An improved synthesis of enantiomerically pure CIP-AS,a potent and selective AMPA-kainate receptor agonist

CIP-AS (−)-2, a chiral amino acid structurally related to glutamic acid, behaves as a potent agonist at the ionotropic AMPA-kainate receptors and was previously prepared in low overall yield through the 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition of ethoxycarbonylformonitrile oxide to N-BOC-3,4-didehydro-(S)-proline methyl ester (−)-6. Herein, we report an alternative strategy based on the cycloaddition of the same dipolarophile to N-(4-methoxybenzyl)-α-ethoxycarbonylnitrone 12. The mixture of stereoisomeric 3-ethoxycarbonyl-N-(4-methoxybenzyl)isoxazolidinyl prolines 13 was then converted into the corresponding 3-ethoxycarbonyl-Δ²-isoxazolinyl prolines by DDQ mediated oxidation. The new strategy yielded the precursor of CIP-AS in satisfactory overall yield and represents an improvement upon the existing procedure in terms of yield and efficiency.     

An alternate synthesis of enantiomerically pure levetiracetam (Keppra®)

A simple and efficient synthesis of levetiracetam has been achieved with high enantiopurity (>99%) starting from commercially available benzyl glycidyl ether. The method is amenable for industrial scale-up.     

An efficient and selective enzymatic oxidation system for the synthesis of enantiomerically pure D-tert-leucine

[reaction: see text] d-tert-Leucine was prepared with an enantiomeric excess of >99% by an enzyme-catalyzed oxidative resolution of the racemic mixture of dl-tert-leucine with use of leucine dehydrogenase. The l-amino acid was oxidized completely due to coupling of the primary reaction with a highly efficient irreversible NAD(+)-regenerating step by NADH oxidase.     

Novel synthesis of chiral,enantiomerically pure thiodiglycols and diglycols

Natural α-hydroxy acids have been converted in a sequence of O-protection, reduction, O-activation, thioether and ether formation and deprotection to chiral, non-racemic β,β′-dihydroxy thioethers 1a, 1b and ether 1c. Overall yields are excellent (75%). In an attempt to synthesize the respective dihydroxy ether 1d derived from mandelic acid 1,3-dioxolane derivatives 7 were obtained.     

An efficient synthesis of enantiomerically pure unnatural aryl glycinols and aryl glycines

A quick route to enantiomerically pure unnatural aryl glycinols and aryl glycines has been established based on an asymmetric azidation reaction using a chiral benzosultam auxiliary. The synthesis of aryl glycinols involves three steps starting from arylacetic acids, and the chiral auxiliary can be readily recovered.     

An efficient enzyme-catalyzed kinetic resolution: large-scale preparation of an enantiomerically pure indole-ethyl ester derivative,a key component for the synthesis of a prostaglandin D2 receptor antagonist,an anti-allergic rhinitis drug candidate

Three racemic esters including indole-ethyl ester 1 as well as its related derivatives 3 and 4 in Scheme 1, all synthetic intermediates for the preparation of chiral compound 5, were used as substrates to evaluate the catalytic potentials of a panel of commercial enzymes for asymmetric hydrolysis. After an extensive evaluation of the conversion rates (C), enantiomeric excesses (ee) and enantioselectivity determination (E), lipase from Pseudomonas fluorescens was identified. This lipase catalyzed the asymmetric hydrolysis of racemic indole-ethyl ester 1 affording the desired enantiomerically pure intermediate 1 with 97% ee and an E value of 425. Indole-ethyl ester 1, with the following attributes: being early in the synthetic scheme, showing resistance to racemization in the later chemical reactions as well as the possibility of the recycling of the unwanted enantiomer, was therefore selected for optimization and establishment of an enzyme-catalyzed reaction for the industrial-scale synthesis of the compound 5, a drug candidate for the treatment of allergic rhinitis.     

