnCl₂.     

XY-ZH compounds as potential 1,3-dipoles. Part 65: atom economic cascade synthesis of highly functionalized pyrimidinylpyrrolidines

The results of the reaction of aminomethyl heterocycles and 4,6-dimethyl-2-formylpyrimidine and of activated secondary amines with different aryl/heteroaryl or aliphatic aldehydes and N-methylmaleimide or maleimide are described. In the former case the reactions gave single diastereomers via endo-transition states whilst the latter gave a mixture of diastereomers, which are believed to arise from anti-dipoles via endo/exo transition states. The stereochemistry of the cycloadducts was determined by ¹H NMR and confirmed by X-ray crystallography.     

New chiral phase-transfer catalysts possessing a 6,6′-bridged ring on the biphenyl unit: application to the synthesis of α,α-dialkyl-α-amino acids

A new chiral phase-transfer catalyst possessing a 6,6′-bridged ring on the biphenyl unit has been developed for the practical synthesis of α,α-dialkyl-α-amino acids. This catalyst shows very high activity for the asymmetric alkylation of an alanine derivative to give α,α-dialkyl-α-amino acid derivatives with high enantioselectivities.