A simple entry to chiral non-racemic 2-piperazinone derivatives

A simple synthetic approach to chiral, non-racemic, 2-piperazinones has been developed using natural amino acids methyl esters and nitroethylene as starting materials.     

Biocatalytic syntheses of chiral non-racemic 2-hydroxyalkanephosphonates

A series of 2-oxoalkanephosphonates 2 were screened for reduction with Geotrichum candidum. Only diethyl 2-oxopropanephosphonate 2a underwent asymmetric reduction to give (+)-(R)-diethyl 2-hydroxypropanephosphonate 3a with 98% e.e. In turn, a series of racemic 2-hydroxyalkanephosphonates 3 were acetylated under kinetic resolution conditions in the presence of various lipases to give the corresponding 2-acetoxyalkanephosphonates 4 and recovered alcohols 3 in good yields and with e.e. up to 93%.     

Asymmetric Michael addition of 2-nitropropane to a chalcone catalyzed by chiral crown ethers incorporating a D-glucose unit

Michael addition of 2-nitropropane 4 to a chalcone 3 catalyzed by crown ethers incorporating two glucose units (of 1 type) afforded the adduct 5 with an R-enantiomer excess (28% ee) while the aza-crown ethers containing one glucose unit (of 2 type) gave the same adduct favoring the S-enantiomer under solid–liquid phase transfer conditions (SL-PT). It was proven that substituents at the N-atom of the crown ring in 2 have a significant effect on both the chemical yield and the enantioselectivity, and those having heteroatoms in the proper position of the side chain ( 2e , 2f ) showed the best results in this reaction: 65% ee for the S-antipode. The absolute configuration of (+)-4-methyl-4-nitro-1,3-diphenyl-1-pentanone ( 5 ), determined by X-ray diffraction, is also presented in this article. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Asymmetric Michael addition of alpha-hydroxyketones to nitroolefins catalyzed by chiral diamine

[reaction: see text] The regio-, stereo-, and enantioselective direct Michael addition of alpha-hydroxyketones to beta-arylnitroolefins catalyzed by N-iPr-2,2'-bipyrrolidine is described. The formation of an internal hydrogen bond between the OH group of alpha-hydoxyacetone and the tertiary nitrogen of the catalyst leads to the formation of a rigid cis enamine intermediate that explains the inversion of the expected diastereoselectivity and the very high ee's.     

Asymmetric Michael addition of N-boc-protected oxindoles to nitroalkenes catalyzed by a chiral secondary amine

New mission for prolinol ethers: A secondary-amine-catalyzed Michael addition of N-Boc-protected oxindoles to nitroalkenes through a Br?nsted base activation mode has been developed, furnishing the products in excellent yields (88-98?%), diastereoselectivities (d.r.=98:2->99:1) and high to excellent enantioselectivities (82->99?%?ee; see scheme).     

Diastereoselective synthesis of chiral non-racemic 2-substituted 2-boranatophosphino ethanoic acid: a potential intermediate to chiral ligands for asymmetric catalysis

Chiral α-amidophosphine boranes 7a–b can be diastereoselectively alkylated, using a phenylglycinol derivative as a chiral inducer, to furnish α-substituted α-amidophosphine boranes 8–12 with up to 99% diastereoisomeric excess. Selective reduction of the amidophosphine boranes afforded optically pure β-boranatophosphine-alcohol 13. The latter one can then be oxidized in boronatophosphine acid 14.     

Enantioselective Michael addition of isobutyraldehyde to nitroalkenes organocatalyzed by chiral primary amine-guanidines

Primary amine-guanidines derived from trans-cyclohexane-1,2-diamines are used as organocatalysts for the enantioselective conjugate addition of isobutyraldehyde to arylated and heteroarylated nitroalkenes. The reaction was performed in the presence of imidazole as the additive in aqueous DMF as the solvent at 0 °C. The corresponding Michael adducts bearing a new stereocenter were obtained in high yields and with enantioselectivities of up to 80%. Theoretical calculations are used to justify the observed sense of the stereoinduction.     