Asymmetric synthesis of alpha,alpha-difluoro-beta-amino acid derivatives from enantiomerically pure N-tert-butylsulfinimines

Addition of the Reformatsky reagent derived from ethyl bromodifluoroacetate to alkyl- and aryl-substituted N-tert-butylsulfinimines furnishes beta-tert-butylsulfinamyl-beta-substituted alpha,alpha-difluoroproponiates in diastereomeric ratios ranging from 80:20 to 95:5. The diastereomers are easily separated and the enantiomerically pure, protected beta-amino esters are readily transformed to the corresponding acid, amide, and amine derivatives as useful synthons for medicinal chemistry targets.     

A new and extremely efficient,general strategy for the synthesis of enantiomerically pure iridoid aglycones

A new and efficient approach for the synthesis of chiral iridoid aglycones is described.     

Scalable synthesis of a new enantiomerically pure π-extended rigid amino indanol

A convenient route to a benzo-fused amino indanol chiral controller is disclosed. The synthesis is based on a newly optimized entry to 3H-benz(e)indene that can be performed on decagram scale with no purification of intermediates. Subsequent oxidation, classical resolution, and Ritter steps give the target synthon in >98% ee. The resolution features (S)-naproxen as an inexpensive and highly crystalline resolving agent. Conversion of the amino alcohol to its bis(oxazolinyl)-propane is also reported. A solid state structure of the CuCl₂–box complex shows preservation of the distorted square planar geometry found in the parent CuCl₂(indanyl-box) despite greater steric crowding by the blocking groups.     

Tandem enantioselective organo- and biocatalysis: a direct entry for the synthesis of enantiomerically pure aldols

Direct proline-catalyzed aldol reactions were linked in sequence with lipase-catalyzed kinetic resolutions to afford enantiomerically pure (>99% ee) aldol adducts in higher conversion than a standard resolution of racemic materials. The combination of organocatalytic aldol reactions and enzymatic kinetic resolutions provided exclusively either the (R)- or (S)-enantiomer of the aldol adducts even though an (R)-selective lipase catalyzed the kinetic resolutions. Furthermore, the one-pot tandem reactions are inexpensive, are operationally simple, circumvents the use of organic solvent and are environmentally benign.     

A novel synthesis of enantiomerically pure 5,5,5,5',5',5'-hexafluoroleucine

[reaction in text] A novel, short, and efficient synthesis of (S)-5,5,5,5',5',5'-hexafluoroleucine (6) in greater than 99% ee starting from the protected oxazolidine aldehyde 1 is described. The enantiomeric excess of the product was calculated from an NMR analysis of a dipeptide formed by reaction with a protected L-serine derivative. Furthermore, a racemic sample of N-acylated hexafluoroleucine was enzymatically resolved by treatment with porcine kidney acylase I and was found to have the same optical rotation as a synthetic sample of 6.     

An efficient synthesis of enantiomerically pure aromatic-fused N-containing heterocycles from common chiral aziridines

An efficient synthesis of enantiomerically pure aromatic-fused N-containing heterocycles was successfully achieved via Pd-catalyzed intramolecular C-N bond formation between the nitrogen originated from the aziridine and the halogen containing aromatic carbon. This reaction has a broad substrate scope to provide various enantiomerically pure (3,4-dihydro-2H-benzo[b][1,4]oxazin-3-yl)methanols, 2-hydroxymethyl-1,2,3,4-tetrahydroquinolines and (1,2,3,4-tetrahydroquinoxalin-2-yl)methanols from common chiral aziridines in good yields.     

A solid-phase, library synthesis of natural-product-like derivatives from an enantiomerically pure tetrahydroquinoline scaffold

With the goal of developing a library synthesis of tetrahydroquinoline-derived natural-product-like small molecules, a practical synthesis of enantiomerically pure tetrahydroquinoline scaffold was achieved. An asymmetric aminohydroxylation reaction was the key step in this strategy. This scaffold was further immobilized onto the solid support for the library generation. The library was obtained from three diversity sites: (i) acylation of the hydroxyl group (R(1)), (ii) coupling of the Fmoc-protected amino acid to the amino group (R(2)), and (iii) amidation of the N-terminal amine group (R(3)).     

