A new chiral lithium amide based on (S)-2-[1-(3,3-dimethyl)pyrrolidinylmethyl]pyrrolidine—synthesis,NMR studies and use in the enantioselective deprotonation of cyclohexene oxide

A new chiral lithium amide has been designed starting from (S)-proline. This new chiral lithium amide has been used for asymmetric deprotonation/ring opening of cyclohexene oxide to give (S)-2-cyclohexen-1-ol in 88% yield and 78% enantiomeric excess. NMR studies of the lithium amide and the ligand–substrate complex are also presented.     

Composition of the activated complex in the stereoselective deprotonation of cyclohexene oxide by a chiral lithium amide

Chiral lithium amides are being developed for stereoselective synthesis of chiral allylic alcohols in high yields and with high enantiomeric excess. However, rational design of the amides for improved stereoselectivity by computational methods, for example, has not been possible due to lack of knowledge of the activated complexes involved in the reactions. Kinetic results are presented for the stereoselective deprotonation by lithium (S)-1-(2-pyrrolidinylmethyl)pyrrolidide (1-Li) of cyclohexene oxide 2, in diethyl ether (DEE), to form (S)-2-cyclohexen-1-ol (S)-3 in high enantiomeric excess. The results show that the rate limiting activated complex is composed of one lithium amide monomer and one molecule of 2 and presumably a solvent molecule. The diamine 1 is found to catalyze the deprotonation.     

Catalytic asymmetric chiral lithium amide-promoted epoxide rearrangement: a NMR spectroscopic and kinetic investigation

The lithium amide derived from the chiral diamine (1R,3S,4S)-3-(1-pyrrolidinyl)methyl-2-azabicyclo[2.2.1]heptane, has been reported to catalytically deprotonate cyclohexene oxide and other epoxides, yielding chiral allylic alcohols in excellent enantiomeric excess. In this work, ⁶Li, ¹H and ¹³C NMR spectroscopy have been used to study the aggregation of the chiral lithium amide in THF and the influence on the aggregation by the addition of additives, such as 1,8-diazabicyclo-[5.4.0]undec-7-ene (DBU). The activated complex under catalytic deprotonation of cyclohexene oxide, that is, with excess Li-DBU and free DBU, is built from one monomer of the chiral lithium amide, one molecule of epoxide and one additional molecule of DBU. The reaction order (?0.97) obtained for the bulk base Li-DBU shows an inverse dependence on the concentration, suggesting a deaggregation of the initial mixed dimer to a monomer-based transition state containing a monomer of the lithium amide.     

An asymmetric synthesis of cis-4-t-butyldimethylsiloxy-2-cyclopenten-1-ol and cis-4-tetrahydropyranyloxy-2-cyclopenten-1-ol,versatile chiral synthetic intermediate for prostanoids

cis-4-t-Butyldimethylsiloxy-2-cyclopenten-1-ol and cis-4-tetrahydropyranyloxy-2-cyclopenten-1-ol were obtained with high enantiomeric excesses (ee) by the reaction of cis-3,4-epoxycyclopentan-1-ol derivatives with chiral lithium amide. An application to the syntheses of both ($\text{S}$)- and ($\text{R}$)-4-hydroxy-2-cyclopentenone was demonstrated.     

Enantioselective Deprotonation of Cyclohexene Oxide to (R)-2-Cyclohexen-1-ol

The reaction of cyclohexene oxide with homochiral lithium amides, prepared from (S)-phenylglycine and (S)-valine has been studied and (R)-2-cyclohexen-1-ol 3 was prepared in a maximum of 72% ee. The optical purity was determined by ¹H NMR measurement of the α-methoxy-α-(trifluoromethyl)phenyl acetic acid (MTPA) derivative of the corresponding alcohol.     

Catalytic,asymmetric aza-Baylis–Hillman reaction of N-sulfonated imines with 2-cyclohexen-1-one and 2-cyclopenten-1-one in the presence of a chiral phosphine Lewis base

In the aza-Baylis–Hillman reaction of N-sulfonated imines with 2-cyclohexen-1-one or 2-cyclopenten-1-one, we found that by using (R)-2′-dimethylphosphanyl-[1,1′]binaphthalenyl-2-ol LB1 as a chiral phosphine Lewis base, the corresponding Baylis–Hillman adducts 2 or 3 can be obtained in good yields and moderate enantiomeric excess. The structure of this chiral phosphine Lewis base on chiral induction in this reaction has also been discussed.     

Cyclopropane intermediates in the synthesis of chiral alcohols with methyl-branched carbon skeleton. Application in the synthesis of insect pheromones

Several chiral building blocks, (2R)-2-methylundec-10-en-1-ol, (3R)-3-methylheptan-1-ol, and (4R)-4-methyloctan-1-ol, have been synthesized using cyclopropane intermediate products. It has been shown that the obtained chiral alcohols can be used in the synthesis of insect pheromones.     

