Reversal of Stereoselectivity in Lithiation of Ferrocenyl‐imidazolones: Epimeric Substrates lead to Planar Chiral Enantiomers

Diastereoselective induction of planar chirality in ferrocenes often employs chiral sulfur‐, carbon‐ or phosphorus‐based directing groups. The origin of stereoselectivity in these reactions may be classified as (a) cyclopentadiene (Cp) ring‐controlled or (b) base‐controlled. These two categories are represented by auxiliaries that typically have stereogenic centers α or γ to the ferrocene core, respectively. In this study, it is shown that (−)‐2‐ferrocenyl‐1S‐triethylsilyloxy‐7aS‐hexahydropyrrolo[1,2‐c]imidazol‐3‐one, the anti‐epimer of the previously reported syn‐(1R,7aS) substrate, induces lithiation of the pro‐R_p rather than the pro‐S_p Cp hydrogen in >95:5 dr, leading to enantiomers of the syn‐derived planar chiral imidazolones upon electrophile quench and elimination. This outcome provides a practical way to prepare planar chiral enantiomers in this series without having to synthesize a more expensive D ‐proline‐derived starting material, since both the syn and anti starting materials are available from a common L ‐proline‐derived intermediate. The origin of stereoselectivity in lithiation of the syn and anti epimers, which have β,γ‐stereogenic centers, appears to be driven primarily by the conformational bias exerted by the β‐silyloxy moiety in each chiral auxiliary, which positions the urea carbonyl within the proximity of one of the two prochiral ortho Cp hydrogens. As such, stereoselectivity is likely Cp ring‐controlled for both compounds despite their lack of α‐ferrocenyl stereogenic centers. This conclusion is supported by the insensitivity of lithiation selectivity to the bulkiness of the base, comparisons of enantiomers, deuteration experiments, nOe difference studies, and computational modeling of the ground states and lithiation transition states for both substrates.     

Diastereoselective Synthesis of N‐Substituted Planar Chiral Ferrocenes Using a Proline Hydantoin‐Derived Auxiliary

An N‐substituted ferrocene bearing a proline‐derived chiral directing group undergoes diastereoselective lithiation–electrophile quench to give planar chiral products in >95:5 dr. The starting material is synthesized by imidation of iodoferrocene with L ‐proline hydantoin, followed by hydrosilylation. Although the auxiliary is stable to lithium bases of the types RLi and R₂NLi, the ortho‐substituted products may be converted to solely planar chiral derivatives with simple reagents thanks to a labile triethylsilyloxy moiety.     

Chemoselective Synthesis of N‐Substituted α‐Amino‐α′‐chloro Ketones via Chloromethylation of Glycine‐Derived Weinreb Amides

Functionalized α‐arylamino‐α′‐chloro ketones are obtained in high yield via a straightforward homologation reaction of Weinreb amides derived from N‐arylglycines using in situ generated chloromethyllithium. The use of the Weinreb amides is essential and allows the chemoselective homologation of N‐aryl‐N‐substituted glycine analogues, a transformation which is not possible using similar glycine esters. The procedure is promising for the large‐scale preparation of α‐amino‐α′‐chloropropanones, which are valuable precursors for a variety of bioactive compounds.     

The Stereoselective Ru3(CO)12‐Catalyzed Synthesis of Steroidal 1,3‐Dihydropyrrol‐2‐one Derivatives from α,β‐Unsaturated Imines,Carbon Monoxide and Ethylene

The reaction of α,β‐unsaturated imines, derived from steroidal amines and cinnamaldehyde, with carbon monoxide and ethylene leads to the formation of steroids with a 1,3‐dihydropyrrol‐2‐one ring system attached to the D‐ring of the steroid. In addition, a new stereogenic center at C‐3 of the pyrrolone ring is produced during the reaction sequence. In the case of a 16‐position of the imine moiety the yields are nearly quantitative but the diastereoselectivity is low whereas the sterically more hindered 17‐position shows a decreased reactivity but quite good diastereoselectivities. Complete diastereoselectivity is achieved if the starting compound exhibits an additional silyl ether group in the 17β‐position besides the imine subunit in the 16β‐position. The compound bearing the pyrrolone substituent at 17β‐position was characterized by means of X‐ray crystallography showing that the rotation of the pyrrolone ring is hindered by a strong intramolecular hydrogen bond between the carbonyl oxygen of the pyrrolone moiety and the hydrogen at C‐17. The question of whether this intramolecular hydrogen bond is also responsible for the observed diastereoselectivities is discussed.     

