Cycloaddition between electron-deficient pi-systems, photochemical and radical-induced reactions: a novel, general, and stereoselective route to polyfunctionalized bridged bicyclo[2.2.2]octanes, bicyclo[3.3.0]octanes, bicyclo[4.2.0]octanes, and tricyclo[4.3.1.0(3,7)]decanes

A novel, general, and stereoselective route to functionalized bridged bicyclo[2.2.2]octanes, bicyclo[3.3.0]octanes, bicyclo[4.2.0]octanes, and tricyclo[4.3.1.0(3,7)]decanes has been described. Various functionalized and substituted bicyclo[2.2.2]octanes endowed with a beta,gamma-enone chromophore were synthesized via cycloaddition of in situ generated cyclohexa-2,4-dienones with electron-deficient 2pi partners and manipulation of the resulting adducts. Triplet sensitized irradiation of bridged bicyclooctenones led to synthesis of bicyclo[3.3.0]octanoids, whereas the direct irradiation furnished bicyclo[4.2.0]octanes in stereoselective fashion as a result of modulation of reactivity in excited states. Further, manipulation of the adducts led to appropriately appended and functionalized bicyclo[2.2.2]octanes that upon radical induced cyclization provided an efficient and stereoselective route to the tricyclo[4.3.1.0(3,7)]decane (isotwistane) framework of pupukeananes.     

Oxidative Dearomatization: Synthesis of Functionalized Bicyclo[2.2.2]octenones,Sigmatropic Shift in Excited State,and Radical-Induced Cleavage of Cyclopropane Ring

Synthesis of novel bicyclo[2.2.2]octenones endowed with a β,γ-enone system in which γ-carbon is substituted with an electron-withdrawing group from simple aromatics is described. Oxa-di-pi-methane reaction of bicyclo[2.2.2]octenones to functionalized bicyclo[3.3.0]octanes and their transformation to bicyclo[3.2.1]octane framework are also presented.     

Synthesis of 1,10-phenanthrolines fused with bicyclo[3.3.0]octane and bicyclo[3.3.1]nonane frameworks

Reactions of bicyclo[3.3.1]nonane-2,6-dione and bicyclo[3.3.0]octane-3,7-dione with 8-amino-7-quino-linecarbaldehyde under basic conditions led to fused nonplanar compounds with one or two 1,10-phenanthroline moieties. The novel heterocyclic systems bicyclo[3.3.1]nonano[2,3-b]bis[1,10]-phenanthroline, cis-bicyclo[3.3.0]octano[3,2-b:7,6-b']bis[1,10]phenanthroline, bicyclo[3.3.1]nona-no[2,3-b:6,7-b']bis[1,10]phenanthroline, and 8H-9,16-methanoindolo[2',3':5,6]cycloocta[1,2-b]bis-[1,10]-phenanthroline have been synthesized and characterized.     

Group 14 chalcogenides featuring a bicyclo[3.3.0]octane skeleton

Reactions of mixtures of Cl₂MeSiSiMeCl₂ (1) and Me₂MCl₂ (M=Si, Ge, Sn) with either H₂S/NEt₃ or Li₂E (E=Se, Te) yielded the bicyclo[3.3.0]octanes Me₂M(E)₂Si₂Me₂(E)₂MMe₂. A carbon containing analog, (CH₂)₅C(S)₂Si₂Me₂(S)₂C(CH₂)₅, was prepared from 1 and (CH₂)₅C(SH)₂. Crystal structures of three of these compounds were determined and the observed conformations of the bicyclo[3.3.0]octane skeletons compared with results of density functional theory calculations. Another class of silchalcogenides featuring a bicyclo[3.3.0]octane skeleton, E(Me₂Si)₂Si₂Me₂(SiMe₂)₂E, was formed from the doubly branched hexasilane (ClMe₂Si)₂Si₂Me₂(SiMe₂Cl)₂ and H₂S/NEt₃ or Li₂E. All products were characterized by multinuclear NMR (¹H, ¹³C, ²⁹Si, ⁷⁷Se, ¹¹⁹Sn, and ¹²⁵Te).     

Rearrangements initiated by trimethylsilyl iodide: ready deoxygenative rearrangement of bicyclo[4.2.0]octane-2,5-diones to bicyclo[3.3.0]oct-1(5)-en-2-ones

Reaction of bicyclo[4.2.0]octane-2,5-diones with trimethylsilyl iodide gave bicyclo[3.3.0]oct-1(5)-en-2-ones by a clean reductive rearrangement in good yields, providing a simple and effecient synthetic method for the enones.     

