Silver-catalyzed asymmetric Sakurai-Hosomi allylation of ketones

The complex of AgF and (R)-DIFLUORPHOS has been shown to be an effective catalyst for the asymmetric Sakurai-Hosomi allylation of simple ketones. A significaant improvement of the reactivity was observed by using THF as the solvent. The catalyst turnover was increased by addition of 1 equiv of MeOH. AgF and (R)-DIFLUORPHOS predominantly formed a 1:1 complex that provided high enantioselectivity. This catalyst system can be applied to various simple ketones, and corresponding tertiary homoallylic alcohols were obtained with excellent enantioselectivities (up to 96% ee). Only 1,2-adducts were obtained from both acyclic and cyclic conjugate ketones. The regio-, diastereo-, and enantioselective crotylation has also been achieved. E- or Z-crotyltrimethoxysilane gave a similar diastereomer ratio with high enantioselectivities. This finding introduces the utility of racemic allylsilanes for the enantioselective Sakurai-Hosomi allylation reaction.     

Direct, catalytic enantioselective nitroaldol (Henry) reaction of trifluoromethyl ketones: an asymmetric entry to alpha-trifluoromethyl-substituted quaternary carbons

Herein we describe the first direct, catalytic enantioselective nitroaldol (Henry) reaction of simple alpha-trifluoromethyl ketones with nitromethane using a chiral monometallic lanthanum(III) triflate salt complex, namely [(Delta,S,S,S)-Binolam]3.La(OTf)3, as enantioselective catalyst. The resulting alpha-trifluoromethyl tertiary nitroaldols were obtained in moderate to high yields (up to 93%) and enantioselectivities (up to 98% ee). These adducts are versatile chiral building blocks and may be reduced (NiCl2/NaBH4) to their beta-amino-alpha-trifluoromethyl tertiary alcohols without loss of enantiomeric purity.     

Antibody-catalyzed asymmetric intramolecular Michael addition of aldehydes and ketones to yield the disfavored cis-product

The development of new catalytic asymmetric reactions continues to be a major goal in organic chemistry. Here we report a novel antibody-catalyzed intramolecular Michael addition of aldehydes and ketones to enones. The reaction is enantioselective and diastereoselective with a high ee value and cis/trans ratio. This is the first example of asymmetric intramolecular Michael addition of ketones. Antibody 38C2 is the only catalyst to date capable of generating this selectivity in Michael addition products.     

Enantioselective Michael addition of alpha-substituted cyanoacetates to vinyl ketones catalyzed by bifunctional organocatalysts

A highly enantioselective Michael addition of alpha-substituted cyanoacetates to vinyl ketones was accomplished in the presence of simple bifunctional thiourea/tertiary amine organocatalysts. A number of alpha-aryl or alkyl cyanoacetates have been successfully applied to give multifunctional compounds with an all-carbon-substituted quaternary stereocenter in excellent enantioselectivities (82-97 % ee) and yields (61-99 %). The optical pure adducts could be smoothly converted to variously structured beta(2,2)-amino acid esters. Moreover, an interesting reaction model involving multiple hydrogen-bonding interactions amongst the thiourea/tertiary amine catalyst and the reactants has been proposed based on the absolute configuration of the adduct and computational studies.     

A green chemistry approach to a more efficient asymmetric catalyst: solvent-free and highly concentrated alkyl additions to ketones

