Stereoselective Synthesis of α-Aminonitril on Glucose Templates

Both proteinogenic and non proteinogenic α-amino acids are of particular interest as constituents of peptide factors, peptidomimetics and antibiotics for the construction of modern selective drugs. [1] Furthemore, α-amino acid derivatives are interesting building units for chiral-pool syntheses of enantiomerically pure natural products. [2] Numerous efforts in modern organic synthesis are centered on the synthesis of enantiomerically pure α-amino acids. [3] During the past three decades efficient methods of asymmetric synthesis of α-amino acids have been developed; most of them are based on electrophilic transformations of organometallic intermediates. [4] Using the concept that the chirality of the carbohydrates can be exploited for diastereoselective reactions, Kunz and his cooperator had developed a Strecker synthesis with glycosyl amines as chiral auxiliaries. [5]     

Asymmetric synthesis of chiral β-hydroxy-α-amino acid derivatives by organocatalytic aldol reactions of isocyanoesters with β,γ-unsaturated α-ketoesters

The first organocatalytic asymmetric aldol reaction of isocyanoesters with various β,γ-unsaturated α-ketoesters has been described. Using cinchona alkaloid-derived bifunctional thiourea as the catalyst, chiral β-hydroxy-α-amino acid derivatives can be obtained in excellent yields and enantioselectivities (up to 95% yield and 92% ee) after acidic hydrolysis. This protocol provides a straightforward method to access multiple substituted β-hydroxy-α-amino acid derivatives with high enantiomeric purity.     

Asymmetric aldol reaction via memory of chirality

Asymmetric aldol reactions of α-amino acid derivatives via memory of chirality were developed. Chiral oxazolidones with contiguous tetra- and trisubstituted chiral centers were obtained in 78-94% ee by the asymmetric aldol reaction followed by intramolecular acylation.     

Asymmetric solution-phase mixture aldol reaction using oligomeric ethylene glycol tagged chiral oxazolidinones

Sorting tags are oligomeric structures that can be used as protecting groups or chiral auxiliaries enabling solution-phase mixture syntheses of multiple tagged compounds in one pot and allowing for facile and predictable chromatographic separation of products at the end of synthetic sequences. Perfluorinated hydrocarbon and oligomeric ethylene glycol (OEG) derivatives are known classes of sorting tags. Herein we describe the preparation of OEGylated chiral oxazolidinones and their use in asymmetric solution-phase mixture aldol reactions. Through the use of such oxazolidinones based on tyrosine four different individually tagged aldol adducts were obtained as a mixture, chromatographically demixed, detagged, and it was shown that these processes gave the desired aldol products in good yield and enantioselectivity.     

Highly Stereoselective Aldol Reactions by Memory of Chirality: Synthesis of Quaternary β-Hydroxy α-Amino Acids

We describe here an asymmetric aldol reaction based on the principle of Memory of Chirality. From α-amino acids such as leucine and methionine, we have synthesized in two steps quaternary α-amino acid derivatives with high diastereoselectivity and enantioselectivity, using the chirality of the initial α-amino acid as the only chirality source. Furthermore, we were able to determine the relative and absolute configurations of the aldol products thanks to crystallographic structures and thus showed that the relative configuration depended on the aldehyde employed. We proposed a stereoselectivity explanation and obtained also quaternary β-hydroxy α-amino acids after acidic hydrolysis.     

手性助剂诱导催化不对称Strecker反应研究进展

亚胺的不对称Strecker反应是合成α-氨基酸化合物的重要途径之一,一般在手性助剂的诱导下进行.近年来,用于诱导不对称Strecker反应的各类手性助剂的研究受到广泛关注.本文综述了α-苯乙胺、α-氨基酸、α-氨基酸衍生的酰胺、α-苯甘氨醇、亚磺酰基亚胺、糖胺、肼等七类化合物作为手性助剂在不对称Strecker反应中的应用研究现状,就该研究领域存在的问题进行了分析,并对其前景进行了展望.     

