The Sharpless asymmetric aminohydroxylation reaction: optimising ligand/substrate control of regioselectivity for the synthesis of 3- and 4-aminosugars

An investigation of the factors responsible for the sense and magnitude of regioselectivity in the Sharpless asymmetric aminohydroxylation (AA) has been conducted. Theoretical investigations of ligand-osmium binding geometry and experimental investigations of the Sharpless AA reaction on a series of functionalized pent-2-enoic acid ester substrates demonstrate that the opposite regioselectivity afforded using PHAL and AQN ligands results from a change in substrate orientation with respect to the catalyst. Two distinct ligand binding domains within the catalyst have been proposed that undergo attractive interactions with the substrates. Selective access to each of the four potential regio- and stereo-isomeric AA products could be achieved through the appropriate choice of ligand and substrate. These results have been applied toward the efficient stereoselective synthesis of naturally occurring and regioisomeric 3- and 4-aminosugar derivatives.     

Synthesis of beta-amino-alpha-hydroxy esters and beta-amino-alpha-azido ester by Sharpless asymmetric aminohydroxylation, byproducts analysis

[reaction: see text] Synthesis of enantiomerically pure beta-amino-alpha-hydroxy esters (1, 2) and beta-amino-alpha-azido ester (3) using Sharpless AA as a key step is described. A hitherto unreported side reaction, the oxidation of the beta-hydroxy-alpha-amino ester (5) into the alpha,alpha-di-tert-butyloxycarbamoyl-beta-ketoester (8) under AA conditions, is documented.     

Copper catalyzed asymmetric synthesis of chiral allylic esters

The complex derived from Taniaphos ligand 4 and CuBr*Me2S catalyzes the asymmetric addition of Grignard reagents to 3-bromopropenyl esters 1 to provide allylic esters 2 in high yields and high chemio-, regio-, and enantioselectivities. The work demonstrates that allylic asymmetric alkylation (AAA) can be done on substrates bearing a heteroatom at the gamma-position. The method is a practical route to chiral, nonracemic allylic alcohols. The use of functionalized substrates 1 or Grignard reagents leads to more complex products 2, which can be further manipulated as demonstrated in conversion to (S)-5-ethyl-2(5H)-furanone 6 and (S)-benzoic acid-cyclopent-2-enyl ester 7.     

An asymmetric aminohydroxylation approach to the azepine core of (-)-balanol

[reaction: see text]An efficient formal synthesis of the potent protein kinase C inhibitor (-)-balanol that relies on a modified asymmetric aminohydroxylation of the alpha,beta-unsaturated aryl ester (1) is reported. The aryl ester functionality and the dihydroquinyl alkaloid ligand system (DHQ)2-AQN are used to control the regio- and enantioselectivity of the process.     

Organocatalytic transfer hydrogenation of cyclic enones

The first enantioselective organocatalytic transfer hydrogenation of cyclic enones has been accomplished. The use of iminium catalysis has provided a new organocatalytic strategy for the enantioselective reduction of beta,beta-substituted alpha,beta-unsaturated cycloalkenones, to generate beta-stereogenic cyclic ketones. The use of imidazolidinone 4 as the asymmetric catalyst has been found to mediate the hydrogenation of a large class of enone substrates with tert-butyl Hantzsch ester serving as an inexpensive source of hydrogen. The capacity of catalyst 4 to enable enantioselective transfer hydrogenation of cycloalkenones has been extended to five-, six-, and seven-membered ring systems. The sense of asymmetric induction is in complete accord with the stereochemical model first reported in conjunction with the use of catalyst 4 for enantioselective ketone Diels-Alder reactions.     

Masked Unsaturated Esters/Amides in Asymmetric Organocatalysis

This Concept article summarizes strategies and developments regarding the use of masked unsaturated esters/amides in asymmetric organocatalysis. Useful substrates are categorized by the design of their inherent carboxylate template. This template group not only enables their functionality as ester surrogates, but also define their accessibilities, modes of interactions with catalysts and the simplicity with which they transform back to the parent carboxylates. Both covalent and noncovalent catalytic systems are discussed and examples showing the entire process (from substrates‐to‐functionalized ester/amides) are given.     

