Enantioselective rhodium-catalyzed addition of arylboronic acids to trifluoromethyl ketones

The catalytic asymmetric 1,2-addition of a series of arylboronic acids to 2,2,2-trifluoroacetophenones is described with high isolated yields (up to 96%) and good enantioselectivities (up to 83% ee) using a rhodium(I)/phosphoramidite catalyst.     

The first enzymatic resolution of quaternary α-acetoxy α-substituted cyclic ketones

The enantioselective resolution of quaternary α-acetoxy α-substituted indanone and 1-tetralone derivatives was performed with commercially available enzyme CRL in pH = 8.0 phosphate buffer. Various parameters that would affect the enantoselectivities were tested, and the optimal enzymatic resolution condition was found to afford the enantiomerically enriched quaternary acetoxylated substrates with high ees (varied between 81% and 85%).     

Enantioselective Michael addition of cyclic ketones to nitroolefins catalyzed by a novel fluorine-insertion organocatalyst

A novel fluorine-insertion organocatalyst, which was designed based on the fluorine–ammonium ion gauche effect, was synthesized and used successfully to catalyze the asymmetric Michael addition of cyclic ketones to nitroolefins. High yields and excellent diastereo- and enantioselectivities were achieved under mild conditions. A possible stereochemical model is also proposed.     

Enantioselective resolution of chiral aromatic acids by biphasic recognition chiral extraction

This paper reports a new chiral separation technology—biphasic recognition chiral extraction for the separation of aromatic acid enantiomers such as α-cyclohexyl-mandelic acid (CHMA) and naproxen (NAP). The biphasic recognition chiral extraction system was established by adding hydrophobic d(l)-isobutyl tartrate in 1,2-dichloroethane organic phase and hydrophilic β-cyclodextrin (β-CD) derivative in aqueous phase, which preferentially recognize the (R)-enantiomer and (S)-enantiomer, respectively. These studies involve an enantioselective extraction in a biphasic system, where aromatic acid enantiomers form complexes with the β-cyclodextrin derivative in the aqueous phase and d(l)-isobutyl tartrate in the organic phase, respectively. Factors affecting the extraction mechanism are analyzed, namely the influence of the concentrations of the extractants and aromatic acid enantiomers, the types of the extractants, pH, and temperature. The experimental results show that the biphasic recognition chiral extraction is of much stronger chiral separation ability than the monophasic recognition chiral extraction, which utilizes the cooperations of the forces of the tartrate and the β-CD derivative. Hydroxypropyl-β-cyclodextrin (HP-β-CD), hydroxyethyl-β-cyclodextrin (HE-β-CD), and methyl-β-cyclodextrin (ME-β-CD) have stronger recognition abilities for the (S)-aromatic acid enantiomers than those for (R)-aromatic acid enantiomers, among which HP-β-CD has the strongest ability. d-Isobutyl tartrate preferentially recognizes (R)-CHMA and (S)-NAP, while l-isobutyl tartrate preferentially recognizes (S)-CHMA and (R)-NAP. The maximum enantioselectivities of CHMA and NAP are 2.49 and 1.65, under conditions at which the pH values of the aqueous phases are 2.7 and 2.5, at the ratio of 2:1 of [isobutyl tartrate] to [HP-β-CD].     

Rearrangement of epoxynitriles: a convenient homologation of acyclic and cyclic ketones to carboxylic acids

A convenient two-step homologation of both aliphatic and aromatic ketones to the corresponding carboxylic acid has been developed. First ketones were converted to epoxynitriles with the Darzens reaction. Second, a Lewis acid mediated rearrangement of these epoxynitriles with lithium bromide was achieved to give homologated secondary alkanoic acids (as well as aryl-alkanoic) in good yields. The mechanism and the scope of the rearrangement reaction were investigated. This strategy constitutes a two-step homologation of ketones to secondary carboxylic acids.     

Enantioselective reduction of ketones with borane catalyzed by cyclic β- amino alcohols prepared from proline

New catalysts have been prepared from (S)- and (R)- proline and the asymmetric borane reduction of prochiral ketones using these catalysts has been studied. The secondary alcohols were obtained in 76–95% yield with 57– 96% enantiomeric excesses.     

Enantioselective cyanocarbonation of ketones with chiral base

A highly enantioselective cyanocarbonation of dialkyl ketones catalyzed by commercially available and easily recyclable cinchona alkaloid derivatives has been developed. The reaction provides a useful approach for the enantioselective construction of tetrasubstituted carbon stereocenters. Mechanistic studies have been carried out to shed light on the origin of the catalytic activity of the cinchona alkaloid and the asymmetric induction step.     

Replacement of a carbonyl group of cyclic ketones by an oxygen atom: A four-step transformation of cyclic ketones into cyclic ethers

We describe a new and versatile method for transforming cyclic ketones into cyclic ethers with the same ring size in which the chirality adjacent to the carbonyl group of the ketones is retained.     

