Asymmetric synthesis of β-amino alcohols by the transfer hydrogenation of α-keto imines

The asymmetric transfer hydrogenation of representative aryl and benzofuranyl 2-tert-butylaminoethanones with formic acid–triethylamine, catalyzed by RhCl[(R,R)-TsDPEN](C₅Me₅), produced the corresponding β-tert-butylamino alcohols in 97–99% ee. A short asymmetric synthesis of (R)-bufuralol, a potent β-adrenergic receptor antagonist, is described. This approach to β-amino alcohols from ketones circumvents the halogenation–reduction–amination sequence.     

Ru-catalyzed enantioselective preparation of methyl (R)-o-chloromandelate and its application in the synthesis of (S)-Clopidogrel

The preparation of methyl (R)-o-chloromandelate via Ru-catalyzed asymmetric hydrogenation and transfer hydrogenation was investigated. With Ru-(R,R)-2,4,6-triisopropyl C₆H₂SO₂-DPEN as the catalyst and HCOOH-Et₃N azeotrope as the hydrogen donor, up to 92% ee was obtained in an optional condition. The synthesis of (S)-Clopidogrel was also studied.     

New functional chiral P-based ligands and application in ruthenium-catalyzed enantioselective transfer hydrogenation of ketones

Metal-catalyzed asymmetric transfer hydrogenation is a powerful and practical method for the reduction of ketones to produce the corresponding secondary alcohols, which are valuable building blocks in the pharmaceutical, perfume, and agrochemical industries. Hence, a series of novel chiral β-amino alcohols were synthesized by chiral amines with regioselective ring opening of (S)-propylene oxide or reaction with (S)-(+)-2-hydroxypropyl p-toluenesulfonate by a straightforward method. The chiral ruthenium catalytic systems generated from [Ru(arene)(μ-Cl)Cl]₂ complexes and chiral phosphinite ligands based on amino alcohol derivatives were employed in asymmetric transfer hydrogenation of ketones to give the corresponding optically active alcohols; (2S)-1-{[(2S)-2-[(diphenylphosphanyl)oxy]propyl][(1R)-1-phenylethyl]amino}propan-2-yldiphenylphosphinitobis[dichol-oro(η⁶-benzene)ruthenium(II)] acts an excellent catalyst in the reduction of α-naphthyl methyl ketone, giving the corresponding alcohol with up to 99% ee. The substituents on the backbone of the ligands were found to have a remarkable effect on both the conversion and enantioselectivity of the catalysts. Furthermore, this transfer hydrogenation is characterized by low reversibility under these conditions.     

New C2-symmetric chiral phosphinite ligands based on amino alcohol scaffolds and their use in the ruthenium-catalysed asymmetric transfer hydrogenation of aromatic ketones

Asymmetric transfer hydrogenation processes of ketones with chiral molecular catalysts are attracting increasing interest from synthetic chemists due to their operational simplicity. C₂-symmetric catalysts have also received much attention and been used in many reactions. A series of new chiral C₂-symmetric bis(phosphinite) ligands has been prepared from corresponding amino acid derivated amino alcohols or (R)-2-amino-1-butanol through a three- or four-step procedure. Their structures have been elucidated by a combination of multinuclear NMR spectroscopy, IR spectroscopy and elemental analysis. ¹H-³¹P NMR, DEPT, ¹H-¹³C HETCOR or ¹H-¹H COSY correlation experiments were used to confirm the spectral assignments. In situ prepared ruthenium catalytic systems were successfully applied to ruthenium-catalyzed asymmetric transfer hydrogenation of acetophenone derivatives by iso-PrOH. Under optimized conditions, these chiral ruthenium catalyst systems serve as catalyst precursors for the asymmetric transfer hydrogenation of acetophenone derivatives in iso-PrOH and act as good catalysts, giving the corresponding optical secondary alcohols in 99% yield and up to 79% ee.     

Synthesis of (R)- and (S)-4-hydroxyisophorone by ruthenium-catalyzed asymmetric transfer hydrogenation of ketoisophorone

The first synthesis of (R)- and (S)-4-hydroxyisophorone by catalytic transfer hydrogenation of ketoisophorone is reported. Ruthenium catalysts containing commercially available chiral amino alcohols afforded 4-hydroxyisophorone in up to 97% selectivity and 97% ee. (R)- or (S)-4-Hydroxyisophorones with >99% ee were isolated by crystallization. The catalyst precursors [RuCl₂((S,R)-ADPE)(η⁶-p-cymene)] ((S,R)-ADPE=(1S,2R)-amino-1,2-diphenylethanol-N) and (R_Ru)-[RuCl((S,R)-ADPE⁻¹)(η⁶-p-cymene)] (ADPE⁻¹=amino-1,2-diphenylethanolato-N,O) were isolated for the first time and the X-ray crystal structure of the latter determined.     