Influences on the regioselectivity of palladium-catalyzed allylic alkylations

Chelated amino acid ester enolates are excellent nucleophiles for palladium-catalyzed allylic alkylations. These enolates react rapidly at -78 degrees C and in general without isomerization of pi-allyl palladium complexes. Therefore, they are good candidates for mechanistic studies and regioselective reactions. Terminal pi-allyl palladium complexes are preferentially attacked at the least hindered position giving rise to linear products, as illustrated with several (E)-configured allylic substrates. Under isomerization free conditions the branched products are formed preferentially from the corresponding (Z)-allyl substrates. An interesting behavior is observed in the reaction of secondary allylic substrates. Aryl-substituted substrates show a significant memory effect which can be explained by an asymmetric pi-allyl complex. For alkyl-substituted substrates a strong dependence of the regioselectivity on the leaving group is observed, which can be explained by different conformations in the ionization step. Under isomerization free conditions the product ratio gives important information about this step.     

Gold‐Catalyzed Tandem Hydroamination/Formal Aza‐Diels–Alder Reaction of Homopropargyl Amino Esters: A Combined Computational and Experimental Mechanistic Study

A tandem gold‐catalyzed hydroamination/formal aza‐Diels–Alder reaction is described. This process, which employs quaternary homopropargyl amino ester substrates, leads to the formation of an intrincate tetracyclic framework and involves the generation of four bonds and five stereocenters in a highly diastereoselective manner. Theoretical calculations have allowed us to propose a suitable mechanistic rationalization for the tandem protocol. Additionally, by studying the influence of the ligands on the rate of the gold‐catalyzed reactions, it was possible to establish optimum conditions in which to perform the process with a variety of substituents on the amino ester substrates. Notably, the asymmetric version of the tandem reaction was also evaluated.     

Enantioselective organocatalytic hydride reduction

The first enantioselective organocatalytic hydride reduction has been accomplished. The use of iminium catalysis has provided a new organocatalytic strategy for the enantioselective reduction of beta,beta-substituted alpha,beta-unsaturated aldehydes to generate beta-stereogenic aldehydes. The use of imidazolidinone 2 as the asymmetric catalyst has been found to mediate the transfer of hydrogen to a large class of enal substrates from ethyl Hantzsch ester. The capacity of catalyst 2 to accelerate E-Z isomerization prior to selective E-olefin reduction allows the implementation of geometrically impure enals in this operationally simple protocol.     

Catalytic asymmetric Mannich reactions of glycine derivatives with imines. A new approach to optically active alpha,beta-diamino acid derivatives

Imines of glycine alkyl esters react with imines in a diastereo- and highly enantioselective Mannich reaction in the presence of chiral copper(I) complexes as the catalyst to give optically active alpha,beta-diamino acid derivatives. A series of imines of glycine esters derived from glycine and aromatic carbonyl compounds has been screened as substrates for the Mannich reaction with different imines in the presence of various combinations of metal salts and chiral ligands. The benzophenone imine of glycine esters was found to react with N-protected imines in a diastereoselective fashion giving functionalized alpha,beta-diamino acid esters with excellent enantioselectivities. The most effective chiral catalysts are chiral copper(I) complexes having phosphino-oxazoline (P,N)-ligands, and among these ligands, those derived from (1R,2S)-dihydroxy-1,2,3,4-tetrahydronaphthalene gave the best results. The scope of this new catalytic asymmetric reaction of the benzophenone imine glycine esters is demonstrated for the reaction with different N-protected-C-aryl and C-alkyl imines giving the Mannich adducts with excellent optical purity. Furthermore, the synthetic aspects of the reaction are presented by converting the Mannich adducts into alpha,beta-diamino acid derivatives. The relative and absolute configuration of the Mannich adduct have been determined and based on the stereochemical outcome of the reaction a tetrahedral chiral-copper(I)-imino glycine alkyl ester intermediate is proposed. In this intermediate the Re-face of the benzophenone imine glycine ester is shielded by the chiral ligand leaving the Si-face available for approach of the Si-face of the imine. A series of semiempirical calculations has been performed to support the structure of the tetrahedral chiral-copper(I) complex and to account for the influence of the substituents in the chiral phosphino-oxazoline ligands.     

