Diastereoselective addition of diethyl difluoromethylphosphonate to enantiopure sulfinimines: synthesis of α,α-difluoro-β-aminophosphonates, phosphonic acids, and phosphonamidic acids

Addition of diethyl lithiodifluoromethylphosphonate to enantiomerically pure aromatic, heteroaromatic, and aliphatic aldehyde-derived sulfinimines afforded N-sulfinyl α,α-difluoro-β-aminophosphonates with generally good enantioselectivity and in high yield. The reaction with acetophenone-derived sulfinimine resulted in the formation of the addition product with high diastereoselectivity and in only moderate yield. A two-step deprotection involving treatment of diastereomerically pure N-sulfinyl α,α-difluoro-β-aminophosphonates with trifluoroacetic acid in EtOH followed by refluxing with 10 N HCl provided enantiopure α,α-difluoro-β-aminophosphonates and α,α-difluoro-β-aminophosphonic acids. The N-Cbz derivative of (R)-2-amino-1,1-difluoro-2-phenylethylphosphonate was a convenient starting point for the preparation of corresponding difluorophosphonate monoester, difluorophosphonic acid, and difluorophosphonamidic acid. At 21 °C difluorophosphonamidic acid was stable in aqueous solution at pH above 5.     

A chiral pool approach for asymmetric syntheses of both antipodes of equol and sativan

For the first time, both antipodes of the isoflavans, equol and sativan were synthesized in >98% ee with good overall yields starting from readily available starting materials. The chiral isoflavan, (?)-equol is produced from soy isoflavones, formonentin and daidzein by the action of intestinal bacteria in certain groups of population and other chiral isoflavans are reported from various phytochemical sources. To produce these chiral isoflavans in gram quantities, Evans' enantioselective aldol condensation was used as a chiral-inducing step to introduce the required chirality at the C-3 position. Addition of chiral boron-enolate to substituted benzaldehyde resulted in functionalized syn-aldol products with >90% yield and excellent diastereoselectivity. Functional group transformations followed by intramolecular Mitsunobu reaction and deprotection steps resulted the target compounds, S-(?)-equol and S-(+)-sativan, with high degree of enantiopurity. By simply switching the chiral auxiliary to (S)-4-benzyloxazolidin-2-one and following the same synthetic sequence the antipodes, R-(+)-equol and R-(?)-sativan were achieved. Both enantiomers are of interest from a clinical and pharmacological perspective and are currently being developed as nutraceutical and pharmacological agents. This flexible synthetic process lends itself quite readily to the enantioselective syntheses of other biologically active C-3 chiral isoflavans.     

Enantioselective syntheses of candenatenins B and C using a chiral anthracene auxiliary

The asymmetric syntheses of two anticancer natural products, candenatenins B and C, are described, leading to a revision of the originally assigned stereochemistries. The syntheses follow a Diels-Alder/retro-Diels Alder strategy using a chiral anthracene auxiliary to access both targets with 90% ee. The inherent structural qualities of the auxiliary allow for both regio- and diastereoselective transformations.     

Recent advances in asymmetric reactions catalyzed by chiral phosphoric acids

The very recent advances in chiral phosphoric acids (CPAs) catalyzed asymmetric reactions are discussed.     

Titanium mediated asymmetric aldol reaction with α-fluoropropionimide enolates

Aldol reaction utilising Evans N-(α-fluoropropyl)-2-oxazolidinones with TiCl₄ have been explored. Reactions of N-(α-fluoropropyl)-2-oxazolidinones with aliphatic aldehydes generated α-fluoro-β-hydroxy-aldol products with high diastereoselectivities. When (αR)- and (αS)-N-(α-fluoropropyl)-2-(4S)-oxazolidinones were explored as substrates they gave rise to identical aldol diastereoisomer products. Examination of the enolates formed in each case by ¹⁹F NMR, after treatment with TiCl₄, indicated that both preparations gave the same predominant enolate. This was assumed to be the E-enolate. The α-fluoro-β-hydroxy-aldol products were removed from the auxiliary either by alcoholysis or reduction and converted to the corresponding α,β-difluoro products by treatment with Deoxofluor™.     

