Meldrum's acids and 5-alkylidene Meldrum's acids in catalytic carbon-carbon bond-forming processes

Ketene-Based Route to rigid Cyclobutanediol Monomers for the Replacement of BPA in High Performance Polyesters

Recently, polyesters based on the diol monomer 2,2,4,4-tetramethyl-1,3-cyclobutanediol (TMCBDO) have been shown to exhibit excellent thermal stability, mechanical properties, and optical clarity. In particular, the ability of TMCBDO to replace bisphenol A as a diol monomer in polycarbonates and polyesters has resulted in significant commercial and academic interest in these types of monomers. Herein, we report a versatile synthetic strategy based on the dimerization of ketenes derived from the thermal treatment of Meldrum's acid for the synthesis of structurally diverse cyclobutanediol (CBDO) monomers. This strategy allows a library of CBDO monomers amenable to standard polyester polymerization procedures to be prepared and the structural diversity of these CBDO monomers provides polymers with tunable physical properties, such as glass transition temperature ranging from 120 to 230 °C. The versatility and modularity of this Meldrum's acid-based approach to substituted cyclobutanediols, combined with the ease of synthesis, will be important for the further development of high-performance polyester materials that are not based on bisphenol A.

Cu(II)-catalyzed aerobic hydroperoxidation of Meldrum's acid derivatives and application in intramolecular oxidation: a conceptual blueprint for O2/H2 dihydroxylation

Aerobic hydroperoxidation of Meldrum's acid derivatives via a Cu(II)-catalyzed process is presented. The mild reaction conditions are tolerant to pendant unsaturation allowing the formation of endoperoxides via electrophilic activation. Cleavage of the O-O bond provides 1,n-diols with differentiation of the hydroxy groups.

Cyclopolymerization To Synthesize Conjugated Polymers Containing Meldrum's Acid as a Precursor for Ketene Functionality

Recently, the importance of Meldrum's acid has been reinvestigated because it serves as a great precursor for ketene generation by thermolysis. In this study, we synthesized conjugated polymers containing Meldrum's acid via controlled cyclopolymerization using a third-generation Grubbs catalyst. To avoid the solubility issue, copolymerization with soluble monomers was successfully used to provide various random and block copolymers containing Meldrum's acid in the conjugated backbone. Interestingly, when a polyacetylene derivative containing Meldrum's acid was incorporated into the second block of the diblock copolymers, highly stable core-shell supramolecules spontaneously formed during the polymerization via in situ nanoparticlization of conjugated polymer. This direct fabrication of nanostructures without requiring any post-treatments was due to the strong π-π interactions and the insolubility of the polyacetylene segment leading to the formation of core in situ. Moreover, thermolysis of Meldrum's acid to generate ketene in the conjugated polymer core was monitored by IR, and its consecutive cycloaddition to afford the cross-linked core improved the stability of the supramolecules.

Palladium-catalyzed asymmetric conjugate addition of arylboronic acids to five-, six-, and seven-membered β-substituted cyclic enones: enantioselective construction of all-carbon quaternary stereocenters

The first enantioselective Pd-catalyzed construction of all-carbon quaternary stereocenters via 1,4-addition of arylboronic acids to β-substituted cyclic enones is reported. Reaction of a wide range of arylboronic acids and cyclic enones using a catalyst prepared from Pd(OCOCF(3))(2) and a chiral pyridinooxazoline ligand yields enantioenriched products bearing benzylic stereocenters. Notably, this transformation is tolerant to air and moisture, providing a practical and operationally simple method of synthesizing enantioenriched all-carbon quaternary stereocenters.

Facile synthesis and biological evaluation of 3,3-diphenylpropanoyl piperazines as T-type calcium channel blockers

We have developed a facile synthesis of 3,3-diphenylpropanamides using Meldrum's acid derivatives as amide coupling components. The in vitro biological evaluation of the title compounds led to the identification of compound 1h, which has good inhibitory activity against T-type calcium channel (IC(50) = 0.83 μM).

Metal-catalyzed asymmetric conjugate addition reaction: formation of quaternary stereocenters

All-carbon quaternary stereocenters are ubiquitous motifs in biological products and pharmaceutical agents. However, due to sterical reasons, these centers are not always easily accessible. The metal-catalyzed conjugate addition reaction to trisubstituted conjugated substrates presents a viable methodology to create quaternary centers. In this article, different ways of activating the conjugate system towards nucleophilic addition will be described. An overview will be given on the different types of quaternary centers that are accessible through the conjugate addition reaction.