Organocatalytic asymmetric Mannich-type reaction of N-sulfonylimines with isocyanoacetate leading to optically active 2-imidazoline-4-carboxylates

The first asymmetric Mannich-type reaction of methyl isocyanoacetate with N-sulfonylimines catalyzed by cinchona alkaloid derivatives yielded 2-imidazolines with high diastereoselectivities and good enantioselectivities (up to >99:1 dr and 70% ee). This reaction provided a convenient route to access various substituted 2-imidazoline-4-carboxylates and related α,β-diamino acids in high enantiomeric purities.     

Catalytic, asymmetric, "interrupted" Feist-Bénary reactions

Pyrimidine derivatives of the cinchona alkaloids function as excellent asymmetric catalysts for the "Interrupted" Feist-Bénary Reaction. This reaction produces highly substituted hydroxydihydrofurans from simple starting materials under mild conditions. The asymmetric reaction gives high enantioselectivities with unsubstituted bromoketones, and high enantio- and diastereoselectivities with substituted substrates. Mechanistic experiments suggest that the hydrobromide salt of the alkaloid derivative is the active catalyst for the reaction.     

Asymmetric carbon-carbon bond formations by conjugate additions of lithiated N-boc allylic amines to nitroalkenes: enantioselective synthesis of functionalized cyclopentanoids

[reaction: see text] Allylic organolithiums generated by enantioselective deprotonation of N-Boc-N-(p-methoxyphenyl) allylic amines undergo conjugate additions with nitroalkenes to provide enecarbamates containing two contiguous stereogenic centers in good yields with high diastereoselectivities and enantioselectivities. Further elaboration of these adducts to enantioenriched substituted cyclopentanones and aminocyclopentanes is reported.     

Catalytic,three-component assembly reaction for the synthesis of pyrrolidines

[reaction: see text] Copper(I) salts catalyze the three-component assembly reaction between an alpha-diazo ester, an imine, and various alkenes and alkynes to form substituted pyrrolidines with excellent to good diastereoselectivities in high yields. The transition metal-catalyzed decomposition of the alpha-diazo compound in the presence of the imine likely generates a transient azomethine ylid that undergoes addition with various dipolarophiles in a highly convergent manner.     

Asymmetric synthesis of 3,4-diaminochroman-2-ones promoted by guanidine and bisguanidium salt

A highly enantioselective synthesis of 3,4-diaminochroman-2-ones has been realized via the domino reaction of o-hydroxy aromatic aldimines and azlactones. Notably, a cis-product was obtained as the major product by the use of guanidine 2a whereas a trans-product was the major product with bisguanidium salt 3?HBAr(F)(4). In two cases, various substituted 3,4-dihydrocoumarins were obtained with high yields (up to 99%) as well as excellent enantioselectivities (up to 99% ee) and diastereoselectivities (up to >99:1 cis:trans and 98:2 trans:cis, respectively) under mild reaction conditions.     

Copper-catalyzed synthesis of enantioenriched tetraarylethanes

Herein we report the asymmetric synthesis of 1,2-dipyridyl-1,2-diarylethanes via an unusual Cu(I)-catalyzed dimerization reaction. Subjection of a variety of enantioenriched substituted 2-pyridyl alcohols to a one-pot protocol generates the desired products in good yields and diastereoselectivities and with ee's up to >99%.     

New approach to the preparation of bicyclo octane derivatives via the enantioselective cascade reaction catalyzed by chiral diamine-Ni(OAc)2 complex

A highly efficient catalyst system assembled from enantiomerically pure diaminocyclohexane and Ni(OAc)(2) is, for the first time, used to catalyze the cascade Michael-Henry reaction of various diones and substituted nitroalkenes. A series of polyfunctionalized bicyclo[3.2.1]octane derivatives containing four stereogenic centers are prepared with excellent enantioselectivities (up to >99% ee) and diastereoselectivities (up to 50 : 1 dr) with high yields. In addition, via this chiral diamine-Ni(OAc)(2) catalyst system, the base-induced epimerization leading to the decrease of stereoselectivity can be prevented.     