Novel chemoenzymatic strategy for the synthesis of enantiomerically pure secondary alcohols with sterically similar substituents

A novel chemoenzymatic strategy for the synthesis of enantiomerically pure secondary alcohols with sterically similar substituents is described. The key step is the kinetic lipase-catalyzed resolution of racemic mixtures of substituted propargylic alcohols. The efficiency of this new approach was tested in the preparation of the corresponding enantiomers of 1,11-hexadecandiol derivatives ((R)-5 and (S)-5). Two strategies were tested. In the first one, the racemic intermediate 1-octyn-3-ol (1) was resolved enzymatically and then elongated with 1-bromo-9,11-dioxadodecane. Alternatively, the racemic 1 can be elongated to the corresponding racemic 17,19-dioxa-7-eicosyn-6-ol (3) first and then resolved biocatalytically. Twelve commercially available lipases were screened for the kinetic resolution of these intermediates. Among them, Candida antarctica lipase (CAL-B) and Humicola lanuginosa lipase (HLL) were the best biocatalysts for the resolution of 1 (S enantiomer 90% ee, E = 35), and 3 (R enantiomer 90% ee, E = 34), respectively.     

Design, synthesis and pharmacological activity of novel enantiomerically pure phosphonic acid-based NAALADase inhibitors

Inhibitors of NAALADase have shown promise for a variety of diseases associated with glutamate excitotoxicity, and could be useful for the diagnosis and therapy of prostate cancer. A series of novel enantiomerically pure 2-(phosphonomethyl)pentanedioic acid (2-PMPA) based NAALADase inhibitors were synthesized. These compounds were prepared from previously reported (S)-2-(hydroxyphosphinoylmethyl)pentanedioic acid benzyl ester . Biological test results showed that the new compounds are good to outstanding NAALADase inhibitors. Compounds and showed activity similar to the known potent inhibitor (S)-2-PMPA. Fluorescently labeled inhibitor may potentially be used to study binding to prostate cancer cells by fluorescence microscopy, and siderophore-containing inhibitor may be useful for detection of prostate-derived cancer cells by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).     

1,4-Hydrogen radical transfer as a new and versatile tool for the synthesis of enantiomerically pure 1,2,3-triols

[reaction: see text]1,4-Hydrogen radical transfers can now be reliably envisaged in radical synthetic chemistry as demonstrated by the formation of the cyano derivative II from I. Due to related sequences involving this new translocation process, followed by a highly diastereoselective trapping of the resulting anomeric radical, access to intriguing enantiopure 1,2,3-triols such as III is available.     

An efficient synthesis of enantiomerically pure (R)-pipecolic acid, (S)-proline, and their N-alkylated derivatives

Enantiomerically pure (R)-(+)-pipecolic acid was synthesized in four steps and 42% overall yield starting from dihydropyran and (R)-alpha-methylbenzylamine. A general short strategy is also described for preparing (S)-proline (47.5% overall yield) and derivatives.     

Enantioselective synthesis of 2-hydroxy-1-indanone,a key precursor of enantiomerically pure 1-amino-2-indanol

Enantiomerically pure (R)- or (S)-2-hydroxy-1-indanone was synthesized by enzymatic kinetic resolution of racemic 2-acetoxy-1-indanone through hydrolysis or transesterification.     

Stereoselective synthesis of enantiomerically pure d-threo-PDMP; manipulation of a core 2,3-diamino alcohol unit

The C(3)N bond of various non-activated enantiomerically pure aziridine-2-methanols was regioselectively cleaved by nitrogen nucleophiles to provide a variety of β-aminoalanine derivatives in high yields.     

An improved method for the synthesis of optically pure epoxide and alcohol derivatives of chiral bromohydrins

The resolution of arene oxides, diols and other derivatives of bromohydrins has been markedly improved by the use of bromohydrin esters of (?)-(S)-a-methoxy-a-trifluoromethyl- phenylacetic acid (MTPA).