Enantioselective automultiplication of chiral molecules by asymmetric autocatalysis

Asymmetric autocatalysis is a process of automultiplication of a chiral compound in which chiral product acts as a chiral catalyst for its own production. The discovery and the development of asymmetric autocatalysis of pyrimidyl-, quinolyl-, and pyridylalkanols are described in the enantioselective additions of diisopropylzinc to the corresponding nitrogen-containing aldehydes. (Alkynylpyrimidyl)alkanols automultiply with a yield of over 99% and over 99.5% ee. Asymmetric autocatalysts with extremely low ee's automultiply with significant amplification of ee's without the need for any other chiral auxiliaries. Small enantiomeric imbalances of chiral molecules induced by physical factors can be amplified by the present asymmetric autocatalysis.     

Nanoconfinement-Induced Structures in Chiral Liquid Crystals

We employ Monte Carlo simulations in a specialized isothermal-isobaric and in the grand canonical ensemble to study structure formation in chiral liquid crystals as a function of molecular chirality. Our model potential consists of a simple Lennard-Jones potential, where the attractive contribution has been modified to represent the orientation dependence of the interaction between a pair of chiral liquid-crystal molecules. The liquid crystal is confined between a pair of planar and atomically smooth substrates onto which molecules are anchored in a hybrid fashion. Hybrid anchoring allows for the formation of helical structures in the direction perpendicular to the substrate plane without exposing the helix to spurious strains. At low chirality, we observe a cholesteric phase, which is transformed into a blue phase at higher chirality. More specifically, by studying the unit cell and the spatial arrangement of disclination lines, this blue phase can be established as blue phase II. If the distance between the confining substrates and molecular chirality are chosen properly, we see a third structure, which may be thought of as a hybrid, exhibiting mixed features of a cholesteric and a blue phase.     

Chiral N,N'-dioxides: new ligands and organocatalysts for catalytic asymmetric reactions

Homochiral catalysts that can effect asymmetric transformations are invaluable in the production of optically active molecules. Researchers are actively pursuing the design of new ligands and organocatalysts by exploiting concepts derived from the application of bifunctional and C(2)-symmetric catalysts. Many homochiral catalysts containing amines, ethers, alcohols, and phosphines as electron-pair donors have been successfully developed. Amine N-oxides are highly polar substances. Despite their pronounced capacity as electron-pair donors, N-oxides have been underutilized in asymmetric reactions; they have only made a visible impact on the field in the preceding decade. Systematic studies have instead largely focused on pyridine- or quinoline-based scaffolds in organosilicon and coordination chemistry. The application of chiral tertiary amine N-oxides has not been widely pursued because of the difficulty of controlling the chirality at the tetrahedral nitrogen of the N-oxide moiety. In this Account, we outline the design of a new family of C(2)-symmetric N,N'-dioxides from readily available chiral amino acids. We then discuss the application of these chiral amine N-oxides as useful metal ligands and organocatalysts for asymmetric reactions. The high nucleophilicity of the oxygen in N-oxides is ideal for organocatalytic reactions that rely on nucleophilic activation of organosilicon reagents. These catalysts have been successfully applied in the asymmetric addition of trimethylsilylcyanide to aldehydes, ketones, aldimines, and ketimines, with good yields and excellent enantioselectivities. Asymmetric organocatalytic chlorination of β-ketoesters with N-chlorosuccinimide has also been achieved through hydrogen bond activation. The molecular framework of these N,N'-dioxides, with their multiple O-donors, also serves as a new tetradentate ligand that can coordinate a range of metal ions, including Cu(I), Cu(II), Ni(II), Mg(II), Fe(II), Co(II), In(III), Sc(III), La(III), Y(III), Nd(III), and others. These versatile metal complexes are efficient catalysts for a variety of asymmetric reactions. Asymmetric cycloadditions have been achieved with these chiral Lewis acid catalysts. We have also found success with asymmetric nucleophilic additions to C═O or C═N bonds; substrates include 3-substituted 2-oxindoles, alkenes, enamides, enecarbamates, diazoacetate esters, nitroalkanes, glycine Schiff bases, and phosphate. Notably, the first catalytic asymmetric Roskamp reaction was realized, which was successful because of the high efficiency of the catalyst. Asymmetric conjugate additions between α,β-unsaturated compounds and nucleophiles such as nitroalkane, malonate, thioglycolate, and indoles have been accomplished. The first asymmetric haloamination of chalcones was discovered, and the reaction proceeded with high regio- and enantioselectivity. In some cases, we were able to reduce the catalyst loading to just 0.01-0.05 mol % while maintaining excellent outcomes. Some particularly interesting phenomena were observed over the course of the research. These include a remarkable amplification of the asymmetry in a sulfa-Michael reaction, as well as the reversal of enantioselectivity after alteration of the central metal or the subunits of the ligand in two other reactions. These unusual results have facilitated a deeper understanding of the catalytic mechanism.     