Organocatalyzed Highly Enantioselective and anti‐Selective Construction of γ‐Butenolides through Vinylogous Mukaiyama Aldol Reaction

The formation of chiral γ‐butenolides has been achieved with good yields (up to 90%), high enantioselectivity (up to 91%) and diastereoselectivity (up to 9/1, anti‐selective) through an organocatalyzed vinylogous Mukaiyama aldol reaction of 2‐(trimethylsilyloxy)furan and aldehydes. A wide range of chiral γ‐butenolides was obtained under mild conditions by this methodology.     

Synthesis of Chiral N‐Sulfonyl and N‐Phosphinoyl α‐Halo Aldimine Precursors

α‐Halogenated aldimines have emerged as an important class of synthetic intermediates. The stability and reactivity of α‐halo aldimines can vary greatly depending on the nitrogen protecting group. A general synthesis of stable, chiral α‐halo‐N‐sulfonyl and N‐phosphinoyl aldimine precursors is presented (42–96% yield). The corresponding α‐halo aldimines can be isolated upon treatment with a mild base. Enantioenriched α‐chloro aldehydes can be employed to afford aldimine precursors with no erosion of optical purity. Both the enantioenriched aldimine precursor and the isolated aldimine can react with an alkynyllithium nucleophile to give trans‐β‐chloroamine products with excellent dr. Ring closure affords the enantioenriched trans‐aziridine, demonstrating the potential for this approach in complex molecule synthesis.     

Asymmetric Synthesis of α‐Amino Acids under Operationally Convenient Conditions

A new multipurpose glycine equivalent for the general asymmetric synthesis of α‐amino acids is introduced. The chiral reagent can be transformed to various amino acids by alkylations with alkyl halides as well as aldol and Michael addition reactions under operationally convenient reaction conditions at room temperature with virtually complete stereochemical control.

     

Synthesis of Synthetic Lubricants by Trimerization of 1‐Decene and 1‐Dodecene with Homogeneous Chromium Catalysts

The Cr‐catalyzed trimerization of 1‐decene and 1‐dodecene is a highly selective method to synthesize C₃₀ and C₃₆ olefins. After hydrogenation, these products display very attractive viscosity indices (VI's). Due to the high trimer selectivity of the reaction no additional work‐up is needed to separate C₂₀, C₂₄ or C₄₀₊ oligomers from the product prior to a potential use of these products in synthetic lubricants for automotive applications.     

Highly Stereoselective Halocyclopropanation of α,β‐Unsaturated Amides

A convenient highly stereoselective synthesis of chloro‐ and bromocyclopropanamides from di‐ tri‐ or tetrasubstituted (E)‐ or (Z)‐α,β‐unsaturated amides with total or high stereoselectivity promoted by chromium dichloride or dibromide is described. The transformation of chlorocyclopropanamides into the corresponding ketones or amines is also reported. A mechanism to explain these transformations is proposed.     

Light Triggers the Antiproliferative Activity of Naphthalimide-Conjugated (η6-arene)ruthenium(II) Complexes

We report the synthesis and characterization of three half-sandwich Ru(II) arene complexes [(η⁶-arene)Ru(N,N′)L][PF₆]₂ containing arene = p-cymene, N,N′ = bipyridine, and L = pyridine meta- with methylenenaphthalimide (C1), methylene(nitro)naphthalimide (C2), or methylene(piperidinyl)naphthalimide (C3). The naphthalimide acts as an antenna for photoactivation. After 3 h of irradiation with blue light, the monodentate pyridyl ligand had almost completely dissociated from complex C3, which contains an electron donor on the naphthalimide ring, whereas only 50% dissociation was observed for C1 and C2. This correlates with the lower wavelength and strong absorption of C3 in this region of the spectrum (λ_max = 418 nm) compared with C1 and C2 (λ_max = 324 and 323 nm, respectively). All the complexes were relatively non-toxic towards A549 human lung cancer cells in the dark, but only complex C3 exhibited good photocytoxicity towards these cancer cells upon irradiation with blue light (IC₅₀ = 10.55 ± 0.30 μM). Complex C3 has the potential for use in photoactivated chemotherapy (PACT).     

