Highly Diastereoselective Synthesis of 2,6‐Di[1‐(2‐alkylaziridin‐1‐yl)alkyl]pyridines,Useful Ligands in Palladium‐Catalyzed Asymmetric Allylic Alkylation

C₂‐Symmetrical, enantiopure 2,6‐di[1‐(1‐aziridinyl)alkyl]pyridines (DIAZAPs) were prepared by a high‐yielding, three‐step sequence starting from 2,6‐pyridinedicarbaldehyde and (S)‐valinol or (S)‐phenylglycinol. The new compounds were tested as ligands in palladium‐catalyzed allylation of carbanions in different solvents. Almost quantitative yield and up to 99 % enantiomeric excess were obtained in the reactions of the enolates derived from malonate, phenyl‐ and benzylmalonate dimethyl esters with 1,3‐diphenyl‐2‐propenyl ethyl carbonate.     

Preparation of an Immobilized Lipase‐Palladium Artificial Metalloenzyme as Catalyst in the Heck Reaction: Role of the Solid Phase

A p‐nitrophenylphosphonate palladium pincer was synthesized and selectively inserted by irreversible attachment on the catalytic serine of different commercial lipases with good to excellent yields in most cases. Among all, lipase from Candida antarctica B (CAL‐B) was the best modified enzyme. The artificial metalloenzyme CAL‐B‐palladium (Pd) catalyst was subsequently immobilized on different supports and by different orienting strategies. The catalytic properties of the immobilized hybrid catalysts were then evaluated in two sets of Heck cross‐coupling reactions under different conditions. In the first reaction between iodobenzene and ethyl acrylate, the covalent immobilized CAL‐B‐Pd catalyst resulted to be the best one exhibiting quantitative production of the Heck product at 70 °C in dimethylformamide (DMF) with 25% water and particularly in pure DMF, where the soluble Pd pincer was completely inactive. A post‐immobilization engineering of catalyst surface by its hydrophobization enhanced the activity. The selectivity properties of the best hybrid catalyst were then assessed in the asymmetric Heck cross‐coupling reaction between iodobenzene and 2,3‐dihydrofuran retrieving excellent results in terms of stereo‐ and enantioselectivity.

     

Extremely Efficient Cross‐Coupling of Benzylic Halides with Aryltitanium Tris(isopropoxide) Catalyzed by Low Loadings of a Simple Palladium(II) Acetate/Tris(p‐tolyl)phosphine System

Highly efficient coupling reactions of benzylic bromides or chlorides with aryltitanium tris(isopropoxide) [ArTi(O‐i‐Pr)₃] catalyzed by a simple palladium(II) acetate/tris(p‐tolyl)phosphine [Pd(OAc)₂/ P(p‐tolyl)₃] system are reported. The coupling reactions proceed in general at room temperature employing low catalyst loadings of 0.02 to 0.2 mol%, affording coupling products in excellent yields of up to 99%. For benzylic bromides bearing strong electron‐withdrawing cyano (CN) or trifluoromethyl (CF₃) substituents, the reactions require a higher catalyst loading of 1 mol%, or the reactions are carried out at 60 °C. The catalytic system also tolerates (1‐bromoethyl)benzene bearing β‐hydrogen atoms while using a catalyst loading of 1 mol% to afford the coupling product in a 70% yield.     

Modulated gluconic acid production from immobilized cells of Aspergillus niger ORS‐4.410 utilizing grape must