There is a great demand for development of catalyst systems that are not only efficient and highly enantioselective but are also environmentally benign. Herein we report investigations into the catalytic asymmetric addition of alkyl and functionalized alkyl groups to ketones under highly concentrated and solvent-free conditions. In comparison with standard reaction conditions employing toluene and hexanes, the solvent-free and highly concentrated conditions permit reduction in catalyst loading by a factor of 2- to 40-fold. These new conditions are general and applicable to a variety of ketones and dialkylzinc reagents to provide diverse tertiary alcohols with high enantioselectivities. Using cyclic conjugated enones, we have performed a tandem asymmetric addition/diastereoselective epoxidation using the solvent-free addition conditions followed by introduction of a 5.5 M decane solution of tert-butyl hydroperoxide (TBHP) to generate epoxy alcohols. This one-pot procedure allows access to syn epoxy alcohols with three contiguous stereocenters with excellent enantio- and diastereoselectivities and high yields. Both the solvent-free asymmetric additions and asymmetric addition/diastereoselective epoxidation reactions have been conducted on larger scale (5 g substrate) with 0.5 mol % catalyst loadings. In these procedures, enantioselectivities equal to or better than 92% were obtained with isolated yields of 90%. The solvent-free and highly concentrated conditions are a significant improvement over previous solvent-based protocols. Further, this chemistry represents a rare example of a catalytic asymmetric reaction that is highly enantioselective under more environmentally friendly solvent-free conditions.     

Catalytic enantioselective addition of diethylzinc to trifluoromethyl ketones

A procedure for nucleophilic addition of diethylzinc to trifluoromethyl ketones was developed. The TMEDA-catalyzed method converts aromatic substrates to the corresponding 2-aryl-1,1,1-trifluorobutan-2-ols in up to 99% yield, and it is also applicable to less reactive aliphatic ketones if stoichiometric ligand amounts are employed. The first asymmetric variant producing tertiary alcohols with up to 61% ee when TBOX is used as catalyst is described.     

The asymmetric synthesis of chiral cyclic α-hydroxy phosphonates and quaternary cyclic α-hydroxy phosphonates

A highly practical, catalytic enantioselective cyclic phosphite addition to aldehydes and ketones was developed. The reaction rate of the asymmetric hydrophosphonylation was significantly enhanced by the addition of silver carbonate. Particularly, significant improvement has been achieved on the asymmetric hydrophosphonylation of unactivated ketones, giving quaternary α-hydroxy phosphonates with excellent enantioselectivity (up to 99% ee).     

Dramatic ligand effect in catalytic asymmetric reductive aldol reaction of allenic esters to ketones

A general catalytic asymmetric reductive aldol reaction of allenic esters to ketones is described. Two distinct constitutional isomers were selectively produced depending on the reaction conditions. A combination of CuOAc/(R)-DTBM-SEGPHOS/PCy3 as the catalyst predominantly produced gamma-cis-products in high yield with excellent enantioselectivity (up to 99% ee). The reaction was applicable to both aromatic and aliphatic ketones, including unsaturated ketones. On the other hand, CuF-Taniaphos complexes produced alpha-aldol products with high diastereo- and enantioselectivity (up to 84% ee). The new Taniaphos derivative L3, containing di(3,5-xylyl)phosphine and morpholine units, produced optimum results in the alpha-selective reaction. The products are versatile chiral building blocks in organic synthesis. Furthermore, the basic reaction pattern (i.e., conjugate addition-aldol reaction) was extended to a catalytic enantioselective alkylative aldol reaction to ketones using dialkylzinc reagents as the initiator.     

An improved catalyst for the asymmetric arylation of ketone enolates

A new catalyst system for the enantioselective alpha-arylation of ketones is reported. This catalyst, prepared from Pd(2)(dba)(3) and a bulky dialkylphosphino-binaphthyl ligand, is able to effect the asymmetric arylation of ketone enolates with aryl bromides utilizing NaO(t)()Bu as base. These new catalysts enjoy much higher reactivity than previous systems; arylation reactions could be effected at room temperature with only 2 mol % of the Pd catalyst. The coupling of alpha-alkyl-alpha'-protected cyclopentanones proceeded in high yield, and the resulting quaternary stereogenic center was installed in up to 94% ee.     

Catalytic enantioselective alkenylation and phenylation of trifluoromethyl ketones

Catalytic enantioselective alkenylation and phenylation of trifluoromethyl ketones are described. High enantioselectivity (up to 84% ee) was produced in an alkenylation of aryl trifluoromethyl ketones using a CuF-DTBM-SEGPHOS complex as the catalyst (5-10 mol %) and alkenylsilanes as the nucleophile. This is the first example of catalytic enantioselective alkenylation of trifluoromethyl ketones. The products are versatile chiral building blocks, which contain a trifluoromethyl-substituted tertiary alcohol moiety.     