Substituent effect on exo stereoselectivity in the 1,3-Dipolar cycloaddition reaction of tulipalin A with nitrile ylides

1,3-Dipolar cycloaddition reactions of dihydro-3-methylene-2(3H)-furanone (tulipalin A) with various benzonitrile(p-X-benzylide) ylides prefer formation of exo-cycloadducts in the extent corresponding to an increasing electron donor character of the substituent X in the para-position of the benzylide phenyl ring of the 1,3-dipolar reagent. The substituent effect on diastereoselectivity of the 1,3-DC reaction is rationalized in terms of CH/pi interaction between the dipole and the dipolarophile in an exo-transition state. The determining role of such an interaction is demonstrated by the correlation of the observed diastereoselectivities with substituent Hammett sigma constants, which shows a small negative rho value. A certain contribution of CO/pi interaction between the lactone carbonyl and the substituted phenyl ring to mediation of the substituent effect is also discussed. The energy profiles of both reaction pathways were analyzed using DFT and RI-MP2 theoretical approaches. Calculated energy and structural differences between located transition states are consistent with reaction diastereoselectivities.     

Enantio- and diastereoselective catalytic alkylation reactions with aziridines

The first asymmetric phase transfer catalyzed alkylation reaction of a range of carbon acids with N-sulfonyl aziridines is reported. When 10 mol % of a cinchona derived quaternary ammonium salt was employed as the catalyst under mildly basic conditions, N-o-(trifluoromethane)benzenesulfonyl aziridine was efficiently ring-opened to afford the amino ethylene products in consistently high yields and high enantioselectivities (up to 97% ee). By employing substituted aziridines in single enantiomeric form, the corresponding enantiopure alkylation products could be obtained with a range of pronucleophiles in high yields and moderate to high diastereoselectivities (up to 30:1 dr).     

Efficient construction of polycyclic chromans through 4-methylbenzenesulfonic acid mediated domino 1,6-addition/oxa-Mannich reaction of ortho-hydroxyphenyl substituted para-quinone methides and cyclic enamides

A practical TsOH promoted novel domino 1,6-addition/oxa-Mannich reaction of cyclic enamides and ortho-hydroxyphenyl substituted para-quinone methides was established smoothly under mild reaction conditions. With this developed protocol, sorts of polycyclic compounds with chroman motifs were obtained in high level of yields and moderate to excellent diastereoselectivities (up to >99% yield, >20:1 dr).     

A diastereoselective three-component coupling approach to highly substituted pyrrolidines

Building on the observation that metal complexation facilitates azomethine ylide formation, we report that chelating aldehydes participate in metal-templated, one-pot reactions with unprotected amino acid esters and activated olefins to provide highly substituted pyrrolidines. The high yields, broad substrate scope, excellent diastereoselectivities, functional group tolerance, and incorporation of commercially available materials in this reaction simplifies access to medicinally relevant proline derivatives.     

Highly diastereoselective vinylogous Mukaiyama aldol reaction of α-keto phosphonates with 2-(trimethylsilyloxy)furan catalyzed by Cu(OTf)2

The diastereospecific formation of δ-hydroxyalkylbutenolide phosphonate has been achieved via a vinylogous Mukaiyama aldol reaction. The reaction was performed using α-ketophosphonate 1 and 2-(trimethylsilyloxy)furan 2 mediated by Cu(OTf)(2) and 2,2,2-trifluoroethanol as additive in CH(2)Cl(2). The reaction proceeds rapidly and affords the corresponding 5-(hydroxy(aryl)methyl) furan-2(5H)-one phosphonates 3 in high yields with good to excellent diastereoselectivities (d.r. up to >99?:?1). 5-(Hydroxy(alkyl)methyl)furan-2(5H)-one phosphonates could also be obtained with good diastereoselectivities.     

Synthesis of chiral sulfinyl-substituted 1-indolyl enones and asymmetric conjugate addition by an arylcopper reagent

The asymmetric conjugate addition of arylcopper reagents to chiral 1-[2-(p-tolylsulfinyl)]indolyl and 1-[3-(p-tolylsulfinyl)]indolyl enones was examined. With the 2-sulfinyl-indolyl derivatives, the reaction of the arylcopper reagent gave high diastereoselectivities (81-88% de's) to afford the adducts in excellent yields, although the similar addition reaction of the 3-sulfinyl derivatives afforded poor diastereoselectivities.     

A Direct,Concise, and Enantioselective Synthesis of 2‐Substituted 4,4,4‐Trifluorobutane‐1,3‐diols Based on the Organocatalytic In Situ Generation of Unstable Trifluoroacetaldehyde

A direct, concise, and enantioselective synthesis of 2‐substituted 4,4,4‐trifluorobutane‐1,3‐diols based on the organocatalytic asymmetric direct aldol reaction of an ethyl hemiacetal of trifluoroacetaldehyde with various aldehydes was examined. A catalytic amount (30 mol %) of commercially available and inexpensive l ‐prolinamide is quite effective as an organocatalyst for the catalytic in situ generation of gaseous and unstable trifluoroacetaldehyde from its hemiacetal, and a successive asymmetric direct aldol reaction with various aldehydes in dichloromethane at 0 °C, followed by reduction with sodium borohydride, gives 2‐substituted 4,4,4‐trifluorobutane‐1,3‐diols in moderate to good yields (31–84 %) with low diastereoselectivities and good to excellent enantioselectivities (64–97 % ee).     

