Efficient Enantioselective Syntheses of Chiral Natural Products Facilitated by Ligand Design

The employment of enantioselective transition‐metal‐catalyzed transformations as key steps in asymmetric natural product syntheses have attracted considerable attention in recent years owing to their versatile synthetic utilities, mild conditions and high efficiency in chirality generation. The chiral catalysts or supporting ligands are believed to be crucial for the requisite reactivity and enantioselectivity. Therefore, the rational design of chiral ligands is at the heart of developing new asymmetric transition‐metal catalyzed reactions and provides an avenue to the asymmetric synthesis of natural products. Our group has been engaged in the development of transition‐metal‐catalyzed enantioselective cross‐coupling, cyclization and other related reactions and the application of these methodologies to natural product syntheses. In this account, we summarized our recent synthetic efforts towards the efficient total syntheses of several different types of natural products including terpenes, alkaloids and polyketides facilitated by the design of a series of versatile P‐chiral phosphorous ligands.     

Enantioselective organocatalytic synthesis of fluorinated molecules

The enantioselective synthesis of fluorinated molecules has drawn much attention within the chemical community due to its unique stereoelectronic properties. The main aim of this review is to cover the most important organocatalytic enantioselective methodologies to obtain them. The review is divided into three parts: first, the direct introduction of a fluorine atom studied in the early 2000s. Second, the later use of Michael reactions to introduce fluorine-containing synthons. Finally, the simultaneously-developed trifluoromethylation reactions, giving the catalysts, mechanisms and reagents that have been used.     

Synthesis of 2H-thiochromene derivatives (microreview)

Chemistry of Heterocyclic Compounds - The microreview considers recent methodologies for the synthesis of 2H-thiochromenes including enantioselective synthesis, multistep synthesis,...     

对映选择性亲电氟化反应研究进展

含氟有机化合物, 特别是手性氟化物在医药、农药及功能性材料等相关领域的作用备受注目. 尽管在分子中有立体选择性地引入一个氟原子一直是有机化学家面临的一个挑战性问题, 近年来在化学家们的不断努力下, 对映选择性氟化反应研究取得重要进展. 高光学活性的手性氟化物可通过手性亲电氟化试剂诱导的立体选择性氟化反应, 基于底物的手性氟化反应以及手性催化剂诱导的不对称催化氟化反应等来制备. 特别是, 手性金属配合物和有机催化剂诱导的不对称催化氟化反应被广泛应用于各类手性氟化物的合成, 已成为不对称氟化反应研究的热点. 全面介绍对映选择性亲电氟化反应研究概况和最新进展, 讨论各种不对称氟化反应的特点及应用范围.     

Dearomatization strategies in the synthesis of complex natural products

Evolution in the field of the total synthesis of natural products has led to exciting developments over the last decade. Numerous chemoselective and enantioselective methodologies have emerged from total syntheses, resulting in efficient access to many important natural product targets. This Review highlights recent developments concerning dearomatization, a powerful strategy for the total synthesis of architecturally complex natural products wherein planar, aromatic scaffolds are converted to three-dimensional molecular architectures.     

Asymmetric domino aza-Michael–Michael reaction of o-N-protected aminophenyl α,β-unsaturated ketones: construction of chiral functionalized tetrahydroquinolines

The diastereo- and enantioselective synthesis of 2,3,4-trisubstituted tetrahydroquinolines has been developed through organocatalytic domino aza-Michael–Michael reaction of o-N-tosylaminophenyl α,β-unsaturated ketones with nitroalkenes. This useful and simple domino process afforded diverse highly functionalized tetrahydroquinolines, some of which are not easily accessible using other methodologies, in good yields and with excellent diastereo- and enantioselectivities (up to >30:1 dr, >99% ee).     

A de novo enantioselective total synthesis of (-)-laulimalide

An enantioselective total synthesis of the naturally occurring anticancer agent (-)-laulimalide is described. The synthesis is characterized by extensive use of new reaction methodologies based on catalytic asymmetric acyl halide-aldehyde cyclocondensation (AAC) reactions and transformations of the derived enantioenriched beta-lactones. The synthesis also incorporates a unique allenylstannane glycal acetate alkylation and chemoselective ring-closing metathesis reaction.     

