Asymmetric Sulfonium Ylide Mediated Cyclopropanation: Stereocontrolled Synthesis of (+)‐LY354740

The reaction of ester‐stabilized sulfonium ylides with cyclopentenone to give (+)‐ 5 ((1S,5R,6S)‐ethyl 2‐oxobicyclo[3.1.0]hexane‐6‐carboxylate), an important precursor to the pharmacologically important compound (+)‐LY354740, has been studied using chiral sulfides operating in both catalytic (sulfide, Cu(acac)₂, ethyl diazoacetate, 60 °C) and stoichiometric modes (sulfonium salt, base, room temperature). It was found that the reaction conditions employed had a major influence over both diastereo‐ and enantioselectivity. Under catalytic conditions, good enantioselectivity with low diastereoselectivity was observed, but under stoichiometric conditions low enantioselectivity with high diastereoselectivity was observed. When the stoichiometric reactions were conducted at high dilution, diastereoselectivity was reduced. This indicated that base‐mediated betaine equilibration was occurring (which is slow relative to ring closure at high dilution). Based on this model, conditions for achieving high enantioselectivity were established as follows: use of a preformed ylide, absence of base, hindered ester (to reduce ylide‐mediated betaine equilibration), and low concentration. Under these conditions high enantioselectivity (95 % ee) was achieved, albeit with low diastereocontrol. Our model for selectivity has been applied to other sulfonium ylide mediated cyclopropanation reactions and successfully accounts for the diastereoselectivity observed in all such reported reactions to date.     

The complexity of catalysis: origins of enantio- and diastereocontrol in sulfur ylide mediated epoxidation reactions

The reaction of chiral sulfur ylides with aldehydes and ketones has emerged as a useful asymmetric process for the synthesis of epoxides. Processes employing either catalytic or stoichiometric amounts of sulfides have been developed. Although a large number of chiral sulfur ylides have been tested in the epoxidation process, only a few have delivered high diastereo- and enantio- selectivity. This review examines the factors that influence stereocontrol (steric hindrance of the sulfide, ylide conformation, ylide face selectivity, reversibility of betaine formation, solvent, and metal salts). This analysis leads to the conclusion that high reversibility in betaine formation leads to high diastereoselectivity but low enantioselectivity, and non-reversible betaine formation leads to low diastereoselectivity and high enantioselectivity (provided that other criteria are met). To achieve both high diastereoselectivity and high enantioselectivity simultaneously, requires non-reversible formation of the anti-betaine and reversible formation of the syn-betaine. Thus, factors that influence the degree of reversibility in betaine formation are critically important since with subtle changes in reaction conditions (solvent, temperature, metal ions) both high enantio- and diastereoselectivity can often be achieved.     

Enantioselective synthesis of vinylcyclopropanes and vinylepoxides mediated by camphor-derived sulfur ylides: rationale of enantioselectivity, scope, and limitation

By a sidearm approach, camphor-derived sulfur ylides 1 were designed and synthesized for the cyclopropanation of electron-deficient alkenes and epoxidation of aldehydes. Under the optimal conditions, the exo-type sulfonium salts 4a and 4b reacted with beta-aryl-alpha,beta-unsaturated esters, amides, ketones, and nitriles to give 1,3-disubstituted-2-vinylcyclopropanes with high diastereoselectivities and enantioselectivities. When the endo-type sulfonium salts 5a and 5b were used, the diastereoselectivities were not changed, whereas the absolute configurations of the products became the opposite to those of the reactions of 4a and 4b. An ylide cyclopropanation of chalcone derivatives with phenylvinyl bromide in the presence of catalytic amount of chiral sulfonium salts 4b and 5b has been developed. The sidearmed hydroxyl group was found to play a key role in the control of enantioselectivity and diastereoselectivity. The origins of the high diastereoselectivity and enantioselectivity were also studied by density functional theory calculations, which reveal the importance of the hydrogen-bonding between the sidearmed hydroxyl group and the substrate in determining the diastereoselectivity and enantioselectivity. The ylides 1 were also successfully applied for the epoxidation of aromatic aldehydes.     