BACKGROUND: Gluconic acid (GA) production by immobilized cells of mutant Aspergillus niger ORS‐4.410 on polyurethane sponge (PUS) and calcium‐alginate (Ca‐alginate) was evaluated in repeated batches of solid state surface fermentation (SSF) and submerged fermentation (SmF) conditions, respectively, utilizing rectified grape must as carbon source. RESULTS: The passive immobilization of cells in fermentation medium solid support of having 0.4 cm³ cube size, 4% spore suspension, 0.6 g inoculum of PUS immobilized cells at 32 °C and 2.0 L min^?1 resulted in the maximum GA production (88.16 g L^?1) with a 92.8% yield, while the Ca‐alginate matrix with a 0.5 cm diameter bead size, 2–3% spore suspension, 15 g inoculum at 34 °C and 150 rpm agitation speed revealed 67.19 g L^?1 GA with a 85.2% yield. Repeated use of PUS showed higher levels of GA (110.94 g L^?1) in the third–fourth fermentation cycles with 95–98% yield and 22.50 g L^?1 d^?1 productivity under SSF that was 2.5‐fold higher than the productivity obtained from a typical fermentation cycle, and 54% greater than the productivity obtained with repetitive use of Ca‐alginate immobilized cells of A. niger under SmF. CONCLUSION: Using immobilized cells of A. niger in PUS, the rectified form of grape must can be utilized for GA production as an alternative source of carbohydrate by replacing the conventional fermentation conditions. Copyright © 2008 Society of Chemical Industry     

Enantioselective Reaction of Imines and Benzyl Nitriles Using Palladium Pincer Complexes with C2‐Symmetric Chiral Bis(imidazoline)s

Enantioselective reactions of a wide variety of benzyl nitriles with N‐tosylimines catalyzed by novel chiral 1,3‐bis(imidazolin‐2‐yl)benzene‐palladium(II) [Phebim‐Pd(II)] complexes have afforded the respective products in high yield with good enantioselectivity. A reaction mechanism is proposed based on X‐ray crystal structures of palladium complexes.     

Synthesis of Amido‐N‐imidazolium Salts and their Applications as Ligands in Suzuki–Miyaura Reactions: Coupling of Hetero‐ aromatic Halides and the Synthesis of Milrinone and Irbesartan

A new catalytic system based on palladium‐amido‐N‐heterocyclic carbenes for Suzuki–Miyaura coupling reactions of heteroaryl bromides is described. A variety of sterically bulky, amido‐N‐imidazolium salts were synthesized in high yields from the corresponding anilines. This catalytic system effectively promoted Suzuki–Miyaura couplings of heteroaryl bromides and chlorides with a range of boronic acids to give the corresponding aryl compounds in high yield. The yield was increased with increasing steric bulkiness of the substituted group. Especially, 1‐(2,6‐diisopropylphenyl)‐3‐N‐(2,4,6‐tri‐tert‐butylphenylacetamido)imidazolium bromide ( 4bc ) exhibited 850,000 TON in the coupling reaction of 2‐bromopyridine and phenylboronic acid. In addition, pharmaceutical compounds such as milrinone and irbesartan were synthesized via Suzuki–Miyaura coupling using sterically bulky, amido‐N‐imidazolium salt ( 4bc ) as a ligand.     

Enantioselective Carbonyl‐Ene Reactions of Arylglyoxals with a Chiral Palladium(II)‐BINAP Catalyst

The palladium(II)‐BINAP‐catalyzed enantioselective carbonyl‐ene reactions between ten arylglyoxals and five alkenes were systematically investigated and demonstrated good to excellent enantioselectivities with high ee values of up to 93.8 %. The results showed that both arylglyoxals and alkenes exert evident effects on the enantioselectivity. Particularly, the ortho‐methyl substituents of the substrates could increase the enantioselectivity. The achieved excellent enantioselectivities may be due to the corresponding substrate matches well fitting the chiral space created by the chiral palladium(II)‐BINAP catalyst. The ortho‐methyl substituents may improve the fitting of the substrate match to the chiral space created by the chiral catalyst, hence the enantioselectivity is improved. When using dienes (1,4‐diisopropenylbenzene and 1,3‐diisopropenylbenzene) as substrates in this reaction, only one of the two carbon‐carbon double bonds participated into the reaction affording tetrafunctional organic compounds with moderate enantioselectivities of up to 83.8 % ee. The chiral Lewis acid palladium(II) catalyst incorporating (R)‐BINAP, which is a conformationally restricted chiral ligand, is very stable in ionic liquids and could be recycled 21 times with retention of the high enantioselectivity.     

