SmI(2)-promoted radical addition reactions with N-(2-Indolylacyl)oxazolidinones: synthesis of bisindole compounds

The treatment of N-acyl oxazolidinones of N-benzyl 2-indolecarboxylic acids varying in the substitution pattern of the indole ring with samarium diiodide at -78 degrees C led to the formation of two indole dimer products. The major product isolated in yields from 55 to 59% represents an unsymmetrical dimer arising from 1,4-addition to the 2-indolecarboxylic acid derivative of a possible ketyl-type radical anion intermediate originating from the reduction of the exocyclic carbonyl group of the N-acyl oxazolidinone. The minor dimer, represented by a symmetrical diketone, was produced in yields ranging from 11 to 23%. Even in the presence of an alpha,beta-unsaturated amide, dimerization was the preferred pathway rather than the formation of a gamma-keto amide. Upon treatment with acid, the unsymmetrical indole dimer cyclized to form a diindolequinone. Finally, the N-acyl oxazolidinones of pyrrole-2-carboxylic acid and 3-indolecarboxylic acid preferred in both cases to undergo C-C bond formation with an acrylamide in the presence of SmI2 rather than dimerization.     

A new synthesis of aldehydes from acids via reduction of N-acyl saccharins using sodium dihydro bis-(2-methoxy-ethoxy) aluminate

Synthesis of certain aldehydes from the carboxylic acids has been carried by reduction of the corresponding N-acyl saccharins using SDA. The N-acyl saccharins are easily prepared by reaction of an acid with γ-saccharin chloride, which can be used for the next step of reduction without isolation and purification. This provides a convenient and one step synthesis of aldehydes by combining the two reactions, viz., preparation of the N-acyl compound and its reduction. The method has been successfully applied for the reduction of aliphatic, alicyclic, aromatic, and a α,β-unsaturated acids to the corresponding aldehydes and the yields obtained are quite satisfactory.     

Formal asymmetric enone aminohydroxylation: organocatalytic one-pot synthesis of 4,5-disubstituted oxazolidinones

A formal asymmetric organocatalytic aminohydroxylation reaction of enones has been achieved via an aziridination-double S(N)2 sequence. As a part of the reaction design, the generated amino alcohol products are isolated as the corresponding oxazolidinones in good yields and excellent stereoselectivities.     

Asymmetric synthesis of beta2-amino acids: 2-substituted-3-aminopropanoic acids from N-acryloyl SuperQuat derivatives

Conjugate addition of lithium dibenzylamide to (S)-N(3)-acryloyl-4-isopropyl-5,5-dimethyloxazolidin-2-one (derived from l-valine) and alkylation of the resultant lithium beta-amino enolate provides, after deprotection, a range of (S)-2-alkyl-3-aminopropanoic acids in good yield and high ee. Alternatively, via a complementary pathway, conjugate addition of a range of secondary lithium amides to (S)-N(3)-(2'-alkylacryloyl)-4-isopropyl-5,5-dimethyloxazolidin-2-ones, diastereoselective protonation with 2-pyridone, and subsequent deprotection furnishes a range of (R)-2-alkyl- and (R)-2-aryl-3-aminopropanoic acids in good yield and high ee. Additionally, the boron-mediated aldol reaction of beta-amino N-acyl oxazolidinones is a highly diastereoselective method for the synthesis of a range of beta-amino-beta'-hydroxy N-acyl oxazolidinones.     

Copper-catalyzed domino cyclization of propargylic alcohol with tosyl isocyanate to oxazolidinones

A copper-catalyzed domino cyclization of propargylic alcohols with tosyl isocyanate for the synthesis of oxazolidinones has been developed. Various propargylic alcohols with an aryl or alkyl substituents worked smoothly to afford the corresponding oxazolidinones in moderate to excellent yields.     

Copper-mediated synthesis of N-acyl vinylogous carbamic acids and derivatives: synthesis of the antibiotic CJ-15,801

[reaction: see text] Copper(I)-mediated C-N bond formation has been employed to prepare both N-acyl vinylogous carbamic acids and ureas. The novel N-acyl vinylogous carbamic acid antibiotic, CJ-15,801, was synthesized using this methodology.     

