Ring-closing metathesis of sulfoximine-substituted N-tethered trienes: modular asymmetric synthesis of medium-ring nitrogen heterocycles

A synthesis of sulfoximine-substituted medium-ring nitrogen heterocycles (MRNHs) having a high degree of substitution has been developed. Its key steps are the modular asymmetric synthesis of sulfoximine-substituted N-tethered trienes and their Ru-catalyzed ring-closing metathesis (RCM) reaction. The highly substituted N-tethered trienes were obtained enantio- and diastereopure through 1) the diastereoselective aminoalkylation of sulfoximine-substituted allyltitanium complexes with N-tert-butylsulfonyliminoester, 2) N-allylation of homoallylic N-sulfonyl amines, 3) allylation, hydroxylalkylation, and formylation of α-lithioalkenylsulfoximines, and 4) allylation of α-formylalkenylsulfoximines. The Ru-catalyzed RCM reaction of the sulfoximine-substituted 1,7,10- and 1,7,12-trienes stereoselectively afforded the corresponding nine-, ten-, and eleven-membered MRNHs in good yields. An interesting difference in reactivity was noted in the case of a sulfoximine-substituted 1,7,10-triene and its corresponding 1,10-diene. While the triene readily underwent a RCM reaction, the diene reacted only in the presence of Ti(OiPr)(4) under formation of the corresponding MRNH. The feasibility of a removal of the sulfoximine auxiliary and the N-sulfonyl protecting group from the MRNHs were demonstrated through reduction and cleavage, respectively, of a nine-membered heterocycle, both of which proceeded readily and gave the corresponding cyclic alkene and amine, respectively.