Remote stereocontrol by sulfinyl groups: asymmetric alkylation of chiral 2-p-tolylsulfinyl benzyl carbanions

Alkylation reactions of the benzyllithiums derived from enantiomerically pure 2-p-tolylsulfinyl alkylbenzenes have been carried out with excellent yields and high de. A lithiation-substitution sequence, stereochemically controlled by a remote sulfoxide, accounts for the experimental results.     

Development of chiral heteroleptic magnesium amides; asymmetric deprotonations mediated by six-membered metallocyclic amidomagnesium naphtholates

A series of enantioenriched six-membered metallocyclic amidomagnesium naphtholates were prepared and used to probe the structure–reactivity/selectivity relationships of heteroleptic magnesium base complexes within asymmetric deprotonation reactions. An effective complex was identified and applied within enantioselective enolisation processes, delivering good levels of enantioselectivity and also revealing key structural requirements for achieving such selectivity.     

Enantioselective synthesis induced by chiral organic-inorganic hybrid silsesquioxane in conjunction with asymmetric autocatalysis

5-Pyrimidyl alkanol with up to 96% ee was formed using chiral organic-inorganic hybrid silsesquioxane in the enantioselective addition of diisopropylzinc to pyrimidine-5-carbaldehyde, in conjunction with asymmetric autocatalysis.     

Asymmetric synthesis of α,α-difluoro-β-amino phosphonic acids using sulfinimines

Addition of diethyl lithiodifluoromethylphosphonate to enantiopure sulfinimines afforded the corresponding N-sulfinyl α,α-difluoro-β-amino phosphonates with good diastereoselectivity. A two-step deprotection involving treatment of diastereomerically pure N-sulfinyl α,α-difluoro-β-amino phosphonates with trifluoroacetic acid in EtOH followed by refluxing with 10 N HCl afforded enantiopure α,α-difluoro-β-amino phosphonic acids.     

Catalytic asymmetric reactions in alkaloid and terpenoid syntheses

Catalytic asymmetric induction is one of the most important methods in current synthetic organic chemistry for designing efficient and attractive synthetic routes. The efficient total synthesis of a natural product can be achieved through the identification of appropriate method and strategy. This Letter introduces the catalytic asymmetric syntheses of alkaloids and terpenoids based on an overview of four recently reported types of asymmetric reaction: (1) asymmetric decarboxylative allylation, (2) organocatalytic cascade reaction, (3) polyene cyclization, and (4) asymmetric [2+2]-photocycloaddition catalyzed by a chiral Lewis acid.     

Design and synthesis of a new polymer-supported Evans-type oxazolidinone: an efficient chiral auxiliary in the solid-phase asymmetric alkylation reactions

Wang resin-supported Evans' chiral auxiliary (23) was designed based on a novel polymer-anchoring strategy, which utilizes the 5-position of the oxazolidinone ring, and its new synthetic route applicable to multi-gram preparation in just a day was developed. Solid-phase Evans' asymmetric alkylation on 23-derived N-acylimide resin and following lithium hydroperoxide-mediated chemoselective hydrolysis afforded the corresponding α-branched carboxylic acids in desired high stereoselectivities (up to 97% ee) and moderate to good overall yield (up to 70%, for 3 steps), which were comparable to those of the conventional solution-phase methods. Furthermore, recovery and recycling of the polymer-supported chiral auxiliary were successfully achieved without decreasing the stereoselectivity of the product. Therefore, this is the first successful example that the solid-phase Evans' asymmetric enolate-alkylation was efficiently performed on the solid-support, and it is concluded that the connection to the solid-support via the 5-position of the oxazolidinone ring is an ideal strategy in the solid-phase Evans' chiral auxiliary.     

Ni(II)/mono-RuPHOX-catalyzed asymmetric addition of alkenylboronic acids to cyclic aldimines

A Ni(II)-catalyzed asymmetric addition of alkenylboronic acids to aldimines has been developed employing a mono-RuPHOX ligand. A series of cyclic aldimines and alkenylboronic acids are tolerated under our catalytic system, giving various chiral allylamines in good yields and ees.     

