Kinetic resolution of poly(ethylene glycol)-supported carbonates by enzymatic hydrolysis

The enzyme-mediated enantioselective hydrolysis of poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG)-supported carbonates is disclosed. The water-soluble carbonates were prepared by immobilization of a racemic secondary alcohol (4-benzyloxy-2-butanol) onto low-molecular weight (av MW 550 and 750) monomethoxy PEG through a carbonate linker. For the screening of the hydrolytic enzymes, the substrate was enantioselectively hydrolyzed by commercially available lipase from porcine pancreas (PPL; Type II, Sigma) to afford the optically active compounds. In this system, the separation of the remaining (S)-substrate and the resulting (R)-alcohol was achieved by an extraction process without a laborious column chromatography. The (S)-carbonate was easily hydrolyzed with K₂CO₃ to afford the corresponding (S)-alcohol. Other MPEG-supported substrates were also hydrolyzed to afford the corresponding optically active alcohols.     

Enzyme-mediated enantioselective hydrolysis of soluble polymer-supported dendritic carbonates

The easy separation of optically active compounds from enzymatic kinetic resolution products by simple precipitation using poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG)-supported dendritic carbonates is disclosed. The water-soluble polymer-supported substrates were prepared by immobilization of (±)-1-phenylethanol onto a monomethoxy PEG (MPEG; av MW 5000) bearing a dendritic spacer through a carbonate linker. The enantioselective hydrolysis of the dendritic substrates of the 1st and 2nd generations using lipase from porcine pancreas (PPL; Type II, Sigma) smoothly proceeded, and a multimolecule of the corresponding (R)-alcohols was released from one molecule of the racemic substrates. The E values of the reactions at 0 °C in a mixed solvent (hexane/buffer = 9/1) were up to >200.     

Sodium carbonate as carbon dioxide source for the synthesis of cyclic carbonates containing the trifluoromethyl group

Trifluoromethylated cyclic carbonates were prepared through the palladium-promoted reaction of tertiary trifluoromethylated propargylic alcohols and sodium carbonate.     

Recent progress in stereoselective synthesis of cyclic organic carbonates and beyond

The recent developments in the stereoselective formation of cyclic organic carbonates are discussed, together with their use as intermediates in stereoselective synthesis of other valuable scaffolds.     

Enzyme-mediated enantioselective hydrolysis of soluble polymer-supported carboxylates

The enzyme-mediated enantioselective hydrolysis of water-soluble polymer-supported carboxylates is disclosed. The representative monomethoxy poly(ethylene glycol) (MPEG, av MW 5000)-supported substrate was synthesized by immobilization of (±)-1-phenylethanol onto the modified MPEG (MPEG/NH₂) through an carboxylate linker with a succinate spacer. For the screening of the hydrolytic enzymes, the substrate was enantioselectively hydrolyzed by lipase from Candida antarctica (Novozym 435) in a mixed solvent (hexane/buffer=9/1) at 30 °C to afford the remaining (S)-substrate and the resulting (R)-alcohol (E value>200). The products were easily separated by a simple procedure without any laborious column chromatography. The substrate was hydrolyzed with NaOH in MeOH/H₂O to afford the corresponding (S)-alcohol. We also found that the structure of the spacer between the MPEG moiety and the carboxylate linker strongly affected both the reactivity and enantioselectivity, and the substrate bearing a glutarate spacer gave the best result. Our procedure was applicable for the preparation of several optically active alcohols.     

Nano-sized polydopamine-based biomimetic catalyst for the efficient synthesis of cyclic carbonates

Polydopamine (PDA) is a biocompatible and biomimetic material. Herein, nano-sized PDA sphere was prepared and the combination of alkali metal halide and PDA was investigated as a catalyst for the synthesis of cyclic carbonates from epoxide and carbon dioxide. It was found that the activity of PDA could be obviously enhanced in the presence of alkali metal salts. After reaction, the catalyst and the products could be separated easily, and the catalyst was reusable. The origin of the high catalytic efficiency and the reaction mechanism were also discussed.     