New Approaches to the Use of Amino Acids as Chiral Building Blocks in Organic Synthesis [New Synthetic Methods (85)]

α-Amino acids protected at nitrogen in quite different ways can be transformed without racemization into the corresponding α-amino aldehydes. Provided one chooses the right protecting groups (e.g., two benzyl residues on nitrogen) it is possible for the first time to carry out Grignard-like, aldol, and Me₃SiCN additions, and hetero-Diels–Alder reactions with a high degree of nonchelation control. If the reactions of classical carbanions turn out to be nonselective, transmetalation, for example into organotitanium reagents, constitutes an important tool in controlling stereoselectivity. Diastereoselectivity can be reversed by specific variation of the protecting group and reagent. “Protecting-group tuning”, “metal tuning”, and “ligand tuning” are very useful in reactions of α-amino aldimines as well. The α-amino aldehydes can also be converted by Wittig reactions into electron-poor γ-amino olefins, which in turn undergo stereoselective cuprate, Michael, and cycloadditions.     

Novel Cinchona alkaloid derived ammonium salts as catalysts for the asymmetric synthesis of beta-hydroxy alpha-amino acids via aldol reactions

Using the cinchonidine-derived phase-transfer catalyst developed by Park and Jew as a lead structure, we have prepared novel chiral ammonium salts and investigated their efficacy for the preparation of β-hydroxy α-amino acids via asymmetric aldol reactions. The modifications were performed at C3 of the cinchonidine nucleus and include dimers as well as catalysts possessing electron-deficient alkyne and alkene moieties. Some of the new catalysts yielded improvements relative to the Park-Jew catalyst in the aldol reaction.     

Oxazolidinones as chiral auxiliaries in asymmetric aldol reactions applied to total synthesis

Asymmetric aldol reactions of oxazolidinones as chiral auxiliaries have been achieved and attracted significant consideration as one of the most powerful synthetic tools for the carbon–carbon bond-forming reactions. The methodology has been highly successful in the stereoselective construction of a number of natural products, antibiotics, and other medicinally important compounds. The present review is focused on the utility and versatility of oxazolidinones (Evans chiral auxiliaries) in the asymmetric aldol condensations for the total synthesis of natural products and complex targets.     

Recent advances in the application of the Oppolzer camphorsultam as a chiral auxiliary

Oppolzer’s camphorsultam has attracted much attention as an efficient chiral auxiliary, and is one of the most powerful synthetic tools in asymmetric synthesis. The sultam chiral auxiliary can be applied in a variety of different reactions such as alkylations, allylations, 1,3-dipolar cycloadditions, cyclopropanation, reductions, Diels–Alder, aldol and ene reactions. These applications have been highly successful in the stereoselective construction of a number of important natural products via total synthesis. The present review is focused on the utility and versatility of the sultam in various asymmetric reactions.     

Asymmetric synthesis of fluorine-containing amines, amino alcohols, α- and β-amino acids mediated by chiral sulfinyl group

This review article provides a critical overview of several different synthetic approaches developed for asymmetric preparation of fluorine-containing amines, amino alcohols, α- and β-amino acids. The common feature of these methods is the application of sulfinyl group as a chiral auxiliary to control the stereochemical outcome of the reactions under study. In particular, the following general methods are critically discussed: diastereoselective methylene transfer from diazomethane to the carbonyl of β-keto-γ-fluoroalkyl sulfoxides as a general approach for preparation of various α-fluoroalkyl α-sulfinylalkyl oxiranes. The resulting compounds were used as true chiral synthons for their further elaboration via oxidative or reductive desulfurization, to numerous fluorine-containing and biologically relevant amino- and hydroxy-containing derivatives. Another general approaches discussed here are asymmetric additions to CN double bond. One of them is addition of chiral sulfoxide stabilized carbon nucleophiles to fluorine-containing imines, leading to convenient preparation of alpha-fluoroalkyl derivatives of alpha amino acids and amines. Another approach is asymmetric Reformatsky reaction between N-sulfinyl imines and ethyl bromodifluoroacetate allowing operationally convenient preparation of α,α-difluoro-β-amino acids in enantiomerically pure form. Finally, structurally similar but mechanistically different addition reactions of diethyl difluoromethylphosphonate to N-sulfinyl imines, as a general approach to asymmetric synthesis of α,α-difluoro-β-aminophosphonates and phosphonic acids, are discussed. Effect of fluorine on the mechanism and stereochemical outcome of these reactions is discussed in detail and compared, where it is possible, with that of the analogous reactions of fluorine-free substrates.     

