Iminium catalysis

Regioselective synthesis of benzonitriles via amino-catalyzed [3+3] benzannulation reaction

A straightforward synthesis of benzonitriles is achieved via amino-catalyzed [3+3] benzannulation of α,β-unsaturated aldehydes and 4-arylsulfonyl-2-butenenitriles. Using pyrrolidine as an organocatalyst via iminium activation, a series of substituted benzonitriles were obtained in good to high yields in a regioselective manner. This reaction can proceed smoothly under mild reaction conditions and without the aid of any metals, additional oxidants, or strong bases, thus making this an efficient and environmentally friendly method to access benzonitriles.

NHC-Catalyzed Cascade Reaction between β-Methyl Enals and Dienones for Quick Construction of Complex Multicyclic Lactones

A NHC-promoted cascade reaction between β-methyl enal and dienone is developed for quick access to multicyclic lactone molecules bearing quaternary chiral carbon centers. Our study constitutes the first 1,6-addition of the acylazolium vinyl enolate γ-carbon via NHC catalysis and provides rapid access to complex lactone molecules that are otherwise difficult to prepare. The structurally sophisticated lactone products bearing up to four fused ring structures are afforded in up to quantitative yields with good to excellent enantioselectivities.

Deuteration of Formyl Groups via a Catalytic Radical H/D Exchange Approach

H/D exchange at formyl groups represents the straightforward approach to C-1 deuterated aldehydes. This transformation has been recently realized by transition metal and NHC carbene catalysis. Mechanistically, all these processes involve an ionic pathway. Herein we report a distinct photoredox catalytic, visible light mediated neutral radical approach. Selective control of highly reactive acyl radical in the energy barrier surmountable, reversible reaction enables driving the formation of deuterated products when an excess of D2O is employed. The power of the H/D exchange process has been demonstrated for not only aromatic aldehydes, but also aliphatic substrates, which have been difficult in transitional metal catalyzed H/D exchange reactions, and for selective late-stage deuterium incorporation into complex structures with uniformly high deuteration level (>90%).

Deconjugated butenolide: a versatile building block for asymmetric catalysis

Deconjugated butenolides have emerged as a popular synthon for the enantioselective synthesis of γ-lactones. This review provides a comprehensive overview on the catalytic asymmetric reactions of deconjugated butenolides reported till date.

A dienamine-mediated deconjugative addition/cyclization cascade of γ,γ-disubstituted enals with carboxylic acid-activated enones: a rapid access to highly functionalized γ-lactones

An aminocatalytic deconjugative addition/cyclization cascade of γ,γ-disubstituted enals with carboxylic acid-activated enones was realized, giving rise to highly functionalized γ-lactones with excellent enantioselectivities.

An asymmetric multicatalytic reaction sequence of 2-hydroxycinnamaldehydes and enolic 1,3-dicarbonyl compounds to construct bridged bicyclic acetals

2-Hydroxycinnamaldehydes and cyclic 1,3-dicarbonyl nucleophiles were used in an asymmetric organocatalyzed reaction sequence to construct bridged bicyclic acetals via a multicatalytic process involving iminium catalysis and anion-binding catalysis.

Foldamer-templated catalysis of macrocycle formation

Macrocycles, compounds containing a ring of 12 or more atoms, find use in human medicine, fragrances, and biological ion sensing. The efficient preparation of macrocycles is a fundamental challenge in synthetic organic chemistry because the high entropic cost of large-ring closure allows undesired intermolecular reactions to compete. Here, we present a bioinspired strategy for macrocycle formation through carbon-carbon bond formation. The process relies on a catalytic oligomer containing α- and β-amino acid residues to template the ring-closing process. The α/β-peptide foldamer adopts a helical conformation that displays a catalytic primary amine-secondary amine diad in a specific three-dimensional arrangement. This catalyst promotes aldol reactions that form rings containing 14 to 22 atoms. Utility is demonstrated in the synthesis of the natural product robustol.