Chemical fixation of carbon dioxide to cyclic carbonates under extremely mild conditions with highly active bifunctional catalysts

Chemical fixation of carbon dioxide to cyclic carbonates proceeds effectively under extremely mild temperature and pressure by using a bifunctional nucleophile–electrophile catalyst system of tetradentate Schiff-base aluminum complexes ((Salen)AlX) in conjunction with a quaternary ammonium salt (n-Bu₄NY) in the absence of any organic solvent. Electrophilicity of central Al³⁺ ion and the steric factor of substituent groups on the aromatic rings of (Salen)AlX (electrophile), and nucleophilicity and leaving ability of the anion Y⁻ of n-Bu₄NY (nucleophile) have a great effect on the catalytic activity of the bifunctional catalyst.     

Synthesis of bifunctional cyclic carbonates from CO2 catalysed by choline-based systems

Easily prepared choline iodide is an active catalyst for the synthesis of cyclic carbonates through the coupling reaction of CO₂ and epoxides using low pressure (1 MPa), moderate temperature (85 ºC) and green solvents (ethanol and propan-2-ol). The effects of reaction temperature, pressure, reaction time and amount of catalyst used were also investigated. The results showed moderate to high yields and excellent selectivities of cyclic carbonates with vinyl or acrylate groups under mild reaction conditions. The heterogenization of choline over a Merrifield resin gives access to a supported catalyst with good recyclability and reactivity that can be extended to a variety of terminal epoxide substrates.     

离子液体催化吲哚羟烷基化反应

报道了咪唑类离子液体催化吲哚和环状碳酸酯反应合成羟烷基吲哚,系统考察了反应时间、催化剂用量、反应温度和反应物比例对离子液体催化反应性能的影响.在优化的反应条件下,吲哚与碳酸乙烯酯或碳酸丙烯酯反应可高效地生成1-(2-羟乙基)吲哚、1-(2-羟丙基)吲哚及其相应的衍生物.离子液体的催化活性与离子液体中的阴离子有关,其催化活性顺序为BF₄^-﹤Br^-﹤Cl^-﹤OAc^-,与阴离子的碱度顺序一致.     

Enantioselective carboxylative cyclization of propargylic alcohol with carbon dioxide under mild conditions

An enantioselective carboxylative cyclization of propargylic alcohols and CO2 was realized under mild conditions,based on a kinetic resolution strategy,which enabled the synthesis of chiral cyclic carbonates and propargylic alcohols with promising yield and enantioselectivity simultaneously.     

Enantioselective <Emphasis Type="Italic">O</Emphasis>-allylic alkylation of Morita-Baylis-Hillman carbonates with oxime

The enantioselective O-allylic alkylation of acetophenone oxime with various Morita-Baylis-Hillman (MBH) carbonates has been accomplished by the catalysis of a commercially available cinchona alkaloid (DHQD)2PHAL. The corresponding O-allylic products were obtained in moderate to excellent yields up to 96% ee.     

Sequential asymmetric homoallenylation of primary amines with a palladium catalyst

Optically active bis(homoallenyl)amines bearing two chiral axes with the same sense of axial chirality were prepared by a one-pot, palladium-catalyzed sequential homoallenylation of primary amines with 2,3-allenyl phosphates.     

Resolution of non-protein amino acids via the microbial protease-catalyzed enantioselective hydrolysis of their N-unprotected esters

In the Aspergillus oryzae protease-catalyzed ester hydrolysis, substitution of N-unprotected amino acid esters for the corresponding N-protected amino acid esters resulted in a large enhancement of the hydrolysis rate, while the enantioselectivity was deteriorated strikingly when the substrates employed were the conventional methyl esters. This difficulty was overcome by employing esters bearing a longer alkyl chain such as the isobutyl ester. Utilizing this ester, amino acids carrying an aromatic side chain were resolved with excellent enantioselectivities (E=50 to >200). With amino acids bearing an aliphatic side chain also, good results in terms of the hydrolysis rate and enantioselectivity were obtained by employing such an ester as the isobutyl ester. Moreover, the enantioselectivity proved to be enhanced further by conducting the reaction at low temperature. This procedure was applicable to the case where the enantioselectivity was not high enough even by the use of the isobutyl ester.     

Co(III) porphyrin/DMAP: an efficient catalyst system for the synthesis of cyclic carbonates from CO2 and epoxides

CoTPP(Cl)/DMAP was found to be a highly active catalyst system for the chemical fixation of CO₂ via reaction with epoxides. The corresponding cyclic carbonate products are produced in high yield and selectivity for a variety of terminal mono and disubstituted epoxides. 1,2-Disubstituted internal epoxides were also investigated as substrates and found to react with very high stereospecificity.     

