Catalytic diastereoselective reduction of α,β-epoxy and α,β-aziridinyl ynones

The Noyori transfer hydrogenation of α,β-epoxy and α,β-aziridinyl ynones leads to the corresponding α,β-epoxy or α,β-aziridinyl propargylic alcohols with high reagent-controlled diastereoselectivity.     

Synthesis of new α,α,β,β-tetrafluoroesters

Substituted phenyl iodides or diiodides reacted with ethyl iodotetrafluoroproponylate ICF₂CF₂CO₂Et, 1 in the presence of copper powder to give the coupled products 2 or 3 in good yields. Addition of 1 to ethylene and allyl acetate proceeded smoothly under thermal and radical conditions to give the corresponding adducts, which underwent elimination reaction to give β-vinyl and β-allyl α,α,β,β-tetrafluoroesters, CH₂CHCF₂CF₂CO₂Et, 4 and CH₂CHCH₂CF₂CF₂CO₂Et, 5, respectively. 1 also readily reacted with 1,5-hexadiene and 1-hexene with copper or palladium complex, followed by reduction to remove iodine to produce ω-alkenyl-α,α,β,β-tetrafluoroester CH₂CH(CH₂)₄CF₂CF₂CO₂Et 6 and α,α,β,β-tetrafluoroester C₄H₉CH₂CHICF₂CF₂CO₂Et.     

Synthesis of esters of α-chloroacetoxy-β,β,β,-trichloroethylphosphonic acids

Summary The synthesis of 11 previously unreported dialkyl esters of -mono-, -di-, and -trichloroacetoxy-,,-trichloroethylphosphonic acids has been effected.     

Structure of N,N-disubstituted α,β-unsaturated α-amino aldehydes

Study of the IR and¹H and¹³C NMR spectra of N,N-disubstituted ,-unsaturated -amino aldehydes showed that in the nature of the electron density distribution these compounds occupy an intermediate position between -unsubstituted amino olefins and ,-unsubstituted aldehydes, being significantly closer to the latter.Translated from Izvestiya Akademii Nauk SSSR, Seriya Khimicheskaya, No. 9, pp. 2031–2034, September, 1991.     

Bromination of polyfluorinated α,β-enones

Polyfluoroalkyl-,-enones readily add Br₂ to give ,ß-dibromoketones. The latter are readily and regioselectively dehydrobrominated to -bromo-,-enones on treatment with K₂CO₃ or NEt₃ Translated fromIzvestiya Akademii Nauk. Seriya Khimicheskaya, No. 12, pp. 2134–2136, December, 1993.     

An efficient dehyrohalogenation method for the synthesis of α,β,β-trifluorostyrenes, α-chloro-β,β-difluorostyrenes and E-1-arylperfluoroalkenes

Dehydrofluorination of 1-aryl-1,2,2,2-tetrafluoroethanes (ArCHFCF₃) and 1-aryl-1-chloro-2,2,2-trifluoroethane (ArCHClCF₃) using lithiumhexamethyldisilazide (LHMDS) in tetrahydrofuran (THF) at room temperature produced 1,2,2-trifluorostyrene and 1-chloro-2,2-difluorostyrene, respectively, in very good isolated yields. Dehydrofluorination of 1,2,2,3,3,3-hexafluoro-1-phenyl-propane (PhCHFCF₂CF₃) and 1,2,2,3,3,4,4,4-octafluoro-1-phenyl-butane (PhCHFCF₂CF₂CF₃) using LHMDS produced the corresponding substituted olefins (1-phenyl-1,2,3,3,3-pentafluoroprop-1-ene and 1-phenyl-1,2,3,3,4,4,4-pentafluorobut-1-ene) in good yield and high E-selectivity. Dehydrofluorination of 1-chloro-1-phenyl-2,2,3,3,3-pentafluoropropane (PhCHClCF₂CF₃) and 1-chloro-1-phenyl-2,2,3,3,4,4,4-heptafluorobutane (PhCHClCF₂CF₂CF₃) produced a mixture of the corresponding E and Z olefins (PhCClCFCF₃ and PhCClCFCF₂CF₃) in good yield.     