Catalytic asymmetric addition of diethylzinc to aldehydes via chiral,non-racemic β-hydroxy and β-methoxy salicylhydrazone catalysts

(1S,2S)-Pseudoephedrine and (1S,2S)-pseudonorephedrine have been converted to their corresponding hydrazines and condensed with either o-salicylaldehyde or 2-hydroxy-1-naphthaldehyde to afford a series of β-hydroxysalicylhydrazones that have been employed in the asymmetric addition of diethylzinc to 2-naphthaldehyde in up to 56% ee. In addition to this, the Ephedra hydrazines were also condensed with the o-hydroxyacetophenone derivative to form related hydrazones. The use of these corresponding hydrazones in the asymmetric addition reaction with the diethylzinc did not yield improved enantioselectivities. Finally, Enders’ hydrazine was used as a chiral scaffold for the synthesis of β-methoxysalicylhydrazones. These compounds were employed in the asymmetric addition of diethylzinc to a variety of aromatic aldehydes with enantiomeric excesses as high as 68% ee.     

Phosphinoyl-aziridines as a new class of chiral catalysts for enantioselective Michael addition

A series of new optically pure phosphine oxides containing chiral aziridine subunit were synthesized in good yields and applied as organocatalysts in asymmetric Michael reaction of various aliphatic aldehydes with β-nitrostyrene. The corresponding organocatalysts were synthesized starting from optically pure aziridines in a few simple efficient steps. The appropriate Michael adducts were obtained in most cases in very high chemical yield (up to 97%), excellent enantioselectivity (up to 98% of ee) and diastereoselectivity (up to 95:5 of dr).     

Conjugate addition to 1-phosphono-2-aza-1,3-butadienes: synthesis of phosphonylated gamma-lactams

Several 1-phosphono-2-aza-1,3-butadienes, 1 and 13-20, were evaluated in the reaction with different enolate-type nucleophiles to induce addition at the 1- or the 4-position of the azadiene. 1-Phosphono-2-azadienes 1 react with sodium malonate at the 1-position, leading to the formation of bisenamines 12 after elimination of the phosphonate moiety. On the contrary, sodium malonate adds at the 4-position of 1-aryl-1-phosphono-2-azadienes 14-19 when the azadienes bear a halogenated phenyl substituent, and the resulting addition products 21-26 are easily transformed into the corresponding phosphonylated gamma-lactams 35-40. The regioselectivity of the addition is explained by reversal of polarization of the azadiene due to the electron-withdrawing character of the halogenated phenyl substituents.     

Direct enantioselective Michael addition of aldehydes to vinyl ketones catalyzed by chiral amines

Chiral amines such as (S)-2-[bis(3,5-dimethylphenyl)methyl]pyrrolidine and the C(2)-symmetric (2S,5S)-2,5-diphenylpyrrolidine can catalyze the direct enantioselective Michael addition of simple aldehydes to vinyl ketones. The conditions for this organocatalytic reaction have been optimized and it has been found that the chiral amines catalyze the formation of optically active substituted 5-keto aldehydes in good yields and enantioselectivities, using aldehydes and, e.g., methyl vinyl ketone as starting compounds. Taking into account that the chiral amine can activate the aldehyde and/or the enone, the mechanism for the reaction has been investigated. On the basis of intermediate synthesis, nonlinear effect, and theoretical investigations, the mechanism for the catalytic direct enantioselective Michael addition of aldehydes to vinyl ketones is discussed.     

A chiral pyrrolidine-pyrazole catalyst for the enantioselective Michael addition of carbonyls to nitroolefins

An enantioselective Michael reaction of carbonyl compounds to nitroolefins has been accomplished using a novel chiral pyrrolidine-pyrazole catalyst. This newly prepared catalyst was found to be very effective in providing good yields as well as good diastereo- and enantio-selectivities. The mechanism of the reaction has also been substantiated by mass spectral studies.     

