Highly regioselective Pd-catalyzed allylic alkylation of fluorobis(phenylsulfonyl)methane

A highly regioselective palladium-catalyzed allylic alkylation of fluorobis(phenylsulfonyl)methane has been studied. Using different allylic carbonates, a variety of terminal mono-fluoromethylated compounds were achieved in 85-99% yields with high regioselectivities.     

Organocatalytic asymmetric allylic alkylation of sulfonylimidates with Morita-Baylis-Hillman carbonates

The asymmetric allylic alkylation reaction of sulfonylimidates with various Morita-Baylis-Hillman (MBH) carbonates was accomplished by the catalysis of commercially available cinchona alkaloids catalyst (DHQD)2AQN.The corresponding allylic alkylation products were obtained in good yields with high stereoselectivities (up to 99% ee,89:11 dr).     

Enantioselective organocatalytic conjugate addition of aldehydes to nitrodienes

The asymmetric organocatalyzed Michael addition of aldehydes to alpha,beta-gamma,delta-unsaturated nitro compounds has been accomplished using only 5 mol % of (S)-diphenylprolinol silyl ether and 2 equiv of aldehyde in a mixture of ethanol and water (5% v/v). The Michael adducts were obtained in good yields, diastereoselectivities up to 94/6, and ee's up to 99%. This process provides synthetically useful compounds which can easily lead to more complex molecules, as exemplified with substituted tetrahydropyran or cyclohexene.     

Enantioselective organocatalytic conjugate addition of alpha-aminoketone to nitroolefins

The enantioselective organocatalytic conjugate addition of alpha-aminoketone to nitroolefins is reported.     

Chiral phosphine-catalyzed asymmetric allylic alkylation of 3-substituted benzofuran-2(3H)-ones or oxindoles with Morita-Baylis-Hillman carbonates

An efficient chiral phosphine-catalyzed asymmetric substitution reaction of MBH carbonates with 3-substituted benzofuran-2(3H)-ones or 3-substituted oxindoles has been described in this context, giving the corresponding allylic alkylation products bearing adjacent quaternary and tertiary stereogenic centers in high yields, moderate diastereoselectivities and high enantioselectivities under mild conditions.     

Chiral biscinchona alkaloid promoted asymmetric allylic alkylation of 3-substituted benzofuran-2(3H)-ones with Morita-Baylis-Hillman carbonates

A highly diastereo- and enantioselective asymmetric allylic alkylation reaction with respect to prochiral 3-substituted benzofuran-2(3H)-ones and MBH carbonate by a chiral biscinchona alkaloid catalyst was investigated. The corresponding adducts, containing a quaternary center at the C3-position of the benzofuran-2(3H)-one as well as a vicinal tertiary center, were generally obtained in high yields (up to 97%) with very good diastereo- (up to 98:2 dr) and enantioselectivities (up to 95% ee).     

Palladium-catalyzed asymmetric allylic alkylation (AAA) with alkyl sulfones as nucleophiles

An efficient palladium-catalyzed AAA reaction with a simple α-sulfonyl carbon anion as nucleophiles is presented for the first time. Allyl fluorides are used as superior precursors for the generation of π-allyl complexes that upon ionization liberate fluoride anions for activation of silylated nucleophiles. With the unique bidentate diamidophosphite ligand ligated palladium as catalyst, the in situ generated α-sulfonyl carbon anion was quickly captured by the allylic intermediates, affording a series of chiral homo-allylic sulfones with high efficiency and selectivity. This work provides a mild in situ desilylation strategy to reveal nucleophilic carbon centers that could be used to overcome the pK_a limitation of “hard” nucleophiles in enantioselective transformations.

A variety of “hard” α-sulfonyl carbanions of aryl, heteroaryl and alkyl sulfones were successfully employed as nucleophiles in palladium-catalyzed asymmetric allylic alkylation with excellent enantioselectivities.     

Oxidative addition of allylic carbonates to palladium(0) complexes: reversibility and isomerization

The oxidative addition of a cyclic allylic carbonate to the palladium(0) complex generated from a [Pd(dba)2]+2 PPh3 mixture affords a cationic pi-allylpalladium(II) complex with the alkyl carbonate as the counter-anion. This reaction is reversible and proceeds with isomerization of the allylic carbonate at the allylic position. The equilibrium constant has been determined in DMF. The influence of the precursor of the palladium(0) is discussed.     