Synthesis of Resins with Chiral Salen Complexes

The enormous growth in the use of polymer resin supports in solid phase combinatorial synthesis, and related methodologies, has re-stimulated interest in the area of polymer-supported transition metal complex catalyst .The recently developed chiral salen-based for the enantioselective ring opening of meso epoxides and kinetic resolution of terminal epoxides are appealing candidates for immobilization on solid support. The catalysts are reading prepare from inexpensive components, and are amenable to modification for attachment to a solid support.     

Organocatalytic Strategies for the Development of the Enantioselective Inverse-electron-demand Hetero-Diels-Alder Reaction

Cycloaddition reactions, in particular Diels-Alder reactions, have attracted a lot of attention from organic chemists since they represent one of the most powerful methodologies for the construction of carbon-carbon bonds. In particular, inverse-electron-demand hetero-Diels-Alder reactions have been an important breakthrough for the synthesis of heterocyclic compounds. Among all their variants, the organocatalytic enantioselective version has been widely explored since the asymmetric construction of diversely functionalized scaffolds under reaction conditions encompassed within the green chemistry field is of great interest. In this review, a profound revision on the latest advances on the organocatalytic asymmetric inverse-electron demand hetero-Diels-Alder reaction is shown.     

Catalytic C-H amination: the stereoselectivity issue

Catalytic C-H amination has recently emerged as a unique tool for the synthesis of amines. This tutorial review highlights the existing protocols catalyzed by metal complexes (rhodium, copper, ruthenium, manganese and palladium) allowing diastereo- and enantioselective C-H amination. Substrate-, catalyst- and reagent-controlled methodologies are detailed. They involve either catalytic nitrene C-H insertion or C-H activation.     

Organocatalytic Synthesis of Chiral Halogenated Compounds

This account summarizes our recent efforts in the enantioselective organocatalytic synthesis of chiral halogenated compounds. The enantioselective α-halogenation of aldehydes, decarboxylative chlorination of β-keto acids, and enantioselective C−C bond formation at the trifluoromethylated prochiral carbon to yield the corresponding organohalides with chlorinated, fluorinated, or trifluoromethylated chiral stereogenic centers are discussed. We applied common organocatalysts, such as Jørgensen-Hayashi catalyst and cinchona alkaloid-derivatived catalyst, and developed novel chiral amine catalysts for these reactions. This account also discusses stereospecific derivatizations of the resulting chiral halogenated compounds via nucleophilic substitution. Thus, we synthesized many novel chiral compounds that have not been reported, even as racemates.     

A process in need is a process indeed: scalable enantioselective synthesis of chiral compounds for the pharmaceutical industry

This report deals with enantioselective synthesis of viracept 1 (nelfinavir mesylate, AG 1343), a potent HIV protease inhibitor, and 3-hydroxytetradecanoic acid 3, a component of lipid A comprising lipopolysaccharide embedded in the cell surface of Gram-negative bacteria, from both strategic and practical perspectives. As regards the synthesis of 1, the synthetic approaches to its central intermediate 2 possessing the common structural motif of 1,4-differentially substituted-2-amino-3-hydroxylbutane are mainly discussed with emphasis on the molecular symmetry that has helped streamline the synthetic strategy. In the discussion of the synthetic strategies to access a single enantiomer of 3, the chiral methodologies that have been applied so far are assessed for industrial viability; the synthetic alternatives explored include resolution via diastereomeric salt formation, lipase-catalyzed kinetic resolution, asymmetric synthesis, and chiral pool approaches.     

Synthesis and selective transformation of nitrogen-containing compounds via radical pathways

This account presents the recent contribution of our group to the development of radical methodologies, and their application to the synthesis and the reactivity of nitrogen-containing compounds. The scope of several cascade processes involving sulphur-centred radicals is discussed first, then the synthetic potential of radical additions to C=N bonds mediated by triethylborane and diethylzinc is examined. Special attention is given to 1,3-stereoinduction in the perspective of enantioselective synthesis.     

Organocatalytic asymmetric total synthesis of (R)-rolipram and formal synthesis of (3S,4R)-paroxetine

An efficient enantioselective total synthesis of (R)-rolipram and an efficient enantioselective formal synthesis of (3S,4R)-paroxetine has been achieved using the highly enantioselective Michael addition of malonate nucleophiles as key steps in both cases.     