Application of chitosan‐entrapped β‐galactosidase in a packed‐bed reactor system

The model enzyme β‐galactosidase was entrapped in chitosan gel beads and tested for hydrolytic activity and its potential for application in a packed‐bed reactor. The chitosan beads had an enzyme entrapment efficiency of 59% and retained 56% of the enzyme activity of the free enzyme. The Michaelis constant (K_m) was 0.0086 and 0.011 μmol/mL for the free and immobilized enzymes, respectively. The maximum velocity of the reaction (V_max) was 285.7 and 55.25 μmol mL^?1 min^?1 for the free and immobilized enzymes, respectively. In pH stability tests, the immobilized enzyme exhibited a greater range of pH stability and shifted to include a more acidic pH optimum, compared to that of the free enzyme. A 2.54 × 16.51‐cm tubular reactor was constructed to hold 300 mL of chitosan‐immobilized enzyme. A full‐factorial test design was implemented to test the effect of substrate flow (20 and 100 mL/min), concentration (0.0015 and 0.003M), and repeated use of the test bed on efficiency of the system. Parameters were analyzed using repeated‐measures analysis of variance. Flow (p < 0.05) and concentration (p < 0.05) significantly affected substrate conversion, as did the interaction progressing from Run 1 to Run 2 on a bed (p < 0.05). Reactor stability tests indicated that the packed‐bed reactor continued to convert substrate for more than 12 h with a minimal reduction in conversion efficiency. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 91: 1294–1299, 2004     

Macrocyclic Palladium(II) Complexes in C?C Coupling Reactions: Efficient Catalysis by Controlled Temporary Release of Active Species

Stabilization of palladium species against agglomeration is essential for reasonable catalytic activity in C C coupling reactions. In contrast to common methods of palladium(0) complex or particle stabilization, a new concept is introduced here: it is demonstrated that a controlled release of palladium from an inactive precatalyst provides stability, too, and leads to high catalytic activity. This paper presents surprising catalytic results for Heck and Suzuki reactions with aryl chlorides and bromides, using three highly stable macrocyclic palladium complexes as catalyst precursors. Three different behaviour patterns for the macrocyclic complexes can be deduced from the evaluation of catalytic activities, UV‐Vis spectroscopy, recycling studies of immobilized complexes, and ligand addition experiments. (i) Palladium tetraphenylporphyrin reversibly releases only extremely low amounts of palladium during the reactions, and low coupling activities are observed. (ii) Release of palladium from its phthalocyanine complex is irreversible; cumulative release of palladium into the reaction mixtures leads to high catalytic activity. (iii) Extraordinary results were obtained with a Robson‐type complex of palladium, which reversibly releases effectual amounts of palladium into solution under reaction conditions. This controlled release prevents the formation of inactive palladium agglomerates under harsh conditions and leads to high catalytic performances. Even strongly deactivated electron‐rich aryl chlorides (4‐chloroanisole) can be completely and selectively converted by the in situ formed anionic palladium halide complexes; the addition of typical stabilizing additives (TBAB) was found to be unnecessary. The bimetallic palladium complex is regenerated at the end of the reaction. These results contribute to the current understanding of the active species in C C coupling reactions of Heck and Suzuki types.     

Palladium Nanoparticles Immobilized on Nano‐Silica Triazine Dendritic Polymer (Pdnp‐nSTDP): An Efficient and Reusable Catalyst for Suzuki–Miyaura Cross‐Coupling and Heck Reactions

