Enantioselective Synthesis of Chiral β-Aryloxy Alcohols by Ruthenium-Catalyzed Ketone Hydrogenation via Dynamic Kinetic Resolution (DKR)

Recent advances in the total synthesis of galantamine, a natural medicine for Alzheimer's disease

Covering: 2006 to 2023(-)-Galantamine is a natural product with distinctive structural features and potent inhibitory activity against acetylcholine esterase (AChE). It is clinically approved for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease. The clinical significance and scarcity of this natural product have prompted extensive and ongoing efforts towards the chemical synthesis of this challenging tetracyclic structure. The objective of this review is to summarize and discuss recent progress in the total synthesis of galantamine from 2006 to 2023. The contents are organized according to the synthetic strategies for the construction of the quaternary center. Key features of each synthesis have been highlighted, followed by a summary and outlook at the end.

Synthetic Approaches to α-, β-, γ-, and δ-lycoranes

Lycorane is a pentacyclic core presented in alkaloids isolated from the Amaryllidaceae family of herbaceous flowering plants. Members of this class of natural products have shown to display important biological properties including analgesic, antiviral, and antiproliferative activities. This review presents the known synthetic routes toward α-, β-, γ-, and δ-lycoranes. α-(19 routes), β-(10 routes), γ-(38 routes), and δ-(6 routes).

Reducing Challenges in Organic Synthesis with Stereoselective Hydrogenation and Tandem Catalysis

Tandem catalysis enables the rapid construction of complex architectures from simple building blocks. This Perspective shares our interest in combining stereoselective hydrogenation with transformations such as isomerization, oxidation, and epimerization to solve diverse challenges. We highlight the use of tandem hydrogenation for preparing complex natural products from simple prochiral building blocks and present tandem catalysis involving transfer hydrogenation and dynamic kinetic resolution. Finally, we underline recent breakthroughs and opportunities for asymmetric hydrogenation.

Hydrogenation of α,β-Unsaturated Carbonyl Compounds over Covalently Heterogenized Ru(II) Diphosphine Complexes on AlPO4-Sepiolite Supports

In this work, the covalent immobilization of two ruthenium(II) complexes, i.e., [RuIICl (bpea){(S)(-)(BINAP)}](BF4), 1, and [RuIICl(bpea)(DPPE)](BF4), 2, where BINAP = 2,2’-bis(diphenylphosphino)-1,1’-binaphthyl and DPPE = 1,2-bis(diphenylphosphino)ethane, have been obtained (AlPO4-Sepiolite@1 and AlPO4-Sepiolite@2) by using a N-tridentate ligand N,N-bis-(2-pyridylmethyl)ethylamine (bpea), linked to an amorphous AlPO4-Sepiolite (20/80) inorganic support. This AlPO4-sepiolite support is able to immobilize the double amount of ruthenium complex (1.65%) than the amorphous AlPO4 (0.89%). Both heterogenized complexes have been assessed as catalysts in the liquid phase hydrogenation of several substrates with carbonyl and/or olefinic double bonds using methanol as solvent, attaining good catalytic activity and high enantioselectivity (99%). The highest Turn Over Number (TON) value (748.6) was obtained over the [RuII Cl (bpea)(DPPE)](BF4) 2 catalyst, although the [RuIICl(bpea){(S)(-)(BINAP)}](BF4) 1 exhibits better reusability. In fact, the [RuIICl(bpea){(S)(-)(BINAP)}](BF4) immobilized on AlPO4-Sepiolite maintained the activity throughout 14 successive runs. Furthermore, some findings on hydrogenation mechanisms of the α,β-unsaturated carbonyl compounds over Ru catalysts have been also obtained.

Palladium-catalyzed asymmetric hydrogenation of 2-aryl cyclic ketones for the synthesis of trans cycloalkanols through dynamic kinetic resolution under acidic conditions

The first efficient palladium-catalyzed asymmetric hydrogenation of 2-aryl cyclic ketones has been described through dynamic kinetic resolution under acidic conditions, providing a facile access to chiral trans cycloalkanols.