Asymmetric Catalytic Approaches Employing α,β-Unsaturated Imines

Nitrogen-containing heterocyclic compounds have consistently been a noticeable center of attention due to their significant utilization in the domain of synthetic organic chemistry, agrochemicals, and pharmaceuticals. α,β-Unsaturated imines or conjugated imines provide a lot of significant cyclic as well as acyclic products through reacting with a versatile family of compounds. This review summarizes the recent advances in enantioselective reactions of α,β-unsaturated imines by using synthetic methodologies for synthesizing various nitrogen-containing heterocycles that contain four to six-membered rings. The synthesis of rarely found seven-, eight- and nine-membered nitrogen-containing heterocycles have also been reported.     

Developing novel organocatalyzed aldol reactions for the enantioselective synthesis of biologically active molecules

Aldol reaction is one of the most important methods for the formation of carbon-carbon bonds. Because of its significance and usefulness, asymmetric versions of this reaction have been realized with different approaches in the past. Over the last decade, the area of organocatalysis has made significant progresses. As one of most studied reactions in organocatalyses, organocatalyzed aldol reaction has emerged as a powerful tool for the synthesis of a large number of useful products in optically enriched forms. In this review, we summarize our efforts on the development of novel organocatalyzed aldol reactions for the enantioselective synthesis of biological active molecules. Literatures closely related to our studies are also covered.     

过渡金属催化的有机硼试剂对醛酮的不对称加成研究进展

手性芳基醇是一类重要的合成砌块,广泛存在于许多生物活性分子以及天然产物中,因此,高效高选择性地构建该类化合物是有机化学家们一直关注的研究热点.金属试剂对羰基化合物的不对称加成是构建手性芳基醇的一个简单高效的方法,其中,有机硼试剂由于其方便易得、稳定、低毒、官能团耐受性好等优点而被广泛用于醛、酮的不对称加成反应中.本文综述了过去二十年来过渡金属催化的有机硼试剂对醛、酮的不对称加成反应研究进展,并介绍了一些方法在生物活性手性分子合成中的应用.     

Planar chiral (η5-cyclohexadienyl)- and (η6-arene)-tricarbonylmanganese complexes: synthetic routes and application

Planar chiral arenetricarbonylchromium complexes have been intensively investigated and they have been applied as valuable building blocks for asymmetric synthesis and as ligands for asymmetric catalysis. In contrast, in the field of the isoelectronic cationic [(η(6)-arene)Mn(CO)(3)](+) complexes, until these last 10 years, very few studies were published involving nonracemic planar chiral cationic complexes and their potential applications, certainly because of the difficult access to enantiopure starting material. In 2009, however, the discovery of the first resolution of such compounds opened a new area for their application in the field of organic as well as of organometallic enantioselective syntheses. We felt it important to write a review on this subject to give an up-to-date summary of the methodologies used to prepare enantiomerically pure planar chiral neutral [(η(5)-cyclohexadienyl)Mn(CO)(3)] and cationic [(η(6)-arene)Mn(CO)(3)](+) complexes as well as their potential in enantioselective synthesis.     

Enantioselective total synthesis of ustiloxin D

Ustiloxin D and phomopsin A are potent antimitotic agents that bind to tubulin and interfere with cellular microtubule function. A synthetic strategy has been developed to allow access to both of the natural products as well as a variety of variants of the ustiloxin and phomopsin family members in order to provide sufficient quantities for biological studies. Herein we report the enantioselective total synthesis of ustiloxin D using a longest linear sequence of 20 steps. Four of the five stereocenters were set using catalytic asymmetric methodologies. In particular, Evans's new Al-catalyzed asymmetric aldol reaction facilitated access to both syn and anti products corresponding to the different benzylic stereochemistries found in ustiloxins and phomopsins. In addition, due to its high functional group tolerance, Trost's Pd-mediated etherification was used to construct the chiral tertiary alkyl-aryl ether. Taken together, these synthetic strategies allow us to use densely functionalized intermediates to realize an efficient synthesis of ustiloxin D.     

Selective Carbon–Carbon Bond Cleavage for the Stereoselective Synthesis of Acyclic Systems

Most of the efforts of organic chemists have been directed to the development of creative strategies to build carbon–carbon and carbon–heteroatom bonds in a predictable and efficient manner. In this Review, we show an alternative approach where challenging molecular skeletons could be prepared through selective cleavage of carbon–carbon bonds. We demonstrate that it has the potential to be a general principle in organic synthesis for the regio‐, diastereo‐, and even enantioselective preparation of adducts despite the fact that C? C single bonds are among the least reactive functional groups. The development of such strategies may have an impact on synthesis design and can ultimately lead to new selective and efficient processes for the utilization of simple hydrocarbons.