A general asymmetric synthesis of syn- and anti-beta-substituted cysteine and serine derivatives

A stereodivergent synthetic route has been developed to make the optically pure anti- and syn-beta-substituted cysteine and serine derivatives. In this approach, the key intermediates, > 94% enantiomerically pure cyclic sulfates 3 and aziridines 7, were prepared from alpha,beta-unsaturated esters 1, employing the Sharpless asymmetric dihydroxylation. The high regio- and stereoselective ring-opening reactions of cyclic sulfates and aziridines provided enantiomerically pure beta-substituted cysteine and serine derivatives.     

Asymmetric Diels-Alder reactions with 5-menthyloxy-2-(5H)-furanone

A new class of chiral dienophiles, 5-alkoxy-2(5H)-furanones, has been developed. Both enantiomers of 5-menthyloxy-2(5H)-ftiranone are readily available in enantiomerically pure form, starting from furfural and d- or l-menthol. Excellent diastereoselectivities (d.e. β99%) are obtained in thermal Diels-Alder reactions with several cyclic and acyclic dienes. The use of silyl dienol ethers has resulted in new routes to enantiomerically pure cyclohexanones in a highly regioselective manner.     

An improved synthesis of aziridine-2,3-dicarboxylates via azido alcohols—epimerization studies

The reasons for epimerization of 3-azido-2-hydroxysuccinates observed during the ring opening of epoxides or cyclic sulfites with sodium azide is now clarified. It is caused by the high acidity of the proton at the 3-position. This is proven by a proton deuterium exchange in assays with either D₂O or DCl containing solvents. The anti-3-azido-2-hydroxysuccinates serve as intermediates for enantiomerically pure trans-aziridine-2,3-dicarboxylates for which an optimized synthetic pathway is presented. The first example of an enantiomerically pure mixed diester of the aziridine-2,3-dicarboxylic acid the synthesis of the allyl ethyl ester is reported herein.     

Chiral macrocyclic aliphatic oligoimines derived from trans-1,2-diaminocyclohexane

Aliphatic dialdehydes of rigid structures having a cyclohexane, a bicyclo[2.2.2]octane or a [7]triangulane skeleton, have been condensed with enantiomerically pure trans-1,2-diaminocyclohexane to give [3+3] or [2+2] macrocyclization products. Unlike acyclic aliphatic imines, these macrocyclic oligoimines show enhanced stabilities and their structures in the crystals could be determined by X-ray diffraction analyses. The enantiomerically pure [7]triangulane dialdehyde showed remarkable diastereoselectivity in the condensation with the two enantiomers of trans-1,2-diaminocyclohexane: only one of the enantiomers gave a [2+2] macrocyclization product. Circular dichroism measurements combined with computational analysis show that the lowest energy electronic transition in these cyclic oligoimines is of n-pi* type.     

Diastereoselective [2+2]-cycloaddition reactions of unsymmetrical cyclic ketenes with imines: synthesis of modified prolines and theoretical study of the reaction mechanism

The synthesis of enantiomerically pure modified proline derivatives was achieved by using spiro beta-lactams as starting material that were prepared in turn by the [2+2]-cycloaddition of unsymmetrical cyclic ketenes with optically active imines. A theoretical study of the [2+2]-cycloaddition reaction, using density-functional methods, gave insights on the origin of the observed stereoselectivity of the Staudinger reaction. The spiro beta-lactams were transformed in the N-Boc derivatives and subjected to nucleophilic ring opening, affording the corresponding enantiomerically pure modified proline derivatives, isolated as orthogonally protected compounds.     

beta-Hydroxysulfoxides as chiral cyclic ketone equivalents: enantioselective synthesis of polysubstituted cyclohexanones,cyclohexenones and cyclohexenediones

The beta-hydroxysulfoxide moiety, after oxidation to sulfone, acts as a masked carbonyl group in a cyclic system, opening an easy access to differently substituted enantiomerically pure cyclic ketones by means of aluminium-mediated conjugate additions, stereoselective reductions and elimination by retrocondensation in basic medium.     

Synthesis of optically active functionalised cyclic ketimines and their application in enantioselective catalysis

The synthesis of enantiomerically pure cyclic ketimines attached to moieties containing additional donor atoms is described. The resulting optically active chelating ligands are tested in the rhodium-catalysed enantioselective hydrosilylation of acetophenone with respect to their inductive potential.     

Development of chiral stabilised azomethine ylids: A chiral memory relay system.