Asymmetric Reactions Enabled by Cooperative Enantioselective Amino- and Lewis Acid Catalysis

Organocatalysis-the branch of catalysis featuring small organic molecules as the catalysts-has, in the last decade, become of central importance in the field of asymmetric catalysis, so much that it is now comparable to metal catalysis and biocatalysis. Organocatalysis is rationalized and classified by a number of so-called activation modes, based on the formation of a covalent or not-covalent intermediate between the organocatalyst and the organic substrate. Among all the organocatalytic activation modes, enamine and iminium catalysis are widely used for the practical preparation of valuable products and intermediates, both in academic and industrial contexts. In both cases, chiral amines are employed as catalysts. Enamine activation mode is generally employed in the reaction with electrophiles, while nucleophiles require the iminium activation mode. Commonly, in both modes, the reaction occurs through well-organized transitions states. A large variety of partners can react with enamines and iminium ions, due to their sufficient nucleophilicity and electrophilicity, respectively. However, despite the success, organocatalysis still suffers from narrow scopes and applications. Multicatalysis is a possible solution for these drawbacks because the two different catalysts can synergistically activate the substrates, with a simultaneous activation of the two different reaction partners. In particular, in this review we will summarize the reported processes featuring Lewis acid catalysis and organocatalytic activation modes synergically acting and not interfering with each other. We will focus our attention on the description of processes in which good results cannot be achieved independently by organocatalysis or Lewis acid catalysis. In these examples of cooperative dual catalysis, a number of new organic transformations have been developed. The review will focus on the possible strategies, the choice of the Lewis acid and the catalytic cycles involved in the effective reported combination. Additionally, some important key points regarding the rationale for the effective combinations will be also included. π-Activation of organic substrates by Lewis acids, via formation of electrophilic intermediates, and their reaction with enamines will be also discussed in this review.

Chiral Hypervalent Iodines: Active Players in Asymmetric Synthesis

Asymmetric organocatalytic oxidations have been witnessed to an impressive development in the last years thanks to the establishment of important chiral hypervalent iodines(III/V). Many different approaches involving both stoichiometric and catalytic versions have provided a fundamental advance in this area within asymmetric synthesis. The easily handing, nontoxic, mild, environmentally friendly (green oxidants), and high stability that are features of these reagents have been applied to many reactions and also have allowed exploring further unprecedented enantioselective transformations. The intention of the present review is thus to highlight as a whole the many approaches utilized up to date to prepare chiral iodines(III/V), as well as their reactivity in a comprehensive manner.

Enamine/Transition Metal Combined Catalysis: Catalytic Transformations Involving Organometallic Electrophilic Intermediates

The concept of merging enamine activation catalysis with transition metal catalysis is an important strategy, which allows for selective chemical transformations not accessible without this combination. The amine catalyst activates the carbonyl compounds through the formation of a reactive nucleophilic enamine intermediate and, in parallel, the transition metal activates a wide range of functionalities such as allylic substrates through the formation of reactive electrophilic π-allyl-metal complex. Since the first report of this strategy in 2006, considerable effort has been devoted to the successful advancement of this technology. In this chapter, these findings are highlighted and discussed.

Enantiodivergence by minimal modification of an acyclic chiral secondary aminocatalyst

The development of enantiodivergent catalysis for the preparation of both enantiomers of a chiral compound is of importance in pharmaceutical and bioorganic chemistry. With the design of a class of reactive and stereoselective organocatalysts, acyclic chiral secondary amines, a method for achieving the enantiodivergence is developed simply by changing the secondary N-i-Bu- to N-Me-group within the catalyst architecture while maintaining the same absolute configuration of the catalysts, which modulates the catalyst conformation. This catalyst-controlled enantiodivergent method not only enables challenging asymmetric transformations to occur in an enantiodivergent manner but also features a high level of stereocontrol and broad scope that is demonstrated in eight different reactions (90 examples), all delivering both enantiomers of a range of structurally diverse products including hitherto less accessible, yet important, compounds in good yields with high stereoselectivities.

Enantiodivergent methods, which to access both enantiomers of the same compound, are of importance in drug synthesis. Here, the authors show that by simply changing a NiBu- to a NMe-group in readily available amine organocatalysts, high stereocontrol and broad scope are achieved in eight asymmetric reactions.