New chiral NiII complexes of Schiff’s bases of glycine and alanine for efficient asymmetric synthesis of α-amino acids

New modified chiral auxiliaries (S)-N-(2-benzoylphenyl)-1-(2-chlorobenzyl)pyrrolidine-2-carboxamide (2-CBPB) and (S)-N-(2-benzoylphenyl)-1-(3,4-dimethylbenzyl)pyrrolidine-2-carboxamide (3,4-DMBPB) and their Ni^II complexes of Schiff’s base with glycine and alanine have been synthesized and tested in asymmetric C-alkylation and aldol condensation reactions of amino acid moieties. The tests proved that both new auxiliaries were efficient with the ee’s of the final amino acids as high as 98% even in case of α-methyl-α-amino acid synthesis.     

Direct organocatalytic asymmetric Mannich-type reactions in aqueous media: one-pot Mannich-allylation reactions

The first direct organocatalytic asymmetric Mannich-type reactions in aqueous media are demonstrated herein. l-Proline-catalyzed reactions in aqueous media to provide β-formyl substituted α-amino acid derivatives with excellent diastereoselectivities (dr up to 19:1, syn/anti) and high enantioselectivities (ee between 72 and >99%). These conditions provided for the development of novel one-pot asymmetric syntheses of cyclic γ-allyl substituted α-amino acid derivatives (ee up to >99%). This was accomplished by combining the proline-catalyzed Mannich-type reactions with indium promoted allylations in aqueous media.     

Stereoselective synthesis of γ-amino acids

γ-Amino acids have attracted considerable attention as biologically active compounds in the central nervous system (CNS) of mammals. Over the last few years, significant interest in the stereoselective synthesis and practical application of linear and cyclic chiral γ-amino acids in the synthesis and design of α,β- and β,γ-hybrid peptides with definite secondary structures and design of nanotubes has been reported, thus demonstrating the theoretical interest and the practical importance of γ-amino acids. An overview of synthetic approaches to linear and cyclic chiral γ-amino acids and derivatives is presented. Data on the practical applications of γ-amino acids are also discussed.     

有机小分子催化的不对称Strecker反应研究进展

有机小分子催化的不对称合成反应是目前研究最为活跃的领域之一. 不对称Strecker反应是合成光学活性α-氨基酸衍生物的有效手段. 目前报道的催化不对称Strecker反应的有机催化剂主要有手性胍类、手性(硫)脲衍生物、氮-氧偶极化合物、手性Brønsted酸等, 取得了良好的催化活性和对映选择性. 对各类有机小分子催化剂在有机催化不对称Strecker反应中的应用研究进展, 以及催化剂结构与反应条件对催化活性和不对称诱导作用的影响进行了简要评述.     

Chiral linker 5: scope and limitations of arylsubstituted m-hydrobenzoins as solid supported open chain chiral auxiliaries for diastereoselective syntheses

The applicability of five aryl substituted m-hydrobenzoin ethers already tested in the L-Selectride^® mediated stereoselective reduction of phenylglyoxylates as open chain chiral auxiliaries was further investigated via the α-alkylation of propionates, the addition of n-BuZnCl to phenylglyoxylates and the Diels–Alder reaction of acrylates with cyclopentadiene as model reactions. As up to 90% de could be achieved in the solution phase, two optimized auxiliary structures were immobilized on commercially available Wang-resin and applied as a reusable solid supported chiral auxiliaries in the same type of reactions.     

