Palladium-catalyzed intramolecular allylic alkylation of α-sulfinyl carbanions: a new asymmetric route to enantiopure γ-lactams

Asymmetric intramolecular palladium-catalyzed allylic alkylation allowing access to disubstituted sulfinyl γ-lactams is described. The use of unsaturated amides bearing a sulfinyl group of defined absolute configuration together with enantiopure BINAP as the ligand in a biphasic medium provided good diastereoselectivities with clear solvent effect.     

Palladium-catalyzed cascade process to construct 1,2,5-trisubstituted pyrroles

A novel palladium-catalyzed cascade allylic amination/intramolecular hydroamination/isomerization process of protected enynol 1 and primary amine 2 has been explored, which constructs the important 1,2,5-trisubstituted pyrroles. This transformation offers an alternative synthetic methodology capable of generating substituted pyrroles in a straightforward way.     

Palladium-catalyzed intramolecular oxidative alkylation of unactivated olefins

Reaction of 5,5-dimethyl-8-nonene-2,4-dione catalyzed by PdCl2(CH3CN)2 (5 mol %) in the presence of CuCl2 (2.5 equiv) at room temperature for 3 h formed 2-acetyl-3,6,6-trimethyl-2-cyclohexenone in 96% isolated yield. Palladium-catalyzed intramolecular oxidative alkylation tolerated a range of substitution and was applicable to the synthesis of spirobicyclic compounds and to the cyclization of zeta-alkenyl beta-keto esters.     

A new steroid with unique rearranged seven-membered B ring isolated from roots of Asparagus filicinus

A novel skeleton steroid aspafilisine (1), which has a unique rearranged seven-membered B ring formed by the C₍₇₎–C₍₁₄₎ linkage were isolated from the roots of Asparagus filicinus. A novel hemiketal derivative (1a) was synthesized to identify the structure of 1. The structures of 1 and 1a were elucidated by 1D and 2D NMR spectra as well as by HRESIMS data. The absolute configuration of 1 was assigned on the basis of ROESY spectrum, comparison with literature and computational methods. A plausible biosynthetic pathway of 1 was also proposed.     

Palladium-catalyzed asymmetric allylic alkylation of ketone enolates

Palladium-catalyzed asymmetric allylic alkylation of nonstabilized ketone enolates to generate quaternary centers has been achieved in excellent yield and enantioselectivity. Optimized conditions consist of performing the reaction in the presence of two equivalents of LDA as base, one equivalent of trimethytin chloride as a Lewis acid, 1,2-dimethoxyethane as the solvent, and a catalytic amount of a chiral palladium complex formed from pi-allyl palladium chloride dimer 3 and cyclohexyldiamine derived chiral ligand 4. Linearly substituted, acyclic 1,3-dialkyl substituted, and unsubstituted allylic carbonates function well as electrophiles. A variety of alpha-tetralones, cyclohexanones, and cyclopentanones can be employed as nucleophiles. The absolute configuration generated is consistent with the current model in which steric factors control stereofacial differentiation. The quaternary substituted products available by this method are versatile substrates for further elaboration.     

Palladium-catalyzed ring enlargement of aryl-substituted methylenecyclopropanes to cyclobutenes

Methylenecyclopropanes 1 could be converted to the corresponding cyclobutenes 2 under the catalysis of palladium acetate in the presence of metal bromide in 1,2-dichloroethane under mild conditions. A plausible reaction mechanism has been proposed on the basis of deuterium labeling experiment.     

Promising cyclization reactions to construct the ring systems of brevianamides A,B

An effective intramolecular Michael cyclization and intramolecular SN₂′ cyclization is described for constructing the tricyclic framework of the natural mycotoxins brevianamides A,B.     

Palladium-catalyzed alkylation of 1,4-dienes by C-H activation

Activated: the title reaction proceeds with a broad range of nucleophiles and variously substituted 1,4-dienes under mild conditions, and provides direct access to the corresponding 1,3-diene-containing products with high regio- and stereocontrol (see scheme; 2,6-DMBQ=2,6-dimethylbenzoquinone, EWG=electron-withdrawing group). This is the first catalytic allylic C-H alkylation that proceeds in the absence of sulfoxide ligands.     

Palladium-catalyzed intramolecular oxidative alkylation of 4-pentenyl beta-dicarbonyl compounds

Reaction of 8-nonene-2,4-dione with a catalytic amount of [PdCl2(CH3CN)2] (2; 5 mol %) and a stoichiometric amount of CuCl2 (2.5 equiv) at room temperature for 3 h led to oxidative alkylation and formation of 2-acetyl-3-methyl-2-cyclohexenone in 80 % isolated yield. The oxidative alkylation of 4-pentenyl beta-diketones tolerated a number of terminal acyl groups and substitution at the C1 and C3 carbon atoms of the 4-pentenyl chain. Likewise, 4-pentenyl beta-keto esters that possessed geminal disubstitution at the C1, C2, or C3 carbon atom of the 4-pentenyl chain cyclized to form 2-carboalkoxy-2-cyclohexenones in moderate to good yield as the exclusive cyclized product. Deuterium-labeling experiments provided information regarding the mechanism of the palladium-catalyzed oxidative alkylation of 4-pentenyl beta-dicarbonyl compounds.     