A stereochemically well-defined rhodium(III) catalyst for asymmetric transfer hydrogenation of ketones

[reaction: see text] A rhodium(III) catalyst for asymmetric transfer hydrogenation of ketones has been designed. The incorporation of a tethering group between the diamino group and the cyclopentadienyl unit provides extra stereochemical rigidity. The catalyst is capable of enantioselective reduction of a range of ketones in excellent ee using formic acid/triethylamine as both the solvent and the reducing agent.     

Catalytic asymmetric methallylation of ketones with an (H8-BINOLate)Ti-based catalyst

The first catalytic asymmetric methallylation of ketones is reported. The catalyst, which is generated from titanium tetraisopropoxide, H8-BINOL, 2-propanol, and tetramethallylstannane, reacts with ketones in acetonitrile to afford tertiary homoallylic alcohols in fair to excellent yields (55-99%) and fair to high enantioselectivities (46-90%). Ozonolysis of the resulting products provides access to chiral beta-hydroxy ketones, which are not readily prepared from direct asymmetric aldol reaction of acetone with ketones.     

Copper(I) alkoxide-catalyzed alkynylation of trifluoromethyl ketones

A general method for direct alkynylation of trifluoromethyl ketones was developed by using CuO(t)Bu-xantphos or phenanthroline complexes as catalysts. The ligands significantly enhanced the catalyst activity. In addition, KOTf, generated in the catalyst preparation step, exhibited some acceleration effects. A preliminary extension to a catalytic enantioselective CF3-substituted tertiary propargyl alcohol synthesis (up to 52% ee) is also described.     

Organocatalytic asymmetric Neber reaction for the synthesis of 2H-azirine carboxylic esters

The first enantioselective Neber reaction of β-ketoxime sulfonates catalyzed by a bifunctional thiourea has been developed. The reaction proceeds stereoselectively with 5 mol % of the catalyst to give the 2H-azirine carboxylic esters in good yields with up to 93% ee. In addition, the resulting azirines can be successfully employed in the stereoselective synthesis of di- and trisubstituted aziridines.     

Structurally well-defined, recoverable C3-symmetric tris(beta-hydroxy phosphoramide)-catalyzed enantioselective borane reduction of ketones

[reaction: see text] A series of new chiral C(3)-symmetric tris(beta-hydroxy phosphoramide) ligands have been synthesized via the reaction of trisphosphoramide ester and Grignard reagents. The catalytic asymmetric borane reduction of ketones with these new C(3)-symmetric chiral tris(beta-hydroxy phosphoramide)s was investigated. Structurally well-defined, recoverable ligand 1d is an efficient catalyst for the enantioselective borane reduction of both electron-deficient and electron-rich ketones, and high enantioselectivities were achieved (up to 98% ee).     

Highly concentrated catalytic asymmetric allylation of ketones

[reaction: see text] We report the catalytic asymmetric allylation of ketones under highly concentrated reaction conditions with a catalyst generated from titanium tetraisopropoxide and BINOL (1:2 ratio) in the presence of isopropanol. This catalyst promotes the addition of tetraallylstannane to a variety of ketones to produce tertiary homoallylic alcohols in excellent yield (80-99%) with high enantioselectivities (79-95%). The resulting homoallylic alcohols can also be epoxidized in situ using tert-butyl hydroperoxide (TBHP) to afford cyclic epoxy alcohols in high yield (84-87%).     

