Two classes of heterocycles—6,8‐dioxabicyclo[3.2.1]octanes and cyclopentenols from the same reagents: A quantum‐chemical comparison of mechanism

Most of the strategies for the synthesis of 6,8‐dioxabicyclo[3.2.1]octanes (BCO) and cyclopentenols (CP), which show high biological and pharmaceutical activity, are multistage and/or require hardly accessible starting materials and catalysts. The general method for BCO and CP preparation in a single preparative stage from two simple reagents, ketones and acetylene, under the action of an available super‐basic catalytic system KOH/DMSO becomes promising for the development of general approaches to the design of these classes of biologically active compounds. The mechanism of competing reactions yielding both 7‐methylene‐6.8‐dioxabicyclo[3.2.1]‐octanes and functionalized cyclopentenoles from their common intermediate 1,5‐diketones and acetylene in the KOH/DMSO superbasic media is investigated using the B2PLYP/6‐311++G**//B3LYP/6‐31+G* calculations with particular attention to the diastereoselectivity aspects of individual stages.     

Efficient and widely applicable oxidation method of tribromomethyl carbinols with PCC

An efficient and widely applicable oxidation method of tribromomethyl carbinols in the presence of pyridinium chlorochromate has been developed with excellent yields up to 96%. This method was well applied for the oxidation of a variety of aromatic, aliphatic, and heterocyclic tribromomethyl carbinols.     

Application of Cryptand/Polystyrene Drift-Type Phase Transfer Catalysts for Reduction of Ketones

A drift-type phase transfer catalyst, cryptand-22, adsorbed on poly(styrene/diviny benzene)-sulfonic resin was prepared and applied to catalyze the reduction of ketones, e.g., acetophenone, benzophenone and benzaldehyde with NaBH₄ as a reducing agent. Before the reaction, cryptand-22 was adsorbed on the sulfonic resin with ion-pairing, resin-SO₃^{? +}NH-cryptand-22. The ion-pairs can be destroyed by adjusting the basicity of the reaction solution with NaOH and the cryptand can be released from the resin into the reaction solution as a homogeneous catalyst during the reaction period. After the reaction, the cryptand catalyst can be readsorbed on the resin by adjusting the acidity of the solution with HCl and can be readily recovered by filtration like a heterogeneous catalyst. The draft-type cryptand catalyst exhibited better catalytic ability than some common crown ethers, e.g., 15-crown-5, benzo-15-crown-5, 12-crown-4 and dibenzo-18-crown-6 for the reduction of acetophenone with NaBH₄. Effects of solvents, pH of solutions, concentration of the catalyst, reducing agents and resin property on the reduction of ketones were investigated and discussed. The reaction mechanism of the cryptand catalyzed reduction was also studied.     

Asymmetric reduction of ketones with sodium aluminum hydride modified by various chiral diols

New stereoselective reducing reagents were preparedin situ by modification of NaAlH₄ with various chiral diols. The efficiency of 1,4- and 1,3-diols as chiral auxiliaries in the reactions of alkyl aryl ketones with modified NaAlH₄ was considerably higher than that of 1,2-diols. The effect of the nature of the achiral ligand additionally introduced into the chiral hydride reagent on the enantioselectivity of ketone reduction was studied. It was proposed that the sodium cation does not necessarily participate at the stage governing the reaction stereochemistry. Translated fromIzvestiya Akademii Nauk. Seriya Khimicheskaya, No. 3, pp 459–464, March, 2000.     

Synthesis of 2,3-dihydroquinazolin-4(1H)-ones from anthranilamide and ketones over Hβ zeolite in aqueous media*

The synthesis of 2,3-dihydroquinazolin-4(1H)-ones by cyclocondensation of anthranilamide with ketones in aqueous media using Hβ zeolite is reported. The scope of the reaction was explored by various ketones such as aromatic, aliphatic and cyclic ketones. Based on the preliminary mechanistic results, a tentative mechanism for the formation of 2,3-dihydroquinazolin-4(1H)-ones using zeolite catalyst (Hβ) is predicted. The reusability study, large-scale experiment and water as solvent showed significant benefits of this catalytic protocol in comparing to earlier methods.     