Practical Synthesis of C-1 Deuterated Aldehydes Enabled by NHC Catalysis

The recent surge in applications of deuterated pharmaceutical agents has created an urgent demand for synthetic methods that efficiently generate deuterated building blocks. Here we show that N-heterocyclic carbenes (NHC) promote a reversible hydrogen-deuterium exchange (HDE) reaction with simple aldehydes, which leads to a practical approach to synthetically valuable C-1 deuterated aldehydes. The reactivity of the well-established NHC catalysed formation of Breslow intermediates from aldehydes is reengineered to overcome the overwhelmingly kinetically favorable, irreversible benzoin condensation reaction and achieve the critical reversibility to drive the formation of desired deuterated products when an excess of D₂O is employed. Notably, this operationally simple and cost-effective protocol serves as a general and truly practical approach to all types of 1-D-aldehydes including aryl, -alkyl and -alkenyl aldehydes and enables chemoselective late-stage deuterium incorporation into complex, native therapeutic agents and natural products with uniformly high levels (>95%) of deuterium incorporation for a total of 104 substrates tested.

Advances in the Asymmetric Total Synthesis of Natural Products Using Chiral Secondary Amine Catalyzed Reactions of α,β-Unsaturated Aldehydes

Chirality is one of the most important attributes for its presence in a vast majority of bioactive natural products and pharmaceuticals. Asymmetric organocatalysis methods have emerged as a powerful methodology for the construction of highly enantioenriched structural skeletons of the target molecules. Due to their extensive application of organocatalysis in the total synthesis of bioactive molecules and some of them have been used in the industrial synthesis of drugs have attracted increasing interests from chemists. Among the chiral organocatalysts, chiral secondary amines (MacMillan's catalyst and Jorgensen's catalyst) have been especially considered attractive strategies because of their impressive efficiency. Herein, we outline advances in the asymmetric total synthesis of natural products and relevant drugs by using the strategy of chiral secondary amine catalyzed reactions of α,β-unsaturated aldehydes in the last eighteen years.

Benzoxazine Formation Mechanism Evaluation by Direct Observation of Reaction Intermediates

Benzoxazine formation is a fundamental step in the preparation of polybenzoxazine resins, and a detailed description of the mechanism governing the formation of benzoxazine and side products is vital for improving the properties and performance of these resins. Determination of the nature and properties of reaction intermediates is not trivial. Therefore, a Mannich-type condensation of aniline, formaldehyde, and phenol was evaluated as a potential method to form benzoxazine. Coupling positive mode electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (ESI(+)-MS) with infrared multiple photon dissociation (IRMPD) spectroscopy allowed unambiguous determination of an iminium-based mechanism and the direct observation of iminium intermediates. The benzoxazine formation mechanism was indirectly confirmed by the observation of side products that are relevant to the polymerization step, and directly confirmed by the identification of four distinct reaction intermediates that were completely characterized by IRMPD spectroscopy. The benzoxazine monomer was also shown to undergo isomerization under standard ESI-MS analysis conditions, suggesting the presence of a mixture of three isomers during their usual ESI-MS analysis.

The Quinary Catalyst-Substrate Complex Induced Construction of Spiro-Bridged or Cagelike Polyheterocyclic Compounds via a Substrate-Controlled Cascade Process

The asymmetric organocatalytic cascade reaction of cyclic β-oxo aldehydes to 2-hydroxycinnamaldehydes is developed. The bifunctional tertiary amine-thiourea catalyst was used in a rationally designed multiple catalysis where the asymmetric iminium catalysis and thiourea anion-binding catalysis were combined by carboxylate anion as a ternary catalytic system to form a quinary catalyst-substrate complex, providing an efficient protocol for the construction of enantioenriched spiro-bridged or cagelike polyheterocyclic compounds. The reuse of catalysts was also successfully realized.

Recent Advances in the Synthesis of 2H-Pyrans

In this review, we discuss the nature of the different physicochemical factors affecting the valence isomerism between 2H-pyrans (2HPs) and 1-oxatrienes, and we describe the most versatile synthetic methods reported in recent literature to access to 2HPs, with the only exception of 2HPs fused to aromatic rings (i.e., 2H-chromenes), which are not included in this review.

Recent advances in the catalytic asymmetric alkylation of stabilized phosphorous ylides

The Wittig reaction is a reliable method for synthesizing alkenes from phosphorous ylides (P-ylides) and carbonyls, and is thus widely applied in medicine and pharmaceutical production. Among them, asymmetric Wittig reactions using chiral P-ylides are believed to be a conventional pathway towards chiral alkenes. Obviously, the key of this transformation is the efficient construction of chiral P-ylides. Over the past decade, the coupling of the in situ generated chiral P-ylides through the catalytic asymmetric alkylation of easily available P-ylides and the subsequent Wittig reaction with carbonyls has already been achieved, allowing the efficient and selective synthesis of versatile chiral alkenes. This review highlights these impressive advances according to the catalysis type, and the general mechanisms and stereochemical inductions are briefly discussed as well. We hope this article will be a useful reference and inspiration for those who are exploring new methods and new applications of chiral P-ylides.