[5]Ferrocenophane based ligands for stereoselective Rh-catalyzed hydrogenation and Cu-catalyzed Michael addition

A series of homochiral [5]ferrocenophane based N/P, N/S, N/Se, Se/P and P/P ligands was prepared from (R)-N,N-dimethylamino[5]ferrocenophane. These ligands were tested in the Rh-catalyzed hydrogenation of dimethyl itaconate and in Cu-catalyzed Michael addition of Et₂Zn to cyclohex-2-enone. The best results in terms of conversion and enantioselectivity in the Rh-catalyzed hydrogenation provided bis(diphenylphosphine) ligand 2h (100% conversion and 95% ee) and aminophosphine 2a in the Cu-catalyzed conjugate addition (100% conversion 84% ee). The enantioselectivity of the Rh-catalyzed hydrogenation of methyl 2-acetamidoacrylate was lower (41% ee).     

Ruthenium-catalysed asymmetric transfer hydrogenation of N-(tert-butanesulfinyl)imines

The ruthenium complex prepared from [RuCl₂(p-cymene)]₂ and (1S,2R)-1-amino-2-indanol is a very efficient catalyst for the asymmetric transfer hydrogenation of (R)-N-(tert-butanesulfinyl)ketimines in isopropanol. By carefully removing all possible moisture from the reaction medium, chiral primary amines with very high optical purities (up to >99% ee) can be easily prepared in excellent yields by the diastereoselective reduction of the imines followed by removal of the sulfinyl group under mild acidic conditions. Reaction times of 1-4 h were needed to complete the reduction reactions when they were performed at 40 °C.     

Enantioselective hydrogenation of functionalized olefins catalyzed by Rh-chiral bidentatephosphite complexes

A novel catalytic system for the hydrogenation of dimethyl itaconate has been developed by using rhodium–diphosphite complexes. These chiral diphosphite ligands were derived from glucopyranoside, d-mannitol derivatives, and binaphthyl or H₈-binaphthyl phosphochloridites. The ligands based on the methyl 3,6-anhydro-α-d-glucopyranoside backbone and (R)- and (S)-binaphthol and/or (R)- and (S)-2,2′-dihydroxy-5,5′,6,6′,7,7′,8,8′-octahydro-1,1′-binaphthol gave almost complete conversion of the dimethyl itaconate and both enantiomers of dimethyl 2-methylsuccinate with excellent enantioselectivities. The stereochemically matched combination of methyl 3,6-anhydro-α-d-glucopyranoside and H₈-(S)-binaphthyl in ligand 2,4-bis{[(S)-1,1′-H₈-binaphthyl-2,2′-diyl]-phosphite} methyl 3,6-anhydro-α-d-glucopyranoside was essential to afford dimethyl 2-methylsuccinate with up to 98% ee. The sense of the enantioselectivity of products was predominantly determined by the configuration of the biaryl moieties of the ligands. An initial screening of [Rh(cod)₂]BF₄ with these ligands in the hydrogenation of (E)-2-(3-butoxy-4-methoxybenzylidene)-3-methylbutanoic acid was carried out. Good enantioselectivity (75% ee) and low yield for (R)-2-(3-butoxy-4-methoxybenzyl)-3-methylbutanoic acid were obtained.     

Catalytic asymmetric hetero-Diels–Alder route to a key intermediate for the synthesis of calyxin L

A catalytic asymmetric formal synthesis of diarylheptanoid natural product calyxin L has been achieved by incorporating an enantio- and diastereoselective hetero-Diels–Alder (HDA) reaction, a Suzuki–Miyaura coupling, and a stereocontrolled catalytic hydrogenation of 2,4,6-trisubstituted dihydropyran as the key steps. The HDA reaction between 4-(4-benzyloxyphenyl)-2-triethylsilyloxy-1,3-butadiene and (4-benzenesulfonyloxyphenyl)propynal catalyzed by dirhodium(II) tetrakis[(R)-3-(benzene-fused-phthalimido)-2-piperidinonate], Rh₂(R-BPTPI)₄, provided cis-2,6-disubstituted tetrahydropyran-4-one in 91% yield with 91% ee.     