Stereoselective synthesis of protected 3-amino-3,6-dideoxyaminosugars

New syntheses of densely functionalized protected derivatives of 3-amino-3,6-dideoxyaminosugars have been accomplished in an efficient and straightforward manner. The key step of such approaches involves a highly stereoselective titanium-mediated aldol addition of a chiral α-bromo ketone, easily available from lactate esters, to crotonaldehyde. Further functional group transformations, including a new regioselective Staudinger-aza-Wittig reaction of an azidodiacetate, afford in a few steps and high yield the desired carbohydrates as advanced intermediates capable of participating in subsequent glycosylation reactions.     

Amino acid catalyzed neogenesis of carbohydrates: a plausible ancient transformation

Hexose sugars play a fundamental role in vital biochemical processes and their biosynthesis is achieved through enzyme-catalyzed pathways. Herein we disclose the ability of amino acids to catalyze the asymmetric neogenesis of carbohydrates by sequential cross-aldol reactions. The amino acids mediate the asymmetric de novo synthesis of natural L- and D-hexoses and their analogues with excellent stereoselectivity in organic solvents. In some cases, the four new stereocenters are assembled with almost absolute stereocontrol. The unique feature of these results is that, when an amino acid is employed as the catalyst, a single reaction sequence can convert a protected glycol aldehyde into a hexose in one step. For example, proline and its derivatives catalyze the asymmetric neogenesis of allose with >99 % ee in one chemical manipulation. Furthermore, all amino acids tested catalyzed the asymmetric formation of natural sugars under prebiotic conditions, with alanine being the smallest catalyst. The inherent simplicity of this catalytic process suggests that a catalytic prebiotic "gluconeogenesis" may occur, in which amino acids transfer their stereochemical information to sugars. In addition, the amino acid catalyzed stereoselective sequential cross-aldol reactions were performed as a two-step procedure with different aldehydes as acceptors and nucleophiles. The employment of two different amino acids as catalysts for the iterative direct aldol reactions enabled the asymmetric synthesis of deoxysugars with >99 % ee. In addition, the direct amino acid catalyzed C(2)+C(2)+C(2) methodology is a new entry for the short, highly enantioselective de novo synthesis of carbohydrate derivatives, isotope-labeled sugars, and polyketide natural products. The one-pot asymmetric de novo syntheses of deoxy and polyketide carbohydrates involved a novel dynamic kinetic asymmetric transformation (DYKAT) mediated by an amino acid.     

Catalytic Asymmetric Dearomatization Reactions

This Review summarizes the development of catalytic asymmetric dearomatization (CADA) reactions. The CADA reactions discussed herein include oxidative dearomatization reactions, dearomatization by Diels–Alder and related reactions, the alkylative dearomatization of electron‐rich arenes, transition‐metal‐catalyzed dearomatization reactions, cascade sequences involving asymmetric dearomatization as the key step, and nucleophilic dearomatization reactions of pyridinium derivatives. Asymmetric dearomatization reactions with chiral auxiliaries and catalytic asymmetric reactions of dearomatized substrates are also briefly introduced. This Review intends to provide a concept for catalytic asymmetric dearomatization.     

Highly enantioselective and efficient organocatalytic aldol reaction of acetone and β,γ-unsaturated α-keto ester

An effective organocatalytic asymmetric aldol reaction of acetone to β,γ-unsaturated α-keto ester has been developed. In the presence of 5 mol % of 9-amino (9-deoxy)-epicinchona alkaloid and 10 mol % of 4-nitrobenzoic acid, the aldol adducts containing a chiral tertiary alcohol moiety were obtained in excellent yields and enantioselectivities.