Enantioselection in peptide bond formation

Selectivity in abiotic condensations of amino acids remains controversial and stereochemically little explored. We find that competitive activated couplings of N-acyl derivatives of glycine, alanine, valine, proline and phenylalanine with binary, ternary and quaternary mixtures of amides and esters of the same group of amino acids show little selectivity among the reactants, except with respect to configuration, where a consistent and significant preference for heterochiral outcomes, mostly > 80%, is observed. One possible explanation of this selectivity predicts a predisposition to homochiral coupling under conditions that would require the two carboxyl functions to be co-facial in the activated complex.     

Synthesis of beta-amino acids based on oxidative cleavage of dihydropyridone derivatives

[reaction: see text] A new method for the synthesis of beta-amino acids based on 2,3-dihydropyridones as starting materials is presented. Conversions of 2,3-dihydropyridones with NaIO4 and subsequently with base gave the corresponding beta-amino acids in a one-pot procedure. The reactions have been monitored by 1H NMR indicating that the beta-amino acids were formed in quantitative yields mostly. This method appears to be of broad scope, as 2-substituted 2,3-dihydropyridones are easily accessible via N-acyliminium ions generated from 4-methoxypyridine.     

Synthesis of the key intermediate of ramelteon

Asymmetric conjugated addition of allylcopper reagents derived from an allyl Grignard reagent and CuBr·Me₂S to chiralα,β-unsaturated N-acyl oxazolidinones has been achieved.The synthetic procedure was applied to the preparation of the key intermediate of the novel nonbenzodiazepine hypnotic drug,ramelteon.     

Regioselective Heck couplings of alpha,beta-unsaturated tosylates and mesylates with electron-rich olefins

[chemical reaction: see text]. Highly regioselective Heck couplings of alpha,beta-unsaturated tosylate and mesylate derivatives with N-acyl N-vinylamines and vinyl ethers were achieved. Several 2-alkoxy-1,3-dienes and 2-acylamino-1,3-butadienes were synthesized in good yields using 1.5 mol % of Pd2(dba)3, 3 mol % of DPPF, and diisopropylethylamine in dioxane. When working with alpha,beta-unsaturated ketones and esters, this method provides a less costly alternative to similar couplings using a triflate electrophile.     

Chiral oxazolidinones as electrophiles: Intramolecular cyclization reactions with carbanions and preparation of functionalized lactams

The intramolecular cyclizations of oxazolidinones with carbanions adjacent to sulfones, sulfoxides, and phosphonates proceed in high yields to obtain functionalized γ and δ lactams. The chiral oxazolidinone precursors can be readily synthesized from commercial amino acids. The lactams from this study are useful synthetic intermediates, as demonstrated by the synthesis of a precursor for levetiracetam, an antiepileptic drug.     

Exploiting an inherent neighboring group effect of alpha-amino acids to synthesize extremely hindered dipeptides

The creation of highly hindered peptides that contain combinations of non-natural N-alkyl amino acids and N-alkyl-alpha,alpha-disubstituted amino acids presents a formidable challenge. Hindered, non-natural amino acids are of interest because they import resistance to proteolysis and unusual conformational properties to peptides that contain them. Toward a solution to this problem, we describe a new approach to creating extremely hindered dipeptides that is operationally simple and uses mild conditions and commercially available amino acids. The approach reduces the need for protecting groups and yields urethane-protected dipeptide acids that can be used as building blocks in the synthesis of larger peptides. We propose that the reaction proceeds through a previously unexploited intramolecular O,N-acyl transfer pathway.     