Ruthenium-catalyzed reduction of racemic tricarbonyl(η-aryl ketone)chromium complexes using transfer hydrogenation: A simple alternative to the resolution of planar chiral organometallics

Racemic planar chiral (η⁶-aryl ketone)Cr(CO)₃ complexes (aryl ketone = 1-indanone, 1-tetralone, 4-chromanone and thiochroman-4-one) were prepared by refluxing the aryl ketone with Cr(CO)₆ in a 10:1 mixture of dibutyl ether and THF. The reductions of the organometallic ketones by transfer hydrogenation in 2-propanol containing KOH and the catalyst precursor, generated from [RuCl₂(η⁶-benzene)]₂ and (−)-ephedrine, resulted in optically active syn-(R,S)-(η⁶-aryl alcohol)Cr(CO)₃ and (R)-(η⁶-aryl ketone)Cr(CO)₃ compounds in 31-97% ee. Reduction of racemic (η⁶-thiochroman-4-one)Cr(CO)₃ with the catalyst precursor generated from (+)-norephedrine, instead of (−)-ephedrine, inverted the configuration of the products obtained. Syn-(S,R)-(η⁶-thiochroman-4-ol)Cr(CO)₃ and (S)-(η⁶-thiochroman-4-one)-Cr(CO)₃ were isolated in 49% and >95% ee, respectively. The free aryl ketones were reduced using the same conditions as their respective chromium complexes, giving aryl alcohols in high ee (>95%). Reactions of non-rigid acetophenone, propriophenone and their tricarbonylchromium complexes resulted in moderate to low ee.     

C2-Symmetric diphenylphosphoramide and diphenylthiophosphoramide derived from (1R,2R)-1,2-diaminocyclohexane as ligands for the titanium(IV) alkoxide-promoted addition of diethylzinc to aldehydes

Chiral C₂-symmetric diphenylphosphoramide 4 and diphenylthiophosphoramide 5 were prepared from the reaction of diphenylphosphinic chloride and diphenylthiophosphinic chloride with (1R,2R)-(−)-1,2-diaminocyclohexane in the presence of diisopropylethylamine in high yields. They were used as chiral ligands in the catalytic asymmetric addition reaction of diethylzinc to aldehydes in the presence of titanium(IV) isopropoxide to give the corresponding sec-alcohols in 70–83% ee with an (R)-configuration and in 40–50% ee with an (S)-configuration, respectively.     

New amidophosphine-phosphinites (tLANOPs) as chiral ligands for asymmetric hydrogenation reactions

The new amidophosphine-phosphinite (AMPP) ligands 4a–g (called tLANOP ligands) derived from the chiral hydroxy amide (R)- or (S)-2-hydroxy-3,3,N-trimethylbutyramide have been prepared in 48–83% yield. The crystal structures of the square planar complexes [(SP-4-3)-Pd((R)-dmphea)((S)-4a)]BF₄ and [Rh((R)-4a)(COD)]BF₄ have allowed the absolute configurations of the ligands to be assigned. In both complexes the 7-membered chelating ring of 4a has virtually the same twist-boat conformation. With this class of ligands the rhodium catalyzed asymmetric hydrogenation of 4-oxoisophorone enol acetate gave (S)-phorenol acetate in up to 71% ee. The iridium catalyzed asymmetric hydrogenation of the cyclic iminium salts 16a and 16b afforded after work-up the corresponding cyclic secondary amine (S)-17 in up to 86% ee, when bulky groups were present on the phenyl substituents on the two phosphorus atoms.     

Synthesis of iridium complexes with new planar chiral chelating phosphinyl-imidazolylidene ligands and their application in asymmetric hydrogenation

The synthesis of planar chiral phosphinoimidazolium salts such as (R_p)-3-(4-diphenyl-phosphino[2.2]paracyclophan-12-ylmethyl)-1-(2,6-diisopropylphenyl)imidazolium bromide (R_p)-11c starting from enantiopure 4,12-dibromo[2.2]paracyclophane (R_p)-6 is reported. After deprotonation of these salts and a subsequent reaction with [Ir(COD)Cl]₂, chelating iridium imidazolylidene complexes (R_p)-5a–c are obtained. These complexes catalyze the asymmetric hydrogenation of functionalized and simple alkenes with up to 89% ee.     

Catalytic asymmetric synthesis of descurainin via 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition of a carbonyl ylide using Rh2(R-TCPTTL)4

A catalytic asymmetric synthesis of descurainin has been achieved by incorporating an enantioselective 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition, a stereoselective alkene hydrogenation, an oxidation with Fremy’s salt and a regioselective demethylation with NbCl₅ as the key step. The 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition of a carbonyl ylide derived from tert-butyl 2-diazo-5-formyl-3-oxopetanoate with 4-hydroxy-3-methoxyphenylacetylene in the presence of dirhodium(II) tetrakis[N-tetrachlorophthaloyl-(R)-tert-leucinate], Rh₂(R-TCPTTL)₄, provided an 8-oxabicyclo[3.2.1]octane skeleton in 95% ee.     