One-Step Regioselective Synthesis of Benzofurans from Phenols and α-Haloketones

Reported here is the direct synthesis of naphthofurans and benzofurans from readily available phenols and α-haloketones promoted by titanium tetrachloride which combines Friedel–Crafts-like alkylation and intramolecular cyclodehydration into one step. This simple protocol allows for the formation of a variety of high value naphthofurans and benzofurans within which a series of cyclic and acyclic groups are readily incorporated. This process demonstrates the advantages of high levels of regioselectivity, broad substrate scope, and moderate to excellent yields.

Dearomatization of naphthols using oxy-allyl cations: efficient construction of α-all-carbon quaternary center-containing 2-(2-oxocycloalkyl)cycloalkyl diketones

An efficient strategy for the dearomatization of both α- and β-naphthols using in situ generated oxy-allyl cations is reported.

Recent advances on the total synthesis of alkaloids in mainland China

Alkaloids are a large family of natural products that mostly contain basic nitrogen atoms. Because of their intriguing structures and important functions, they have long been popular targets for synthetic organic chemists. China's chemists have made significant progress in the area of alkaloid synthesis over past decades. In this article, selected total syntheses of alkaloids from research groups in mainland China during the period 2011–16 are highlighted.

Advances in Stereoconvergent Catalysis from 2005 to 2015: Transition-Metal-Mediated Stereoablative Reactions, Dynamic Kinetic Resolutions, and Dynamic Kinetic Asymmetric Transformations

Stereoconvergent catalysis is an important subset of asymmetric synthesis that encompasses stereoablative transformations, dynamic kinetic resolutions, and dynamic kinetic asymmetric transformations. Initially, only enzymes were known to catalyze dynamic kinetic processes, but recently various synthetic catalysts have been developed. This Review summarizes major advances in nonenzymatic, transition-metal-promoted dynamic asymmetric transformations reported between 2005 and 2015.

Synthesis of Disubstituted 3-Phenylimidazo[1,2-a]pyridines via a 2-Aminopyridine/CBrCl3 α-Bromination Shuttle

A versatile protocol for the synthesis of disubstituted 3-phenylimidazo[1,2-a]pyridines by coupling 2-aminopyridine with phenylacetophenones, phenylacetones, or β-tetralone has been developed. Isolated yields of up to 97% were obtained at 80 °C within 5 h. The 2-aminopyridine/CBrCl₃ system acts as an α-bromination shuttle by transferring Br from CBrCl₃ to the α-carbon of the carbonyl moiety. This triggers a series of steps with double C-N/C-N bond formation to the final product. The distinct advantages of this protocol include the use of commercially available inexpensive substrates, simplicity of a metal-free one-pot synthesis, and ease of scale-up to multigram quantities.

Biocatalytic reduction of racemic 2-arenoxycycloalkanones by yeasts P. glucozyma and C. glabrata: one way of achieving chiral 2-arenoxycycloalcohols

Chiral β-aryloxy alcohols are interesting building blocks that form part of drugs like β adrenergic antagonists. Acquiring cyclic rigid analogs to obtain more selective drugs is interesting. Thus, we used whole cells of yeast strains Pichia glucozyma and Candida glabrata to catalyze the reduction of several 2-arenoxycycloalkanones to produce chiral 2-arenoxycycloalcohols with good/excellent enantioselectivity. In both cases, the alcohol configuration that resulted from the carbonyl group reduction was S. Yeast P. glucozyma allowed the conversion of both enantiomers of the starting material to produce 2-arenoxycycloalcohols with configuration (1S, 2R) and (1S, 2S). The reaction with C. glabrata nearly always allowed the kinetic resolution of the starting ketone, recovering 2-arenoxycycloalkanone with configuration S and (1S, 2R)-2-arenoxycycloalcohol.All the four possible stereoisomers of 2-phenoxycyclohexanol and the two enantiomers of 2-phenoxycyclohexanone were obtained by combining the biocatalyzed reaction with the oxidation/reduction of the chiral compounds with standard reagents. This is a simple approach for the synthesis of the rigid chiral moiety 2-arenoxycycloalcohols contained in putative β-blockers 2-arenoxycycloalkanepropanolamines.

Efficient catalytic-free method to produce α-aryl cycloalkanones through highly chemoselective coupling of aryl compounds with oxyallyl cations

Efficient catalytic-free method to produce α-aryl cycloalkanones through highly chemoselective coupling of aryl compounds with oxyallyl cations at room temperature.