Partial reduction of pyrroles: application to natural product synthesis

The partial reduction of N-Boc pyrroles has been explored giving stereoselective routes to disubstituted pyrrolines in good yields and with excellent diastereoselectivities. A novel methodology has been developed to carry out reductive aldol reactions on 2-substituted N-Boc pyrroles; use of aldehydes under reductive aldol conditions gave the anti aldol product in good selectivity. This chemistry was used as the key transformation in a synthesis of omuralide, which was achieved in 13 steps and 14% overall yield. We also report a methodology for selectively forming either cis or trans 2,5-disubstituted pyrrolines via a partial reduction of an electron-deficient N-Boc pyrrole. The trans pyrroline formed using this route was utilized in the syntheses of the polyhydroxylated pyrrolizidine natural products hyacinthacine A1 and 1-epiaustraline. Further investigation has led to the development of routes to enantiopure substituted pyrroline compounds. This has been achieved via a chiral protonation approach using easily accessible chiral acids, such as ephedrine and oxazolidinones, to quench enolates formed during the partial reduction process. Alternatively, enzymatic desymmetrization of symmetrical diol compounds formed from the partial reduction products of substituted pyrroles is also reported. This leads to formation of both enantiomers of 2,2- and 2,5-disubstituted N-Boc pyrrolines in excellent ee and yields.     

Unique oxidation reaction of amides with pyridine-N-oxide catalyzed by ruthenium porphyrin: direct oxidative conversion of N-acyl-L-proline to N-acyl-L-glutamate

Oxidations of alkanes, alkenes, and aromatic rings with pyridine N-oxides are efficiently catalyzed by ruthenium porphyrins under mild conditions. We show here that the oxidation of N-acyl cyclic amines with RuIVtetraarylporphyrin dichloride-2,6-substituted pyridine N-oxides directly gives N-acyl amino acids in modest to good yield via oxidative C-N bond cleavage. N-Acylpyrrolidines and N-acylpiperidines were converted to N-acyl-gamma-aminobutyric acids and N-acyl-delta-aminovaleric acids, respectively. This type of reaction is a novel one in which the C-N bond is cleaved selectively at the less substituted carbon. Notably, the proline residue in proline-containing peptides was selectively converted to glutamate. A large intramolecular kinetic isotope effect (kH/kD = 9.8) was observed in the oxidation of N-benzoyl[2,2,-d2]pyrrolidine, indicating that the reaction should involve an alpha-hydrogen atom abstraction process as the rate-determining step. N-Acylcarbaldehyde, the putative intermediate ring-opened form of alpha-hydroxylated N-acyl cyclic amine, was readily oxidized with the oxidizing system to afford the corresponding N-acylamino acid in good yield. Further, lactams (1-methyl-2-pyrrolidone and 1-methyl- 2-piperidone) were also oxidized to give the corresponding imides (1-methylsuccinimide and 1-methylpiperidine-2,6-dione).     

Protonated Porphyrins: Bifunctional Catalysts for the Metal-Free Synthesis of N-Alkyl-Oxazolidinones

The protonation of commercially available porphyrin ligands yields a class of bifunctional catalysts able to promote the synthesis of N-alkyl oxazolidinones by CO₂ cycloaddition to corresponding aziridines. The catalytic system does not require the presence of any Lewis base or additive, and shows interesting features both in terms of cost effectiveness and eco-compatibility. The metal-free methodology is active even with a low catalytic loading of 1 % mol, and the chemical stability of the protonated porphyrin allowed it to be recycled three times without any decrease in performance. In addition, a DFT study was performed in order to suggest how a simple protonated porphyrin can mediate CO₂ cycloaddition to aziridines to yield oxazolidinones.     

Novel stereoselective synthesis of functionalized oxazolidinones from chiral aziridines

Enantiomerically pure N-(R)-alpha-methylbenzyl-4(R)-(chloromethyl)oxazolidinones (4R)-5a-k were synthesized in one step and high yields from various aziridine-2-methanols (S)-2a-k by intramolecular cyclization with phosgene. The alpha-methylbenzyl substituent on the nitrogen was easily cleaved to give both enanatiomers of 4-(chloromethyl)oxazolidinones (R)-7a and (S)-7a. (R)-7a was used for the efficient syntheses of (L)-homophenylalaninol analogues (S)-12a-j. We also applied the same methodology to prepare oxazolidinones 9a-c containing a heteroatom-substituted alkyl group at C-4 in high yields.     

