Exploring an expedient IMDA reaction approach to construct the guanacastepene core

Construction of the [5-7-6] tricyclic core of guanacastepenes was attempted by using the intramolecular Diels-Alder (IMDA) reaction and Me(3)Al-mediated ring opening of the oxabridge as key synthetic steps. The illustrated chemistry demonstrated a synthetic feasibility to build up the framework of guanacastepenes by the IMDA reaction. [reaction: see text]     

A new synthetic approach towards isoquinobenzazepinone and isoindolinobenzazepinone using acid-mediated cyclisation and Heck reaction

Six-membered ring cyclisation of N-ethylbenzazepinone, prepared from the condensation of benzazepinone with phenethyl iodide under basic conditions, smoothly provided the corresponding product, isoquino[1,2-b][3]benzazepinone, under acid-mediated conditions. On the other hand, the attempted direct five-membered ring cyclisation using the acid-mediated conditions failed to give the 7,5 fused ring isoindolinobenzazepinone from N-benzylbenzazepinone, but the 7,6 fused ring product was instead obtained. However, five-membered ring cyclisation of N-benzylbenzazepinone could be effected efficiently by employing the Heck reaction followed by catalytic hydrogenation to furnish the desired isoindolinobenzazepinone.     

The high pressure mediated intramolecular Diels-Alder reaction of furan dienes: a synthetic approach towards daphnanes.

Furan $\text{2}$ undergoes intramolecular Diels-Alder reaction when subjected to high (14kbar) pressures to give a mixture of $\text{endo}$ and $\text{exo}$ adducts in which the $\text{exo}$ adduct is formed as the kinetic product, at variance with the expected course of events.     

Cyclononitols: a flexible synthetic approach towards nine-membered carbasugar analogues

A novel, concise, stereocontrolled approach to nine-membered carbasugar analogues (cyclononitols) from a bicyclo[4.3.1]deca-2,4-dien-10-one scaffold, harbouring a ‘locked’ cyclononane ring and latent functionalities, is described.     

An altemative synthetic approach towards erythrinan and homoerythrinan alkaloids by tandem semipinacol/intramolecular Schmidt reaction

An alternative construction of A-B-D ring-system of erythrinan and homoerythrinan alkaloids by TiCl_4-mediated tandem semipinacol/intramolecular Schmidt reaction ofα-siloxyepoxyazide was addressed and the unusual epoxidation stereoselectivity was observed in preparation of the substrate once again.     

An alternative synthetic approach towards erythrinan and homoerythrinan alkaloids by tandem semipinacol/intramolecular Schmidt reaction

An alternative construction of A-B-D ring-system of erythrinan and homoerythrinan alkaloids by TiCl4-mediated tandem semipinacol/intramolecular Schmidt reaction of α-siloxyepoxyazide was addressed and the unusual epoxidation stereoselectivity was observed in preparation of the substrate once again.     

First synthetic approach towards K-259-2, a unique calmodulin antagonist

K-259-2, a unique calmodulin antagonist, is an allyl chain containing anthraquinone natural product. A regiospecific synthetic approach towards K-259-2 is herein represented. The study also showcases a protocol for synthesizing heavily substituted bromo naphthoate which was found to be suitable for fabricating the K-259-2 motif.     

General synthetic approach towards annelated 3a,6-epoxyisoindoles by tandem acylation/IMDAF reaction of furylazaheterocycles. Scope and limitations

An efficient and versatile one-pot synthesis of 3,6a-epoxyisoindoles annelated with oxazine, oxazole, thiazine, thiazole, pyrimidine fragments and with their benzoannelated analogues is presented. The method is based on tandem N-acylation/intramolecular cycloaddition (the intramolecular Diels–Alder reaction of furan, IMDAF) reaction between α,β-unsaturated acid anhydrides and α-furyl substituted azaheterocycles. The latter can be easily prepared by condensation of diverse furfurals and 1,2- or 1,3-N,X-binucleophiles (aminoalcohols, aminothiols, diamines). The observed IMDAF reaction is stereoselective: exo-adducts are formed exclusively with large prevalence of one of the diastereoisomers. In most cases, the condensation/N-acylation/IMDAF reaction sequence may be carried out via a one-pot domino protocol. The scope and limitations of the proposed approach are thoroughly investigated. The obtained Diels–Alder adducts are attractive and useful substrates for further transformations. Fused isoindoles can be prepared from them in one-step by aromatization of the 7-oxabicyclo[2.2.1]heptene ring. Other transformations, including halogenation, ring cleavage, and Wagner–Meerwein skeletal rearrangement, are also demonstrated. The spatial structures of the obtained compounds have been established by X-ray diffraction analyses.     