Highly Regio‐ and Diastereoselective Palladium‐Catalyzed Allylic Substitution. Synthesis of 3‐(2‐Aminobutylidene)‐ 4‐arylazetidin‐2‐ones

The palladium‐catalyzed benzylamine attack to a particular allylic moiety, the 3‐alkenyl‐3‐bromoazetidin‐2‐one is herein reported. This reaction shows interesting mechanistic aspects and allows us to introduce in one step and under high regio‐ and stereocontrol the amino function in the C3 side chain of non‐conventional β‐lactams, thus offering the opportunity for designing new potential glutamine syntethase inhibitors, such as Tabtoxin analogues.     

Unusual Totally Selective Cyclodimerization of Epoxides: Synthesis of a Pair of Diastereoisomers of Enantiopure 2,5‐Disubstituted‐1,4‐Dioxanes with C2 Symmetry

The synthesis of the C₂‐symmetrical (2R,5R)‐ and (2S,5S)‐2,5‐bis‐[(S)‐1‐(dibenzylaminoalkyl)]‐1,4‐dioxanes 1 or 2 in enantiopure form is reported. Compounds 1 and 2 were obtained by a completely selective and unusual cyclodimerization of chiral (2R,1′S)‐ or (2S,1′S)‐2‐(1‐aminoalkyl)epoxides 3 or 4 promoted by a mixture of diisopropylamine and boron trifluoride⋅diethyl etherate complex. The structure of the obtained dioxane was established by single‐crystal X‐ray diffraction analysis. A mechanism has been proposed to explain this transformation.     

(η6‐Arene)ruthenium(N‐heterocyclic carbene) Complexes for the Chelation‐Assisted Arylation and Deuteration of Arylpyridines: Catalytic Studies and Mechanistic Insights

A series of (η⁶‐arene)ruthenium complexes have been tested in the arylation of arylpyridines. One (η⁶‐p‐cymene)ruthenium(N‐heterocyclic carbene) complex (labelled as 1 in the text) was found to be the most effective, being capable of arylating a wide set of substantially different arylpyridines. Complex 1 is also able to promote the regioselective deuteration of a series of arylated N‐heterocycles, via a nitrogen‐directed mechanism. Two of the deuterated amines were used to measure the kinetic isotope effect (KIE) in the arylation process. The detection of an inverse KIE, together with the observation that the C H activation process does not require the addition of a base, suggest that the rate‐limiting step in the arylation process may be different to that of previously reported studies.     

In vitro Characterization of Enzymes Involved in the Synthesis of Nonproteinogenic Residue (2S,3S)‐β‐Methylphenylalanine in Glycopeptide Antibiotic Mannopeptimycin

Mannopeptimycin, a potent drug lead, has superior activity against difficult‐to‐treat multidrug‐resistant Gram‐positive pathogens such as methicillin‐resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). (2S,3S)‐β‐Methylphenylalanine is a residue in the cyclic hexapeptide core of mannopeptimycin, but the synthesis of this residue is far from clear. We report here on the reaction order and the stereochemical course of reaction in the formation of (2S,3S)‐β‐methylphenylalanine. The reaction is executed by the enzymes MppJ and TyrB, an S‐adenosyl methionine (SAM)‐dependent methyltransferase and an (S)‐aromatic‐amino‐acid aminotransferase, respectively. Phenylpyruvic acid is methylated by MppJ at its benzylic position at the expense of one equivalent of SAM. The resulting β‐methyl phenylpyruvic acid is then converted to (2S,3S)‐β‐methylphenylalanine by TyrB. MppJ was further determined to be regioselective and stereoselective in its catalysis of the formation of (3S)‐β‐methylphenylpyruvic acid. The binding constant (K_D) of MppJ versus SAM is 26 μM . The kinetic constants with respect to k_{cat Ppy} and K_{M Ppy}, and k_{cat SAM} and K_{M SAM} are 0.8 s^?1 and 2.5 mM , and 8.15 s^?1 and 0.014 mM , respectively. These results suggest SAM has higher binding affinity for MppJ than Ppy, and the C? C bond formation in βmPpy might be the rate‐limiting step, as opposed to the C? S bond breakage in SAM.     

