Ruthenium-catalyzed one-pot carbenoid N-H insertion reactions and diastereoselective synthesis of prolines

Aryl- and aliphatic-substituted 3-hydroxyprolines and various other amino esters are conveniently prepared by [RuCl2(p-cymene)]2-catalyzed one-pot intramolecular and intermolecular carbenoid N-H insertion reactions, respectively, and the prolines are formed with high diastereoselectivities. The catalytic reactions are tolerant toward air/moisture, and the product yields are insensitive to the organic solvents used.     

Diversity oriented and chemoenzymatic synthesis of densely functionalized pyrrolidines through a highly diastereoselective Ugi multicomponent reaction

A highly diastereoselective Ugi reaction involving a chiral cyclic imine, two enantiomerically pure isocyanides and various carboxylic acids was employed for the synthesis of polyfunctionalized pyrrolidines. Both chiral substrates have been efficiently prepared by chemoenzymatic methodologies from readily available achiral substrates. This highly convergent approach can find an application in the fragment-based drug discovery process.     

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.     

Zinc-catalyzed multicomponent reactions: Facile synthesis of fully substituted pyridines

A first example of environmentally benign zinc complex catalyzed one-pot four-component reaction between malononitrile, ketone, ammonium acetate and aromatic aldehyde for the facile synthesis of fully substituted pyridines just within 2?min in environmentally friendly solvent ethanol has been optimized.     

Enantio- and diastereoselective synthesis of 2,5-disubstituted pyrrolidines through a multicomponent Ugi reaction and their transformation into bicyclic scaffolds

A new enantio- and diastereoselective synthesis of 2,5-disubstituted pyrrolidines through a multicomponent approach has been developed, using highly reactive pyrrolines 4 as preformed cyclic imines. The pyrrolidines obtained using protected aspartic acid as acid component in the Ugi condensation have been transformed into two epimeric bicyclic lactones 18, 19, which may find an application as external reverse turn inducers.     

Highly diastereoselective multicomponent synthesis of unsymmetrical imidazolines

We report here a highly diastereoselective multicomponent synthesis of imidazolines. These low molecular weight scaffolds contain a four-point diversity applicable to alkyl, aryl, acyl, and hetereocyclic substitutions. [structure: see text]     

Highly enantio- and diastereoselective organocatalytic cascade aza-Michael-Michael reactions: a direct method for the synthesis of trisubstituted chiral pyrrolidines

An unprecedented highly enantio- and diastereoselective cascade aza-Michael-Michael reaction of alpha,beta-unsaturated aldehydes with trans-gamma-Ts protected amino alpha,beta-unsaturated ester has been developed; the simple and practical process, efficiently catalyzed by chiral diphenylprolinol TMS ether, serves as a powerful access to highly functionalized trisubstituted chiral pyrrolidines.     

2,5-Disubstituted pyrrolidines: synthesis by enamine reduction and subsequent regioselective and diastereoselective alkylations

Methodology for the diastereoselective synthesis of 2,5-disubstituted pyrrolidines by reduction of enamines derived from pyroglutamic acid is reported; the nature of nitrogen protection was found to be critical for the stereochemical control of the reaction outcome. Regioselective manipulation of the C-2 and C-5 substituents is possible, providing access to differently substituted pyrrolidines for a limited number of cases.     

Solvent-free synthesis of substituted thiopyrans via multicomponent reactions of α-haloketones

A straightforward and efficient method for the synthesis of thiopyran derivatives via three-component reaction of alkyl propiolate, benzoylisothiocyanate or its derivatives and α-haloketones in the presence of triphenylphosphine under solvent-free conditions at 70℃ without using any catalyst is reported, The method offers several advantages including high yields of products and an easy work-up procedure.     

Asymmetric synthesis of 3-substituted unsaturated prolines from chiral sulfoximine substituted allyl titanium(IV) complexes

An asymmetric synthesis of the 3-substituted Δ^3,4-unsaturated prolines 7a-e and 3-substituted 4-methylene prolines 14a-c starting from the corresponding γ,δ-unsaturated α-amino acids 4a-e and 11a-c, respectively, is described. Amino acid derivatives 4a-e and 11a-d were obtained through aminoalkylation of the corresponding sulfoximine substituted allyl titanium(IV) complexes 2a-e and 10a-d, respectively, with the N-tert-butylsulfonyl imino ester 3. Activation of sulfoximines 4a-e and 11a-c through methylation of the sulfoximine group followed by a KF mediated isomerization of the vinyl aminosulfoxonium salts 5a-e and 12a-c, respectively, to the corresponding allyl aminosulfoxonium salt 6a-e and 13a-c, respectively, and a subsequent intramolecular nucleophilic substitution of the allylic aminosulfoxonium group afforded the enantio- and diastereomerically pure proline derivatives in medium to high yields.     

Regioselective and diastereoselective synthesis of highly substituted cyclopentanes

Highly substituted cyclopentane rings are present in a wide range of targets, and the efficient synthesis of such compounds constitutes a continuing challenge to organic synthesis. We present two complementary approaches to the regio- and diastereoselective synthesis of highly substituted cyclopentane structures. In both cases, a non-symmetrically disposed norbornene is employed as a common intermediate. One strategy relies on the Lewis acid-catalyzed ring opening of an anhydride, while the other employs production of a bicyclic lactone followed by its selective functionalization.     

