Novel dimethoxy(aminoalkoxy)borate derived from (S)-diphenylprolinol as highly efficient catalyst for the enantioselective boron-mediated reduction of prochiral ketones

The novel dimethoxyl(aminoalkoxy)borate 1 was isolated as a white crystalline dimer joined by H-bonding as evidenced by X-ray analysis, and demonstrated to be a highly effective catalyst for the asymmetric reduction of representative prochiral ketones with borane-DMS. Optically pure alcohols were obtained using only 1 mol % of catalyst 1 in up to 99% ee.     

Synthesis of novel multidentate carbohydrate-triazole ligands

Cu(I)-catalyzed 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition (click reaction) of 1 mol equiv of N,N′-di-prop-2-ynyl-phthalamide (1a), N,N′-di-prop-2-ynyl-isophthalamide (1b), and pyridine-2,6-dicarboxylic acid bis-prop-2-ynylamide (1c), respectively with 2 mol equiv of 2,3,4,6-tetra-O-acetyl-β-d-glucopyranosyl azide (2a), 2-azidoethyl 2,3,4,6-tetra-O-acetyl-β-d-glucopyranoside (2b), and 2-azidoethyl 2,3,4,6-tetra-O-acetyl-α-d-mannopyranoside (2c), respectively, afforded the corresponding bis-cycloadducts 3-5, containing two 1,2,3-triazole moieties each, in 38-76% yield. Reaction of 1 mol equiv of 2c with 1 mol equiv of 1c under otherwise identical conditions gave the mono-cycloadduct 6, containing one 1,2,3-triazole and one 2-propynylamide moiety, in 77% yield. Reaction of 6 with 2a afforded 7, containing two different sugar moieties, in 67% yield.     

Highly enantioselective cyanosilylation of ketones catalyzed by a bifunctional Ti(IV) complex

A bifunctional catalyst system composed of (S)-prolinamide (2a), titanium(IV) isopropoxide, and phenolic N-oxide (3f) exhibited high catalytic efficiency in the enantioselective cyanosilylation of ketones. In the presence of 2.5 mol % catalyst, a variety of aromatic and aliphatic ketones were converted into the corresponding tertiary cyanohydrin O-TMS ethers in excellent yields (up to 96%) and high enantioselectivities (up to 96% ee). A proposed catalytic cycle was illustrated to explain the origin of the asymmetric induction.     

Highly selective glycine phase-transfer catalysis using fluoroanthracenylmethyl cinchonidine catalysts

Fluoroanthracenylmethyl cinchonidine phase-transfer catalysts have been produced and explored for asymmetric glycine alkylation. The fluoroanthracenylmethyl precursors were made from aryloxazolidinones and aldehydes using an efficient electrophilic substitution with phosphorous pentoxide. The cinchonidine catalysts promote highly selective glycine alkylation under mild conditions. The 1,8-difluoroanthracenyl-10-methyl catalyst 6 (10 mol %) in toluene/THF with 50% aqueous KOH (−20 °C) promoted benzylation of glycine 1 to give 2 in 86% yield, 98% ee. Other electrophiles also gave excellent selectivity and reactivity.     

Rhodium-catalyzed intermolecular hydroacylation of 1-alkynes: Effect of phosphines and MK-10 on the reaction selectivity

The use of bulky ligands in the rhodium-catalyzed reaction of aldehydes 7 (R¹ = Ph) and 18 with 1-octyne increased the selectivity for ketones 13 and 20, to the detriment of ketones 12 and 19. Bulky phosphines reduced the hydroacylation reaction rate, leading to competition from the addition of the benzoic acid co-catalyst to the alkynes. This competing reaction can be suppressed by using the clay Montmorillonite K 10 (MK-10) as the co-catalyst instead of benzoic acid.     

New chiral ferrocenyl amidophosphine ligand for remarkable improvement of enantioselectivities in copper-catalyzed addition of diethylzinc to N-sulfonylimines

(S)-N-Ferrocenoyl-2-[(diphenylphosphino)methyl]-pyrrolidine 3 was conveniently prepared from commercially available l-proline and ferrocenecarboxylic acid. In the presence of a catalytic amount of chiral ligand 3 (4 mol %) and Cu(OTf)₂ (3 mol %), the asymmetric addition of diethylzinc to N-sulfonylimines was achieved in 57-99% yield with up to 88% ee.     

