Boron trifluoride-induced, new stereospecific rearrangements of chiral epoxy ethers. Ready access to enantiopure 4-(diarylmethyl)-1,3-dioxolanes and 4,5-disubstituted tetrahydrobenzo[c]oxepin-4-ols

Upon treatment with BF3.Et2O at low temperature, enantiopure benzyl-type ethers of arylglycidols with electron withdrawing substituents at the skeletal aryl group and electron donating substituents at the benzyl group undergo stereospecific rearrangements of Friedel-Crafts type, leading to enantiopure 4-diarylmethyl-1,3-dioxolanes (2) or to enantiopure trans-4,5 disubstituted tetrahydrobenzo[c]oxepin-4-ols (5). The course of the reactions is controlled by the substitution pattern at the benzyl ether: While benzylic systems activated toward ipso substitution afford diarylmethanes 2 through a Friedel-Crafts reaction followed by fragmentation, benzylic systems activated toward ortho attack lead to enantiopure oxepinols 5 through a 7-endo-tet ring closure of Friedel-Crafts type.     

Stereodivergent synthesis of enantiopure cis- and trans-3-Ethyl-4-piperidineacetates

[reaction: see text] Starting from a common chiral bicyclic lactam 11, enantiopure trans- or cis-3-ethyl-4-piperidineacetate derivatives are obtained by conjugate addition of an enolate or a cuprate to the unsaturated lactams 12 or 18, respectively.     

Enantioselective access to 2,7-cis-disubstituted oxepanes: formal synthesis of (+)-isolaurepan

[reaction: see text] The asymmetric synthesis of 2,7-cis-disubstituted oxepanes bearing a sulfoxide is achieved from commercially available precursors in only five steps. The key step is the highly diastereoselective Et3SiH/TMSOTf-promoted reductive cyclization of enantiopure hydroxysulfinyl aryl or alkyl ketones.     

Synthesis of enantiopure imidazolines through a Ritter reaction of 2-(1-aminoalkyl)aziridines with nitriles

The Ritter reaction of enantiopure 2-(1-aminoalkyl)aziridines 1 with different nitriles afford enantiopure tetrasubstituted imidazolines 2. The opening of the aziridine ring takes place with total regio- and stereoselectivity. A mechanism to explain the described addition reaction is proposed. [reaction: see text]     

Synthesis of enantiopure N-protected 4,5-disubstituted 3-pyrrolidinones and N-protected 2,5-disubstituted 3-pyrrolidinones via the Dieckmann reaction of dicarbonyl compounds derived from enantiopure β-amino esters

Under the action of KHMDS in THF solvent the Dieckmann reaction of dicarbonyl compounds derived from enantiopure β-amino esters provides enantiopure N-protected 4,5-disubstituted 3-pyrrolidinones, whereas N-protected 2,5-disubstituted 3-pyrrolidinones formed in reactions mediated by tert-BuOK in DMF or toluene. Reduction of these pyrrolidinones afforded enantiopure polysubstituted pyrrolidines.     

Efficient addition reaction of bromonitromethane to aldehydes catalyzed by NaI: a new route to 1-bromo-1-nitroalkan-2-ols under very mild conditions

[Structure: see text] A catalytic NaI-mediated novel synthesis of 1-bromo-1-nitroalkan-2-ols was carried out by reaction of bromonitromethane with a variety of aldehydes, under very mild conditions. When the reaction was performed with chiral N,N-dibenzyl alaninal, the corresponding enantiopure (1S,2S,3S)-3-dibenzylamino-1-bromo-1-nitrobutan-2-ol was obtained with good stereoselectivity. The structure of this enantiopure bromohydrin was established by X-ray analysis.     

