Enantioselective Catalytic Aldehyde α‐Alkylation/Semipinacol Rearrangement: Construction of α‐Quaternary‐δ‐Carbonyl Cycloketones and Total Synthesis of (+)‐Cerapicol

An enantioselective aldehyde α‐alkylation/semipinacol rearrangement was achieved through organo‐SOMO catalysis. The catalytically generated enamine radical cation serves as a carbon radical electrophile that can stereoselectively add to the alkene of an allylic alcohol and initiate ensuing ring‐expansion of cyclopropanol or cyclobutanol. This tandem reaction enables the production of a wide range of nonracemic functionalizable α‐quaternary‐δ‐carbonyl cycloketones in high yields and excellent enantioselectivity from simple aldehydes and allylic alcohols. As a key step, the intramolecular reaction was also successfully applied in the asymmetric total synthesis of (+)‐cerapicol.     

Total Syntheses of the Tetracyclic Cyclopiane Diterpenes Conidiogenone,Conidiogenol, and Conidiogenone B

Total syntheses of the biologically important and structurally unique tetracyclic diterpenes conidiogenone, conidiogenol, and conidiogenone B of the cyclopiane class are reported. The absolute configuration of naturally occurring conidiogenone B was also corrected. The key step of our strategy involved the highly efficient construction of both ring C and the quaternary carbon center shared by rings A and C through a one‐step regioselective and diastereoselective cycloenlargement in the form of a semipinacol‐type rearrangement. In particular, the desired regioselectivity was made possible by properly adjusting the migratory aptitude of the migrating carbon atom through the introduction of an electron‐donating phenylthio group at this position.     

A Concise Total Synthesis of (+)‐Tetrabenazine and (+)‐α‐Dihydrotetrabenazine

Highly concise asymmetric total syntheses of (+)‐tetrabenazine ( 1 ), a drug for the treatment of chorea associated with Huntington’s disease, and of (+)‐α‐dihydrotetrabenazine ( 2 ), an active metabolite of 1 , have been accomplished. Our synthetic route features a trans‐selective enol etherification, followed by an unprecedented cation‐dependent aza‐Claisen rearrangement to establish the carbon framework and two stereogenic centers of tetrabenazine. The syntheses consist of seven steps (34 % overall yield) for (+)‐ 2 and eight steps (22 % overall yield) for (+)‐ 1 .     

A Facile Approach to Oximes and Ethers by a Tandem NO+‐Initiated Semipinacol Rearrangement and H‐Elimination

An efficient oximation method has been developed on the basis of NO⁺‐initiated semipinacol rearrangement and subsequent proton elimination. The procedure enabled the rapid construction of a series of oximes and oxime ethers with spiro quaternary stereocenters from allylic silyl ethers. Additional features of this reaction include wide substrate tolerance as well as the commercial availability of the safe nitrosation reagent NOBF₄. The key N‐heterotricyclic cores of three natural alkaloids, tuberostemoninol B, (+)‐quebrachidine, and an insecticide, were also constructed efficiently by this method.     

Synthesis of the 6′-iso analogues of neplanocin A and 5′-homoneplanocin A

An efficient synthesis of 6′-isoneplanocin A and 6′ -isohomoneplanocin A is reported. The key steps in the synthesis include an enyne metathesis and a regioselective oxidation.     

通过三乙基铝促进的a-羟基环氧化合物的重排还原反应合成Madindoline母核片断——全取代环戊烯二酮单元

The fully substituted cyclopentenedione core of madindoline A （1） and B （2） as potent and selective inhibitor of IL-6 has been synthesized efficiently. The quaternary carbon center C-2＇ was constructed on the basis of a newly developed AIEt3-promoted tandem reductive rearrangement of α-hydroxy epoxides.     

Synthesis of 2′,3′-dideoxy-6′-fluorocarbocyclic nucleosides via Reformatskii-Claisen rearrangement

2′,3′-Dideoxy-6′-fluorocarbocyclic nucleosides, analogues of highly bioactive carbovir and abacavir were synthesized. The notable steps were the incorporation of fluoromethylene group by way of silicon-induced Reformatskii-Claisen rearrangement of allyl bromofluoroacetate, the construction of the carbocyclic ring via ring-closing metathesis (RCM) and the introduction of base by Mitsunobu reaction.     