Synthesis of 2,3-disubstituted benzofurans and indoles by π-Lewis acidic transition metal-catalyzed cyclization of ortho-alkynylphenyl O,O- and N,O-acetals

The PtCl₂-catalyzed cyclization reaction of ortho-alkynylphenyl acetals 1 in the presence of COD (1,5-cyclooctadiene) produces 3-(α-alkoxyalkyl)benzofurans 2 in good to high yields. For example, the reaction of acetaldehyde ethyl 2-(1-octynyl)phenyl acetal (1a), acetaldehyde ethyl 2-(cyclohexylethynyl)phenyl acetal (1c), and acetaldehyde ethyl 2-(phenylethynyl)phenyl acetal (1f) in the presence of 2 mol % of platinum(II) chloride and 8 mol % of 1,5-cycloocatadiene in toluene at 30 °C gave the corresponding 2,3-disubstituted benzofurans 2a, 2c, and 2f in 91, 94, and 88% yields, respectively. Moreover, the reaction of N-methoxymethyl-2-alkynylanilines 3 was catalyzed by PdBr₂, affording the corresponding 2,3-disubstituted indoles 4 in moderate yields. For example, the reaction of N-methoxymethyl-2-(1-pentynyl)-N-tosylaniline (3a) and N-methoxymethyl-2-(phenylethynyl)-N-tosylaniline (3b) in the presence of 10 mol % of PdBr₂ in toluene at 80 °C gave 3-methoxymethyl-2-propyl-1-tosylindole (4a) and 3-methoxymethyl-2-phenyl-1-tosylindole (4b) in 33 and 33% yields, respectively.     

Intramolecular diamination and alkoxyamination of alkenes with N-sulfonyl ureas employing N-iodosuccinimide

Reaction of N-δ-alkenyl-N′-sulfonyl urea 1 with N-iodosuccinimde (NIS; 2 equiv) and a catalytic amount of AgOTf (20 mol %) at room temperature led to intramolecular alkoxyamination to form bicyclic isourea 2a in 95% isolated yield. In comparison, reaction of 1 with NIS and sodium bicarbonate (1 equiv) at room temperature led to isolation of bicyclic imidazolidin-2-one 2b in 91% yield. These NIS-mediated alkoxyamination and diamination protocols were effective for a range of N-δ-alkenyl-N′-sulfonyl ureas to form the corresponding heterobicyclic compounds in good yield with high chemoselectivity and good to excellent diastereoselectivity.     

Stereoselective construction of the 1,1,1-trifluoroisopropyl moiety by asymmetric hydrogenation of 2-(trifluoromethyl)allylic alcohols and its application to the synthesis of a trifluoromethylated amino diol

The asymmetric hydrogenation of a series of 2-(trifluoromethyl)allylic alcohols 1a-g catalyzed by a BINAP-Ru(II) diacetate complex gave the corresponding products 2a-g in high yield (>90% yield) and high diastereoselectivity (>95% de). The asymmetric hydrogenation of 2-(trifluoromethyl)allylic alcohols provided an efficient stereoselective method to construct the 1,1,1-trifluoroisopropyl moiety. Based on the asymmetric hydrogenation of the 2-(trifluoromethyl)allylic alcohol 5a prepared by the reaction of (R)-2,2-dimethyl-1,3-dioxolane-4-carboxaldehyde with 3,3,3-trifluoroisopropenyllithium, (2R,3S,4R)-4-trifluoromethyl-1-aminopentane-2,3-diol 9 was synthesized in 36% overall yield over five steps.     

Asymmetric allylation of aldehydes with allyltrichlorosilane using aza-paracyclophane-oxazoline-N-oxide catalysts

Novel aza-paracyclophane-oxazoline catalysts 4, 5 were produced from Vögtle’s R_p-2-cyano-aza-paraclycophane and amino alcohols reacted with zinc chloride followed by m-chloroperbenzoic acid. 4′-Benzyl and tert-butyl-S and R-oxazoline variants were produced and explored as catalysts for asymmetric allylation of aldehydes using trichloroallylsilane. With R_p,S-4a (R = tert-butyl) (1.5 mol %) aromatic aldehydes reacted with high yields and selectivities, as with benzaldehyde (95%, 93% ee). R_p,S-4b (R = benzyl) was superior with dihydrocinnamaldehyde (77%, 85% ee).     

Synthesis of a biphenyl-based axially chiral amino acid as a highly efficient catalyst for the direct asymmetric aldol reaction

A biphenyl-based axially chiral amino acid (S)-2 has been designed and synthesized. The new amino acid (S)-2 has been found to be a more efficient catalyst than (S)-1 in the direct asymmetric aldol reaction of acetone with aldehydes. For instance, the use of only 0.1 mol % of (S)-2 was sufficient to complete the reaction between acetone and 4-nitrobenzaldehyde, giving the corresponding aldol adduct in good yield with an excellent enantioselectivity.     