On the origins of stereoselectivity in the aminocatalytic remote alkylation of 5-alkylfurfurals

In the manuscript, computational studies on the remote alkylation of 5-alkylfurfurals proceeding via formation of the corresponding trienamine intermediate are presented. By the means of density functional theory (DFT) calculations and the symmetry-adapted perturbation theory (SAPT) method, interesting insights into the mechanism of the reaction have been provided explaining the influence and contribution of different molecular interactions on the observed reactivity as well as on the enantio- and diastereoselectivity of the process. The studies have been extended to the thiophene analogue of the starting furfural derivative and the results obtained verified experimentally.

Enantioselective Construction of Octahydroquinolines via Trienamine-Mediated Diels-Alder Reactions

A trienamine-mediated asymmetric Diels-Alder reaction using a 5-nitro-2,3-dihydro-4-pyridone derivative as a dienophile in the presence of a secondary amine organocatalyst derived from cis-hydroxyproline was discovered. The reaction provides optically active octahydroquinolines through an endo-selective [4 + 2] cyclization pathway. The following stereoselective denitration, isomerization, and/or hydrogenation generated divergent stereoisomers of decahydroquinolines, which are useful synthons for the total synthesis of Lycopodium alkaloids.

Synthesis of Chiral, Densely Substituted Pyrrolidones via Phosphine-Catalyzed Cycloisomerization

Densely substituted chiral pyrrolidones are synthesized via phosphine-catalyzed cycloisomerization of enantioenriched β-amino ynones, which are prepared in a single step using a highly enantioselective Zn-ProPhenol-catalyzed Mannich reaction. The exocyclic alkenes in the cyclization products provide versatile handles for further transformations and typically form with good E/ Z selectivity. This cycloisomerization method can be performed in streamlined fashion, without purification of the intermediate Mannich adduct, and extends to anthranilic acid based scaffolds in addition to ProPhenol-derived Mannich adducts.

A multi-substrate screening approach for the identification of a broadly applicable Diels-Alder catalyst

When developing a synthetic methodology, chemists generally optimize a single substrate and then explore the substrate scope of their method. This approach has led to innumerable and widely-used chemical reactions. However, it frequently provides methods that only work on model substrate-like compounds. Perhaps worse, reaction conditions that would enable the conversion of other substrates may be missed. We now show that a different approach, originally proposed by Kagan, in which a collection of structurally distinct substrates are evaluated in a single reaction vessel, can not only provide information on the substrate scope at a much earlier stage in methodology development, but even lead to a broadly applicable synthetic methodology. Using this multi-substrate screening approach, we have identified an efficient and stereoselective imidodiphosphorimidate organocatalyst for scalable Diels-Alder reactions of cyclopentadiene with different classes of α,β-unsaturated aldehydes.

Secondary amine salt catalyzed controlled activation of 2-deoxy sugar lactols towards alpha-selective dehydrative glycosylation

A new organocatalytic glycosylation method exploiting the lactol functionality has been disclosed. The catalytic generation of glycosyl oxacarbenium ions from lactols under forcible conditions via weakly Brønsted-acidic, readily available secondary amine salts affects the diastereoselective glycosylation of 2-deoxypyranoses and furanoses. This operationally simple iminium catalyzed activation of 2-deoxy hemi-acetals is a potential alternative to the existing cumbersome methods that need specialized handling. The mechanisms for this unique transformation and kinetic/thermodynamic effects have been discussed based on both experimental evidence and theoretical studies.

Pyrrolidine-Oxadiazolone Conjugates as Organocatalysts in Asymmetric Michael Reaction

Pyrrolidine-oxadiazolone based organocatalysts are envisaged, synthesized, and utilized for asymmetric Michael reactions. Results of the investigations suggest that some of the catalysts are indeed efficient for stereoselective 1,4-conjugated Michael additions (dr: >97:3, ee up to 99%) in high chemical yields (up to 97%) often in short reaction time. As an extension, one enantiopure Michael adduct has been utilized to synthesize optically active octahydroindole.