Chiral, stabilised azomethine ylids incorporated in cyclic templates derived from (R)- or (S)-2-phenylglycinol and (S)-valine undergo enantioselective 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition reactions with a variety of dipolarophiles. Removal of the template in the case of adducts derived originally from (S)-valine furnishes enantiomerically pure -substituted proline derivatives.     

Access to optically pure 4- and 5-substituted lactones: a case of chemical-biocatalytical cooperation

Optically pure or highly enantiomerically enriched 4- and 5-substituted lactones are rather difficult to obtain. Chemical or enzymatic syntheses alone are not particularly successful. A combination of chemical catalysis and biocatalysis, however, provides a convenient route to a variety of these useful chiral compounds. In this paper we describe the synthesis of several optically pure 4- and 5-substituted lactones obtained via whole cell-catalyzed Baeyer-Villiger oxidations of highly enantiomerically enriched 3-alkyl cyclic ketones. Such chiral ketones are readily accessed by recently developed copper-catalyzed asymmetric conjugate reductions of the corresponding enones. A very high proximal regioselectivity and complete chirality transfer was obtained by employing biological Baeyer-Villiger oxidations, using recombinant E. coli strains that overexpress cyclopentanone monooxygenase (CPMO). A comparative study showed that CPMO gives superior results to those obtained with cyclohexanone monooxygenase (CHMO) catalyzed oxidations.     

Asymmetric synthesis of cyclic alpha-amino phosphonates using masked oxo sulfinimines (N-sulfinyl imines)

Five-, six-, and seven-membered cyclic alpha-amino phosphonates, amino acid surrogates, are prepared in enantiomerically pure form via the highly diastereomeric addition of metal phosphonates to masked oxo sulfinimines. Hydrolysis of the resulting masked oxo alpha-amino phosphonates followed by reduction of the intermediate cyclic imino phosphonates affords the title compounds in good yield.     

An Efficient Total Synthesis of Carbocyclic 2′-Deoxyribonucleosides

The present work describes a new and efficient method for the preparation of either racemic or enantiomerically pure carbocyclic 2′-deoxyribonucleosides 1 . Key steps are the efficient assembly of the racemic carbocyclic 2′-deoxyribose core (±)- 12 , its enzymatic resolution, and a new approach to covalently link the purine and pyrimidine bases with the cyclopentane moiety via the cyclic sulfate (+)- 19 . This total synthesis of enantiomerically pure and racemic carbocyclic 2′-deoxyribonucleosides 1 represents one of the most efficient approaches reported to date. Starting from cyclopentadiene, the four carbocycles corresponding to the naturally occurring 2′-deoxyribonucleosides could be prepared in 12 steps and 9–12% overall yield. For the corresponding racemic compounds, 10 steps were used with overall yields between 22 and 30%.     

Enantioselective construction of carbobicyclic scaffolds

Allylic and benzylic Grignard reagents smoothly open phenylalkynyl-activated cyclic trisubstituted epoxides at the more substituted carbon atom to give secondary alcohols with a chiral quaternary center. These alcohols are good substrates for the construction of enantiomerically pure carbobicyclic scaffolds through intramolecular alkylation.     

Highly stereoselective reduction of acyclic α-sulfinyl ketimines: synthesis of enantiomerically pure β-aminosulfoxides

The DIBAL reduction of enantiomerically pure α-sulfinyl ketimines can be achieved almost completely stereoselectively under ZnX₂ catalysis, regardless of the alkyl or aryl substituent at nitrogen and the aliphatic (cyclic or acyclic) or aromatic character of the imine. Steric factors as well as the electrophilic character of the hydride are responsible for the stereochemical course of the reduction.     

C-Phosphanylated sulfoximines: synthesis and applications in asymmetric allylic substitution reactions

Starting from cyclic sulfonimidates, a number of C-phosphanylated enantiomerically pure sulfoximines have been prepared either as such or in protected form. Two of them, 5a and epi-5a, have been used as ligands in palladium complex catalyzed allylic substitution reactions delivering the substitution product with up to 95% ee.     

Asymmetric electrophilic amination of various carbon nucleophiles with enantiomerically pure chiral N-h oxaziridines derived from camphor and fenchone

The first two stable enantiomerically pure chiral N-H oxaziridines, derived from camphor and fenchone, are shown to act as electrophilic sources of nitrogen upon reaction with various carbon nucleophiles. Nitrogen is transferred, together with the camphor/fenchone unit, when deprotonated esters, malonates, and nitriles are used as nucleophiles. One of the ester or nitrile units in the substrate usually undergoes hydrolysis; a cyclic mechanism is proposed to account for this observation.     