Enzymatic synthesis of chiral heteroaryl alcohols using plant fragments as the only biocatalyst and reducing agent

Abstract

The enzymatic reduction of prochiral heterocyclic ketones by carrot (Daucus carota) root in water afforded the corresponding S-alcohols in accordance with the Prelog's rule. The reaction was performed under various conditions in order to optimize the procedure of bioreduction regarding reaction time, yield, and optimal mass of carrot. The optimized procedure was used to test the ability of other plants to carry out the reaction. In the latter experiment, it was observed that, with regard to stereospecificity, most vegetables tested were poorer reducing agents compared to D. carota.     

Stereoselective syntheses of 20-epi cholanic acid derivatives from 16-dehydropregnenolone acetate

A stereoselective total synthesis of naturally occurring 20-epi cholanic acid derivatives has been realized, starting from readily available 16-dehydropregnenolone acetate. The key step of these syntheses involves an ionic hydrogenation of a C-20,22-ketene dithioacetal and deoxygenation of steroidal C-20 tert-alcohols, to set up the unnatural C(20R) configuration with 100% stereoselectivity. The unnatural C-22 aldehydes with C(20R) stereocenters thus obtained were elaborated to 20-epi cholanic acid derivatives. Two derivatives of 20-epi cholanic acid were synthesized and their structures have been confirmed by single crystal X-ray analysis. Catalytic hydrogenation of 16-dehydropregnenolone acetate and 16-dehydropregnenolone in ethanol affords C-5,C-16 tetrahydro products. Crystal structure analysis of one of these products revealed C-5α and C-17α configurations of the hydrogen atoms.     

Imidomethylation of C-nucleophiles using O-phthalimidomethyl trichloroacetimidate and catalytic amounts of TMSOTf

The O-phthalimidomethyl trichloroacetimidate (1), as a latent aminomethylating agent, exhibits high electrophilicity towards a variety of C-nucleophiles in the presence of catalytic amounts of TMSOTf and mild reaction conditions. The nucleophiles include aromatics, alkenes and active methylene compounds 2-11 whereby a phthalimidomethyl group could be introduced to give compounds 12-22. Removal of the phthaloyl group gave the respective amines, β-amino ketones, and β-amino acids. The O-(trichloroacetamido)methyl trichloroacetimidate (35) was also found to be a good amidomethylating agent.     

Highly diastereoselective synthesis of 2-substituted-1,3-diols catalyzed by ketoreductases

The stereoselective reduction of α-substituted-β-hydroxy ketones for the preparation of the corresponding optically pure 2-monosubstituted or 2-disubstituted-1,3-diols is described. These transformations proceed in high optical purities and yields. Ketoreductases were able to catalyze the formation of either the syn or the anti diol, depending on the enzyme. By replacing the α-alkyl substituent for an OAc moiety, in low conversion time (≤24 h), ketoreductases catalyzed the formation of the OAc-protected 1,2,3-triol, in high yield and with high optical purity (>99% de, >99% ee). This is a simple and highly stereoselective method for the synthesis of different diastereomers of chiral diols.     

N‐Heterocyclic Carbene Catalyzed Radical Coupling of Aldehydes with Redox‐Active Esters

N‐Heterocyclic carbene catalyzed radical reactions are challenging and underdeveloped. In a recent study, Ohmiya, Nagao and co‐workers found that aldehyde carbonyl carbon centers can be coupled with alkyl radicals under NHC catalysis. An elegant aspect of this study is the use of a redox‐active carboxylic ester that behaves as an single‐electron oxidant to convert the Breslow intermediate into a radical adduct and concurrently release an alkyl radical intermediate as a reaction partner.