A new catalyst based on palladium nanoparticles immobilized on nano‐silica triazine dendritic polymer (Pd_np‐nSTDP) was synthesized and characterized by FT‐IR spectroscopy, thermogravimetric analysis, field emission scanning electron microscopy, energy dispersive X‐ray, transmission electron microscopy and elemental analysis. The size of the palladium nanoparticles was determined to be 3.1±0.5 nm. This catalytic system showed high activity in the Suzuki–Miyaura cross‐coupling of aryl iodides, bromides and chlorides with arylboronic acids and also in the Heck reaction of these aryl halides with styrenes. These reactions were best performed in a dimethylformamide (DMF)/water mixture (1:3) in the presence of only 0.006 mol% and 0.01 mol% of the catalyst, respectively, under conventional conditions and microwave irradiation to afford the desired coupling products in high yields. The Pd_np‐nSTDP was also used as an efficient catalyst for the preparation of a series of star‐ and banana‐shaped compounds with a benzene, pyridine, pyrimidine or 1,3,5‐triazine unit as the central core. Moreover, the catalyst could be recovered easily and reused several times without any considerable loss of its catalytic activity.     

Flow‐Synthesis of Nucleosides Catalyzed by an Immobilized Purine Nucleoside Phosphorylase from Aeromonas hydrophila: Integrated Systems of Reaction Control and Product Purification

A purine nucleoside phosphorylase from Aeromonas hydrophyla (AhPNP) was covalently immobilized in a pre‐packed stainless steel column containing aminopropylsilica particles via Schiff base chemistry upon glutaraldehyde activation. The resulting AhPNP‐IMER (Immobilized Enzyme Reactor, immobilization yield ≈50%) was coupled on‐line through a 6‐way switching valve to an HPLC apparatus containing an analytical or a semi‐preparative chromatographic column. The synthesis of five 6‐modified purine ribonucleosides was carried out by continuously pumping the reaction mixture through the AhPNP‐IMER until the highest conversion was reached, and then directing the reaction mixture to chromatographic separation. The conditions of the AhPNP‐catalyzed transglycosylations (2:1 ratio sugar donor:base acceptor; 10 mM phosphate buffer; pH 7.5; temperature 37 °C, flow rate 0.5 mL min⁻¹) were optimized by a fractional factorial experimental design. Coupling the bioconversion step with the product purification in such an integrated platform resulted in a fast and efficient synthetic process (yield=52–89%; <10 mg) where sample handling was minimized. To date, AhPNP‐IMER has retained completely its activity upon 50 reactions in 10 months.

     

Membrane‐Occluded Gold‐Palladium Nanoclusters as Heterogeneous Catalysts for the Selective Oxidation of Alcohols to Carbonyl Compounds

Pre‐formed polyvinylpyrrolidone‐stabilized gold‐palladium clusters, consisting of 80 mol% gold and with a mean size of 1.9 nm, were immobilized quantitatively in a porous polyimide membrane via the process of phase inversion, without loss of metal nanodispersion. The obtained gold‐palladium/polyimide membrane emerged as a highly active heterogeneous metal catalyst for the amide‐phase and solvent‐free oxidation of aliphatic, allylic and benzylic alcohols with full selectivity to the corresponding aldehydes and ketones, and could be recycled with excellently preserved catalytic activity and product selectivity. Occlusion of the optimized bimetallic clusters in the polyimide structure proved beneficial in view of their superior catalytic performance compared to the analogous colloidal gold‐palladium clusters.     

Palladium‐Catalyzed Heck‐Type Reactions of Allylic Esters with Arylboronic Acids or Potassium Aryltrifluoroborates

A selective and general route to (E)‐1,3‐diaryl‐prop‐1‐enes and (E)‐3‐arylallyl acetates has been developed by palladium‐catalyzed Heck‐type reactions of allylic esters with arylboronic acids or potassium aryltrifluoroborates. The present method selectively proceeds including β‐OAc elimination or β‐H elimination on the basis of the boronic acids. Whereas a variety of allylic esters were reacted with arylboronic acids, palladium(II) acetate [Pd(OAc)₂], tetra(n‐butyl)ammonium chloride [(n‐Bu)₄NCl] and postassium dihydrogen phosphate (KH₂PO₄) to afford the corresponding diarylation products in moderate to good yields, treatment of allylic esters with potassium aryltrifluoroborates furnished the corresponding monoarylation products.     