Asymmetric autocatalysis and the origin of chiral homogeneity in organic compounds

The discovery and development of asymmetric autocatalysis, in which the structures of the chiral catalyst and the chiral product are the same, are described. Chiral 5-pyrimidyl, 3-quinolyl, and 5-carbamoyl-3-pyridyl alkanols act as highly enantioselective asymmetric autocatalysts in the enantioselective addition of diisopropylzinc to the corresponding aldehydes, such as pyrimidine-5-carbaldehyde. 2-Alkynyl-5-pyrimidyl alkanol with an enantiomeric excess (ee) of >99.5% automultiplies practically perfectly as an asymmetric autocatalyst in a yield of >99% and >99.5% ee. Asymmetric autocatalysis with an amplification of ee has thus been realized. Consecutive asymmetric autocatalysis starting with chiral 2-alkynylpyrimidyl alkanol of only 0.6% ee amplifies its ee significantly, and yields itself as the product with >99.5% ee. The reaction of pyrimidine-5-carbaldehyde and diisopropylzinc in the presence of chiral initiators with low ee's, such as secondary alcohol, amine, carboxylic acid, mono-substituted [2.2]paracyclophane, and chiral primary alcohols due to deuterium substitution, regulates the absolute configuration of the resulting pyrimidyl alkanols, and the ee of the resulting pyrimidyl alkanol is much higher than that of the chiral initiator. Leucine and [6]helicene with very low ee's, which are known to be induced by circularly polarized light (CPL), also serve as chiral initiators to produce pyrimidyl alkanol with higher ee's. Overall, the process represents the first correlation between the chirality of CPL and an organic compound with very high ee. Chiral inorganic crystals, such as quartz and sodium chlorate, act as chiral inducers in the asymmetric autocatalysis of pyrimidyl alkanol. The process correlates for the first time ever the chirality of inorganic crystals with an organic compound with very high ee.     

Highly enantioselective cyanosilylation of ketones catalyzed by a bifunctional Ti(IV) complex

A bifunctional catalyst system composed of (S)-prolinamide (2a), titanium(IV) isopropoxide, and phenolic N-oxide (3f) exhibited high catalytic efficiency in the enantioselective cyanosilylation of ketones. In the presence of 2.5 mol % catalyst, a variety of aromatic and aliphatic ketones were converted into the corresponding tertiary cyanohydrin O-TMS ethers in excellent yields (up to 96%) and high enantioselectivities (up to 96% ee). A proposed catalytic cycle was illustrated to explain the origin of the asymmetric induction.     

Catalytic asymmetric synthesis of vicinal diamine derivatives through enantioselective N-allylation using chiral pi-allyl Pd-catalyst

[reaction: see text] N-monoallylation of meso-vicinal diamine bistrisylamides using a chiral pi-allyl-Pd catalyst proceeded in an enantioselective manner (up to 90% ee) to give desymmetrization products in good yields. The product was converted to the known sigma-receptor agonist in short steps. In addition, the present catalytic asymmetric N-allylation was applied to kinetic resolution of racemic-diamide.     

Multifunctional asymmetric catalysis

Two types of general and practical enantioselective catalysts, namely, bimetallic complexes and Lewis acid-Lewis base bifunctional catalysts were developed based on the concept of multifunctional catalysis. In the first part of this review, the first example of a catalytic enatioselective nitro-Mannich reaction as well as a direct catalytic enantioselective aldol reaction of 2-hydroxyacetophenone using bimetallic complexes is discussed. The new complex, composed of ytterbium, potassium, and BINOL in a ratio of 1:1:3, promoted the nitro-Mannich reaction of nitromethane with up to 91% ee. On the other hand, second generation ALB catalyzed an enantioselective and diastereoselective nitro-Mannich reaction of nitroalkanes in up to 83% ee with a diastereomeric ratio up to 7:1. Moreover, the reaction of aldehydes with 2-hydroxyacetophenone in the presence of LLB, KHMDS, and H2O selectively gave the corresponding anti-alpha,beta-dihydroxy ketones in up to 95% ee and, in the presence of the catalyst prepared from linked-BINOL and 2 eq of Et2Zn, selectively afforded the syn-alpha,beta-dihydroxy ketones in up to 86% ee. In the second part, the development of new catalysts displaying a Lewis acidity and a Lewis basicity is described. The Lewis acid of the catalyst activates aldehydes, imines, acyl quinoliniums, and ketones. At the same time, the Lewis base activates the nucleophile (TMSCN). Catalysts of this type produced a highly enantioselective cyanation of these electrophiles. Application of the catalytic enantioselective cyanosilylation of aldehydes to a total synthesis of epothilones is also described.