Composition and structure of activated complexes in stereoselective deprotonation of cyclohexene oxide by a mixed dimer of chiral lithium amide and lithiated imidazole

Stereoselective deprotonation of cyclohexene oxide, using a mixed dimer built of the chiral lithium amide, lithium (1R,2S)-N-methyl-1-phenyl-2-pyrrolidinyl-propanamide, and 2-lithio-1-methylimidazole, has been studied. The composition of the rate limiting activated complex was determined by kinetics to be built from one mixed dimer molecule and one epoxide molecule. Based on this knowledge computational chemistry has been applied to gain insight into possible structures of the activated complexes.     

Synthesis of (1S,4R)-4-isopropyl-1-methyl-2-cyclohexen-1-ol,the aggregation pheromone of the ambrosia beetle Platypus quercivorus,its racemate, (1R,4R)- and (1S,4S)-isomers

(S)-Perillyl alcohol was converted to (R)-cryptone (91.5–93% ee) in six steps, which was then treated with methyllithium to give (1S,4R)-4-isopropyl-1-methyl-2-cyclohexen-1-ol, the aggregation pheromone of the ambrosia beetle Platypus quercivorus. The racemic pheromone was also prepared by methylation of (±)-cryptone. Both (1R,4R)- and (1S,4S)-isomers (98% ee) of the pheromone were synthesized from the enantiomers of dihydrolimonene oxide.     

Computational study of solvation and stereoselectivity in deprotonation of cyclohexene oxide by a chiral lithium amide

A detailed computational investigation of possible activated complexes in the epoxide opening of cyclohexene oxide by a chiral lithium amide is presented. Transition states for the two routes giving (S)- and (R)-alkoxides with and without solvent have been calculated. Geometry optimizations at PM3 and HF/3-21G levels of theory, and single point calculations at B3LYP/6-31+G(d) level have been used. The experimentally obtained stereoselectivity is semi-quantitatively reproduced at all levels except PM3//PM3. The factors found to control the stereoselectivity are solvation and some non-bonded interactions other than those previously proposed.     

Towards the development of oxadiazinanones as chiral auxiliaries: synthesis and application of N3-haloacetyloxadiazinanones

Oxadiazinanones derived from (1R,2S)-ephedrine and (1R,2S)-norephedrine were employed in the asymmetric α-halo aldol reaction. The optimized yields and diastereoselectivities for the ephedrine based oxadiazinanone aldol reaction ranged from fair to good. The ephedrine based aldol adducts were hydrolyzed to afford the α-bromo-β-hydroxycarboxylic acids. The absolute stereochemistry and enantiomeric purity of these products were determined by chiral HPLC and specific rotation measurements.     

Enantioselective reduction of ketophosphonates using chiral acid adducts with sodium borohydride

A method for asymmetric reduction of α-and β-ketophosphonates using a chiral complex prepared from sodium borohydride and D-or L-tartaric acid is developed. Reduction of α-or β-ketophosphonates by these reagents led to formation of corresponding (S)-or (R)-hydroxyphosphonates. Reduction of chiral di(1R,2S,5R)-menthylketophosphonates by the chiral complex NaBH₄/(R,R)-tartaric acid due to the dual compliant asymmetric induction resulted in increased stereoselectivity of the reaction and led to formation of the hydroxyphosphonates with ee 90% or higher. On the other hand, reduction of di(1R,2S,5R)-methylketophosphonates by the chiral complex NaBH₄/(S,S)-tartaric acid proceeded as non-compliant dual asymmetric induction and resulted in decreased reaction stereoselectivity leading to formation of hydroxyphosphonates with ～45–60% ee. The developed methodology was applied to the synthesis of (R)-phosphocarnitine in multigram amounts.     

Asymmetric total synthesis of (20S)-Camptothecin using a chiral auxiliary strategy

An asymmetric eight-step total synthesis of (20S)-camptothecin, starting from the known compound tert-butyl (2-chloroquinolin-3-yl)methylcarbamate, is described. A Heck reaction followed by an intramolecular Michael addition to form the C-ring provides the first key step in this synthesis. The construction of the 20(S) chiral center relies on a chiral auxiliary-mediated Michael addition using (2R,5R)-2-tert-butyl-5-ethyl-1,3-dioxolan-4-one as the auxiliary.     