A Microfluidic Approach to the Rapid Screening of Palladium‐Catalysed Aminocarbonylation Reactions

The evaluation and selection of the most appropriate catalyst for a chemical transformation is an important process in many areas of synthetic chemistry. Conventional catalyst screening involving batch reactor systems can be both time‐consuming and expensive, resulting in a large number of individual chemical reactions. Continuous flow microfluidic reactors are increasingly viewed as a powerful alternative format for reacting and processing larger numbers of small‐scale reactions in a rapid, more controlled and safer fashion. In this study we demonstrate the use of a planar glass microfluidic reactor for performing the three‐component palladium‐catalysed aminocarbonylation reaction of iodobenzene, benzylamine and carbon monoxide to form N‐benzylbenzamide, and screen a series of palladium catalysts over a range of temperatures. N‐Benzylbenzamide product yields for this reaction were found to be highly dependent on the nature of the catalyst and reaction temperature. The majority of catalysts gave good to high yields under typical flow conditions at high temperatures (150 °C), however the palladium(II) chloride‐Xantphos complex [PdCl₂(Xantphos)] proved to be far superior as a catalyst at lower temperatures (75–120 °C). The utilised method was found to be an efficent and reliable way for screening a large number of palladium‐catalysed carbonylation reactions and may prove useful in screening other gas/liquid phase reactions.     

Toward a Continuous‐Flow Synthesis of Boscalid®

A two‐step continuous‐flow protocol for the synthesis of 2‐amino‐4′‐chlorobiphenyl, a key intermediate for the industrial preparation of the fungicide Boscalid^® is described. Initial tetrakis(triphenylphosphine)palladium‐catalyzed high‐temperature Suzuki–Miyaura cross‐coupling of 1‐chloro‐2‐nitrobenzene with 4‐chlorophenylboronic acid in a microtubular flow reactor at 160 °C using the tert‐butanol/water/potassium tert‐butoxide solvent/base system provides 4′‐chloro‐2‐nitrobiphenyl in high yield. After in‐line scavenging of palladium metal with the aid of a thiourea‐based resin, subsequent heterogeneous catalytic hydrogenation is performed over platinum‐on‐charcoal in a dedicated continuous‐flow hydrogenation device. The overall two‐step homogeneous/heterogeneous catalytic process can be performed in a single operation providing the desired 2‐amino‐4′‐chlorobiphenyl in good overall yield and high selectivity.     

Synthesis of 2‐monoglycerides by alcoholysis of palm oil and tuna oil using immobilized lipases

Commercial immobilized lipases were used for the synthesis of 2‐monoglycerides (2‐MG) by alcoholysis of palm and tuna oils with ethanol in organic solvents. Several parameters were studied, i.e., the type of immobilized lipases, water activity, type of solvents and temperatures. The optimum conditions for alcoholysis of tuna oil were at a water activity of 0.43 and a temperature of 60 °C in methyl‐tert‐butyl ether for ～12 h. Although immobilized lipase preparations from Pseudomonas sp. and Candida antarctica fraction B are not 1, 3‐regiospecific enzymes, they were considered to be more suitable for the production of 2‐MG by the alcoholysis of tuna oil than the 1, 3‐regiospecific lipases (Lipozyme RM IM from Rhizomucor miehei and lipase D from Rhizopus delemar). With Pseudomonas sp. lipase a yield of up to 81% 2‐MG containing 80% PUFA (poly‐unsaturated fatty acids) from tuna oil was achieved. The optimum conditions for alcoholysis of palm oil were similar as these of tuna oil alcoholysis. However, lipase D immobilized on Accurel EP100 was used as catalyst at 40 °C with shorter reaction times (<12 h). This lead to a yield of ～60% 2‐MG containing 55.0‐55.7% oleic acid and 18.7‐21.0% linoleic acid.     