A DFT study on mechanisms of CO2 coupling with propargylic alcohols using alkali carbonates

The mechanisms of CO₂ coupling with the propargylic alcohol using alkali carbonates M₂CO₃ (M = Li, Na, K, Cs) have been investigated by means of density functional theory calculations. The calculations reveal that the target product tetronic acid (TA) is yielded through two stages: (a) the formation of the α-alkylidene cyclic carbonate (αACC) intermediate via Cs₂CO₃-mediated carboxylative cyclization of the propargylic alcohol with CO₂, and (b) the conversion of the αACC intermediate with Cs₂CO₃ to produce the cesium salt of the TA. Since the overall kinetic barriers for the two stages are comparable and affordable, the excellent chemoselectivity to the TA should be primarily originated from the high thermodynamic stability of the cesium salt of the TA. Moreover, relative to the TA, the possibility to yield the by-product acyclic carbonate can be excluded due to the both kinetics and thermodynamic inferiority. This result is different from the organic base-mediated reaction. Alternatively, our calculations predict that CsHCO₃ together generated with the cesium salt of the TA might also be an available mediating reagent for the incorporation of CO₂ with the propargylic alcohol. Compared to other alkali carbonates M₂CO₃ (M = Li, Na, K), the stronger basicity of Cs₂CO₃ and the lower ionic potential of cesium ion can raise the effective concentration of the αACC intermediate, and thus the conversion of the αACC intermediate into the cesium salt of the TA can be achieved with high yield.     

TiCl4-promoted intramolecular cyclization of 4-methoxy-5-arylethyl-1,3-dioxolan-2-ones: an expedient method to prepare 2-tetralones

DABCO is a very effective catalyst in the formation of 4-methoxy-5-arylethyl-1,3-dioxolan-2-ones 12 from the corresponding α-carbonatoaldehyde. Intramolecular cyclization of cyclic carbonates 12 promoted by TiCl₄ affords 2-tetralones 13 containing a variety of substituents in high yields.     

N,N‐dimethylaminopyridine as initiator in the copolymerization of diglycidylether of bisphenol A with six‐membered cyclic carbonates

N,N‐Dimethylaminopyridine (DMAP) was used as initiator to cure mixtures of diglycidylether of bisphenol A (DGEBA) and 1,3‐dioxan‐2‐one (TMC) or 5,5‐dimethyl‐1,3‐dioxan‐2‐one (DMTMC). The curing was studied by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and Fourier transform infrared in the attenuated‐total‐reflection mode (FTIR/ATR). FTIR/ATR was used to monitor the competitive reactive processes and to quantify the evolution of the groups involved in the curing. We observed the formation of five‐membered cyclic carbonates and anionic carbonate groups that remain unreacted at the chain ends. The formation of these groups was explained by the attack of the anionic propagation species on the methylene carbon of the carbonate group, which leads to an alkyl‐oxygen rupture. By performing the cure in the thermobalance we could evaluate the loss of CO₂ produced in the samples containing carbonates. The kinetics were studied by DSC and analyzed with isoconversional procedures. The addition of carbonates slows down the curing rate. Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and dynamic mechanical thermal analysis (DMTA) experiments were used to evaluate the properties of the materials obtained. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 44: 2873–2882, 2006     

Titanocene dichloride/KI: an efficient catalytic system for synthesis of cyclic carbonates from epoxides and CO2

Titanocene dichloride (Cp₂TiCl₂)/KI was developed to be an efficient catalytic system for the cycloaddition of CO₂ to epoxides to synthesize relevant cyclic carbonates from epoxides and CO₂. Various influencing factors on the coupling reaction, such as co‐catalyst, temperature, CO₂ pressure and reaction time, were investigated. The optimal reaction conditions were KI as co‐catalyst, 150 °C reaction temperature, 12 atm CO₂ pressure and 4 h reaction time using THF as solvent for the synthesis of propylene carbonate in 98% yield. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Dimethylzinc-initiated radical reaction of cyclic ethers with arylamines, alkoxyamines, and dialkylhydrazines

Dimethylzinc-initiated radical reaction of THF with arylamines afforded aminoalcohols which were derived from the two molecules of THF and one molecule of an arylamine. The reaction seems to proceed via two-consecutive processes, electrophilic and then nucleophilic reactions of THF-derived species. Alkoxyamines and dialkylhydrazines reacted with electrophilic cyclic ether species to give the corresponding oximes and hydrazones of ω-hydroxyalkanal.