New functional chiral P-based ligands and application in ruthenium-catalyzed enantioselective transfer hydrogenation of ketones

Metal-catalyzed asymmetric transfer hydrogenation is a powerful and practical method for the reduction of ketones to produce the corresponding secondary alcohols, which are valuable building blocks in the pharmaceutical, perfume, and agrochemical industries. Hence, a series of novel chiral β-amino alcohols were synthesized by chiral amines with regioselective ring opening of (S)-propylene oxide or reaction with (S)-(+)-2-hydroxypropyl p-toluenesulfonate by a straightforward method. The chiral ruthenium catalytic systems generated from [Ru(arene)(μ-Cl)Cl]₂ complexes and chiral phosphinite ligands based on amino alcohol derivatives were employed in asymmetric transfer hydrogenation of ketones to give the corresponding optically active alcohols; (2S)-1-{[(2S)-2-[(diphenylphosphanyl)oxy]propyl][(1R)-1-phenylethyl]amino}propan-2-yldiphenylphosphinitobis[dichol-oro(η⁶-benzene)ruthenium(II)] acts an excellent catalyst in the reduction of α-naphthyl methyl ketone, giving the corresponding alcohol with up to 99% ee. The substituents on the backbone of the ligands were found to have a remarkable effect on both the conversion and enantioselectivity of the catalysts. Furthermore, this transfer hydrogenation is characterized by low reversibility under these conditions.     

A mathematical expression for the enantioselectivity and thermodynamic factors in the conformational equilibrium of catalysts in the addition of diethylzinc to benzaldehyde

A mathematical expression for the enantioselectivity and thermodynamic factors is presented in the conformational equilibrium of a flexible chiral catalyst for the asymmetric addition of diethylzinc to aldehydes. The results show that the total enantioselectivity of the catalyzed reaction is not only governed by the free energy difference of two ground-state conformers, as well as the free energies of activation for the major enantiomeric product formed from each of the catalyst’s conformations, but also by the difference in the transition state energies of the formation of the (S)- and (R)-enantiomers from the individual conformers of the catalyst.     

Asymmetric Diels–Alder reaction using a new chiral β-nitroacrylate for enantiopure trans-β-norbornane amino acid preparation

The main nitronorbornene adduct derived from the asymmetric Diels–Alder reaction of (S)-benzyl-4-(3-(3-nitroacryloyloxy)-4,4-dimethyl-2-oxopyrrolidin-1-yl)benzoate (S)-1 and cyclopentadiene was isolated and transformed to afford the enantiopure bicyclic β-amino acid (1S,2R,3R,4R)-trans-β-norbornane amino acid 9. The enantiomer (1R,2S,3S,4S)-9 could be obtained by the same synthetic route by using the chiral auxiliary (R)-1.     

anti-Selective aldol reactions of chiral alcohol substituted γ-benzyloxyl vinylogous urethanes and the synthesis of 3-benzyloxyl-4-hydroxylalkan-2-ones

The anti-selective aldol reaction of chiral alcohol-substituted γ-benzyloxy vinylogous urethanes is described. The use of (1S,2R,4R)-1-(hydroxydiphenylmethyl)-7,7-dimethylbicyclo[2,2,1]-heptan-2-ol as a chiral auxiliary in the aldol reaction of a vinylogous urethane enolate was found to provide anti-products in good yields with moderate to excellent enantioselectivities. The major anti-vinylogous urethane lactones were transformed into 3-benzyloxyl-4-hydroxylalkan-2-ones in good yields.     

Chiral terpene auxiliaries IV: new monoterpene PHOX ligands and their application in the catalytic asymmetric transfer hydrogenation of ketones

New PHOX ligands, derived in three steps from (1R,2S,3R,5R)-3-amino-apopinan-2-ol 1 and (1R,2R,3S,5R)-3-amino-pinan-2-ol 2 were applied as chiral ligands for the formation of ruthenium catalysts. The catalysts were used in asymmetric transfer hydrogenations of prochiral ketones producing the corresponding alcohols in moderate to high yields and enantioselectivity.     

Asymmetric synthesis of piperidines and octahydroindolizines using a one-pot ring-closure/N-debenzylation procedure

The conjugate addition of an enantiopure lithium amide to a ζ-hydroxy-α,β-unsaturated ester followed by a one-pot ring-closure/N-debenzylation protocol has been used in the asymmetric syntheses of (S)-coniine and (R)-δ-coniceine (isolated as the corresponding hydrochloride salts), and (R,R)-1-(hydroxymethyl)octahydroindolizine (the bicyclic fragment of stellettamides A-C).     

Asymmetric reduction of perfluoroalkyl ketones with chiral lithium alkoxides

Reduction of perfluoroalkyl ketones with chiral lithium alkoxides gave chiral α-perfluoroalkyl alcohols in high enantiomeric excesses. Interestingly, reaction of 2,2,2-trifluoroacetophenone (1) with lithium (S)-1-phenylethoxide (2) gave (S)-2,2,2-trifluoro-1-phenylethanol (3), while the same reaction of perfluorooctan-1-one (7) with 2 gave (R)-1H-1-phenylperfluorooctanol (8). Based on the speculation of mechanism, the order of steric effects on this reaction is estimated as C₇F₁₅ > substituted phenyl > CF₃.