2,5-Disubstituted pyrrolidines: versatile regioselective and diastereoselective synthesis by enamine reduction and subsequent alkylation

A direct and versatile route enabling the regio- and diastereoselective synthesis of 2,5-disubstituted pyrrolidines by reduction of enamines derived from pyroglutamic acid is reported.     

Asymmetric hydrogenations for the synthesis of Boc-protected 4-alkylprolinols and prolines

The utility of 4-substituted prolinols and their corresponding prolines in peptides, peptidomimetics, and natural products has motivated researchers to find new and efficient routes for their preparation. Herein, we report a general approach to the synthesis of Boc-protected 4-alkylprolinols and prolines via a divergent asymmetric hydrogenation strategy. Intermediate exocyclic olefins were prepared by Wittig-type reactions with ketone 6 and subjected to hydroxyl and sterically directed reductions. The Crabtree catalyst (Ir[COD]PyPCy(3)PF(6)) proved to be highly effective in diastereoselective hydrogenations to give trans-substituted pyrrolidines (9). Good facial selectivities were also observed in heterogeneous hydrogenations with Raney-nickel to obtain cis-substituted pyrrolidines (11). Employing this strategy, we describe the synthesis of novel prolinol and proline-based building blocks for incorporation into biologically relevant peptidomimetics.     

Regioselective synthesis of two types of highly substituted 2-pyridones through similar multicomponent reactions

The refluxing of a mixture of ethylcyanoacetate, aromatic aldehydes, and primary monoamines in ethanol produces highly substituted 2-amino-6-pyridones such as 2-amino-1-(alkyl)-5-cyano-6-oxo-4-(aryl)-1,6-dihydropyridine-3-ethylcarboxylates in one-pot. On the other hand the refluxing of a mixture of ethylcyanoacetate, aromatic aldehydes, and primary diamines (1,2-ethylenediamine/1,3-propylenediamine) in ethanol furnishes symmetrical zwitterionic 2-pyridones such as 1-(2-amino-ethyl/3-amino-propyl)-6-hydroxy-2-oxo-4-(aryl)-1,2-dihydropyridine-3,5-dicarbonitriles. The result shows that primary diamines and monoamines react differently in the reactions, which provides new mechanistic insight into the regioselective synthesis of these biologically important compounds.     

A convergent synthesis of substituted pyrrolidines by 1,3 dipolar cycloaddition

Thiazolium ylids $\text{2a}$ and $\text{2b}$ are converted to $\text{4}$ in 3 steps.     

A novel metal iodide promoted three-component synthesis of substituted pyrrolidines

[reaction: see text] A new one-pot procedure for the synthesis of substituted pyrrolidine derivatives with commercially available cyclopropyl ketones, aldehydes, and amines by a metal iodide promoted three-component reaction was developed.     

Asymmetric multicomponent [C+NC+CC] synthesis of highly functionalized pyrrolidines catalyzed by silver(I)

[reaction: see text] Highly functionalized pyrrolidines are obtained in a single chemical step via a mild, efficient, and selective Ag(I)-catalyzed asymmetric [C+NC+CC] coupling process. Oppolzer's camphorsultam enables the desired reaction cascade and provides a reliable means to control the developing stereochemistry and purify the products. This three-component reaction provides unprecedented access to structurally diverse pyrrolidines for both target- and diversity-oriented syntheses.     

Asymmetric multicomponent reactions (AMCRs): the new frontier

Asymmetric multicomponent reactions involve the preparation of chiral compounds by the reaction of three or more reagents added simultaneously. This kind of addition and reaction has some advantages over classic divergent reaction strategies, such as lower costs, time, and energy, as well as environmentally friendlier aspects. All these advantages, together with the high level of stereoselectivity attained in some of these reactions, will force chemists in industry as in academia to adopt this new strategy of synthesis, or at least to consider it as a viable option. The positive aspects as well as the drawbacks of this strategy are discussed in this Review.     

Multicomponent reactions of diazoamides: diastereoselective synthesis of mono- and bis-spirofurooxindoles

This paper describes the intermolecular generation of carbonyl ylides by dirhodium(II) tetraacetate-catalyzed reaction of 3-diazoindol-2-ones in the presence of aryl aldehydes and heteroaryl aldehydes. These carbonyl ylides were subsequently trapped with dipolarophiles such as dimethyl acetylenedicarboxylate, maleic anhydride, and ethyl acrylate to afford spirofurooxindoles. Consequently, diastereoselective synthesis of spirodihydrofurooxindoles through the multicomponent reactions of cyclic diazoamides was successfully achieved for the first time. The stereochemistry of the spirofurooxindole is unequivocally corroborated by the single-crystal X-ray analysis of the representative product 4o. Interestingly, these reactions were extended to double multicomponent reactions of bis-cyclic diazoamides to afford the respective complex polycycles in a tandem manner, which led to the construction of four carbon-carbon bonds, two carbon-oxygen bonds, and four chiral centers in a single synthetic step.