Asymmetric synthesis of enantiomerically pure 4-aminoglutamic acids via methylenedimerization of chiral glycine equivalents with dichloromethane under operationally convenient conditions

We found that simple stirring of a biphasic mixture of the Ni(II) complex of glycine Schiff base 2 solution in dichloromethane with 30% aqueous NaOH in the presence of PT catalyst ⁿBu₄N⁺Br⁻ at room temperature for 24 h results in the formation of diastereo- and enantiomerically pure Ni(II) complex 3, containing (2S,4S) 4-aminoglutamic acid, in high chemical yield. The procedure described in this communication represents a synthetically efficient method for the asymmetric synthesis of 4-aminoglutamic acid on large scale.     

Acyclic chiral amines and amino acids as inexpensive and readily tunable catalysts for the direct asymmetric three-component Mannich reaction

The direct three-component asymmetric Mannich reaction catalyzed by acyclic chiral amines or amino acids is presented. Simple acyclic chiral amines and amino acids--such as alanine-tetrazole (9), alanine, valine, and serine-catalyzed the three-component asymmetric Mannich reactions between unmodified ketones, p-anisidine, and aldehydes with high chemo- and stereoselectivity, furnishing the corresponding Mannich bases with up to >99 % ee. This study demonstrates that the whole range of amino acids in nature, as well as nonproteogenic amino acid derivatives, can be considered in the design and tuning of novel, inexpensive organocatalysts for the direct asymmetric Mannich reaction.     

Application of modular nucleophilic glycine equivalents for truly practical asymmetric synthesis of β-substituted pyroglutamic acids

A new series of achiral glycine equivalents have been evaluated with respect to their synthetic utility for the production of β-substituted pyroglutamic acid derivatives. Among them, the piperidine-derived complex was found to be a superior glycine derivative for the Michael additions with various (R)-N-(E-enoyl)-4-phenyl-1,3-oxazolidin-2-ones representing a general and practical synthesis of sterically constrained β-substituted pyroglutamic acids. In particular, application of complex allowed for the first time preparation of the corresponding isopropyl derivatives thus increasing the synthetic efficiency and expanding generality these Michael addition reactions.     

Synthesis of a new fluorinated oxazolidinone and its reactivity as a chiral auxiliary in Aldol reactions

A new enantiomerically pure fluorinated oxazolidinone has been prepared from a fluorinated imidoyl chloride and an optically pure sulfoxide. The diastereoselective reduction of the β-iminosulfoxide thus formed followed by elimination of the sulfoxide and cyclization of the created aminoalcohol furnishes the desired product. The fluorinated oxazolidinone was subsequently used as a chiral auxiliary in Aldol reactions. We also found that the selective formation of the syn-Evans and syn-non-Evans diastereoisomer can be controlled by adjusting the Lewis acid/base ratio.     

Synthesis and applications of chiral bis-THF in asymmetric synthesis

The synthesis of enantiopure bis-THF is described, starting from d-mannitol. Bis-THF is used as chiral ligand for organolithium reagents in four different reactions. The enantioselectivity provided by this ligand is moderate, and the asymmetric induction is in line with the expected model.     

Stereoselective synthesis of (S)-dapoxetine: a chiral auxiliary mediated approach

An imidazolidin-2-one chiral auxiliary mediated acetate aldol reaction was explored in the enantioselective synthesis of (S)-dapoxetine (SSRI). The diastereoselective aldol adduct was transformed to highly enantiopure (S)-dapoxetine with overall good yield.     

anti-Selective direct asymmetric Mannich reactions catalyzed by chiral pyrrolidine-based amino sulfonamides

The novel pyrrolidine-based amino sulfonamides (R,R)-2, (S)-3, and (S)-4 were designed and synthesized as organocatalysts and successfully applied for the anti-selective direct asymmetric Mannich reaction.