Highly efficient prolinamide-based organocatalysts for the direct asymmetric aldol reaction in brine

Four prolinamide-based organocatalysts were readily synthesized and applied to the direct asymmetric aldol reactions of ketones and aromatic aldehydes in brine. When 2,4-dinitrophenol (DNP) was used as an acidic additive, 1 mol % low loading of 2b afforded aldol products with excellent diastereoselectivity of up to 98/2 dr and high enantioselectivity of up to 97% ee.     

Carbohydrate-based organocatalysts in direct asymmetric aqueous aldol reaction

Aldol reaction involving chiral amines as organocatalysts through enamine formation, like class-I aldolases, is one of the thriving areas of general interest and widely applicable asymmetric reactions. There are many natural and synthetic chiral templates known to work as efficient organocatalysts, but using carbohydrate templates for chiral induction in asymmetric aldol reactions is a relatively new area developed in the recent years. This review focuses on carbohydrates alone or their conjugates with previously known chiral moieties as organocatalysts for asymmetric aldol reactions.     

Highly efficient asymmetric aldol reaction in brine using a fluorous sulfonamide organocatalyst

A fluorous organocatalyst promotes direct asymmetric aldol reactions of aromatic aldehydes with ketones in brine to afford the corresponding anti-aldol products in high yield with up to 96% ee. Fluorous organocatalyst can be readily recovered by solid phase extraction using fluorous silica gel and reused without purification.     

Glucosamine-based primary amines as organocatalysts for the asymmetric aldol reaction

Glucosamine derivatives have been synthesized starting from commercially available N-acetyl-D-glucosamine/glucosamine hydrochloride and have been employed successfully as efficient organocatalysts for the direct asymmetric aldol reaction between cyclohexanone and aryl aldehydes having diversified substituents. Furthermore, the anomeric effect of various groups present at the anomeric position on the catalytic activity of these organocatalysts was also studied.     

New N-terminal prolyl-dipeptide derivatives as organocatalysts for direct asymmetric aldol reaction

A series of new N-terminal prolyl-dipeptide derivatives have been synthesized and evaluated as organocatalysts for the direct asymmetric aldol reaction of acetone with electron-deficient aromatic aldehydes. At room temperature, the presence of 10 mol % of catalysts 2 and 5 efficiently catalyzes the direct asymmetric aldol reaction to give the aldol adducts with modest to excellent enantiomeric excesses (ee) values, which are up to 96%.     

Highly efficient and reusable dendritic catalysts derived from N-prolylsulfonamide for the asymmetric direct aldol reaction in water

The direct aldol reactions catalyzed by chiral dendritic catalysts derived from N-prolylsulfonamide gave the corresponding products in high isolated yields (up to 99%) with excellent anti diastereoselectivities (up to >99:1) and enantioselectivities (up to >99% ee) in water. In addition, catalyst 1e may be recovered by precipitation and filtration and reused for at least five times without loss of catalytic activity.     

Primary amine catalyzed direct asymmetric aldol reaction assisted by water

l-Valine was found to be an active catalyst in the asymmetric direct aldol reaction. The aldol reaction of a variety of aromatic aldehydes with acetone was catalyzed by 20 mol % of l-valine at 35 °C with the aldol products obtained in moderate to good yields (48–83%) and enantiomeric excesses (42–72%). The reaction was more efficient catalytically with best results observed in the presence of 1 mol equiv of water, with respect to the aldehyde, in either DMSO or DMF as solvent. The effect of water concentration on the reaction rate and enantioselectivity was also investigated. Thus, with increasing water concentration in DMSO there was decreasing enantioselectivity. However, the reaction in the presence of l-phenylalanine showed a lower level of reactivity and enantioselectivity to afford the aldol in 25% with 31% ee. In marked contrast, reaction with l-phenylglycine resulted in the negligible formation of the aldol (<5%). Our results, suggest a new strategy in the design of new bioorganic catalysts for direct asymmetric aldol reactions.     

Thiazolidine-based organocatalysts for a highly enantioselective direct aldol reaction

A set of enantiopure thiazolidine-based organocatalysts have been synthesized from l-cysteine, in a straightforward manner allowing numerous structural variations. In particular, organocatalyst 3a exhibits the highest catalytic performance working in an aqueous medium. It catalyzed the direct catalytic asymmetric intermolecular aldol reaction between unmodified ketones and an aldehyde with excellent stereocontrol and furnished the corresponding aldol products in up to 99% ee. Compound 3a also showed excellent asymmetric catalytic activity in the asymmetric Michael reaction (up to 99% ee).     

Camphor containing organocatalysts in asymmetric aldol reaction on water

A new class of bifunctional organocatalysts were synthesized and proved to be effective in catalyzing aldol reaction on water with high to excellent diastereo- and enantioselectivities.     

Asymmetric direct aldol reaction of functionalized ketones catalyzed by amine organocatalysts based on bispidine

Organocatalysts containing primary-secondary amine based on bispidine and amino acid have been designed to catalyze the asymmetric direct aldol reaction of functionalized ketones including alpha-keto phosphonates, alpha-keto esters, as well as alpha,alpha-dialkoxy ketones as aldol reaction acceptors. The corresponding products with chiral tertiary alcohols were obtained in moderate to high yields (up to 97%) and high enantioselectivities (up to 98% ee). A theoretical study of transition structures demonstrated that protonated piperidine was important for the reactivity and enantioselectivity of this reaction.     