Recycling Chiral Imidazolidin‐4‐one Catalyst for Asymmetric Diels–Alder Reactions: Screening of Various Ionic Liquids

Various imidazolium ionic liquids such as [Bmim]PF₆, [Bmim]SbF₆, [Bmim]OTf and [Bmim]BF₄ were screened for recycling an organic catalyst [(5S)‐5‐benzyl‐2,2,3‐trimethylimidazolidin‐4‐one ( 1 )] for asymmetric Diels–Alder reactions. Good yields and enantioselectivies (up to 85% yield and 93% ee) were obtained from reactions in [Bmim]PF₆ or [Bmim]SbF₆. However, reactions in [Bmim]OTf or [Bmim]BF₄ gave racemic products in low yields. Isolation of the products by simple extraction using diethyl ether allowed recycling of the ionic liquid containing the immobilized catalyst in subsequent reactions without significant decrease of yields and enantioselectivities.     

On Homogeneous Gold/Palladium Catalytic Systems

Two substrates containing an aryl iodide and an allenoate ester were prepared and the gold‐induced cycloisomerisation to vinylgold(I) species and their proto‐deauration as well as the intramolecular palladium‐catalysed cross‐coupling reactions were investigated. Switching to catalytic amounts of gold and palladium and stoichiometric amounts of silver did indeed furnish the product of a cycloisomerisation/intramolecular cross‐coupling. Control experiments revealed that silver cannot substitute for gold or palladium in these reactions, but a different palladium catalyst in a different oxidation state also afforded the cycloisomerisation/intramolecular cross‐coupling products in only slightly reduced yields. By ICP analysis the palladium was shown to contain gold only at the sub‐ppm level. This shows how carefully results obtained with such systems have to be interpreted. Then a series of allylic and benzylic o‐alkynylbenzoates were investigated in gold‐ and palladium‐catalysed reactions. For esters of benzyl alcohol and cinnamyl alcohol no palladium co‐catalyst was needed for the conversion. All reagents were thoroughly checked for palladium traces by ICP analysis in order to thoroughly exclude a gold/palladium co‐catalysis. Optimisation of the gold complex, counter ion and solvent showed that gold(I) isonitrile pre‐catalysts and silver triflate as activator in dioxane are suitable to convert a number of substrates with aryl, alkyl and even cyclopropyl substituents. Crossover experiments proved an intermolecular allyl transfer.     

Palladium‐Catalyzed Construction of Spirooxindoles by Arylative Cyclization of 3‐(γ,δ‐Disubstituted)allylidene‐2‐Oxindoles

The palladium‐catalyzed, one‐pot arylative cyclization of 3‐(γ,δ‐disubstituted)allylidene‐2‐oxindoles afforded spirodihydronaphthalene‐2‐oxindole frameworks via an oxidative Heck arylation (Fujiwara–Moritani reaction), an allylic palladium migration, and an aryl C H bond functionalization/arylation cascade of reactions. This is a first example of the palladium‐catalyzed oxidative arylation and an aryl C H bond functionalization/arylation cascade reaction which involves an electrophilic arylative quenching of a π‐allylpalladium intermediate and a regio‐controlled aryl C H bond activation assisted by a weak palladium‐arene interaction.

     

Thiirane resins cured with polythiourethane hardeners as novel supports for metal complex catalysts

The application of thiirane resin cured with polythiourethane (PTU) hardeners as novel and efficient support for palladium complex catalyst is reported. Stability and activity efficiency in Heck reactions were determined. IR and X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy provided information of metal coordination to the polymer matrix. Characterization of polymer supports and palladium catalysts has involved the measurements of the structural parameters in the dry state by the nitrogen BET adsorption, time‐of‐flight secondary ion mass spectrometry, scanning electron microscopy, and energy dispersive X‐ray analysis. The results of this study indicate that PTU used to cure thiirane resin can greatly affect the catalytic properties of the episufide resin‐supported palladium catalyst. These new type of polymer supports comparing to other organic carriers offers several practical advantages such as ability to control the crosslinking density, porosity and the chemical structure of the polymeric matrix, which influence the catalytic properties of the immobilized metal complex. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2014 , 131, 40330.