New synthetic approach to cyclopenta-fused heterocycles based upon a mild Nazarov reaction

The Pd-catalyzed coupling reaction of lactam or lactone-derived vinyl triflates and phosphates with alpha-alkoxydienylboronates gives conjugated alkoxytrienes in which one of the double bonds is embedded in a heterocyclic moiety. If subjected to mild acidic hydrolysis, these compounds undergo a 4pi electrocyclization process (Nazarov reaction) which furnishes cyclopenta-fused O- and N-heterocycles in good yields. The scope of the work has been that of closely examining the role and effect of both the heteroatom and the heterocycle ring size on the outcome of the electrocyclization, as well as the torquoselectivity of this process. The presence of the heteroatom was essential in stabilizing the oxyallyl cation intermediate, thus allowing the reaction to occur. The ring size was also a basic parameter in the cyclization step: five-membered azacycles required more drastic conditions to give 5-5 fused systems and did so only after an initial hydrolysis to the corresponding divinyl ketones. As for the torquoselectivity, with both 2-methyl and 4-methyl substituted lactam derivatives steric interactions seem to have a role in forcing the conrotatory process to take place in one sense only: allowing the synthesis of diastereomerically pure compounds to be realized. Because different patterns of substitution on the heterocycle are compatible with the reaction conditions, the methodology developed could be very useful for the synthesis of natural products and biologically active compounds containing cyclopenta-fused O- and N-heterocycle moieties.     

A six-step synthetic approach to marine natural product (+)-aureol

A concise synthetic approach to the marine natural product (+)-aureol has been achieved from readily available starting materials using obviously fewer steps in comparison to the related report in literature (6 steps versus 12 steps from (+)-sclareolide). Key steps of this protocol include a boron trifluoride-catalyzed domino 1,2-H and 1,2-methyl shifts and a nickel(II)-catalyzed cross-coupling reaction between an alkyl iodide and an aryl Grignard reagent.     

Polymer-chelation approach to high-performance Fe-Nx-C catalyst towards oxygen reduction reaction

Pyrolyzed Fe-N_x-C with atomically dispersed Fe-N_x sites are hailed as the most promising alternative to the noble metal Pt-based catalysts towards oxygen reduction reaction (ORR). However, the conventional micropore-confinement synthetic approach usually causes the insufficient utilization of active sites and mass transport resistance as the sites are located inside the micropore. We herein report a polymer-chelation strategy to directly disperse the Fe-N_x active sites onto the carbon surface. The N-rich monomer was in-situ polymerized on the carbon support and then chelated with Fe. The strong Fe-N chelating interaction is crucial to suppress Fe aggregation when undergoing the high-temperature pyrolysis. Due to the enriched surface sites, hierarchically porous structure and excellent conductivity of carbon support, the optimal catalyst (denoted as Fe-N_x-C@C-900) exhibits impressive ORR activity of onset and half-wave potential of 1.02 and 0.87 V, respectively, superior to the Pt/C benchmark.     

A straightforward approach towards thiazoles and endothiopeptides via Ugi reaction

Endothiopeptides can easily be obtained via Ugi reaction using thio acids as acid components. If isonitriles with an acetal group are applied, the endothiopeptides can directly be converted into thiazoles using TMSCl-NaI under microwave irradiation.     

A novel synthetic approach towards 2-guanidinomethyl-4(5)-sulfamoylimidazoles

A library of 2-guanidinomethyl-4(5)-sulfamoylimidazoles was synthesised in a convergent manner by introducing a sulfonyl chloride group via a trianion electrophilic sulfinylation of suitably protected 2-guanidinomethyl imidazoles.     

Diels-alder reaction as a synthetic approach to bicyclo[3.3.1]nonane colchicine analogs

Russian Journal of Organic Chemistry -     

A new synthetic approach towards 7-substituted 2-alkyl-2,3,4,9-tetrahydro-1H-fluorenes

Cyclization of 2-(4-bromophenyl)-5-pentylcyclohex-1-ene-1-carboxylic acid followed by reduction of the carbonyl group resulted in the corresponding 7-substituted derivative of 2-alkyl-2,3,4,9-tetrahydro-1H-fluorene.     

The manganese-mediated regioselective chlorination of allenes in synthetic approaches towards the spongistatins and halomon natural products

The first examples for the chlorination of allenes using manganese reagents generated from potassium permanganate and benzyl triethylammonium chloride in the presence of the chlorine donors oxalyl chloride or chlorotrimethylsilane are reported with the aim of developing useful synthetic routes to the spongistatin and halomon marine natural products.     

Aldol-type reaction of a 4-pyrone: a straightforward approach to 4-pyrone-containing natural products

A straightforward approach to 4-pyrone-containing natural products has been developed, which includes an aldol-type reaction between 2,6-diethyl-3,5-dimethyl-4-pyrone and aldehydes. The counter cation of the carbanion of the pyrone was found to play an important role in this reaction.     

Thiophene-containing products of the Ugi reaction in an oxidation-triggered IMDA/aromatization cascade: a simple access to 3-oxoisoindolines

A novel approach to skeletally diverse 3-oxoisoindolines has been developed which includes preparation of Ugi adducts containing thiophene and fumaric acid residues. When treated with excess m-CPBA at room temperature, these precursors undergo a simple oxidative cycloaddition/aromatization transformation and the corresponding 3-oxoisoindoline products are isolated in fair chemical yield over two steps. The second step is thought to include S-oxidation/IMDA/S-oxidation/SO₂ extrusion/aromatization events.     

A novel synthetic approach towards N-phenylsuccinimides from γ-lactam-2-carboxylic acid derivatives by reaction with CAN-NaBrO3

N-Arylsuccinimides have been synthesized by decarboxylative oxidation of N-aryl-γ-lactam-2-carboxylic acids with the dual oxidant CAN/NaBrO₃ in refluxing acetonitrile-water.