Palladium-catalyzed cascade synthesis of spirocyclic oxindoles via regioselective C2-H arylation and C8-H alkylation of naphthalene ring

A simultaneous C2-H arylation and C8-H alkylation of naphthalene ring has been achieved by palladiumcatalyzed cascade reaction of N-(2-halophenyl)-2-(naphthalen-1-yl)acrylamides with aryl iodides,which provides an efficient method for synthesizing various aryl-substituted spirocyclic oxindoles.The protocol enables three C-C bonds formation via an intramolecular Heck reaction and sequentially regioselective C-H bond activation.     

Palladium-catalyzed asymmetric allylic alkylation of electron-deficient pyrroles with meso electrophiles

Pyrroles can serve as competent nucleophiles with meso electrophiles in the Pd-catalyzed asymmetric allylic alkylation. The products from this transformation were obtained as a single regio- and diastereomer in high yield and enantiopurity. A nitropyrrole-containing nucleoside analogue was synthesized in seven steps to demonstrate the synthetic utility of this transformation.     

Palladium-catalyzed allylic alkylation of optically active α-alkenyl-α-acyloxytrialkylsilane

Pd-catalyzed inter- and intramolecular allylic alkylations of optically active α-alkenyl-α-acyloxysilanes are described. The reactions proceeded in a regio- and stereoselective manner to give the corresponding (E)-vinylsilanes in which the ee of the starting material was completely transferred to the product.     

Palladium-catalyzed asymmetric allylic alkylation of meso- and dl-1,2-divinylethylene carbonate

The palladium-catalyzed asymmetric allylic alkylation of a 1:1 mixture of dl- and meso-1,2-divinylethylene carbonate is reported. For the first time, both the ionization and nucleophilic addition steps of the catalytic cycle act as enantiodiscriminating steps to give a single product in high enantiomeric excess. The reactions proceed in >98% ee to efficiently generate useful chiral building blocks from acrolein. The absolute and relative configurations of iso-cladospolide B and 11-epi-iso-cladospolide B were verified by total synthesis, solving an apparent discrepancy in the literature.     

Highly stereoselective ring expansion of enantiopure α-hydroxyalkyl azetidines

Stereodefined α-hydroxyalkyl azetidines, prepared in a few steps from enantiopure β-amino alcohols, are chlorinated or transformed into methanesulfonyloxymethyl derivatives in good yields. Heating of these compounds in chloroform or dimethylformamide induces a stereospecific ring enlargement to give 3-chloro or 3-methanesulfonyloxy pyrrolidines. The ease of this rearrangement depends on the nature of the migrating group (Cl⁻ or MsO⁻), of the class of the starting alcohol (primary or secondary) and of the relative stereochemistry of the starting material.     

Palladium-catalyzed alkylation of vinyl oxiranes with substituted allenes. Direct access to bifunctionalized allylic alcohols

The first palladium-catalyzed alkylation of vinyl oxiranes with substituted allenes to form functionalized allylic alcohols is described. The reaction of activated allenes 5 with vinyl oxiranes 1 in the presence of catalytic amounts of Pd(PPh(3))(4) (10 mol %) and 1,3-bis(diphenylphosphino)propane (dppp) (20 mol %) in THF at 60 degrees C gave the corresponding allylic alcohols 6 in good to excellent yields. The allylic alcohols were obtained in different ratios of trans/ cis isomers.     

Synthesis of enantiopure allylamines by reductive alkylation of amino epoxides with organolithium reagents

[reaction: see text] Transformation of enantiopure (2R,1'S)-2-(1-aminoalkyl)epoxides 1 into the corresponding allylamines 2 is described. The opening of the epoxide ring with different organolithium compounds takes place with total selectivity and in high yields.     

Total synthesis of enantiopure (+)-gamma-lycorane using highly efficient Pd-catalyzed asymmetric allylic alkylation

[reaction: see text] A highly efficient short total synthesis of (+)-gamma-lycorane (>99% ee, 41% overall yield) was achieved by using the asymmetric allylic alkylation in the key step catalyzed by palladium complexes with novel chiral biphenol-based monodentate phosphoramidite ligands.     

Palladium-catalyzed annulative allylic alkylation for regioselective construction of indole-fused medium-sized cyclic ethers

A new palladium-catalyzed annulative allylic alkylation (AAA) reaction of 2-(indol-2-yl)phenols with dual allylic electrophiles such as isobutylene dicarbonate and butene dicarbonate is described, leading to the regioselective synthesis of tetracyclic medium-sized cyclic ethers possessing a bridged aryl-indole scaffold, namely, benzo[2,3]oxocino[4,5-b]indoles and benzo[2,3]oxepino[4,5-b]indoles, in good to excellent yields. This protocol demonstrates a broad substrate scope, good compatibility with substituents and high regioselectivity, providing a catalytic and flexible method for creating bridged aryl-indole skeletons.     

Palladium-catalyzed asymmetric allylic C–H alkylation of 1,4-dienes and glycine Schiff bases

A highly regio-and enantioselective allylic C–H alkylation of 1,4-dienes with glycine Schiff bases has been established by chiral palladium-phosphoramidite catalysis. This reaction can proceed under mild conditions and tolerate a wide scope of 1,4-dienes,delivering structurally diverse chiral β-branched α-amino acid surrogates in moderate to high yields and with high levels of regio-, Z/E-, diastereo-and enantioselectivities.