A new protocol for the in situ generation of aromatic,heteroaromatic, and unsaturated diazo compounds and its application in catalytic and asymmetric epoxidation of carbonyl compounds. Extensive studies to map out scope and limitations,and rationalization of diastereo- and enantioselectivities

A variety of metalated tosylhydrazone salts derived from benzaldehyde have been prepared and were reacted with benzaldehyde in the presence of tetrahydrothiophene (THT) (20 mol %) and Rh(2)(OAc)(4) (1 mol %) to give stilbene oxide. Of the lithium, sodium, and potassium salts tested, the sodium salt was found to give the highest yield and selectivity. This study was extended to a wide variety of aromatic, heteroaromatic, aliphatic, alpha,beta-unsaturated, and acetylenic aldehydes and to ketones. On the whole, high yields of epoxides with moderate to very high diastereoselectivities were observed. A broad range of tosylhydrazone salts derived from aromatic, heteroaromatic, and alpha,beta-unsaturated aldehydes was also examined using the same protocol in reactions with benzaldehyde, and again, good yields and high diastereoselectivities were observed in most cases. Thus, a general process for the in situ generation of diazo compounds from tosylhydrazone sodium salts has been established and applied in sulfur-ylide mediated epoxidation reactions. The chiral, camphor-derived, [2.2.1] bicyclic sulfide 7 was employed (at 5-20 mol % loading) to render the above processes asymmetric with a range of carbonyl compounds and tosylhydrazone sodium salts. Benzaldehyde tosylhydrazone sodium salt gave enantioselectivities of 91 +/- 3% ee and high levels of diastereoselectivity with a range of aldehydes. However, tosylhydrazone salts derived from a range of carbonyl compounds gave more variable selectivities. Although those salts derived from electron-rich or neutral aldehydes gave high enantioselectivities, those derived from electron-deficient or hindered aromatic aldehydes gave somewhat reduced enantioselectivities. Using alpha,beta-unsaturated hydrazones, chiral sulfide 7 gave epoxides with high diastereoselectivities, but only moderate yields were achieved (12-56%) with varying degrees of enantioselectivity. A study of solvent effects showed that, while the impact on enantioselectivity was small, the efficiency of diazo compound generation was influenced, and CH(3)CN and 1,4-dioxane emerged as the optimum solvents. A general rationalization of the factors that influence both relative and absolute stereochemistry for all of the different substrates is provided. Reversibility in formation of the betaine intermediate is an important issue in the control of diastereoselectivity. Hence, where low diastereocontrol was observed, the results have been rationalized in terms of the factors that contribute to the reduced reversion of the syn betaine back to the original starting materials. The enantioselectivity is governed by ylide conformation, facial selectivity in the ylide reaction, and, again, the degree of reversibility in betaine formation. From experimental evidence and calculations, it has been shown that sulfide 7 gives almost complete control of facial selectivity, and, hence, it is the ylide conformation and degree of reversibility that are responsible for the enantioselectivity observed. A simple test has been developed to ascertain whether the reduced enantioselectivity observed in particular cases is due to poor control in ylide conformation or due to partial reversibility in the formation of the betaine.     

Highly enantioselective darzens reaction of a camphor-derived sulfonium amide to give glycidic amides and their applications in synthesis

The reaction of an amide-stabilized sulfonium ylide bearing chiral groups on sulfur has been investigated. We have discovered that the camphor-derived amide-stabilized ylide reacts with aldehydes at -50 degrees C in ethanol to give glycidic amides in one step with up to 99% ee and complete diastereoselectivity. From analyzing reactions of different ratios of diastereomers at sulfur it was found that the major diastereomer gave very high enantioselectivity, while the minor one gave much lower selectivity (54% ee). Further mechanistic studies have revealed that enantioselectivity is controlled not in the betaine-forming step (C-C bond formation is reversible) but in the different barriers to bond rotation around the newly formed C-C of the two diastereomeric betaines. Further transformations of epoxyamides were investigated. It was found that epoxyamides could be converted into epoxyketones by reaction with organolithium reagents and that they could be ring-opened by nucleophiles with complete regioselectivity using Yb(OTf)3. The practicality of the process has been exemplified in the synthesis of SK&F 104353, a leukotriene D4 antagonist in the potential treatment of bronchial asthma.     

Theoretical study on the selectivity of asymmetric sulfur ylide epoxidation reaction

[structure: see text] We report the first theoretical studies on the asymmetric sulfonium ylide epoxidation reaction using a chiral sulfide that successfully reproduces the experimentally determined high enantiomeric excess. Calculations at the DFT level suggest that the transition states for the addition of the sulfonium ylide to benzaldehyde have energies which account for the observed enantioselectivity.     