Prolinamides derived from aminophenols as organocatalysts for asymmetric direct aldol reactions

N-(2-Hydroxyphenyl)-prolinamides were synthesized with the aim to introduce an additional hydrogen bonding site to the prolinamide structure. These compounds were evaluated as organocatalysts for asymmetric aldol reactions between aromatic aldehydes and cyclohexanone. Very good yields, diastereoselectivities, and enantioselectivities were achieved in both organic solvents and water. The importance of the additional hydrogen bonding site was confirmed by comparative experiments with prolinamide derivatives without the hydroxyl group.     

壳聚糖负载辛可宁催化剂的制备及其在水中催化不对称Aldol反应

以丁二酸酐为连接臂,经两步反应制备了壳聚糖负载辛可宁有机催化剂(CTS-SA-CN),并研究了CTS-SA-CN在水体系中对酮与多种芳香醛的直接不对称aldol反应的催化性能。结果表明,在CTS-SA-CN催化下,酮与多种芳香醛发生直接不对称aldol反应,可得到99%的产率和96%的ee值。另外, CTS-SA-CN可通过简单过滤实现回收,重复使用5次活性并没有明显下降。     

壳聚糖负载辛可宁催化剂的制备及其在水中催化不对称Aldol反应

以丁二酸酐为连接臂,经两步反应制备了壳聚糖负载辛可宁有机催化剂(CTS-SA-CN),并研究了CTS-SA-CN在水体系中对酮与多种芳香醛的直接不对称aldol反应的催化性能。结果表明,在CTS-SA-CN催化下,酮与多种芳香醛发生直接不对称aldol反应,可得到99%的产率和96%的ee值。另外, CTS-SA-CN可通过简单过滤实现回收,重复使用5次活性并没有明显下降。     

Telaprevir fragments as organocatalysts in asymmetric direct aldol reactions of aldehydes

We have demonstrated that the fragments of Telaprevir can act as organocatalysts for asymmetric aldol reactions between aromatic aldehydes and acetone under mild conditions. The reaction conditions have been optimized in terms of the catalyst nature, choice of temperature, solvent, additive, and the catalyst loading. Under proper conditions, fairly good yield and enantioselectivity have been achieved.     

Highly efficient and solvent-free direct aldol reaction catalyzed by glucosamine-derived prolinamide

The catalytic activity of novel sugar-based prolinamides in the aldol reaction between ketones and aryl aldehydes has been examined. The prolinamide 1c was found to be an efficient organocatalyst for the asymmetric aldol reaction under solvent-free conditions. A variety of ketones and aldehydes were used as substrates and the corresponding aldol products were obtained in excellent chemical yields with high levels of anti diastereoselectivity (up to 99:1) and enantioselectivity (up to >99%).     

Combining prolinamides with 2-pyrrolidinone: Novel organocatalysts for the asymmetric aldol reaction

Peptides and especially prolinamides have been identified as excellent organocatalysts for the aldol reaction. The combination of prolinamides with derivatives bearing the 2-pyrrolidinone scaffold, deriving from pyroglutamic acid, led to the identification of novel organocatalysts for the intermolecular asymmetric aldol reaction. The new hybrids were tested both in organic and aqueous media. Among the compounds tested, 22 afforded the best results in petroleum ether, while 25 afforded the products in brine in high yields and selectivities. Then, various ketones and aldehydes were utilized and the products of the aldol reaction were obtained in high yields (up to 100%) with excellent diastereo- (up to 97:3 dr) and enantioselectivities (up to 99% ee).     

Synthesis of proline derivatives of bile acids and their evaluation as organocatalysts in the asymmetric direct aldol reaction

A new family of bile acid derived organocatalysts was obtained by linking l- or d-proline to amino derivatives of cholic and deoxycholic acids, which were used to promote the asymmetric direct aldol reaction between acetone and 4-nitrobenzaldehyde. Both the activity and enantioselectivity of the organocatalytic systems were dependent not only on the position of the proline moiety on the cholestanic backbone and its absolute configuration, but also on the presence of free hydroxyl group on the steroidal skeleton. The cholic acid derivative bearing a d-prolinamide moiety at the 12-position and free hydroxyl groups at the 3- and 7-positions emerged as the best organocatalytic system giving complete conversion of the substrate, even when using only 2% of catalyst loading and ee up to 80%.     

Aminophosphonates as organocatalysts in the direct asymmetric aldol reaction: towards syn selectivity in the presence of Lewis bases

Chiral alpha-aminophosphonates have been synthesized and their performance was evaluated as organocatalysts in the direct asymmetric aldol reaction. High enantioselectivities (up to 99% ee) were achieved for a range of substituted cyclohexanones and benzaldehydes. Several organic bases, such as DBU, DBN, and TMG, were used together with the alpha-aminophosphonates in the aldol reactions and were found to favor syn-selectivity.     

Highly enantioselective direct aldol reaction catalyzed by cinchona derived primary amines

Highly enantioselective aldol reactions of aldehydes with cyclic ketones catalyzed by a primary amine derived from cinchonine are reported. Aromatic aldehydes reacted with various cyclic ketones cleanly to afford the anti-aldol adducts in up to 99% yield, with good diastereoselectivities (up to 9 : 1) and excellent enantioselectivities (up to 99% ee).