Chiral synthons from α-pinene: enantioselective syntheses of bicyclo[3.3.0] and [3.2.1]octanones

Enantioselective syntheses of bicyclo[3.3.0]octan-3-one, bicyclo[3.2.1]octan-3-one and bicyclo[3.2.1]octan-2-one derivatives were accomplished by employing a chiron based approach, using intramolecular rhodium carbenoid C–H insertion, acid catalysed cyclisation of α-diazo ketone and intramolecular type II carbonyl ene reactions as key steps.     

Stereoselective Insertion of Benzynes into Lawsones: Synthesis of Biologically Important Benzannulated Bicyclo[3.3.0]octanes

An ideal stereoselective insertion of in situ generated benzynes into lawsones through domino formal [2+2]-cycloaddition followed by rearrangement is disclosed. The reaction allowed for the preparation of biologically important benzannulated bicyclo[3.3.0]octanes in good yields and with excellent selectivities by using simple substrates and conditions.     

Vibrational circular dichroism DFT study on bicyclo[3.3.0]octane derivatives

The absolute configurations of four bicylco[3.3.0]octane derivatives: endo-bicyclo[3.3.0]octane-2,6-diol, endo-2,6-diacetoxybicyclo[3.3.0]octane, endo-bicyclo[3.3.0]octane-2,6-dione and bicyclo[3.3.0]octa-2,6-dien-2,6-bistriflate were studied by vibrational circular dichroism (VCD). These chiral derivates are of interest as intermediates in the asymmetric synthesis of enantiomerically pure natural products and chiral ligands for asymmetric catalysis. VCD has been used to determine the absolute configuration of each compound, proving the capability of VCD for molecules with several stereogenic centres. IR and VCD spectra have been simulated at the B3LYP/6-31G¹ level for all possible diastereomers. Based on the agreement between the experimental and the calculated spectrum, the stereochemistry of each compound could be assigned. The predicted absolute configurations are found to agree with literature data.     

Development of new chiral building blocks for synthesis of bicyclo[3.3.0]octane compounds

Ti(II)-mediated tandem cyclization of (E)-5-(tert-butyldimethylsilyloxy)-8-trimethylsilyl-2-octen-7-ynoate (7) prepared from commercially available optically active epichlorohydrin (2) proceeded diastereoselectively to provide 7-(tert-butyldimethylsilyloxy)-2-trimethylsilylbicyclo[3.3.0]oct-1-en-3-one (1), which serves as a useful chiral building block or intermediate to prepare a variety of compounds having a bicyclo[3.3.0]octane framework.     

A synthesis of the bicyclo[3.3.0]octene core of geodin A

A synthesis of the bicyclo[3.3.0]octene core of the macrolactam tetramic acid geodin A is described. The key steps are a tandem metathesis and a Wharton rearrangement.     

Cycloaddition of cyclohexa-2,4-dienones with β-nitroacrylates: a short and efficient entry into bicyclo[2.2.2]octanes endowed with β-nitro-ester and β-amino ester functionality

Regio- and stereoselective cycloaddition of β-nitroacrylates with electron deficient cyclohexa-2,4-dienones leading to highly functionalised bicyclo[2.2.2]octanes having the β-nitroester group and their transformation to bicyclo[2.2.2]octanes having β-aminoester functionality is described.     

Enantioselective synthesis of bicyclo[3.n.1]alkanes by chiral phosphoric acid-catalyzed desymmetrizing Michael cyclizations

2,2-Disubstituted cyclic 1,3-diketones containing a tethered electron-deficient alkene undergo chiral phosphoric acid-catalyzed desymmetrizing Michael cyclizations to give bridged bicyclic products in high enantioselectivities. Both bicyclo[3.2.1]octanes and bicyclo[3.3.1]nonanes are accessible using this methodology.     

Polyesters containing bicyclo[2.2.2]octane and bicyclo[3.2.2]nonane rings

Polyesters containing bicyclo[2.2.2]octane and bicyclo[3.2.2]nonane rings are prepared from 1,4-bis(carboethoxy)bicyclo[2.2.2]octane, 1,4-bis(hydroxymethyl)bicyclo[2.2.2]-octane and the 1,5-disubstituted bicyclo[3.2.2]nonane analogs. These polyesters are compared to the related polymers containing 1,4-phenylene and trans-1,4-cyclohexylene rings in terms of their melting point, thermal stabilities and oxidative stabilities. The lower symmetry of the bicyclo[3.2.2]nonane ring produces lower-melting polymers than the other ring systems. The remaining three rings are approximately equivalent in their effect on the melting point of a polymer provided that no more than one bicyclo[2.2.2]octane ring is present per polymer repeat unit. Two such rings produce a highermelting polymer than any other combination. Both the thermal and oxidative stabilities of the polyesters is improved by the presence of the bicyclo rings. This is attributed to the rings providing an approximation of a ladder polymer.     