Screening of a library of hemisalen ligands in asymmetric H-transfer: Reduction of aromatic ketones in water

A library of chiral hemisalen ligands (30) was realized. The ligands were synthesized by the condensation of salicylaldehyde derivatives with amino-alcohols (amino-indanol or substituted amino-ethanol) and characterized. These ligands associated with ruthenium (II) precursors were tested on the asymmetric transfer hydrogenation (ATH) of aromatic ketones by sodium formate in water. The different substituent pattern on the ligand (electronic and hindrance effects on different positions) as well as the ruthenium precursor were investigated. The best compromise in terms of conversion and chiral induction led to the complex [RuCl₂(mesitylene)]₂ coordinated to (1S,2R)-1-((E)-(3-(dimethyl(phenyl)silyl)-2-hydroxy-5-methoxy benzylidene) amino)-2,3-dihydro-1H-inden-2-ol (L25). It reduces acetophenone in 95% yield and 91% ee in 18 h at 30 °C.     

Enantioselective synthesis of (R)-(−)-praziquantel (PZQ)

Praziquantel 8 (2-cyclohexylcarbonyl-1,2,3,6,7,11b-hexahydro-4H-pyrazino[2,1-a]isoquinoline-4-one), a powerful anti-worm drug, has been synthesized in its enantiopure form via asymmetric transfer hydrogenation according to the Noyori protocol. Initially, the reduction of prochiral imine 4 afforded product 5 in 62% ee, but a single crystallization amplified the enantiomeric purity to 98% ee. The final (R)-(−)-praziquantel 8 was prepared in three subsequent steps in 56% chemical yield.     

Application of the asymmetric hydrogenation of enamines to the preparation of a beta-amino acid pharmacophore

(3R)-3-[N-(tert-Butoxycarbonyl)amino]-4-(2,4,5-trifluorophenyl)butanoic acid 7a has been synthesized by an asymmetric hydrogenation of enamine ester 3 using chiral ferrocenyl ligands I and II in conjunction with [Rh(COD)Cl]₂. The direct reduction of 3 provides amino ester 1b in 93% ee, which was isolated as an (S)-camphorsulfonic acid salt to upgrade the enantiomeric excess to >99%. A more concise approach was developed involving the in situ protection of 1b using di-tert-butyldicarbonate. This approach provided the desired N-Boc amino ester 7b directly from the hydrogenation with 97% ee, which was upgraded to >99% ee upon crystallization.     

Highly enantioselective hydrogenation of new 2-functionalized quinoline derivatives

The asymmetric hydrogenation of a new series of 2-functionalized quinolines has been developed in the presence of in situ generated catalysts obtained from [Ir(cod)Cl]₂/(R)-bisphosphine/I₂ combinations. The enantioselectivity levels were as high as 84-94% ee for the synthesis of 1,2,3,4-tetrahydroquinolines.     

Asymmetric hydrogenation of (E)-α,β-bis(N-acylamino)acrylates catalyzed by a rhodium complex with trans-chelating chiral diphosphine ligand

The asymmetric hydrogenation of (E)-α,β-bis(N-acylamino)acrylates was promoted by a rhodium complex bearing a trans-chelating chiral diphosphine ligand (R,R)-(S,S)-PrTRAP, providing the corresponding optically active (2S,3R)-2,3-bis(N-acylamino)carboxylates with 79–82% ee. The 2,3-bis(N-acylamino)carboxylates isolated were readily hydrolyzed under acid to afford (2S,3R)-2,3-diaminocarboxylic acids in 95% yield without epimerization.     

Synthesis and characterization of chiral mono N-heterocyclic carbene-substituted rhodium complexes and their catalytic properties in hydrosilylation reactions

Different chiral mono-substituted N-heterocyclic carbene complexes of rhodium were prepared, starting from [Rh(COD)Cl]₂ (COD = cyclooctadiene) by addition of free N-heterocyclic carbenes (NHC), or an in-situ deprotonation of the corresponding iminium salt. All new complexes were characterized by spectroscopy methods. In addition, the structures of chloro(η⁴-1,5-cyclooctadiene)(1,3-di-[(1R,2R,3R,5S)-2,6,6-trimethylbicyclo[3.1.1]hept-3-yl] imidazolin-2-ylidene)rhodium(I) (5a), chloro(η⁴-1,5-cyclooctadiene)(1,3-di-[(1R,2S,5R)-2-isopropyl-5-menthylcyclohex-1-yl]imidazol-2-ylidene)rhodium(I) (5b) and chloro(η⁴-1,5-cyclooctadiene)(1,3-di-[(2R,4S,5S)-2-methyl-4-phenyl-1,3-dioxacyclohex-5-yl]imidazolin-2-ylidene)rhodium(I) (5i) were analyzed by DFT-calculations. The enantioselective hydrosilylation of acetophenone, ethylpyruvate and n-propylpyruvate with diphenylsilane and hydrolysis was carried out with chiral C₂-symmetrical mono-substituted N-heterocyclic carbene rhodium complexes giving for the first time an enantioselective excess of up to 74% ee in the case of the n-propylpyruvate.