The synthesis of R-3-alkoxy-1-(1′-hydroxyethyl)-4-methoxy-2-(1″-propenyl)benzenes utilizing Corey-Bakshi-Shibata asymmetric reductions

Pyrolysis of the 3-O-allyl derivative 7 of isovanillin followed by alkylation of the derived allylphenol 8 afforded a series of benzaldehyde derivatives 9-11 each of which was transformed by initial treatment with methylmagnesium bromide followed by oxidation of the corresponding alcohols with activated manganese dioxide into a series of ketones 15-17. Palladium(0) catalysed isomerization of the double bond in the prop-2′-enyl side-chain afforded ketones 36-38 which were subjected to the Corey-Bakshi-Shibata asymmetric reduction protocol to afford the R-3-alkoxy-1-(1′-hydroxyethyl)-4-methoxy-2-(1″-propenyl) benzenes 42-44 in yields of approximately 60% and with ee's of 75%.     

Quinoline-functionalized N-heterocyclic carbene complexes of iridium: Synthesis, structures and catalytic activities in transfer hydrogenation

Iridium complexes containing quinoline-functionalized N-heterocyclic carbene (NHC) ligands have been synthesized by the transmetalation route from silver carbene precursors. The silver complexes undergo a facile reaction with [Ir(COD)Cl]₂ (COD = 1,5-cyclooctadiene) to yield a series of carbene complexes [(NHC)Ir(COD)Cl] (NHC = 3-methyl-1-(8-quinolylmethyl)imidazole-2-ylidene (2a); 3-n-butyl-1-(8-quinolylmethyl)imidazole-2-ylidene (2b); 3-benzyl-1-(8-quinolylmethyl)imidazole-2-ylidene (2c); 1,3-di(8-quinolylmethyl)imidazole-2-ylidene (2d). The coordinated COD was replaced by carbon monoxide to yield the corresponding carbonyl species [(NHC)Ir(CO)₂Cl] (3). Complexes 2 and 3 have been characterized by IR, ESI-MS, ¹H and ¹³C NMR and elemental analyses. The molecular structures of complexes 2b and 2c have been confirmed by single-crystal X-ray diffraction. Two analogous Ir(I) complexes 5 and 6 with naphthalene-containing NHC have also been synthesized and characterized. These Ir(I) complexes in the current work have been proved to be active catalysts in the transfer hydrogenation of ketones to alcohols using 2-propanol as the hydrogen source.     

Asymmetric reduction of perfluoroalkyl ketones with chiral lithium alkoxides

Reduction of perfluoroalkyl ketones with chiral lithium alkoxides gave chiral α-perfluoroalkyl alcohols in high enantiomeric excesses. Interestingly, reaction of 2,2,2-trifluoroacetophenone (1) with lithium (S)-1-phenylethoxide (2) gave (S)-2,2,2-trifluoro-1-phenylethanol (3), while the same reaction of perfluorooctan-1-one (7) with 2 gave (R)-1H-1-phenylperfluorooctanol (8). Based on the speculation of mechanism, the order of steric effects on this reaction is estimated as C₇F₁₅ > substituted phenyl > CF₃.     

Enantioselective alkynylation to aldimines catalyzed by chiral 2,2′-di(2-aminoaryloxy)-1,1′-binaphthyl-copper(I) complexes

The enantioselective alkynylation of aldimines with terminal acetylenes catalyzed by chiral Cu(I) complexes with (R)-2,2′-di(2-aminoaryloxy)-1,1′-binaphthyl ligands (7) was examined. Chiral C₂-symmetric N,N-ligands 7, which have primary aniline moieties, were readily prepared from inexpensive (R)-1,1′-binaphthol (BINOL) as a chiral source. In particular, the reaction of N-benzylidenebenzeneamine 1a with phenylacetylene 2a proceeded smoothly in the presence of 5 mol % of (CuOTf)₂·C₆H₅CH₃ and 10 mol % of (R)-7d at room temperature for 24 h, and the corresponding propargylamine 3a was obtained with up to 82% ee.     

