De-novo approach for a unique spiro skeleton-1,7-dioxa-2,6-dioxospiro[4.4]nonanes

2-Oxoglutaric acid (1) underwent facile indium mediated allylation with allyl bromide (2), and ethyl 4-bromocrotonate (3), cinnamyl bromide (4) and subsequent in situ dehydration to provide respective 5-oxotetrahydrofuran-2-carboxylic acids 5-7 (90-95%). The reaction of 1 with 3 and 4 proceeded with high regio and stereo selectivity to provide only γ-addition products with syn stereochemistry as ascertained from their cyclic products. Compounds 5-7 underwent diastereoselective iodocyclization to provide respective 1,7-dioxa-2,6-dioxospiro[4.4]nonanes 8-13. The relative stereochemistries have been ascertained by single crystal X-ray structures, NOE experiments and coupling constants in ¹H NMR spectra.     

Atropisomeric lactam chemistry: catalytic enantioselective synthesis, application to asymmetric enolate chemistry and synthesis of key intermediates for NET inhibitors

In the presence of (R)-SEGPHOS-Pd(OAc)₂ catalyst, the intramolecular N-arylation of ortho-tert-butyl-NH-anilides possessing an iodophenyl group proceeded in a highly enantioselective manner (89-98% ee) to give optically active atropisomeric lactams having an N-C chiral axis. MPLC purification of the enantio-enriched lactam products using an achiral silica gel column led to a further increase in the enantiomeric purity (>99% ee). The reaction of the lithium enolate prepared from the optically active atropisomeric lactam with various alkyl halides gave α-substituted and α,α-disubstituted lactam products with high diastereoselectivity. α-Alkylated lactam derivatives were efficiently converted to key intermediates for the synthesis of an NET inhibitor.     

A highly diastereoselective Tandem radical reaction. Facile three-component routes to protected (E)-polysubstituted homoallylic alcohols

A facile synthesis of geometrically pure (E)-1,2,4-trisubstituted and (E)-1,2,4-tetrasubstituted homoallylic benzoates was developed. Various Lewis acids were subsequently evaluated in the diastereoselective radical substitution of (E)-β-nitrostyrene, and Titanium (IV) 2-ethylhexoxide emerged as the best Lewis acid in terms of yield and diastereoselectivity (up to 98% de). These reactions occurred with high regio-, diastereo- and stereoselectivity, and a possible mechanism to explain this transformation was proposed.     

Asymmetric Synthesis of β2‐homo‐tert‐Leucine via Radical Addition to Enantiopure N‐Fumaroylhexahydrobenzooxazolidin‐2‐one

β‐Amino acids are key structural elements in unnatural peptides, peptidomimetics, and many other physiologically active compounds. In view of their importance, we have developed an efficient synthetic route that provides highly enantiomerically enriched (R)‐ and (S)‐H‐β²‐h^tLeu‐OH via highly diastereo‐ and regioselective addition of tert‐butyl radical to enantiomerically pure N‐fumaroyloxazolidinones, followed by removal of the chiral auxiliary, Curtius rearrangement, ester hydrolysis, and catalytic hydrogenolysis.     

Diastereoselective addition of organozinc reagents to 2-alkyl-3-(arylsulfanyl)propanals

The preparation of compounds incorporating the 3-hydroxy-2-methyl-1-alkyl moiety of high diastereomeric purity is described. Such compounds can serve as potential building blocks for the preparation of several kinds of natural products. Diastereoselective synthesis of two potential pine sawfly pheromone components, one the pure racemic threo-isomer of 3-methylpentadecan-2-ol and the other the racemic erythro-isomer of 3-methyltridecan-2-ol are described. The diastereoselective addition of R₂Zn (R=Me, Et and n-Bu) to several 2-alkyl-3-(arylsulfanyl)propanals in the presence of a Lewis acid and CH₂Cl₂ as solvent was studied. An excellent diastereomeric ratio (95/5 anti-Cram/Cram) was obtained with 2-[(phenylsulfanyl)methyl]pentanal, 2-[(phenylsulfanyl)methyl]decanal and 2-[(phenylsulfanyl)methyl]dodecanal and Me₂Zn in the presence of TiCl₄.     

A substrate controlled, very highly diastereoselective Morita-Baylis-Hillman reaction: a remote activation of the diastereofacial selectivity in the synthesis of C-3-branched deoxysugars

The Morita-Baylis-Hillman (MBH) reaction of p-nitrobenzaldehyde with C (6) acyl protected enuloside 1 in the presence of TiCl₄/TBAI yielded highly diastereoenriched C-3-branched deoxysugar derivative or MBH adduct 1′a in high yield, while reactions of unprotected enuloside 2a and C (6) alkyl protected enulosides 2d-e with p-nitrobenzaldehyde under the same conditions afforded the adducts 2′a and 2′d-e, respectively, in low yield with moderate selectivity. Several representative aromatic and aliphatic aldehydes were selected to undergo MBH reaction with 1 to give their respective adducts in very good yield with a very high diastereoselectivity. A plausible mechanism based on the assumption of a Zimmerman-Traxler-type transition state was proposed to explain the excellent selectivity observed with adducts derived from 1. The synthetic application of these adducts were shown by their stereoselective reduction to corresponding threo isomers in very good yield.     

The first regio- and diastereoselective direct introduction of α-mercaptoacetic acid/amide units into Morita-Baylis-Hillman acetates

The exposure of Morita-Baylis-Hillman acetates to mercaptoacetyl transfer agent, 2-methyl-2-phenyl-1,3-oxathiolan-5-one, in the presence of 1,4-diazabicyclo[2.2.2]octane enables the regio- and stereoselective allylic substitution through a tandem S_N2′-S_N2′ mechanism. The product thus formed in situ undergoes selective hydrolysis with water in the presence of CeCl₃/NaI·7H₂O, and aminolysis of the 1,3-oxathiolan-5-one ring to afford functionally rich α-mercapto acids and α-mercapto amides, respectively. Operational simplicity, ambient temperature, excellent yield (81-96%), high diastereoselectivity (>94%), and recovery and recycling of the by-product formed are the salient features of the present synthetic protocol.     

Preparation of optically active α-hydroxy oxime ether by diastereoselective imino 1,2-Wittig rearrangement of hydroximates and its application to synthesis of (+)-cytoxazone

The diastereoselective imino 1,2-Wittig rearrangement of hydroximates provides a novel method for the construction of optically active α-hydroxy oxime ethers. Upon treatment with LDA, allyl p-methoxyphenylhydroximate carrying a chiral auxiliary smoothly underwent diastereoselective rearrangement to give the (R)-α-hydroxy oxime ether which was effectively converted into (+)-cytoxazone.