除草剂中的手性化合物

最近开发的除草剂的分子结构及其作用原理各式各样,而手性则是一种重要的普遍现象,它是这些除草剂分子的固有特性之一,对映选择性及对映特殊反应对于化合物活性与代谢作用是十分重要的问题,因为手性除草剂会引起植物的不同生理特性。本文讨论了重要的手性除草剂及不同反应、对映体选择性作用的相似性、手性与活性的相关性、对映体的代谢作用以及在禾本科植物分类中的不同手性反应。     

Engineering Achiral Liquid Crystalline Polymers for Chiral Self-Recovery

Flexible construction of permanently stored supramolecular chirality with stimulus-responsiveness remains a big challenge. Herein, we describe an efficient method to realize the transfer and storage of chirality in intrinsically achiral films of a side-chain polymeric liquid crystal system by combining chiral doping and cross-linking strategy. Even the helical structure was destroyed by UV light irradiation, the memorized chiral information in the covalent network enabled complete self-recovery of the original chiral superstructure. These results allowed the building of a novel chiroptical switch without any additional chiral source in multiple types of liquid crystal polymers, which may be one of the competitive candidates for use in stimulus-responsive chiro-optical devices.     

Functional monomers and polymers, 116. Asymmetric addition of n-butyllithium to aldehydes by chiral polymers and related compounds containing dimethylamino bornanol moieties

Asymmetric addition reaction of n-butyllithium to aldehydes was studied by using chiral polystyrene derivatives and chiral low molecular model compounds, both of which were derived from cis,endo-3-dimethylamino-2-hydroxybornane. The higher optical yields were achieved by using low molecular model compounds, and particularly the highest value was obtained in the case when ether was used as the solvent. The effect of reaction temperature, sort of the solvents and the molar ratio of the reagent to aldehyde on the asymmetric addition was also discussed.     

手性叔胺催化不对称串联反应构建氧化吲哚螺环化合物的研究进展

近年来,有机小分子催化的串联反应已成为众多有机化学家们的研究热点,是合成手性化合物的有效方法。在众多不同催化体系中,手性叔胺催化的不对称串联反应得到了空前的发展。氧化吲哚螺环骨架是很多具有药理活性分子普遍存在的结构形式,含有该骨架的化合物是众多药物及有机化学家们的目标产物,不对称催化串联反应是合成氧化吲哚螺环化合物的重要理论基础和有力学术支撑。本文对近四年手性叔胺催化的不对称串联反应构建氧化吲哚螺环化合物的研究进行介绍。     

氯酸钠结晶过程中的手性对称破损特性

采用水溶法生长了NaClO3晶体(完成10个不同组别的100次结晶实验,每个组别循环次数均为1-10次),研究了NaClO3晶体手性对称破损,探讨了晶体成核和生长过程中手性对称破损的温度循环效应.实验结果表明:随着循环次数从1～10次的递增, 该晶体的对映异构体过剩(crystal enantiomeric excess,CEE)从0.81增加到0.97.同时,每一组别中CEE的数值分布则从较宽范围的(0.47～1)改变为较窄范围的(0.92～1).结晶温度的升-降反复循环,对于NaClO3晶体成核和生长过程中的手性对称破损起着非常重要的作用.此方法可应用于对映异构体的结晶提纯.     

Dynamic Chirality Control of (Xyl‐)BIPHEP Ligands Leading to their Diastereomerically Pure Ru Complexes with a Chiral N‐Substituted DPEN

The metal complex of the chirally flexible biphenylphosphine (BIPHEP) exists as an equilibrium between the enantiomeric pairs due to the flexibility of BIPHEP. The dynamic chirality control of the BIPHEP ligands in enantiomerically pure forms to give diastereomerically pure metal complexes with respect to their Ru(II) complexes by their molecular design with the introduction of a substituent in the chiral diamines rather than in the biphenylphosphine is described.     

