Highly diastereoselective switchable enantioselective Mannich reaction of glycine derivatives with imines

Tuning of diastereoselectivity was realized in the Mannich reaction of glycine derivatives with aromatic and aliphatic N-Ts imines using CuClO4-FcPHOX ligand 4b and 4f having an MeO group at the 4-position and F atom at the 3,5-position of the phenyl ring on the P-atom respectively as catalyst, providing either anti- or syn-alpha,beta-diamino acid derivatives in high yields and in high diastereo- and enantioselectivities.     

Highly diastereoselective asymmetric Mannich reactions of 1,3-dicarbonyls with acyl imines

[reaction: see text] The cinchona alkaloids catalyze direct asymmetric Mannich reactions of cyclic 1,3-dicarbonyl compounds with acyl imines to afford alpha-quaternary carbon-bearing reaction products in yields of up to 98%, a diastereomeric excess of 90% or greater, and enantioselectivities up to 99% ee. A model is proposed that accounts for both the observed diastereoselectivities and the enantioselectivities for the reactions.     

Direct-type catalytic three-component mannich reactions leading to an efficient synthesis of alpha,beta-diamino acid derivatives

[reaction: see text] The first example of the Lewis acid-catalyzed three-component direct-type Mannich reaction of simple aromatic and enolizable aliphatic aldehydes, secondary amines, and glycine derivatives is described. The procedure is highly atom economical and can be performed in a simple one-pot operation under mild conditions to afford a wide variety of synthetically important anti-alpha,beta-diamino ester derivatives in high yields with high diastereoselectivities.     

A simple asymmetric organocatalytic approach to optically active cyclohexenones

Optically active 2,5-disubstituted-cyclohexen-2-one derivatives have been prepared in a one-pot process consisting of five reaction steps: an organocatalytic asymmetric conjugated addition of beta-ketoesters to alpha,beta-unsaturated aldehydes that proceeds in aqueous solutions or under solvent-free conditions has been implemented in a multi-step process.     

Catalytic asymmetric addition of beta-keto phosphonates to an activated imine--formation of optically active functionalized phosphonate alpha-amino acid derivatives

The direct stereoselective addition of an activated imine to beta-keto phosphonates in the presence of chiral Lewis acid complexes is developed. The evaluation of different activated imines shows that an N-tosyl-alpha-imino ester adds in a diastereo- and enantioselective fashion to beta-keto phosphonates activated by especially chiral copper(II)-bisoxazoline complexes. An evaluation of Lewis acids, chiral ligands and reaction conditions, such as solvent, bases and other additives, shows that high yields, moderate diastereoselectivity and good enantioselectivity are obtained. The scope of the reaction is demonstrated for the reaction of beta-keto phosphonates and finally, the mechanism for the catalytic stereoselective step is presented.     

Catalytic asymmetric direct alpha-amination reactions of 2-keto esters: a simple synthetic approach to optically active syn-beta-amino-alpha-hydroxy esters

The catalytic enantioselective direct alpha-amination reaction of 2-keto esters with easily available azo dicarboxylates as the nitrogen source and chiral bisoxazoline-copper(II) complexes as the catalyst is presented. The reactions proceed with excellent enantioselectivities and high yields. The scope of the reaction is demonstrated by the direct amination of a series of 2-keto esters having different substituent patterns. The reaction provides an easy catalytic route to optically active syn-beta-amino-alpha-hydroxy esters, as demonstrated for the synthesis of masked syn-beta-amino-alpha-hydroxy esters (as oxazolidinones) and N-Boc-syn-beta-amino-alpha-hydroxy esters. On the basis of the absolute configuration of the products a tentative model for the transition state is suggested.     

Catalytic enantioselective aza-Diels-alder reactions of imines--an approach to optically active nonproteinogenic alpha-amino acids

A catalytic enantioselective aza-Diels-Alder reaction of imines has been developed. The reaction of N-tosyl alpha-imino ester with different dienes including activated, non-activated, cyclic, and acyclic dienes has been investigated in the presence of various chiral Lewis acids. A series of phosphino-oxazoline ligands have been synthesized and evaluated for the reaction. It was found that the combination of phosphino-oxazoline ligands with copper(I) salts gives the best results for the activated dienes, while BINAP-copper(I) complexes are good catalysts for all the dienes studied. In the case of activated acyclic dienes the aza-Diels-Alder products can be obtained in higher than 80% isolated yield and 96% ee, while for the unactivated cyclic dienes the exo diastereomer is formed as the major product in up to 95 % ee. For an activated cyclic conjugated diene, 2-trimethylsilyloxy-1,3-cyclohexadiene, the reaction proceeds as a Mannich-type addition reaction giving optically active gamma-oxo alpha-amino acid derivatives in good yields and up to 96% ee. The reaction of an unactivated acyclic diene, 2,3-dimethyl-1,3-butadiene, with the N-tosyl alpha-imino ester gives both the aza-Diels-Alder and aza-ene products, in a ratio of 9:1 favoring the aza-Diels-Alder product. Furthermore, a series of different imines have been synthesized and investigated as possible substrates for the present catalytic enantioselective aza-Diels-Alder reaction in order to obtain mechanistic insight. All imines studied gave moderate to high ee. Particularly, the reaction of the N-phenyl and N-p-methoxyphenyl substituted glyoxylate imines with Danishefsky's diene proceeded well affording the corresponding aza-Diels-Alder product in high yield with up to 91% ee at room temperature. The present catalytic enantioselective reaction of imines provided an effective route to optically active nonproteinogenic alpha-amino acids. The products of the catalytic enantioselective aza-Diels-Alder reaction of the cyclic dienes can be used for the preparation of key compounds such as natural products and compounds of pharmaceutical interest. The absolute configurations of five products have been solved by X-ray structural analysis, and it is found that the absolute configuration of the aza-Diels-Alder adduct is dependent on the substituent on the imine nitrogen atom. It turned out that the N-tosyl glyoxylate imine and N-p-methoxyphenyl glyoxylate imine give the aza-Diels-Alder adduct with opposite absolute configuration using the same enantiomer of the catalyst. On the basis of the results the mechanistic aspects for the reactions are discussed.     