Palladium catalysed [2 + 2 + 1] intramolecular cycloaddition for the preparation of bicyclo[3.3.0]octa-1.5-dien-3-ones from 1,6-diynes

Palladium catalysed [2 + 2 + 1] cycloaddition of 1,6-heptadiynes with CO (1 atm) furnishes bicyclo[3.3.0]octa-1,5-dien-3-ones in 30-74% yield.     

Tandem radical rearrangement/Pd-catalysed translocation of bicyclo[2.2.2]lactones. An efficient access to the oxa-triquinane core structure

The skeletal rearrangement of bicyclo[2.2.2]lactones, involving a mild and chemoselective palladium-catalysed translocation key-step, provides an efficient and diastereoselective access to synthetically useful bicyclo[3.3.0]lactones.     

Scope and applications of second generation palladium-catalyzed cycloalkenylation. Stereoselective total syntheses of isoiridomyrmecin, isodihydronepetalactone, and α-skytanthine

Functionalized bicyclo[3.2.1]octanes, -oxabicyclo-[4.3.0]nonanes, 3-azabicyclo[3.3.0]octanes, and 3-azabicyclo[4.3.0]nonanes were easily synthesized via a second generation palladium-catalyzed cycloalkenylation. Isoiridomyrmecin and isodihydronepetalactone, both of which feature a 3-oxabicyclo[4.3.0]nonane subunit, were stereoselectively synthesized via a second generation palladium-catalyzed cycloalkenylation as the key step. α-Skytanthine, a typical 3-azabicyclo[4.3.0]nonane alkaloid, was also constructed using the same catalytic cyclization protocol.     

Synthetic approaches to komarovispiranes. Enantiospecific synthesis of bicyclo[3.3.0]octanespiro[3.1′]cyclohexanes

A ring-closing metathesis based spiroannulation of cyclopentane and cyclohexanes at the C-3 carbon atom of a bicyclo[3.3.0]octane, as a model study directed towards the enantiospecific synthesis of the novel diterpenes komarovispiranes, is described.     

Unexpectedly similar charge transfer rates through benzo-annulated bicyclo[2.2.2]octanes

A 4-(pyrrolidin-1-yl)phenyl electron donor and 10-cyanoanthracen-9-yl electron acceptor are attached via alkyne linkages to the bridgehead carbon atoms of bicyclo[2.2.2]octane and all three benzo-annulated bicyclo[2.2.2]octanes. The sigma-system of bicyclo[2.2.2]octane provides a scaffold having nearly constant bridge geometry on which to append multiple, weakly interacting benzo pi-bridges, so that the effect of incrementally increasing numbers of pi-bridges on electron transfer rates can be studied. Surprisingly, photoinduced charge transfer rates measured by transient absorption spectroscopy in toluene show no benefit from increasing the number of bridge pi-systems, suggesting dominant transport through the sigma-system. Even more surprisingly, the significant changes in hybridization undergone by the sigma-system as a result of benzo-annulation also appear to have no effect on the charge transfer rates. Natural Bond Orbital analysis is applied to both sigma- and pi-communication pathways. The transient absorption spectra obtained in 2-methyltetrahydrofuran (MTHF) show small differences between the benzo-annulated molecules that are attributed to changes in solvation. All charge transfer rates increase significantly upon cooling the MTHF solutions to their glassy state. This behavior is rationalized using combined molecular dynamics/electronic structure trajectories.     

Exploiting the regioselectivity of pyroglutamate alkylations for the synthesis of 6-azabicyclo[3.2.1]octanes and 4-azabicyclo[3.3.0]octanes

Depending on the N-protecting group of pyroglutamates, the reactivity can be directed to the formation of 6-azabicyclo[3.2.1]octanes or 4-azabicyclo[3.3.0]octanes, which are conformationally restricted glutamate analogues.     

A novel synthesis of bicyclo[3.3.0]oct-1-en-3-ones from cyclobutanones through [chloro(p-tolylsulfinyl)methylidene]cyclobutanes with ring expansion

Treatment of [chloro(p-tolylsulfinyl)methylidene]cyclobutanes, which were synthesized from cyclobutanones and chloromethyl p-tolyl sulfoxide in three steps in high overall yields, with excess cyanomethyllithium gave enaminonitriles in high yields. Heating of these enaminonitriles with H₃PO₄ in acetic acid gave 2-cyanobicyclo[3.3.0]oct-1-en-3-ones in good yield. On the other hand, treatment of the [chloro(p-tolylsulfinyl)methylidene]cyclobutanes with cyanomethyllithium followed by lithium carbanion of the homologues of acetonitrile afforded enaminonitriles having a substituent at the 3-position. Heating of the enaminonitriles with H₃PO₄ in acetic acid gave 2-substituted bicyclo[3.3.0]oct-1-en-3-ones in good to high yields. This method offers a novel and versatile procedure for synthesis of 2-substituted bicyclo[3.3.0]oct-1-en-3-ones from cyclobutanones in good overall yields.