Enantiomerically pure chiral coordination polymers: synthesis, spectroscopy, and electrochemistry in solution and on surfaces

The two enantiomerically pure bridging ligands (+/-)-[ctpy-x-ctpy] have been prepared employing a two-fold stereospecific alkylation reaction of the enantiomerically pure, chiral terpyridyl-type ligands (+/-)-ctpy. The reaction of each of the enantiomerically pure bridging ligands with Fe(2+) gives rise to chiral coordination polymers whose formation and stoichiometry were followed spectrophotometrically. An assignment of the absolute configuration of the formed helical polymeric structures was carried out on the basis of circular dichroism studies. Highly ordered domains (as determined from STM imaging) of the enantiomerically pure chiral redox polymers could be prepared via the interfacial reaction, over an HOPG substrate, of the bridging ligand in CH(2)Cl(2) and FeSO(4) in water. The degree of polymerization was estimated to be up to 60 from analysis of the STM images of the highly ordered domains on HOPG. The helicality of the domains was compared to the configuration obtained from the circular dichroism studies. The electrochemical properties of the polymers were investigated using cyclic voltammetry and the results compared to those of the respective monomeric complexes. The redox behavior of the iron centers in the polymer was comparable to that of the monomeric complex [Fe((-)-ctpy)(2)](PF(6))(2) as well as to that of [Fe(tpy)(2)](PF(6))(2). The polymeric materials undergo electrodeposition following the two-electron reduction of each bridging ligand unit (one electron per terpyridine group). No ligand-mediated metal-metal interactions were evident from the cyclic voltammetric measurements, suggesting that the metal centers act independently. Moreover, oxidation of the metal centers within the polymeric materials did not give rise to electrodeposition.     

An efficient and versatile approach for optical resolution of C2-symmetric axially chiral biaryl dials. Synthesis of enantiopure biaryl-derived cyclic trans-1,2-diols

An efficient and practical method for optical resolution of axially chiral biaryl dials using enantiomeric tert-butanesulfinamide as resolving agent was developed. The approach offers a very convenient and straightforward access to versatile enantiomerically pure C2-symmetric biaryl dials in good yields. With the obtained axially chiral dials, stereoselective synthesis of a series of cyclic trans-1,2-diols in optically pure form was investigated.     

Temperature‐Controlled Bidirectional Enantioselectivity in a Dynamic Catalyst for Asymmetric Hydrogenation

Asymmetric catalysis using enantiomerically pure catalysts is one of the most widely used methods for the preparation of enantiomerically pure compounds. The separate synthesis of both enantiomerically pure compounds requires tedious and time‐consuming preparation of both enantiomerically pure catalysts or chiral separation of the racemic products. Here, we report a stereochemically flexible diastereomeric rhodium(I) catalyst for asymmetric hydrogenations of prochiral (Z)‐α‐acetamidocinnamates and α‐substituted acrylates, which changes its enantioselectivity depending on the temperature to produce each enantiomerically pure compound in high yield with constant high enantioselectivity over time. The same axially chiral rhodium(I) catalyst produces (R)‐phenylalanine derivatives in enantiomeric ratios of up to 87:13 (R/S) at low temperature and up to 3:97 (R/S) of the corresponding S enantiomers after re‐equilibration of the same catalyst at elevated temperature.     

An access to 3,4-(aminomethano)proline in racemic and enantiomerically pure form

Protected racemic and enantiomerically pure 3,4-(aminomethano)prolines rac-9 and (2S,2'R,3R,4R)-9 have been prepared applying a titanium-mediated reductive cyclopropanation as a key step. Thus, cyclopropanations of N,N-dibenzylformamide with titanacyclopropanes generated in situ from racemic or enantiomerically pure tert-butyl N-Boc-3,4-dehydroprolinates rac-8 or (S)-8 proceed diastereoselectively, and furnish the protected racemic and enantiomerically pure diamino acid 9. The latter was incorporated into three tripeptides containing glycyl, alanyl and phenylalanyl moieties.     

Diels-Alder approach to tetra-ortho-substituted biaryls employing propargylic tertiary alcohols as dienophiles

The efficient synthesis of a series of tetra-ortho-substituted biaryls is described utilizing a Diels-Alder reaction between propargylic tertiary alcohols and cyclic oxygenated dienes. The successful resolution of one of the biaryls is achieved through derivatization with menthyl chloroformate followed by crystallization. The menthyl carbamate is cleaved under basic conditions to reveal enantiomerically pure biaryl compounds.