Limitations,mechanism and understanding of the origins of stereocontrol in (S)-dimethylsulfonium-(p-tolylsulfinyl)methylide-mediated epoxidation reactions

The reaction of the (S)-dimethylsulfonium-(p-tolylsulfinyl)methylide with aldehydes gave α,β-epoxy sulfoxides with high enantioselectivity and diastereoselectivity dependent on the aldehyde. The mechanism of the ‘model’ reactions [ylide substituted with Me S(O) or Ph S(O) with MeCHO or PhCHO] has been studied in detail using density functional theory.     

Computational investigations on the general reaction profile and diastereoselectivity in sulfur ylide promoted aziridination

Mechanism and diastereoselectivity of sulfur ylide promoted aziridination reactions were studied by density functional theory with inclusion of solvent effects through the continuum solvation model. The general reaction pathway was modeled for the addition of substituted sulfur ylides (Me(2)S(+)CH(-)R) to an aldimine ((E)-methyl ethylidenecarbamate, MeHC=NCO(2)Me). The nature of the substituents on the ylidic carbon atom substantially affects the reaction profile. The stabilized (R=COMe) and semistabilized (R=Ph) ylides follow a cisoid addition mode leading to trans aziridines via anti betaine intermediates. The simplest model ylide (unstabilized, R=H) underwent cisoid addition in a similar fashion. In the case of stabilized ylides product diastereoselectivity is controlled by the barriers of the elimination step leading to the 2,3-trans aziridine, whereas it is decided in the addition step in the case of semistabilized ylides. The importance of steric and electronic factors in diastereoselective addition (2 and 5) and elimination (5) transition states was established. Comparison of results obtained with the gas-phase optimized geometries and with the fully optimized solvent-phase geometries reveals that the inclusion of solvent effects does not bring about any dramatic changes in the reaction profiles for all three kinds of ylides. In particular, diastereoselectivity for both kinds of ylides was found to be nearly the same in both these approaches.     

Asymmetric synthesis of cyclopropyl phosphonates using chiral terpenyl sulfonium and selenonium ylides

The asymmetric cyclopropanation of a vinylphosphonate using optically active sulfonium and selenonium ylides derived from (−)-menthol and (+)-limonene was developed. The ylides were generated in situ by the reaction of the corresponding sulfonium or selenonium salt in the presence of potassium carbonate or DBU as a base. The transfer of the CHPh and CHCO₂Et groups into the cyclopropane ring showed moderate diastereoselectivity and excellent enantioselectivity (up to 99:1) for the trans- and cis-products. The absolute configuration of phenyl cyclopropyl was assigned based on comparison to their tolyl analogues.     

Diastereoselective rhodium(II)-catalyzed sulfonium ylide formation-[2,3]-sigmatropic rearrangement reaction of chiral non-racemic allylic sulfides

The tandem sulfonium ylide formation-[2,3]-sigmatropic rearrangement reaction of chiral non-racemic secondary allylic sulfides, (E)-9 and (Z)-10, is found to proceed with high diastereocontrol. The C-5 stereocenter bearing the sulfide group is essential for high diastereoselectivity in the reaction. Transition state conformers are proposed to explain the high diastereoselectivity in the formation of the diastereomeric products, 18a and 18b. The method is applied to the synthesis of (R)-4-(4-chlorophenyl)-2-butyrolactone. Modest enantioselectivity (63% ee) was achieved and this is attributed to partial racemization during the formation of the secondary allylic sulfide 22.     

Carboxylate-stabilised sulfur ylides (thetin salts) in asymmetric epoxidation for the synthesis of glycidic acids. Mechanism and implications

The reaction of carboxylate-stabilised sulfur ylides (thetin salts) with aldehydes and ketones has been investigated. Using both achiral and chiral sulfur ylides, good yields were obtained with dimsylsodium or LHMDS as bases in DMSO or THF-DMSO mixtures. However, the enantioselectivities observed with a camphor-based sulfide were only moderate (up to 67%). The reaction was studied mechanistically by independent generation of the betaine (via the hydroxyl sulfonium salt) in the presence of a more reactive aldehyde, which resulted in incorporation of the more reactive aldehyde and showed that betaine formation was reversible. Thus, the moderate enantiomeric excess observed is a consequence of the enantiodifferentiating step being the ring closure step rather than the betaine forming step. We had expected betaine formation might be non-reversible because a carboxylate-stabilised ylide has only slightly higher stability than a phenyl-stabilised ylide, which does largely react non-reversibly with aldehydes. Evidently, a carboxylate-stabilised ylide is significantly more stable than a phenyl-stabilised ylide and as such reacts reversibly with aldehydes.     