Efficient Enantioselective Syntheses of Sertraline, 2‐Epicatalponol and Catalponol from Tetralin‐1,4‐dione

Tetralin‐1,4‐dione, the stable tautomer of dihydroxynaphthalene, was reduced with catecholborane in the presence of 3,3‐diphenyl‐1‐butyltetrahydro‐3H‐pyrrolo[1,2‐c][1,3,2]oxazaborole as catalyst to give enantiomerically highly enriched 4‐hydroxy‐1‐tetralone (99% ee) in an efficient one‐pot procedure. The R‐enantiomer provided a rapid access to sertraline while the S‐enantiomer was converted into 2‐epicatalponol and catalponol. A more selective enantioselective route to the antithermitic catalponol made use of the planar chiral tricarbonylchromium complex of hydroxytetralone. Its precursor chromium(tricarbonyl)[η⁶‐(1‐4,4a,8a)‐tetralin‐5,8‐dione] was obtained via direct complexation of 1,4‐dihydroxynaphthalene using chromium(tricarbonyl)‐ tris(ammonia) and boron trifluoride etherate as source of the chromium(tricarbonyl) fragment. Enolate prenylation was best carried out in the presence of a tetraamine ligand. Complete inversion of the stereogenic center bearing the prenyl group of the initially obtained tetralone complex was achieved via enolate formation followed by protonation.     

Stereocontrolled synthesis of the taxol C‐13 side chain: Methyl (2R,3S)‐3‐benzoylamino‐2‐hydroxy‐3‐phenylpropanoate

Addition of lithiated methoxyallene 5 to literature‐known amino aldehyde 3 followed by ozonolysis provided syn‐configurated α‐hydroxy‐β‐amino ester 6 in moderate overall yield and with an ee of 90%. The predominant formation of syn‐compounds may be due to a chelate controlled addition step.     

A Thermostable Aldolase for the Synthesis of 3‐Deoxy‐2‐ulosonic Acids

A stereochemically promiscuous 2‐keto‐3‐deoxygluconate aldolase has been used as an efficient biocatalyst to catalyse the aldol reaction of pyruvate with C₃‐ and C₄‐aldoses to afford syn‐ and anti‐3‐deoxy‐2‐ulosonic acids in poor to good de. A continuous flow bioreactor containing immobilised aldolase has been developed that enables gram quantities of C₆‐ and C₇‐3‐deoxyhept‐2‐ulosonic acids to be produced in an efficient manner.     

Practical Enantioselective Synthesis of β‐Lactones Catalyzed by Aluminum Bissulfonamide Complexes

The development of an efficient and practical aluminum‐bissulfonamide complex catalyzed enantioselective formation of β‐lactones by [2+2] cycloaddition of ketene (generated in situ from acetyl bromide by dehydrobromination) with various α‐unbranched and ‐branched aliphatic aldehydes is presented. The methodology offers the advantage of operational simplicity not only as the ligand synthesis requires just a single sulfonylation step from commercially available enantiomerically pure diamines. The products are formed in high to excellent yields with ee values typically ranging from 78 to 90 % using 10 mol % of the bissulfonamide ligand. The key finding of this work was a remarkable rate acceleration by using an aluminum/ligand ratio of 1.5:1.     

Synthesis of γ‐Fluoro‐α, β‐unsaturated Carboxylic Esters from Saturated α‐Fluoro Aldehydes

γ‐Fluoro‐α, β‐unsaturated carboxylic esters 7a, 7b and 7d and 4‐fluoro‐4‐phenylbut‐3‐enoic ester ( 8 ) are obtained by two alternative pathways from 2‐fluoro aldehydes 5a—d , either by Horner—Wadsworth—Emmons reaction or by Wittig reaction. The aldehydes 5a—d are prepared by Swern oxidation of the corresponding fluorohydrins 4a—d . These are available from α‐olefins by bromofluorination, bromineby‐acetate replacement and subsequent hydrolysis.