Highly diastereoselective arylation of (S)-mandelic acid enolate: enantioselective synthesis of substituted (R)-3-hydroxy-3-phenyloxindoles and (R)-benzylic acids and synthesis of nitrobenzophenones

An easy access to substituted (R)-3-hydroxy-3-phenyloxindoles, (R)-benzylic acids, and benzophenones is described. The reaction of the lithium enolate of the (2S,5S)-cis-1,3-dioxolan-4-one derived from optically active (S)-mandelic acid and pivalaldehyde with several o- and p-halonitrobenzenes proceeds readily to give the corresponding arylation products in good yields and diastereoselectivities. The reduction of the nitro group with Zn/HCl/EtOH in the o-nitro arylation products with concomitant intramolecular aminolysis of the dioxolanone moiety leads directly to enantiomerically pure (R)-3-hydroxy-3-phenyloxindoles. On the other hand the basic hydrolysis of the dioxolanone moiety in all the arylation products (ortho and para) leads to enantiomerically pure substituted (R)-benzylic acids. The oxidative decarboxylation of these latter with oxygen as terminal oxidant in the presence of pivalaldehyde and the Co(III)-Me2opba complex as catalyst gives substituted nitrobenzophenones.     

Diastereoselective Mukaiyama aldol reaction of 2-(trimethylsilyloxy)furan catalyzed by bismuth triflate

We have developed an efficient vinylogous Mukaiyama aldol reaction of 2-(trimethylsilyloxy)furan with various aromatic aldehydes mediated by bismuth triflate in low catalyst loading (1 mol %). The reaction proceeds rapidly and affords the corresponding 5-(hydroxy(aryl)methyl)furan-2(5H)-ones in high yields with good to very good diastereoselectivities (dr up to >98:2). Such selectivities, albeit previously reported with other Lewis acids, could this time be achieved with a much lower catalyst loading. 5-(Hydroxy(alkyl)methyl)furan-2(5H)-ones derived from ketones could also be obtained with good diastereoselectivities.     

Three-component diastereoselective cascade synthesis of thiohydantoins

A new three-component cascade reaction for the synthesis of thiohydantoins is reported. The reaction between α-amino esters, nitrostyrenes, and aromatic isothiocyanates is efficiently promoted by organic bases to afford highly substituted thiohydantoins in moderate to good yields and diastereoselectivities.     

Catalytic Asymmetric [3+1]‐Cycloaddition Reaction of Ylides with Electrophilic Metallo‐enolcarbene Intermediates

The first asymmetric [3+1]‐cycloaddition was successfully achieved by copper(I) triflate/double‐sidearmed bisoxazoline complex catalyzed reactions of β‐triisopropylsilyl‐substituted enoldiazo compounds with sulfur ylides. This methodology delivered a series of chiral cyclobutenes in good yields with high enantio‐ and diastereoselectivities (up to 99 % ee , and >20:1 d.r.). Additionally, the [3+1]‐cycloaddition of catalytically generated metallo‐enolcarbenes was successfully extended to reaction with a stable benzylidene dichlororuthenium complex.     

Direct Catalytic Enantio‐ and Diastereoselective Mannich Reaction of Isocyanoacetates and Ketimines

A catalytic asymmetric synthesis of imidazolines with a fully substituted β‐carbon atom by a Mannich‐type addition/cyclization reaction of isocyanoacetate pronucleophiles and N‐diphenylphosphinoyl ketimines has been developed. When a combination of a cinchona‐derived aminophosphine precatalyst and silver oxide was employed as a binary catalyst system, good reactivity, high diastereoselectivities (up to 99:1 d.r.), and excellent enantioselectivities (up to 99 % ee) were obtained for a range of substrates.     

Highly stereoselective Saucy-Marbet rearrangement using chiral ynamides. Synthesis of highly substituted chiral homoallenyl alcohols

[reaction: see text] A highly stereoselective Saucy-Marbet rearrangement using chiral ynamides and propargyl alcohols is described here. This rearrangement can be catalyzed by para-nitrobenzenesulfonic acid leading to high diastereoselectivities for a range of different chiral propargyl alcohols and ynamides in a stereochemically intriguing matched, mismatched, or indifferent manner. This provides an excellent entry to highly substituted chiral homoallenyl alcohols.