S(N)1-like reactions of bicyclic alpha-amino ethers with sulfur,nitrogen, and carbon nucleophiles. Synthesis of 1-azabicyclo[3.2.2]nonanes functionalized at carbon C2 and C6 with complete stereocontrol

[reaction: see text] In the presence of nucleophiles, Lewis acid mediated cleavage of alpha-amino ethers derived from quincorine and quincoridine affords a variety of C2-substituted and C6-vinylated 1-azabicyclo[3.2.2]nonanes. These are enantiopure and are formed in S(N)1-like reactions with complete stereocontrol. There is no leakage into 2-Nu en route to product 1-Nu or vice versa. Me(3)SiCN provides new Strecker-type alpha-amino nitriles. In the presence of TTMPP-BF(3).OEt(2), the ketene acetal Me(2)C=C(OMe)OSiMe(3) delivers enantiopure bicyclic beta-amino acid esters.     

Asymmetric synthesis of enantiopure isoxazolidinone monomers for the synthesis of β-oligopeptides by chemoselective amide ligation

The design and general synthesis of enantiopure isoxazolidinone monomers as precursors for the preparation of enantiopure N-terminal hydroxylamine-β³-oligopeptides, which may be used as reaction partners with α-ketoacids in the decarboxylative amide ligation reaction, is described.     

Regioselective and stereospecific synthesis of enantiopure 1,3-oxazolidin-2-ones by intramolecular ring opening of 2-(Boc-aminomethyl)aziridines. Preparation of the antibiotic linezolid

The amide moiety of several enantiopure unactivated 1-aryl- or 1-alkylaziridine-2-carboxamides were reduced and then N-Boc-protected to afford enantiopure 2-(Boc-aminomethyl)aziridines, which were further converted into enantiopure 5-(aminomethyl)-1,3-oxazolidin-2-ones by means of a stereospecific and fully regioselective BF3.Et2O-promoted intramolecular nucleophilic ring opening. One of these oxazolidinones was transformed into the antibiotic linezolid through a CuI-catalyzed N-arylation reaction at its carbamate moiety.     

Biocatalytic approaches toward the synthesis of both enantiomers of trans-cyclopentane-1,2-diamine

[reaction: see text] A lipase-catalyzed double monoaminolysis of dimethyl malonate by (+/-)-trans-cyclopentane-1,2-diamine allows the sequential resolution of the latter compound, affording an enantiopure bis(amidoester), which is subsequently transformed into an optically active polyamine. As an alternative, both enantiomers of the diamine can be obtained from enantiopure (+)- or (-)-2-aminocyclopentanol, prepared by enzymatic resolution.     

Synthesis and trimethylaluminum additions on gamma-hydroxy-delta-sulfinyl and sulfonyl enoates

[reaction: see text] The stereoselective synthesis of epimeric (R)- and (S)-gamma-hydroxy-delta-p-tolylsulfinyl (or sulfonyl) enoates is reported. Reaction with AlMe3 occurred exclusively at the ester group allowing a clean and high-yielding access to enantiopure 1,4-diols bearing a tertiary carbinol.     

Regioselective ring opening of amino epoxides with nitriles: an easy synthesis of (2R,3S)- and (2S,3S)-1,3-diaminoalkan-2-ols with differently protected amine functions

[reaction: see text] Transformation of enantiopure (2R,1'S)- or (2S,1'S)-2-(1-aminoalkyl)epoxides 1 or 2 into the corresponding (2R,3S)- and (2S,3S)-1,3-diaminoalkan-2-ols 3 or 4 is described. The opening of the epoxide ring with different nitriles (Ritter reaction) takes place with total selectivity and in high yields in the presence of BF3.Et2O. Interestingly, the two amine groups are differently protected. A mechanism to explain this transformation is proposed.     

Asymmetric Michael reaction involving chiral imines/secondary enamines: stereocontrolled synthesis of 2,2-disubstituted tetrahydrothiophen-3-ones

[reaction: see text] The asymmetric Michael reaction involving a chiral imine derived from 2-methyltetrahydrothiophenone-3-one and enantiopure (R)-1-phenylethylamine with a variety of electrophilic alkenes furnished 2,2-disubstituted tetrahydrothiophenone-3-ones with good yields and excellent stereoselectivity.     