Synthesis of α-alkyl- and α,α-dialkyl-β-phenyltryptamines

A new method was developed for the synthesis of -alkyl- and ,-dialkyl--phenyltryptamines based on alkylation of nitroalkanes with -phenyl-nor-gramine.     

Facile access to α,β-dehydroalanine and α,β-dehydroamino butyric acid derivatives from DL-serines and threonines

Not only α,β-dehydroamino acids are important constituents for a number of bioactive peptides in nature, but also they are important building blocks for a variety of synthetic amino acids in organic synthesis. Methods to prepare dehydroamino acids have been reported extensively in the literature; however, efficient and convenient protocols are still required. Here we have developed a convenient method to prepare dehydroalanine (ΔAla) and dehydroamino butyric acid (ΔAbu) derivatives derived from DL-serines and DL-threonines, respectively. 4-Toluenesulfonyl chloride (TsCl) and 1,8-diazabicyclo[5.4.0]undec-7-ene (DBU) were employed in this procedure, which carried out activation of hydroxyl group and β-elimination in one pot. Because it is convenient and easy to handle, this method will attract the attention of synthetic chemists.     

γ-Methylenation of α,β-Unsaturated Ketones

γ-Methylene derivatives of α,β-unsaturated ketones are obtained readily by a one-pot procedure exploiting the reaction of O-silylated dienolates with commercially available formaldehyde N, N-dimethyliminium chloride in anhydrous N, N-dimethylformamide, in situ oxidation of the Mannich reaction product with hydrogen peroxide, and elimination of N,N-dimethylhydroxylamine from the resultant N-oxide.     

Alkylating potential of α,β-unsaturated compounds

Alkylation reactions of the nucleoside guanosine (Guo) by the α,β-unsaturated compounds (α,β-UC) acrylonitrile (AN), acrylamide (AM), acrylic acid (AA) and acrolein (AC), which can act as alkylating agents of DNA, were investigated kinetically. The following conclusions were drawn: i) The Guo alkylation mechanism by AC is different from those brought about the other α,β-UC; ii) for the first three, the following sequence of alkylating potential was found: AN > AM > AA; iii) A correlation between the chemical reactivity (alkylation rate constants) of AN, AM, and AA and their capacity to form adducts with biomarkers was found. iv) Guo alkylation reactions for AN and AM occur through Michael addition mechanisms, reversible in the first case, and irreversible in the second. The equilibrium constant for the formation of the Guo-AN adduct is K(eq) (37 °C) = 5 × 10(-4); v) The low energy barrier (≈10 kJ mol(-1)) to reverse the Guo alkylation by AN reflects the easy reversibility of this reaction and its possible correction by repair mechanisms; vi) No reaction was observed for AN, AM, and AA at pH < 8.0. In contrast, Guo alkylation by AC was observed under cellular pH conditions. The reaction rate constants for the formation of the α-OH-Guo adduct (the most genotoxic isomer), is 1.5-fold faster than that of γ-OH-Guo. vii) a correlation between the chemical reactivity of α,β-UC (alkylation rate constants) and mutagenicity was found.     

Copper-catalyzed enantioselective 1,4-conjugate addition of dialkylzinc reagents to α,β- and α,β,γ,δ-unsaturated ketones

An enantioselective Cu(II)-catalyzed conjugate addition of dialkylzinc reagents to α,β- or α,β,γ,δ-unsaturated ketones with chiral cyclohexane-based amidophosphine ligands was developed. With 2 mol% of Cu(OAc)₂·H₂O/L5, the conjugate addition of diethylzinc to α,β-unsaturated ketones was achieved in good-to-excellent yields (up to 98%) and high enantioselectivities (up to 92% ee). This catalytic system was shown to be efficient for the 1,4-conjugate addition of Et₂Zn to (2E,4E)-1,5-diphenylpenta-2,4-dien-1-one with 85% yield and 90% ee. Moreover, with 1 mol% of Cu(OTf)₂/L11, the conjugate addition of α,β,γ,δ-unsaturated ketones was accomplished with 1,4-regioselectivity, good yields (79–86%) and excellent enantioselectivities (up to 97% ee).     