Ruthenium porphyrin catalyzed tandem sulfonium/ammonium ylide formation and [2,3]-sigmatropic rearrangement. A concise synthesis of (+/-)-platynecine

meso-Tetrakis(p-tolyl)porphyrinatoruthenium(II) carbonyl, [Ru(II)(TTP)(CO)], can effect intermolecular sulfonium and ammonium ylide formation by catalytic decomposition of diazo compounds such as ethyl diazoacetate (EDA) in the presence of allyl sulfides and amines. Exclusive formation of [2,3]-sigmatropic rearrangement products (70-80% yields) was observed without [1,2]-rearrangement products being detected. The Ru-catalyzed reaction of EDA with disubstituted allyl sulfides such as crotyl sulfide produced an equimolar mixture of anti- and syn-2-(ethylthio)-3-methyl-4-pentenoic acid ethyl ester. The analogous "EDA + N,N-dimethylcrotylamine" reaction afforded a mixture of anti- and syn-2-(N,N-dimethylamino)-3-methyl-4-pentenoic acid ethyl esters with a diastereoselectivity of 3:1. The observed catalytic activity of [Ru(II)(TTP)(CO)] for the ylide [2,3]-sigmatropic rearrangement is comparable to the reported examples involving [Rh(2)(CH(3)CO(2))(4)] and [Cu(acac)(2)] as catalyst. Similarly, cyclic sulfonium and ammonium ylides can be produced by intramolecular reaction of a diazo group tethered to allyl sulfides and amines under the [Ru(II)(TTP)(CO)]-catalyzed reaction conditions. The subsequent [2,3]-sigmatropic rearrangement of the cyclic ylides furnished 2-allyl-substituted sulfur and nitrogen heterocycles in good yields (>90%). By employing [Ru(II)(TTP)(CO)] as catalyst, the cyclic ammonium ylide [2,3]-sigmatropic rearrangement reaction was successfully applied for the total synthesis of (+/-)-platynecine starting from cis-2-butenediol.     

Synthesis and applications of chiral organoboranes generated from sulfonium ylides

The reactions of aryl-stabilized sulfonium ylides with trialkyl/triarylboranes have been investigated. Clean monohomologation of the boranes with only a small amount of the higher homologation products (<10%) was observed. The homologation products were isolated as the alcohols (treatment with H2O2/NaOH) and amines (treatment with NH2OSO3H). Although the reactions were conveniently conducted at 5 degrees C, the ylide reaction with tributylborane was very fast even at -78 degrees C (complete after 15 min). Use of chiral sulfides rendered the reactions asymmetric, and high enantioselectivity (>95% ee) was observed in all cases. The ylide-borane reaction was applied to short syntheses of the anti-inflammatory agents neobenodine and cetirizine, both of which contain a chiral diarylmethylalkoxy and diarylmethylamino moiety, respectively.     

Formation of disubstituted beta-lactones using bifunctional catalysis

[reaction: see text] Acid chlorides and aromatic aldehydes react in the presence of a stoichiometric amount of a tertiary amine and catalytic amounts of a cinchona alkaloid derivative and a Lewis acid to produce beta-lactones in high diastereo- and enantioselectivity. The sense of the diastereoselectivity depends on the substitution of the acid chloride, with the reactions of aliphatic acid chlorides giving predominantly the trans-isomer and those of alkoxyacetyl chlorides favoring formation of the cis-isomer.     

Controllable diastereoselective cyclopropanation. Enantioselective synthesis of vinylcyclopropanes via chiral telluronium ylides

Novel chiral telluronium salts 1 are designed for asymmetric synthesis of 1,3-disubstituted 2-vinylcyclopropanes. The allylides, generated in situ from the corresponding telluronium salt in the presence of different base, reacted with alpha,beta-unsaturated esters, ketones, and amides to afford cis-2-silylvinyl-trans-3-substituted or trans-2-silylvinyl-trans-3-substituted cyclopropane derivatives with high diastereoselectivity and excellent enantioselectivity in good to high yields. Thus, either one of the two diastereomers could be enantioselectively synthesized at will just by the choice of LiTMP/HMPA or LDA/LiBr. The first examples of catalytic ylide reaction for enantioselective synthesis of 1,3-disubstituted 2-vinylcyclopropanes with high distereoselectivity is also achieved.     