Enantioselective Michael addition of malonates to 2-enoylpyridine N-oxides catalyzed by chiral bisoxazoline-Zn(II) complex

An enantioselective Michael addition of malonates to 2-enoylpyridine N-oxides catalyzed by a chiral bisoxazoline-Zn(II) complex has been developed. The corresponding Michael adducts have been obtained in high yields with up to 96% ee. A plausible transition-state model has been proposed to explain the stereochemical outcome of the reaction.     

Highly efficient asymmetric Michael addition of aldehyde to nitroolefin using perhydroindolic acid as a chiral organocatalyst

Perhydroindolic acids, the by-products obtained in the industrial production of a trandolapril intermediate, were used as chiral organocatalysts in asymmetric Michael addition reactions of aldehydes to nitroolefins. These proline-like catalysts are unique for their rigid bicyclic structure with two H atoms attached to the bridgehead C atoms lying on the opposite side of the ring. They therefore showed high efficiency in asymmetric Michael additions of aldehydes to nitroolefins. Under the optimal conditions, excellent diastereo- and enantioselectivities (up to 99/1 dr and 98% ee) were obtained with high chemical yields for a series of aldehydes and nitroolefins using only 5 mol% catalyst loading. The methodology features easily available catalysts, high catalytic efficiency and environmentally green procedures.     

Thermal transformation of a chiral,non-racemic epoxide into a conglomerate

Formation of conglomerates is of general interest because they offer the possibility of enantiomeric separation by preferential crystallization. A surprising result was obtained for the chiral epoxide 1a, 2, 7, 7a-tetrahydro-3-methoxynaphth-(2,3b)-oxirene, for which we have shown that the racemate crystals of a non racemic mixture can be easily transformed into a conglomerate by gentle heating and cooling within a defined temperature range. This transformation is not possible with the pure racemic mixture. Thus the enantiomeric excess seems to be the driving force for the conglomerate formation. Experiments have been carried out on analytical and preparative scale. Non racemic mixtures have been characterized by high pressure liquid chromatography on chiral stationary phase and crystal transformation has been monitored with differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and infrared spectroscopy (IR).     

Enantioselective Michael addition of malonates to aromatic nitroalkenes catalyzed by monosaccharide-based chiral crown ethers

The asymmetric Michael addition of diethyl malonate and α-substituted diethyl malonates to aromatic nitroalkenes was carried out under mild reaction conditions in a solid–liquid phase transfer reaction in the presence of α-d-glucopyranoside- and α-d-mannopyranoside-based crown ethers as the catalysts. The use of d-glucose-based lariat ether 1 gave the best results. The substituents of the β-nitrostyrene and the diethyl malonate had a significant impact on the chemical yields and enantioselectivity. The addition of diethyl-2-acetamidomalonate to aromatic nitroalkenes afforded the corresponding Michael adducts in moderate to high enantiomeric excess (ee up to 99%). The reaction of diethyl-2-methylmalonate with 2-nitro-β-nitrostyrene gave the adduct with 93% enantiomeric excess in the presence of crown catalyst 1.     

Simple chiral sulfonamide primary amine catalysed highly enantioselective Michael addition of malonates to enones

A chiral sulfonamide primary amine-organocatalysed, highly enantioselective Michael addition of malonates to enones has been developed. This reaction afforded the corresponding products in excellent yields (up to 99%) and excellent enantioselectivity (up to 99% ee).     

Synthesis of 4-phosphono-β-lactams via phosphite addition to acyliminium salts

4-Aryl-4-phosphono-β-lactams are prepared by acylation of iminium salts with chloroacetyl chloride followed by phosphite addition and ring closure using sodium hydride as a base. Deacylation of the iminium salt is in competition with the desired addition of phosphites to acyliminium salts, which lowers the yield of the reaction.     

Pyrrolidine-oxyimides: new chiral catalysts for enantioselective Michael addition of ketones to nitroolefins in water

A new class of proline based organocatalysts ‘pyrrolidine-oxyimides’ were designed and synthesized from l-proline and hydroxyimides by employing a simple reaction protocol. These catalysts were found to be efficient in promoting asymmetric Michael additions of ketones to nitroolefins at room temperature. Good yields and high selectivities were obtained with catalyst 1a under additive-free conditions employing water as the reaction medium.