A Flexible Approach to Azasugars: Asymmetric Total Syntheses of (+)‐Castanospermine, (+)‐7‐Deoxy‐6‐epi‐castanospermine,and (+)‐1‐epi‐Castanospermine

The asymmetric total synthesis of natural azasugars (+)‐castanospermine, (+)‐7‐deoxy‐6‐epi‐castanospermine, and synthetic (+)‐1‐epi‐castanospermine has been accomplished in nine to ten steps from a common chiral building block (S)‐ 8 . The method features a powerful chiral relay strategy consisting of a highly diastereoselective vinylogous Mukaiyama‐type reaction with either chiral or achiral aldehydes (≥95 % de; de=diastereomeric excess) and a diastereodivergent reduction of tetramic acids, which allows formation of three continuous stereogenic centers with high diastereoselectivities. The method also provides a flexible access to structural arrays of 5‐(α‐hydroxyalkyl)tetramic acids, such as 17/34 , and 5‐(α‐hydroxyalkyl)‐4‐hydroxyl‐2‐pyrrolidinones, such as 18 and 25/35 a . The method constitutes the first realization of the challenging chiral synthons A and D and thus of the conceptually attractive retrosynthetic analysis shown in Scheme 1 in a highly enantioselective manner.     

Synthesis and Solid‐state Reaction of 1‐[3′‐(Benzotriazol‐2″‐yl)‐4′ ‐hydroxybenzoyl]‐3‐methyl‐5‐pyrazolones

A new kind of UV stabilizers, 1‐(3′‐(benzotriazol‐2″‐yl)‐4′‐hydroxy‐benzoyl)‐3‐methyl‐5‐pyrazolones (1a‐d), was synthesized with the aim to bind them chemically to certain polymers. The reaction of 1d with substituted benzaldehydes 4 in the molten state at 150°C and in the solid state at room temperature produced the condensation products l‐(3′‐(5″‐chlorobenzotriazol‐2″‐yl)‐4′‐hydroxyl‐5′‐chlorobenzoyl)‐3‐methyl‐4‐arylmethylene‐5‐pyrazolones (2) and 4,4′‐arylmethylene‐bis [1‐(3′‐(5″‐chloro‐benzotriazol‐2″‐yl)‐4′‐hydroxy‐5′‐chloro‐benzoyl)‐3‐methyl‐5‐pyrazolone] s (3), respectively, as the major product. On the other hand, the reaction of 1d with 4 at 50°C in chloroform solution proceeded non‐selectively to give a mixture of 2 and 3.     

The Stereoselective Total Synthesis of (6S)‐5,6‐Dihydro‐6‐[(2R)‐2‐hydroxy‐6‐phenylhexyl]‐2H‐pyran‐2‐one via Prins Cyclization

The stereoselective total synthesis of an antiproliferative and antifungal α‐pyrone natural product (6S)‐5,6‐dihydro‐6‐[(2R)‐2‐hydroxy‐6‐phenylhexyl]‐2H‐pyran‐2‐one is described. The key steps involved are the Prins cyclization, Mitsunobu reaction, and ring‐closing metathesis reaction.     

Metal‐Free Synthetic Approach to 3‐Monosubstituted Unsymmetrical 1,2,4,5‐Tetrazines Useful for Bioorthogonal Reactions

A facile, efficient and metal‐free synthetic approach to 3‐monosubstituted unsymmetrical 1,2,4,5‐tetrazines is presented. Dichloromethane (DCM) is for the first time recognized as a novel reagent in the synthetic chemistry of tetrazines. Using this novel approach 11 3‐aryl/alkyl 1,2,4,5‐tetrazines were prepared in excellent yields (up to 75 %). The mechanism of this new reaction, including the role of DCM in the tetrazine ring formation, has been investigated by ¹³C labeling of DCM, and is also presented and discussed as well as the photophysical and electrochemical properties.     

A Fast Assembly of （-）-Epigallocatechin-3-gallate [（-）-EGCG] via Intra- and Inter-molecular Mitsunobu Reaction

This paper described a concise construction of （-）-EGCG （1f） （with an overall yield of 20% for seven steps based on the starting cinnamyl alcohol derivative 3）, featuring asymmetric dihydroxylation （ADH）, intra- and inter-molecular Mitsunobu reaction as key steps. Our strategy disclosed herein constitutes a new effective general synthetic approach toward the analogues of （-）-EGCG （1f）.     

Photochemical Transformations of Some 2‐(5‐Methylthiophen‐2‐yl)‐3‐[(naphthalen‐2‐yl)methoxy]‐4H‐chromen‐4‐ones Involving Type‐II Process

Photo‐irradiation of 2‐(5‐methylthiophen‐2‐yl)‐3‐[(naphthalen‐2‐yl)methoxy]‐4H‐chromen‐4‐ones yielded the fascinating angular tetracyclic products via cyclization involving both 2‐thienyl ring and naphthylmethoxy group via 1,4‐biradical generated in the Norrish type‐II process. The stereochemical dispositions of the products were determined by MM2 energy minimized programme and spectroscopic analysis.