Catalytic asymmetric Simmons-Smith cyclopropanation of silyl enol ethers. Efficient synthesis of optically active cyclopropanol derivatives

[reaction: see text] This paper describes a catalytic asymmetric Simmons-Smith cyclopropanation of silyl enol ethers using dipeptide 2 as the ligand. A variety of optically active cyclopropyl silyl ethers can be obtained in high yields. Up to 96% ee was obtained. The dipeptide can be recovered after the reaction in good yield and reused without the loss of reactivity or enantioselectivity.     

Catalytic route to the synthesis of optically active beta,beta-difluoroglutamic acid and beta,beta-difluoroproline derivatives

Beta,beta-difluorinated amino acid derivatives were synthesized via Mg(0)-promoted defluorination of alpha-trifluoromethyl iminoester. Bromination of the difluoroenamine afforded the bromodifluoromethyl iminoester in good yield. Pd-catalyzed asymmetric hydrogenation of the bromodifluoromethyl iminoester and the subsequent transformations provided optically active beta,beta-difluoroglutamic acid and beta,beta-difluoroproline derivatives.     

Catalytic asymmetric synthesis of alpha,alpha,alpha-trifluoromethylamines by the copper-catalyzed nucleophilic addition of diorganozinc reagents to imines

[reaction: see text] A copper-catalyzed asymmetric addition of diorganozinc reagents to N-phosphinoylimines has been developed for the synthesis of chiral alpha,alpha,alpha-trifluoromethylamines. The trifluoromethyl ketimines, generated in situ from the corresponding hemiaminals, led to the chiral amides in high yields (71-89%) and excellent enantiocontrol (91-99% ee).     

Practical synthesis of optically active alpha,alpha-disubstituted malonamic acids through asymmetric hydrolysis of malonamide derivatives with Rhodococcus sp. CGMCC 0497

A variety of alpha,alpha-disubstituted malonamides undergo enantioselective hydrolysis with Rhodococcus sp. CGMCC 0497 to give challenging enantiopure alpha,alpha-disubstituted malonamic acids with up to >99% enantiomeric excesses and 98% chemical yields. The enantioselectivity originated from the effects of a highly enantioselective amidase. The products could be converted to valuable (R)- or (S)-alpha,alpha-dialkylated amino acids after routine conversions.     

Catalytic enantioselective 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition reactions of cyclic nitrones: a simple approach for the formation of optically active isoquinoline derivatives

The first highly diastereo- and enantioselective catalytic 1, 3-dipolar cycloaddition reaction of cyclic nitrones activated by chiral Lewis acids with electron-rich alkenes has been developed. The nitrones, mainly 3,4-dihydroisoquinoline N-oxides, are activated by chiral 3,3'-aryl BINOL-AlMe complexes and undergo a regio-, diastereo-, and enantioselective 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition reaction with especially alkyl vinyl ethers, giving the exo diastereomer of the cycloaddition products in high yield, >90% de and up to 85% ee. The reaction has been investigated under various conditions, and it is demonstrated that the reaction is an attractive synthetic procedure for the introduction of a chiral center in the 1-position of the isoquinoline skeleton. The mechanism of the reaction is discussed on the basis of the assignment of the absolute configuration of the cycloaddition product and theoretical calculations.     

Organocatalysis with proline derivatives: improved catalysts for the asymmetric Mannich, nitro-Michael and aldol reactions

Tetrazole and acylsulfonamide organocatalysts derived from proline have been synthesised and applied to the asymmetric Mannich, nitro-Michael and aldol reactions to give results that are superior to the proline-catalysed counterpart.     

A biocatalytic approach to synthesizing optically active orthogonally protected trans-cyclopentane-1,2-diamine derivatives

A straightforward chemoenzymatic synthesis of optically active trans-N,N-dialkylcyclopentane-1,2-diamines has been efficiently developed starting out from their analogous (+/-)-trans-2-(N,N-dialkylamino)cyclopentanols. The route involves the one-pot stereospecific transformation of the racemic amino alcohols into racemic diamines and a subsequent kinetic resolution by means of lipase-B from Candida antarctica-catalyzed acylation reactions. The careful selection of both the alkyl substituents present in the diamine and the derivatization strategy applied to the enzymatic reaction enabled the easy preparation of other synthetically valuable optically active trans-cyclopentane-1,2-diamines derivatives.