Concise asymmetric synthesis of (-)-sparteine

A six-step asymmetric synthesis of natural (-)-sparteine from ethyl 7-iodohept-2-enoate is reported, involving a connective Michael addition of an amino ester-derived enolate to an alpha,beta-unsaturated amino ester.     

Regioselective and stereoselective nucleophilic ring opening reactions of a phenyl-substituted aziridine: enantioselective synthesis of beta-substituted tryptophan, cysteine, and serine derivatives

The asymmetric synthesis of beta-phenyl-substituted cysteine, tryptophan, and serine derivatives was successfully developed. In this approach, the key intermediate, enantiomerically pure 3-phenylaziridine-2-carboxylic ester 7, was prepared from alpha,beta-unsaturated ester 1 by employing the Sharpless asymmetric dihydroxylation. The aziridine 7 was treated with 4-methoxybenzylthiol, indole, and acetic acid to give beta-phenyl-substituted cysteine, tryptophan, and serine, respectively, in a clean S(N)2 type ring opening at the C3 position. This general approach can be used to synthesize a variety of beta-substituted novel amino acids.     

Detection and elimination of product inhibition from the asymmetric catalytic hydrogenation of enamines

[reaction: see text] The catalytic asymmetric hydrogenation of enamine amides and esters with catalyst Rh-1a, prepared from ferrocenyl based ligand 1a or 1b and [(COD)RhCl](2), has been shown through kinetic studies to suffer from product inhibition. Enamine ester substrates have also been shown to be incompatible with the amine products of the reaction in methanol. In situ protection of the amine products with di-tert-butyl dicarbonate eliminates functional group incompatibility of ester substrates and eliminates product inhibition in the reaction.     

Asymmetric transformations of acyloxyphenyl ketones by enzyme-metal multicatalysis

A multipathway process comprising several enzyme- and metal-catalyzed reactions has been explored for the asymmetric transformations of acyloxyphenyl ketones to optically active hydroxyphenyl alcohols in the ester forms. The process comprises nine component reactions in three pathways, all of which take place by the catalytic actions of only two catalysts, a lipase and a ruthenium complex. The synthetic reactions were carried out on 0.2-0.6 mmol scales for eight different substrates under an atmosphere of hydrogen (1 atm) in toluene at 70 degrees C for 3 days. In most cases, the yields were high (92-96%) and the optical purities were excellent (96-98% ee), This work thus has demonstrated that enzyme-metal multicatalysis has great potential as a new methodology for asymmetric transformations.     

Asymmetric hydrogenation routes to deoxypolyketide chirons

Asymmetric hydrogenations of monoenes and dienes were performed to obtain terminal deoxypolyketide fragments A and the corresponding internal chirons B and C. The chiral N-heterocyclic carbene catalyst 1 was used throughout. Modest selectivities for hydrogenations of simple monoenes relayed into high selectivities for preparations of the terminal deoxypolyketide fragments in which either two hydrogenations or one and an optically pure starting material were used. Curiously, the face selectivities for hydrogenation of alpha,beta-unsaturated esters were consistently opposite to those that had been observed for styrene and stilbene derivatives in previous work, and to closely related allylic alcohol and ether derivatives in this work. Plausible mechanisms for this differing behavior were deduced by using DFT calculations. It appears that the origin of the unusual stereoselectivity for the ester derivatives is transient metal-coordination of the ester carbonyl whereas there is no evidence that the allylic alcohol or ethers coordinate. The routes developed to alpha,omega-functionalized internal deoxypolyketide fragments are extremely practical. These begin with the Roche ester being converted into alkene and, in one case, diene derivatives. Catalyst control prevails in the hydrogenations of these substrates, but there is a significant "substrate vector" (a term we used to describe the influence of the substrate on a catalyst-controlled reaction). This is determined by minimization of 1,3-allylic strain and, in some cases, syn pentane interactions. This substrate vector can be constructively paired with the (dominant) catalyst vector by use of the appropriate enantiomer of 1. In the hydrogenation of a diene derivative, two chiral centers could be formed simultaneously with overall 11:1.0 selectivity; this is the first time this has been achieved in any asymmetric synthesis of a deoxypolyketide fragment. Throughout, diastereoselectivities of the crude material in the syntheses of alpha,omega-functionalized internal deoxypolyketide fragments were in excess of 11:1.0 and chromatographically purified samples could be isolated in high yields with dr (dr=diastereomeric ratio) values consistently in excess of 40:1.0.     