Direct aldol reactions catalyzed by a heterogeneous guanidinium salt/proline system under solvent-free conditions

The combined activity of (S)-proline and an achiral cocatalyst (a TBD-derived guanidinium salt) allow direct aldol reactions to be carried out with high diastereoselectivity and enantioselectivity under solvent-free conditions with a rather simple reaction setup where stirring is not required.     

Mechanistic Insights into the Mode of Action of Bifunctional Pyrrolidine‐Squaramide‐Derived Organocatalysts

The catalytic modes of action of three squaramide‐derived bifunctional organocatalysts have been investigated using DFT methods. The [5+2] cycloaddition between oxidopyrylium ylides and enals was used as the model reaction. Two primary modes were possible for the different catalysts studied. The preference for one mode over the other was due to the possibility of additional favorable π–π interactions between the hydrogen‐bond activated pyrylium ylide and an electron‐deficient aromatic ring bonded to the squaramide NH group. The model can be extended to other reactions catalyzed by the same catalysts, such as formal [2+2] cycloadditions between nitroalkenes and α,β‐unsaturated aldehydes. The computational results were in excellent concurrence with the available experimental reports on the observed total enantioselectivity and differences in diastereoselectivity depending on the substrate and the reaction.     

A stereodivergent synthesis of beta-hydroxy-alpha-methylene lactones via vinyl epoxides

A catalytic diastereoselective sulfonium ylide epoxidation of aldehydes furnished original vinyl epoxides, having an MBH backbone. These highly functionalized building blocks were used for a formal synthesis of the antibiotic conocandin, and opened up a stereodivergent route towards beta-hydroxy-alpha-methylene lactones, core units of naturally occurring compounds. Under acidic conditions, the oxiranes were mainly transformed, with moderate to good yields, into trans beta-hydroxy-alpha-methylene lactones. On the other hand, a user-friendly palladium-catalysed CO2 insertion and cyclisation sequence gave the cis beta-hydroxy-alpha-methylene lactone counterparts along with an interesting cis-trans equilibration of the pi-allyl intermediates.     

Enantio- and diastereoselectivities in chiral sulfur ylide promoted asymmetric aziridination reactions

Density functional theory investigation on the factors controlling enantio- and diastereoselection in asymmetric aziridination reaction by the addition of chiral bicyclic sulfur ylides to substituted aldimines is presented. High levels of enantioselection are predicted toward the formation of (2S,3S)-cis and (2R,3S)-trans aziridines by the addition of stabilized ylide (R = COMe) respectively to SO2Me and CO2Me protected aldimines. Similarly, high %ee is predicted for the formation of (2S,3R)-cis aziridines from semistabilized (R = Ph) ylide. Moderate to high levels of diastereoselectivity is noticed as well. The present study highlights that a correct prediction on extent of enantioselection requires the knowledge of the activation barriers for elementary steps beyond the initial addition step. In the case of stabilized ylides the ring-closure (or elimination of sulfur compound) is found to be crucial in controlling enantio- and diastereoselection. A cumulative effect of electronic as well as other weak interactions is identified as factors contributing to the relative energies of transition states leading to enantio- and diastereomeric products for the stabilized ylide addition to aldimines. On the contrary, steric control appears quite dominant with semistabilized ylide addition. With the smallest substituent on ylide (R = Me), high enantioselectivity is predicted for the formation of (2R,3R)-trans aziridines although the %de in this case is found to be very low.     

Palladium(II)-catalyzed asymmetric cyclization of (Z)-4'-acetoxy-2'-butenyl 2-alkynoates. Role of nitrogen-containing ligands in palladium(II)-mediated reactions.

Pd(OAc)(2) combined with nitrogen-containing ligands (e.g., 2,2'-bipyridine) catalyzed the cyclization of (Z)-4'-acetoxy-2'-butenyl 2-alkynoates (1) in acetic acid to afford the alpha-(Z)-acetoxyalkylidene-beta-vinyl-gamma-butyrolactones (2) with high efficiency and high stereoselectivity. The nitrogen-containing ligands, like halides, served to favor beta-heteroatom elimination over beta-hydride elimination in Pd(II)-mediated reactions. The generality of this ligand effect was probed in both stoichiometric and catalytic reactions. With these results in hand, the catalytic asymmetric protocol was achieved with high enantioselectivity (up to 92% ee) when pymox (pyridyl monooxazoline) or bisoxazoline was used. The absolute configuration of the products and the synthetic utility of this asymmetric transformation were established through the convenient synthesis of (3S)-(+)-A-factor.