β,β-Difluoro analogs of α-oxo-β-phenylpropionic acid and phenylalanine

A simple three-step procedure converted the readily accessible (2-bromo-1,1-difluoroethyl)arenes (2) into α-aryl-α,α-difluoroacetaldehydes (1). Subsequent hydrocyanation, hydrolysis, oxidation and again hydrolysis afforded β-aryl-β,β-difluoro-α-oxopropionic acids (3). Reductive amination transformed the oxoacids 3 into a separable mixture of α-hydroxyacids 11 and racemic β,β-difluoro-β-phenylalanine derivatives (4). Enantiomerically pure β,β-difluorophenylalanine (l-4a) was obtained when α,α-difluoro-α-phenylacet-aldehyde (1a) was condensed with homochiral 1-phenylethylamine, hydrogen cyanide added to the resulting imine, the diastereomeric mixture thus produced hydrolyzed to the carboxamides (15) which were found to be separable by fractional crystallization or chromatography. The pK_a values of the β-aryl-β,β-difluoroalanines (4) were measured and biological profile of the latter probed. 3-(4-Chlorophenyl)-3,3-difluoro-2-oxopropionic acid (4c) proved to be a potent (K_i 27 μM) and selective inhibitor of arogenate dehydratase, a key enzyme catalyzing the last step of the phenylalanine biosynthesis.     

Lipase-catalyzed kinetic resolution of α,β-unsaturated α′-acetoxy ketones

The lipase-catalyzed kinetic resolutions of the α,β-unsaturated α′-acetoxy ketones 3a,b have been investigated. Of the lipases examined, CAL-B from Candida antarctica (fraction B) has been shown to be an efficient biocatalyst, which may be used effectively in preparative scale reactions.     

Organocatalytic asymmetric nitrocyclopropanation of α,β-unsaturated aldehydes

A novel organocatalytic highly enantioselective nitrocyclopropanation reaction of α,β-unsaturated aldehydes is presented. The 1-nitro-2-formylcyclopropane derivatives synthesized from this catalytic transformation were converted to the corresponding β-nitromethyl-acid esters, which are excellent precursors of GABA analogues such as Baclofen, by subsequent organocatalytic chemoselective ring-opening.     

Palladium-catalyzed arylation of α,β-unsaturated Weinreb amides

Palladium-catalyzed arylation of α,β-unsaturated Weinreb amides has been examined to obtain β-aryl-α,β-unsaturated Weinreb amides. The chelation between the palladium center of an alkylpalladium intermediate and Weinreb amide moiety facilitated both coordination and insertion steps.     

Conformation and chiral effects in α,β,α-tripeptides

Short α,β,α-tripeptides comprising a central chiral trisubstituted β(2,2,3)*-amino acid residue form unusual γ-turns and δ-turns in CDCl(3) and DMSO-d(6) solutions but do not form β-turns. Thermal coefficients of backbone amide protons, 2D-NMR spectra, and molecular modeling revealed that these motifs were strongly dependent on the configuration (chiral effect) of the central β-amino acid residue within the triad. Accordingly, SSS tripeptides adopted an intraresidual γ-turn like (C6) arrangement in the central β-amino acid, whereas SRS diastereomers preferred an extended δ-turn (C9) conformation. A different SRS-stabilizing bias was observed in the crystal structures of the same compounds, which shared the extended δ-turn (C9) found in solution, but incorporated an additional extended β-turn (C11) to form an overlapped double turn motif.