Chiral Cooperativity in Helical Polymers

Human experience informs us of the two extreme consequences of crowding: random behavior of the individuals, in which each takes a singular path; and cooperative behavior, in which the individuals in the crowd act in a predictable uniform manner, such as in a military organization These extremes find parallels in the crowded situations encountered at the molecular level, exemplified for the former by glassy states, such as often encountered in polymeric materials, 1 or for the latter, in the uniform archetypal arrangements of crystals or liquid crystals. Here we review the cooperative characteristics of uniform arrangements that take a chiral form and explore how these characteristics lead to left- and right-handedness. These studies lead us to understand the basis of amplification of chirality in regular arrays, in which small influences have large consequences, and how chiral cooperativity acts in the resolution of conflict between influences favoring left- and right-handedness. 2     

Tunable Supramolecular Chirogenesis in the Self-Assembling of Amphiphilic Porphyrin Triggered by Chiral Amines

Supramolecular chirality is one of the most important issues in different branches of science and technology, as stereoselective molecular recognition, catalysis, and sensors. In this paper, we report on the self-assembly of amphiphilic porphyrin derivatives possessing a chiral information on the periphery of the macrocycle (i.e., D- or L-proline moieties), in the presence of chiral amines as co-solute, such as chiral benzylamine derivatives. The aggregation process, steered by hydrophobic effect, has been studied in aqueous solvent mixtures by combined spectroscopic and topographic techniques. The results obtained pointed out a dramatic effect of these ligands on the morphology and on the supramolecular chirality of the final self-assembled structures. Scanning electron microscopy topography, as well as fluorescence microscopy studies revealed the formation of rod-like structures of micrometric size, different from the fractal structures formerly observed when the self-assembly process is carried out in the absence of chiral amine co-solutes. On the other hand, comparative experiments with an achiral porphyrin analogue strongly suggested that the presence of the prolinate moiety is mandatory for the achievement of the observed highly organized suprastructures. The results obtained would be of importance for unraveling the intimate mechanisms operating in the selection of the homochirality, and for the preparation of sensitive materials for the detection of chiral analytes, with tunable stereoselectivity and morphology.     

Iridium-catalyzed asymmetric hydrogenation of olefins

Asymmetric hydrogenation is one of the most important catalytic methods for the preparation of optically active compounds. For a long time the range of olefins that could be hydrogenated with high enantiomeric excess was limited to substrates bearing a coordinating group next to the C+C bond. We have found a new class of catalysts, iridium complexes with chiral P, N ligands, that overcome these limitations. For a wide range of unfunctionalized olefins, excellent enantioselectivities could be achieved. Because these catalysts do not require the presence of any particular functional group in the substrate, they considerably broaden the scope of asymmetric hydrogenation. In addition, promising results were also obtained with certain functionalized alkenes, furans, and benzofurans.     

手性化学促进单一对映体药物开发

外消旋体拆分是获取单一对映体药物的主要方法 ,将主 客化学引入化学拆分发明的包结拆分法突破了经典拆分方法的局限 ;酶法拆分目前用的最多的是水解和酯交换反应 ;模拟移动床色谱是商业规模制备色谱最有希望的技术 ;逆流萃取和膜分离技术是近年发展的分离对映体药物或中间体的更为经济的手性分离技术。不对称合成已走出实验室进入工业生产 ,常用的方法有手性源法、不对称催化法和生物转化法     

手性磷酸在不对称傅克烷基化反应中的应用

傅克反应是构建与芳香化合物直接相连的碳-碳键最有效的方法之一。手性磷酸是近年来出现的一种具有全新结构且性能优异的有机小分子催化剂。基于手性磷酸催化不对称傅克烷基化反应,已成为当前催化研究的热点。简要分析了手性磷酸催化特性,按芳基受体类型的不同,综述了在该新型催化剂的作用下,一些富电子芳环与一系列底物如α,β-不饱和醛或酮、α,β-不饱和硝基烯烃、简单的醛或酮、亚胺、烯胺等之间高对映选择性的不对称傅克反应的研究进展。     

Chiral monodentate phosphine ligand MOP for transition-metal-catalyzed asymmetric reactions

Chiral monophosphines, whose chirality is due to biaryl axial chirality, have been prepared from enantiomerically pure 2, 2'-dihydroxy-1,1'-binaphthyl and demonstrated to be highly efficient chiral ligands for transition-metal-catalyzed organic transformations, especially for reactions where chelating bisphosphine ligands cannot be used. The high efficiency is observed in palladium-catalyzed asymmetric hydrosilylation of a wide variety of olefins such as alkyl-substituted terminal olefins and in asymmetric reactions via pi-allylpalladium intermediates represented by asymmetric reduction of allylic esters with formic acid.     