Asymmetric synthesis of 2H-azirine 3-carboxylates

[reaction: see text] Dehydrochlorination of methyl 2-chloroaziridine 2-carboxylates generates the first examples of enantiopure 2-substituted 2H-azirine 3-carboxylates which undergo the aza Diels-Alder reaction with dienes to give bicyclic and tricyclic aziridines in good yields.     

Diastereoselective yang photocyclization reactions in solution. synthesis of enantiopure azetidin-3-ol derivatives

[reaction: see text] Chiral 2-acyl-3-allyl- or 2-acyl-3-benzyl-substituted perhydro-1,3-benzoxazines readily cyclized under irradiation to azetidin-3-ol derivatives. The diastereoselectivity of the cyclization is dependent on the nature of the substituents at the nitrogen atom. N-allyl-substituted derivatives yielded only two of the four possible diastereomers in moderate to good diastereomeric excess. The cyclization of N-benzyl derivatives was totally diastereoselective leading to a single diastereomer. The elimination of the menthol appendage lead to enantiopure 2,3-disubstituted azetidin-3-ol derivatives.     

Synthesis of enantiopure dihydropyranones: aldol-based ring expansion of dihydrofurans

[reaction: see text] The stereoselective Birch reduction of 3-methyl-2-furoic acids using a readily available chiral auxilairy is described; by coupling this process to an oxidative cleavage/aldol ring closure sequence we were able to produce highly functionalized and enantiopure dihydropyranones in high yield. This sequence has ample flexibility built into it, either by the use of different electrophiles during reductive alkylation or by subsequent derivatization of the dihydropyranone after ring expansion.     

2H-Azirine 3-phosphonates: a new class of chiral iminodienophiles. Asymmetric synthesis of quaternary piperidine phosphonates

[reaction: see text] Diels-Alder reactions of enantiomerically enriched 2H-azirine 3-phosphonates and dienes stereoselectively furnish optically pure, bicyclic aziridine adducts that on hydrogenation afford the first examples of enantiopure quaternary piperidine phosphonates.     

First asymmetric synthesis of a 6-alkoxy-5,6-dihydro-1,3-oxazine: a promising enantioselective route to beta-amido aldehydes

[reaction: see text] The 1,3-oxazine route to enantiopure beta-amido aldehydes was investigated. Heterocycloaddition of the N-acyl imine 1 with (R)-O-vinylpantolactone provided the stable dihydroxazine 4c. High diastereocontrols were observed when using Yb(fod)3-catalyzed or SnCl4-mediated conditions, thus leading after quantitative hydrolysis to (R)-N-benzoyl-3-phenylpropanal with >98% ee.     

Remarkably high asymmetric amplification in the chiral lanthanide complex-catalyzed hetero-Diels-Alder reaction: first example of the nonlinear effect in ML3 system

[reaction: see text] A remarkably high asymmetric amplification was realized in the Yb[(R)-BNP]3-catalyzed hetero-Diels-Alder reaction as the first example in the metal/chiral ligand 1:3 system. The mechanism may be explained by the autogenetic formation of the enantiopure complex as the most active catalyst. The enantiomer-discriminative formation of homochiral ML3 complexes is quite general within the lanthanide metal ions with similar ionic radii to that of the ytterbium ion.     

Total selective synthesis of enantiopure O1-acyl-3-aminoalkane-1,2-diols by ring opening of aminoepoxides with carboxylic acids

[reaction: see text] Synthesis of (2R,3S)- or (2S,3S)-O1-acyl-3-aminoalkane-1,2-diols by ring opening of enantiopure (2R,1'S)- or (2S,1'S)-2-(1-aminoalkyl)epoxides 1 or 2, with carboxylic acids in the presence of BF3 x Et2O and chlorotrimethylsilane, is described. The conversion takes place with total selectivity and in good yield. In addition, (2R,3S)-O,O-diacyl-3-aminoalkane-1,2-diols 3 were also prepared from reaction of (2R,1'S)-2-(1-aminoalkyl)epoxides 1 with carboxylic acids under the same reaction conditions and without chlorotrimethylsilane. Mechanisms to explain both transformations are proposed.