Organocatalytic oxidation. Asymmetric epoxidation of olefins catalyzed by chiral ketones and iminium salts

New biphenyl iminium salt catalysts for highly enantioselective asymmetric epoxidation: role of additional substitution and dihedral angle

New biaryl iminium salt catalysts for enantioselective alkene epoxidation containing additional substitution in the heterocyclic ring are reported. The effects upon conformation and enantioselectivity of this additional substitution, and the influence of dihedral angle in these systems, has been investigated using a synthetic approach supported by density functional theory. Enantioselectivities of up to 97% ee were observed.

Metal-Catalyzed Directed Regio- and Enantioselective Ring-Opening of Epoxides

Control of regio- and stereoselectivity of chemical reactions is the central theme in synthetic chemistry. Regioselective and enantiospecific ring opening of readily available enantioenriched epoxides precursors provides a straightforward access to diverse highly functionalized molecules which can serve as chiral building blocks for synthesis of biologically active compounds. However, prior to our research work, the scope of catalytic highly regioselective ring opening of epoxides is limited to structurally or electronically biased epoxides, such as terminal and aromatic epoxides. Regioselective ring-opening of epoxides with substituents on both sides demonstrating similar steric and electronic effects is still a formidable challenge for organic chemists. To address this challenge, our approach is to use the readily available functional moiety incorporated in an epoxide as a directing group to realize the regioselective nucleophilic attack on the oxirane ring. Alternatively, asymmetric ring-opening of epoxides can also provide the ring-opening products in highly enantioenriched form. However, excellent results are usually obtained in the case of the kinetic resolution of terminal epoxides or the desymmetrization of meso-epoxides. In these cases, the issue of regiocontrol of the ring-opening is circumvented or minimized. Based on our successful results of regioselective ring-opening of functionalized epoxides by implementing the directed ring-opening strategy, we also investigated the enantioselective ring-opening of internal epoxides bearing a functional moiety as directing group. This Account summarizes our research on metal-catalyzed directed ring-opening reactions of epoxides, which encompasses the following breakthroughs: (1) highly regioselective ring-opening of various substrates including epoxy allylic alcohols, epoxy homoallylic alcohols and epoxy allylic sulfonamides with a variety of N-, O-, and halide-nucleophiles catalyzed by W-, Mo-, or Ni-salt; (2) first kinetic resolutions of epoxy allylic alcohols, epoxy homoallylic alcohols, and epoxy allylic sulfonamides with various amines as nucleophiles, which were catalyzed by W-bishydroxamic acid (W-BHA), nickel-BINAM, and Gd-N,N'-dioxide catalytic system, respectively; (3) successful implementation of the strategy of combined asymmetric syntheses by the combination of the enantioselective epoxidation and the enantioselective ring-opening of 2,3-epoxy alcohols establishing a new entry to prepare amino alcohols in regio-, diastereo-, and enantiomerically pure form.

Synthesis of enantiopure 1,2-azido and 1,2-amino alcohols via regio- and stereoselective ring-opening of enantiopure epoxides by sodium azide in hot water

A practical and convenient method for the efficient and regio- and stereoselective ring-opening of enantiopure monosubstituted epoxides by sodium azide under hydrolytic conditions is reported. The ring-opening of enantiopure styryl and pyridyl (S)-epoxides by N3- in hot water takes place preferentially at the internal position with complete inversion of configuration to produce (R)-2-azido ethanols with up to 99% enantio- and regioselectivity, while the (S)-adamantyl oxirane provides mainly the (S)-1-adamantyl-2-azido ethanol in excellent yield. In general, 1,2-amino ethanols were obtained in high yield and excellent enantiopurity by the reduction of the chiral 1,2-azido ethanols with PPh3 in water/THF, and then converted into the Boc or acetamide derivatives.

Synthesis of functionalized amino epoxides by a three-component coupling involving aziridines, arynes and aldehydes

A three-component coupling of arynes, aziridines and aldehydes/isatins resulting in the synthesis of N-aryl α-amino epoxides has been demonstrated.

Novel chiral Schiff base/Ti(iv) catalysts for the catalytic asymmetric epoxidation of N-alkenyl sulfonamides

A novel highly enantioselective Schiff base/Ti(iv) catalyst for the catalytic asymmetric epoxidation of a series of N-alkenyl sulfonamides under mild conditions was described.

Sultones and Sultines via a Julia-Kocienski Reaction of Epoxides

The development of the homologous Julia–Kocienski reaction has led to the discovery of two new reaction modes of epoxides with sulfones. These pathways allow rapid and direct access to a range of γ-sultones and γ-sultines.

Synthesis of virtually enantiopure aminodiols with three adjacent stereogenic centers by epoxidation and ring-opening

A virtually complete enantioselective synthesis of 3-amino-1,2-diols with three consecutive stereocenters was accomplished by a sequential cascade of two kinetic resolutions, which features a Sharpless or Hafnium-catalyzed asymmetric epoxidation and a subsequent W-catalyzed aminolysis. Enantiopure products with up to >99.9% ee and >99.9 : 0.1 dr were obtained and could serve as potential building blocks for pharmaceutical or biological significant molecules.