Fundamental Developments of Chiral Phase Chromatography in Connection with Enantioselective Synthesis of β-Amino Acids

A few decades ago, the enantiomeric purities of chiral compounds were usually determined by comparison of experimental optical rotations or by preparation of diastereomeric derivatives followed by analysis of their ¹H NMR spectra. This situation changed when Emanuel Gil-Av, Binyamin Feibush and Rosita Charles-Sigler achieved the separation of single enantiomers from racemic α-amino acids by means of a chiral stationary phase. Indeed, chiral chromatography allowed a direct comparison of chromatograms obtained from enantiopure samples with those recorded with their racemates. With the aim of celebrating the relevance of Gil-Av's achievement, this review also presents several applications of chiral chromatography in the area of asymmetric synthesis of β-amino acids.     

Supernovae, neutrinos and the chirality of amino acids

A mechanism for creating an enantioenrichment in the amino acids, the building blocks of the proteins, that involves global selection of one handedness by interactions between the amino acids and neutrinos from core-collapse supernovae is defined. The chiral selection involves the dependence of the interaction cross sections on the orientations of the spins of the neutrinos and the (14)N nuclei in the amino acids, or in precursor molecules, which in turn couple to the molecular chirality. It also requires an asymmetric distribution of neutrinos emitted from the supernova. The subsequent chemical evolution and galactic mixing would ultimately populate the Galaxy with the selected species. The resulting amino acids could either be the source thereof on Earth, or could have triggered the chirality that was ultimately achieved for Earth's proteinaceous amino acids.     

Achiral Organic,Inorganic, and Metal Crystals as Auxiliaries for Asymmetric Transformations

The use of achiral crystalline architectures as intermediate auxiliaries for the performance of “absolute” asymmetric transformations is reviewed. Such architectures are delineated, in some cases, by pairs of homochiral surfaces of opposite handedness. This phenomenon is more common among organic crystals that frequently appear in triclinic, monoclinic, orthorhombic, or tetragonal space groups. Consequently, the chiral surfaces of such crystals have been shown to display enantiomeric recognition for molecules of the environment, a process that has been instrumental in the conversion of achiral host crystals into enantiomorphous solid-solutions, for a successful performance of “absolute” asymmetric transformations and for the control of crystal polymorphism. Mixed crystals of reduced symmetry display properties such as second harmonic generation or pyroelectricity. On the other hand, achiral faces delineate metals, which crystallize in cubic space-groups of high symmetry. However, by slicing such crystals in particular directions, they might express homochiral high Miller index faces that contain homochiral kink sites, which have been successfully exploited in electrochemical separations of sugars and for the resolution of enantiomers by enantioselective desorption. Representative examples of each class of materials are described.     

Enantiomer-selective activation of racemic catalysts

Asymmetric catalysts can be evolved into highly activated catalysts by association with chiral activators. This asymmetric activation process is particularly useful in racemic catalysis through selective activation of one enantiomer of the racemic catalysts. Recently, a strategy whereby a racemic catalyst is selectively deactivated by a chiral additive has been reported to yield nonracemic products. However, we have reported a strategy that is an alternative to asymmetric catalysts but is conceptually opposite, in which a chiral activator selectively activates rather than deactivates one enantiomer of a racemic chiral catalyst. The advantage of this activation strategy over the deactivation counterpart is that the activated catalyst can produce a greater enantiomeric excess (x(act)% ee) in the products than the ee attained by the enantiomerically pure catalyst on its own. Therefore, 'asymmetric activation' could provide a general and powerful strategy for the use of not only atropisomeric and, hence, racemic ligands but also chirally flexible and 'pro-atropisomeric' ligands without enantiomeric resolution!     

Asymmetric hydrogenation of heteroaromatic compounds

Asymmetric hydrogenation of heteroaromatic compounds has emerged as a promising new route to saturated or partially saturated chiral heterocyclic compounds. In this Account, we outline recent advances in asymmetric hydrogenation of heteroaromatic compounds, including indole, quinoline, isoquinoline, furan, and pyridine derivatives, using chiral organometallic catalysts and organocatalysts.