Synthesis of sulfur containing analogues of the soluble guanylate cyclase inhibitor 8-bromo-4H-[1,2,4]oxadiazolo[3,4-c][1,4]benzoxazin-1-one NS2028

Sulfur analogues of the soluble guanylate cyclase (sGC) inhibitor NS2028 1a are synthesized. Treating 8-bromo-2H-benzo[b][1,4]oxazin-3(4H)-one oxime (6) with 1,1′-thiocarbonyldiimidazole (1.1 equiv) gave the carbamothioate 8-bromo-4H-[1,2,4]oxadiazolo[3,4-c][1,4]benzoxazine-1-thione (3a) in 83% yield. Alternatively reacting NS2028 1a with P₂S₅ (0.5 equiv) affords the carbamothioate 3a in 80% yield. Similar treatment of 8-aryl substituted NS2028 analogues 1b-d with P₂S₅ gave the carbamothioates 3b-d in 64-91% yields. Although quite stable, the carbamothioates 3a-d could be thermally isomerized in the presence of Cu (10 mol %) to afford the thiocarbamates 4a-d in high yields. Interestingly, in the case of carbamothioate 3a Pd and In metals also facilitated the isomerization. Furthermore, treatment of the thiocarbamates 4a-d with P₂S₅ (0.5 equiv) affords the carbamodithioates 5a-d in 72-89% yields. All new compounds are fully characterized including single crystal X-ray data for carbamothioate 3a and thiocarbamate 4a. Finally, a mechanism is proposed for the carbamothioate to thiocarbamate isomerization.     

Application of chiral tetrahydropentalene ligands in rhodium-catalyzed 1,4-addition of (E)-2-phenylethenyl- and (Z)-propenylboronic acids to enones

Chiral tetrahydropentalenes (3aR,6aR)-1 have been prepared and used as ligands in the Rh-catalyzed 1,4-addition of 1-alkenylboronic acids to cyclic enones 5. It has been discovered that the stereochemistry of the reaction was controlled by the steric properties of the aryl groups in 1 rather than their electronic nature. In the vinylation with (E)-2-phenylethenylboronic acid 5, ligands (3aR,6aR)-1 provided enantioselectivity up to 87% ee and gave high yields of ethenylketones 6 in the presence of 1 (6.6 mol %). The configuration of all ketone products obtained with (3aR,6aR)-1 is (S). Rh-catalyzed reaction of cyclopentenone 4a and (Z)-propenylboronic acid 7 in the presence of ligands (3aR,6aR)-1 yielded at 50 °C an inseparable mixture of (Z)- and (E)-ketones 8 with (Z)-8 as the major product and both in only moderate enantiomeric excess.     

Efficient approach to allylated quinolines via palladium-catalyzed cyclization–allylation of 1-azido-2-(2-propynyl) benzenes with allyl methyl carbonate

The palladium-catalyzed cyclization–allylation reaction of ortho-azido propynylbenzenes 1 and allyl methyl carbonate 2d gives the corresponding allylated quinolines in moderate to good yields. The reaction of 1-azido-2-(2-propynyl)benzene 1a proceeds smoothly with 10 mol % Pd(PPh₃)₄ and 5 equiv K₃PO₄ or NaOAc in DMF at 100 °C to afford 3,4-diallylquinoline 3a in 69% yield in the case of R² = H and 3-allylquinoline 4 in 67% yield in the case of R² ≠ H.     

Di- and tetracarboxylate ligands for highly luminescent terbium(III) complexes on the basis of sulfonylcalix[4]arene scaffold

New di- (2) and tetracarboxylate ligands (4) were prepared on a sulfonylcalix[4]arene platform by O-alkylation of thiacalix[4]arene with ethyl bromoacetate, followed by hydrolysis of the ester function and oxidation of the sulfide bridges. The sulfonyl-based ligands 2 and 4 formed luminescent 1:1 complexes with terbium(III) ion having higher luminescent quantum yield (Φ = 0.29₁ and 0.28₇, respectively) than 1:1 complexes of the corresponding thiacalix[4]arene-based di- (1) and tetracarboxylate ligands (3) (Φ = 0.03₈ and 0.00₃, respectively), implying higher efficiency of sulfonyl ligands (2 and 4) than those of thia ligands (1 and 3) in the energy transfer process.     

A highly stereoselective preparation of CF3-substituted 1-aryl-1,2-diphenylethenes: application to the synthesis of panomifene

β-CF₃-α,β-diphenylvinyl sulfide 3a was prepared stereoselectively in 77% yield from the reaction of 2 with phenyllithium at room temperature for 5 h. Oxidation of 3a with MCPBA afforded the corresponding vinyl sulfone 4a, in which (E)-4a can be crystallized in a mixture of CH₂Cl₂ and hexane. The addition-elimination reaction of (E)-4a with phenyllithium having substituents on the benzene ring provided 5a-j in 51-82% yields stereospecifically. Similarly, the treatment of (E)-4a with p-chloroethoxyphenyllithium in the presence of 12-crown-4 (20 mol %) at −10 °C, followed by slowly warming to room temperature, resulted in the formation of the corresponding panomifene precursor 6 in 82% yield.