Fluorous chiral bisoxazolines. Synthesis and applications to an asymmetric allylic alkylation

The easily accessible fluorous bisoxazolines 3a-b bearing two fluorous ponytails are efficient ligands in the palladium-catalyzed asymmetric allylic alkylation of 1,3-diphenylprop-2-enyl acetate with carbonucleophiles in benzotrifluoride or CH₂Cl₂, enantioselectivities of up to 95% being obtained. The ligand is easily separated from the reaction mixture by simple extraction with a fluorous solvent.     

Surfactant-type asymmetric organocatalyst: organocatalytic asymmetric Michael addition to nitrostyrenes in water

A surfactant-type asymmetric organocatalyst (STAO) catalyzed highly efficient Michael addition to nitroalkenes with high stereoselectivities in water without using any organic solvents or additional additives.     

Pd asymmetric allylic alkylation (AAA). A powerful synthetic tool

Palladium catalyzed asymmetric allylic alkylations represent a challenging problem because the mechanism of the reaction places the chiral environment distal to the bond breaking or making events responsible for the asymmetric induction. Furthermore, unlike virtually every other asymmetric process, many strategies can be employed for introduction of asymmetry and many different types of bonds can be formed. While over 100 different ligands have been designed, a family of ligands derived from 2-diphenylphosphinobenzoic or 1-naphthoic acid and chiral scalemic diamines have been successful in inducing excellent enantioselectivity by five different enantiodiscriminating events. These methods have already provided practical strategies towards numerous biological targets--some of which are adenosine and its enantiomer, aflatoxin B, aristeromycin, calanolide A and B, carbovir, cyclophellitol, ethambutol, galanthamine, mannostatin, neplanocin, phyllanthocin, sphingofungins E and F, tetraponaines, vigabatrin, and valienamine.     

Direct catalytic asymmetric addition of allylic cyanides to ketoimines

Direct catalytic asymmetric addition of allylic cyanides to N-diphenylphosphinoyl ketoimines with a bimetallic catalytic system comprising Ph-BPE/[Cu(CH3CN)4]ClO4/LiOAr is described. Intermediary alpha-adducts readily isomerized to afford synthetically useful alpha,beta-unsaturated nitriles bearing an optically active tetrasubstituted carbon. Applicability to aromatic, heteroaromatic, and aliphatic ketoimines exemplifies wide substrate generality. Transformation of the product into densely functionalized material showcases the utility of the present protocol.     

Palladium-catalyzed asymmetric allylic alkylation using (R)-2-(methoxymethyl)pyrrolidine-derived aminophosphine ligands

Palladium-catalyzed asymmetric allylic alkylation of 1,3-diphenyl-2-propenyl acetate 7a using a dimethyl malonate–BSA–LiOAc system has been successfully carried out in the presence of new chiral aminophosphine ligands such as 4 in good yields with good enantioselectivities (up to 96% e.e.).     

Enantioselective organocatalytic intramolecular Diels-Alder reactions. The asymmetric synthesis of solanapyrone D

The first direct enantioselective organocatalytic intramolecular Diels-Alder reaction has been accomplished. The use of iminium catalysis has provided a new catalytic strategy for the enantioselective [4 + 2] cycloisomerization of a wide variety of tethered diene-enal systems. The use of imidazolidinones 1 and 2 as the asymmetric catalysts has been found to mediate the enantioselective construction of [4.4.0] and [4.3.0] ring systems. Application of this methodology to the highly efficient asymmetric synthesis of the marine metabolite solanpyrone D has also been accomplished. A diverse spectrum of aldehyde substrates can also be accommodated in this new organocatalytic transformation. Importantly, this technology has been utilized to execute the first enantioselective, catalytic Type II IMDA reaction.     

Pd-catalyzed asymmetric allylic alkylation. A short route to the cyclopentyl core of viridenomycin

A palladium-catalyzed asymmetric allylic alkylation effects a dynamic kinetic asymmetric transformation of racemic isoprene monoepoxide and a surrogate for Nazarov's reagent in which a quaternary center is created with exellent ee. The resultant adduct allows easy access to a substrate for ring-closing metathesis to form a cyclopentenone and sets the stage for an 11-step synthesis of the cyclopentyl core of the antibiotic antitumor agent viridenomycin. [reaction: see text]