An easy stereoselective access to beta,gamma-aziridino alpha-amino ester derivatives via mannich reaction of benzophenone imines of glycine esters with N-sulfonyl alpha-chloroaldimines

Mannich-type addition of benzophenone imine glycinates across newly synthesized N-(p-toluenesulfonyl) alpha-chloroaldimines afforded gamma-chloro-alpha,beta-diamino ester derivatives with moderate diastereoselectivity as separable mixtures of anti and syn diastereomers. The gamma-chloro-alpha,beta-diamino esters were efficiently cyclized under basic conditions to the corresponding beta,gamma-aziridino alpha-amino ester derivatives, representing a new class of conformationally constrained heterocyclic alpha,beta-diamino acid derivatives. The relative configuration of the aziridines was determined via X-ray diffraction analysis. Mechanisms and intermediate transition states to explain the stereochemical outcome of the Mannich reaction with different substrates or under different conditions are proposed. The synthetic importance of the beta,gamma-aziridino alpha-amino ester derivatives is demonstrated by their conversion into the corresponding Boc-protected derivatives and ring opening reactions to alpha,beta-diamino esters and a gamma-amino alpha,beta-unsaturated amino ester.     

Diastereo- and enantioselective direct catalytic aldol reaction of 2-hydroxyacetophenones with aldehydes promoted by a heteropolymetallic complex: catalytic asymmetric synthesis of anti-1,2-diols

An anti-selective direct catalytic asymmetric aldol reaction of 2-hydroxyacetophenones with aldehydes is described. The reaction is catalyzed by a heteropolymetallic complex to afford anti-alpha,beta-dihydroxy ketones as the major diastereomer with excellent enantioselectivity. The use of 2-hydroxyacetophenones bearing electron-donating groups at the phenyl moiety enabled efficient transformation of the aldol products (alpha,beta-dihydroxy ketones) into the corresponding alpha,beta-dihydroxy ester derivatives via Baeyer-Villiger oxidation. A plausible reaction mechanism is also discussed based on the stereochemistry of the products.     

Asymmetric synthesis of 4,5,6- and 3,4,5,6-substituted azepanes by a highly diastereoselective and enantioselective lithiation-conjugate addition sequence

Asymmetric syntheses of 4,5,6- and 3,4,5,6-substituted azepanes have been achieved by highly diastereoselective and enantioselective (-)-sparteine-mediated asymmetric lithiation-conjugate additions of N-Boc-N-(p-methoxyphenyl)-2,3-substituted allylamines to a beta-aryl alpha,beta-unsaturated ester followed by hydrolysis, cyclization, and reduction. Access to the enantiomeric adduct is provided by an invertive lithiation-stannylation-lithiation sequence.     

Synthesis of a tetrahydropyran NK1 receptor antagonist via asymmetric conjugate addition

Two asymmetric syntheses of the NK(1) receptor antagonist 1-[2-(R)-{1-(R)-[3,5-bis(trifluoromethyl)phenyl]ethoxy}-3-(R)-(3,4-difluorophenyl)-4-(R)-tetrahydro-2H-pyran-4-ylmethyl]-3-(R)-methylpiperidine-3-carboxylic acid (1) were developed. In both routes, the core tetrahydropyran stereochemistry was established by asymmetric conjugate addition to an alpha,beta-unsaturated ester (6), using an amide of the chiral auxiliary pseudoephedrine. Selective ester reduction then allowed formation of lactone 2 with the thermodynamically preferred trans geometry. The chiral ether side chain (3) was attached by stereoselective acetal substitution. In the first route, the chiral piperidine ester fragment was installed at the end by N-alkylation. In the shorter second synthesis, this piece was appended to the Michael acceptor at the beginning.     

Asymmetric total synthesis of (-)-agelastatin a using sulfinimine (N-sulfinyl imine) derived methodologies

The asymmetric synthesis of the cytotoxic marine metabolite (-)-agelastatin A (1) has been achieved from the C-ring intermediate 4,5-diamino cyclopenten-2-enone (-)-2. This key intermediate was efficiently prepared from the sulfinimine-derived alpha,beta-diamino ester 4 using ring-closing metathesis. [reaction: see text]