Asymmetric Epoxidation Using Hydrogen Peroxide as Oxidant

Asymmetric epoxidation is one of the most important transformations in organic synthesis. Although tremendous progress was achieved in this field in the 1980s and 1990s, it is still desirable from both economical and ecological views to develop environmentally friendly catalytic epoxidation with a broad substrate scope. Hydrogen peroxide is a safe and cheap oxidant, which is easy to handle and generates water as the sole byproduct. Therefore, asymmetric epoxidation of olefins using hydrogen peroxide as oxidant has been a very active research field and has been investigated by many research groups in recent years. In this review, the exciting very recent developments of this rapidly growing area are surveyed and organized according to the catalyst systems.

Studies on the regio- and diastereo-selective epoxidation of daphnanes and tiglianes

Daphnanes and tiglianes are diterpenes with a shared tricyclic 5-7-6 ring system. Many members exhibit significant biological activities often associated with protein kinase C signaling. Many of these natural products (~100) have a C6-C7 α-epoxide whose influence on biological activity is little studied. Using the more readily available phorbol ester PDBu as a test substrate, we report an efficient, and potentially general, α-epoxidation method based on a vanadium-catalyzed asymmetric epoxidation with bishydroxamic acid (BHA) ligands.

Activating tert-butyl hydroperoxide by chelated vanadates for stereoselectively preparing sidechain-functionalized tetrahydrofurans

tert-Butyl hydroperoxide (TBHP) stereoselectively oxidizes substituted 4-pentenols, when activated by (ethyl)[cis-(piperidine-2,6-diyl)dimethyl] vanadates. The reaction affords (tetrahydrofuran-2-yl)methanols in up to 89% yield, and in stereoselectivity ranging between moderate (cis:trans=32:68) to excellent (>99:1). Correlating structures of 4-pentenols, differing by substitution at tetragonal and trigonal stereocenters, to configuration of products obtained from oxidative cyclization provides a reaction model explaining the origin of stereoselectivity by (i) intramolecular oxygen atom transfer to (ii) a chair-like folded alkenol, being (iii) hydrogen-bonded to one of the two aminodiolate oxygens of the chelated vanadate, having (iv) substituents in the chair-like transition structure preferentially aligned equatorially. Substituents at trigonal stereocenters improve 2,5-cis- and 2,4-trans-selectivity for oxidative 4-pentenol cyclization in case of (Z)-configuration. An (E)-substituent does not alter selectivity exerted by a terminal (Z)-substituent of similar steric size. Larger (E)-groups increase the fraction of 2,5-trans-cyclized products. The reaction model additionally implements results from vanadium-51 NMR spectroscopy and density functional theory. According to theory, the (dialkoxy)(oxo)vanadium substituent exerts in the preferred end-on conformation almost no effect on structure and bonding of the peroxide group in tert-butylperoxy vanadates. Changing conformation to a higher in energy side-on arrangement puts the vanadate-bound tert-butylperoxy group into a position to serve in a concerted reaction as combined electron acceptor and oxygen atom donor.

Chiral octahedral complexes of Co(iii) as catalysts for asymmetric epoxidation of chalcones under phase transfer conditions

Stereochemically inert and positively charged chiral complexes of Co(iii) were shown to catalyze the asymmetric epoxidation of chalcones with H₂O₂ under phase transfer conditions.

Function-Oriented Investigations of a Peptide-Based Catalyst that Mediates Enantioselective Allylic Alcohol Epoxidation

We detail an investigation of a peptide-based catalyst 6 that is effective for the site- (>100:1:1) and enantioselective epoxidation (86% ee) of farnesol. Studies of the substrate scope exhibited by the catalyst are included, along with an exploration of optimized reaction conditions. Mechanistic studies are reported, including relative rate determinations for the catalyst and propionic acid, a historical perspective, truncation studies, and modeling using NMR data. Our compiled data advances our understanding of the inner workings of a catalyst that was identified through combinatorial means.

Asymmetric epoxidation of olefins with hydrogen peroxide by an in situ-formed manganese complex

Asymmetric epoxidation of a variety of cis, trans, terminal, and trisubstituted olefins in excellent yields (up to 94%) and enantioselectivities (>99% ee) by an in situ-formed manganese complex using H2O2 has been developed. A relationship between the hydrophobicity of the catalyst imposed by ligand and the catalytic activity has been observed. The influence of the amount and identity of the acid additive was examined, and improved enantioselectivities were achieved through the use of a catalytic amount of a carboxylic acid additive.

Asymmetric organocatalytic epoxidations: reactions, scope, mechanisms, and applications

Chiral epoxides serve as versatile building blocks in the synthesis of complex organic frameworks. The high strain imposed by the three-membered ring system makes epoxides prone to a variety of nucleophilic ring-opening reactions. Since the development of the Sharpless epoxidation, there have been many important contributions and advances in this area. With the rapid development of the field of asymmetric organocatalysis, a wide range of organocatalysts is now able to catalyze the epoxidation of broad class of unsaturated carbonyl compounds. In this Minireview, recent progress in the development of organocatalytic asymmetric epoxidation methods, the proposed mechanisms of these reactions and their applications as intermediates is reported.

Concise stereoselective total synthesis of (+)-muricatacin and (+)-epi-muricatacin

Efficient stereoselective total synthesis of (+)-muricatacin (1) and (+)-epi-muricatacin (8) was accomplished from commercially available chemical pent-4-ynoic acid via Shi's asymmetric epoxidation and Mitsunobu reaction as the key steps in 17.8% and 26.9% overall yields, respectively.