Flexible host frameworks with diverse cavities in inclusion crystals of bile acids and their derivatives

We have systematically investigated structures and properties of inclusion crystals of bile acids and their derivatives. These steroidal compounds form diverse host frameworks having zero‐, one‐ and two‐dimensional cavities, causing various inclusion behaviors towards many organic compounds. The diverse host frameworks exhibit the following guest‐dependent flexibility. First, the frameworks mainly depend on the included guests in size and shape. The size‐dependence is quantitatively estimated by the parameter PCcavity, which is the volume ratio of a guest molecule to a host cavity. The resulting values of PCcavity lie in the range of 42–76%. Second, each of the host frameworks has its own range of the values. Some guests can employ two different frameworks with the boundary values, explaining formation of polymorphic crystals. Third, the host frameworks are selected by host–guest interactions through weak hydrogen bonds, such as NH/π and CH/O. The weak hydrogen bonds play an important role for various selective inclusion processes. Fourth, the host frameworks are dynamically exchangeable, resulting in intercalation and polymerization in the cavities. These static and dynamic structures of the frameworks demonstrate great potential of crystalline organic inclusion compounds as functional materials. © 2009 The Japan Chemical Journal Forum and Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Chem Rec 9: 124–135; 2009: Published online in Wiley InterScience ( www.interscience.wiley.com ) DOI 10.1002/tcr.20171     

Enantioselective Reformatsky reaction of ethyl iododifluoroacetate with ketones

Two approaches have been developed for the enantioselective Reformatsky reaction of ethyl iododifluoroacetate with ketones to form a quaternary carbon centre using (1R,2S)-1-phenyl-2-(1-pyrrolidinyl)-1-propanol as the chiral ligand. Good yields and high enantioselectivities (80-91% ee) were achieved with a range of alkyl aryl ketones in a convenient one-pot protocol using ethyl iododifluoroacetate and diethylzinc to form the difluorinated Reformatsky reagent homogeneously. In the traditional two-step Reformatsky reaction using the preformed Reformatsky reagent generated from ethyl iododifluoroacetate and zinc dust, good yields and good enantioselectivities (75-84% ee) were also obtained.     

Enantioselective reduction of ketones with β-hydroxysulfoximine-borane complexes

Optically pure β-hydroxysulfoximines were treated in toluene solution at ?78°C with 2 equiv. of gaseous diborane. The resulting borane complexes were used to reduce prochiral ketones at ?78°C; alcohols with optical purities ranging from 3 to 82% were obtained.     

Reaction of cyclic ketones with KOH-DMSO

Upon reaction of cycloalkanones with a KOH-DMSO system 2-methylenecycloal-kanols are formed, the yield (10–37%) of which decreases in the series: cyclohexanone > cycloheptanone > cyclooctanone > cyclododecanone.Translated from Izvestiya Akademii Nauk SSSR, Seriya Khimicheskaya, No. 7, pp. 1601–1605, July, 1990.     

Optical activity of the guest azobenzene molecule generated by inclusion complexation with steroidal bile acids

The crystalline inclusion complexes of azobenzene 1 with cholic CA and deoxycholic DCA acid were prepared and their solid state CD spectra measured. The positive Cotton effect sign, corresponding to the lowest energy n–π* transition, was correlated with the M,M helicity of the twisted guest molecule. The absolute sense of twist of the enclathrated guest molecule 1 was deduced from the X-ray structure of the 1·CA complex. In addition, the solid state CD spectrum of the enantiomorphous crystals of methyl yellow 2 was measured. The source of the optical activity is a slight twisting of the constituent molecules and their helical arrangement in the crystal.     

Enantioselective conjugate allylation of cyclic enones

Enantioselective organocatalytic 1,2-allylation of a cyclic enone followed by anionic oxy-Cope rearrangement delivered the ketone as a mixture of diastereomers. This appears to be a general method for the net enantioselective conjugate allylation of cyclic enones.     

Enantioselective organocatalytic aldol reaction of unactivated ketones with isatins

Enantioselective organocatalytic direct aldol reaction of unactivated ketones with various isatin derivatives was developed using cinchonine based urea ligand employing a noncovalent catalysis mechanism. Using this protocol we can access functionalized 3-alkyl-3-hydroxyindolin-2-ones in high yields with good to excellent enantioselectivities.     

Enantioselective crystallization of D,L-amino acids induced by spontaneous asymmetric resolution of D,L-asparagine

Racemic D,L-asparagine induced spontaneous asymmetric resolution of co-existing D,L-phenylalanine or D,L-tryptophan by recrystallization from a homogeneous aqueous solution, and the enantiomeric excess of phenylalanine or tryptophan in the resulting crystals correlated linearly with that of asparagine crystallized with phenylalanine or tryptophan.     

Enantioselective synthesis of paraconic acids

The development of a new method for the enantioselective synthesis of disubstituted gamma-butyrolactones is reported. Based on this strategy, the total synthesis of three paraconic acids, that is (-)-roccellaric acid, (-)-nephrosteranic acid and (-)-protopraesorediosic acid, and the formal total synthesis of (-)-methylenolactocin and (-)-protolichesterinic acid is described, which are important because of their antibiotic and antitumor properties. Key steps of the synthesis are copper(I)-catalyzed asymmetric cyclopropanations of furans, highly diastereoselective Sakurai allylations, Lewis acid or Lewis base catalyzed retroaldol/lactonization cascades, and ruthenium(II)-catalyzed, intermolecular cross metathesis reactions.