由N-酰基-a-氨基酸合成5(4H)-噁唑酮的新方法

在碳酸钾、丙酮的水溶液中由N-酰基四氢噻唑-2-硫酮进行氨基酸解得到10种N-酰基-α-氨基酸Ⅰ_a-j发现在三聚氯氰及三乙胺存在下,由N-酰基-α-氨基酸环合成8种饱和5(4H)-噁唑酮Ⅱ_a-h的新方法,进而在硫酸铁催化下得到10种不饱和5(4H)-噁唑酮衍生物Ⅲ_a-j     

Mechanistic evidence for intermolecular radical carbonyl additions promoted by samarium diiodide

In this work, mechanistic studies were performed to understand the SmI2/H2O-mediated coupling of N-acyl oxazolidinones with acrylates and acrylamides, providing gamma-keto esters and amides, respectively. Our results provide experimental evidence that C-C bond formation via intermolecular radical addition reactions to carbonyl substrates can be promoted by samarium diiodide. Coupling reactions with N-cyclopropylcarbonyl-2-oxazolidinone suggest the alpha,beta-unsaturated esters/amides are reduced by the low-valent lanthanide reagent and not the N-acyl oxazolidinones, as originially proposed (J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2005, 127, 6544). Rate measurements support the preferred reduction of an acrylate or acrylamide by SmI2/H2O in the presence of an N-acyl oxazolidinone. In the absence of the N-acyl oxazolidinone, SmI2/H2O promotes dimerization of the acrylates, whereas the C=C bond of the acrylamides is reduced. In addition, coupling of the Pfp ester of Cbz-protected phenylalanine with an acrylamide leads only to reduction of the acrylamide and recovered ester, whereas the same coupling with the N-acyl oxazolidinone derivative provides the gamma-keto amides. These results imply that a pathway involving nucleophilic acyl substitution cannot take place and that a radical mechanism must be invoked to explain the C-C bond formation. We propose that the acrylate/acrylamide is reduced to a conjugated ketyl radical that adds to the exocyclic carbonyl group of the N-acyl oxazolidinone, activated through bidentate coordination to a lanthanide ion.     

Front Cover: Facile Multicomponent Synthesis of Oxazolidinones from Primary Amines and Cesium (Hydrogen)Carbonate (Eur. J. Org. Chem. 27/2023)

A facile multicomponent, catalyst-free oxazolidinone synthesis from primary aliphatic or aromatic amines, dibromoethane (DBE), and the usage of either cesium carbonate or cesium hydrogencarbonate as the simultaneous base and C1 source is reported. The applicability of this technically simple reaction was demonstrated by a broad scope with generally high yields, enabling concise late-stage functionalization of amino groups into N-substituted oxazolidinones. The proposed operating reaction mechanism consists of a first-step nucleophilic substitution reaction between DBE and the primary amine, followed by the formation of a carbamate or carbonate intermediate and subsequent cyclization. Additional versatility of the herein-developed protocol has been showcased in a medicinal chemistry approach by the generation of an oxazolidinone-modified dipeptidyl peptidase 8 (DPP8) inhibitor.     

Direct entry to peptidyl ketones via SmI2-mediated C-C bond formation with readily accessible N-peptidyl oxazolidinones

In this work, a new method for the preparation of peptidyl ketones is presented employing a SmI(2)/H(2)O-mediated coupling of N-peptidyl oxazolidinones with electron-deficient alkenes. The requisite peptide imides were easily prepared by solution-phase peptide synthesis starting from an N-acyl oxazolidinone derivative of an amino acid. Importantly, they could be used directly in the C-C bond-forming step without the need for further functionalization. Coupling of these peptide derivatives with a second peptide possessing an N-terminal acryloyl group leads to ketomethylene isosteres of glycine-containing peptides. This method represents an alternative means for ligating two small peptides through a C-C bond-forming step.