Aziridinium Ylides: Underutilized Intermediates for Complex Amine Synthesis

Harnessing the chemistry of onium ylide intermediates generated from transition metal catalysis is a powerful strategy to convert simple precursors into complex scaffolds. While the chemistry of onium ylides has been studied for over three decades, transformations of aziridinium ylides have just recently emerged as a versatile way to exploit the strain of these reactive intermediates to furnish densely functionalized N-heterocycles in a highly stereocontrolled manner. Herein, we provide a short overview of the key concepts and recent developments in this area, with a focus on how mechanistic studies to delineate the factors controlling the reactivity of aziridinium ylides can stimulate fruitful future investigations.

Intermolecular [3+3] ring expansion of aziridines to dehydropiperi-dines through the intermediacy of aziridinium ylides

The importance of N-heterocycles in drugs has stimulated diverse methods for their efficient syntheses. Methods that introduce significant stereochemical complexity are attractive for identifying new bioactive amine chemical space. Here, we report a [3 + 3] ring expansion of bicyclic aziridines and rhodium-bound vinyl carbenes to form complex dehydropiperidines in a highly stereocontrolled rearrangement. Mechanistic studies and DFT computations indicate that the reaction proceeds through formation of a vinyl aziridinium ylide; this reactive intermediate undergoes a pseudo-[1,4]-sigmatropic rearrangement to directly furnish heterocyclic products with net retention at the new C-C bond. In combination with asymmetric silver-catalyzed aziridination, enantioenriched scaffolds with up to three contiguous stereocenters are rapidly delivered. The mild reaction conditions, functional group tolerance, and high stereospecificity of this method are well-suited for appending piperidine motifs to natural product and complex molecules. Ultimately, our work establishes the value of underutilized aziridinium ylides as key intermediates for converting small, strained rings to larger N-heterocycles.

Rh(II)-Catalyzed Nitrene-Transfer [5 + 1] Cycloadditions of Aryl-Substituted Vinylcyclopropanes

Formal [5 + 1] cycloadditions between aryl-substituted vinylcyclopropanes and nitrenoid precursors are reported. The method, which employs Rh₂(esp)₂ as a catalyst, leads to the highly regioselective formation of substituted tetrahydropyridines. Preliminary mechanistic studies support a stepwise, polar mechanism enabled by the previously observed Lewis acidity of Rh-nitrenoids. Overall, this work expands the application of nitrene-transfer cycloaddition, a relatively underexplored approach to heterocycle synthesis, to the formation of six-membered rings.

Enantioselective Functionalization of Enamides at the β-Carbon Center with Indoles

We report an enantioconvergent approach for the functionalization of enamides at the β-carbon atom, which involves a chiral Brønsted acid induced tautomerization of 2-amidoallyl into 1-amidoallyl cations. These putative reactive intermediates were produced by ionization of racemic α-hydroxy enamides with a chiral Brønsted acid and captured with substituted indoles in a highly regio- and enantioselective manner.

A Stereoselective [3+1] Ring Expansion for the Synthesis of Highly Substituted Methylene Azetidines

The reaction of rhodium-bound carbenes with strained bicyclic methylene aziridines results in a formal [3+1] ring expansion to yield highly substituted methylene azetidines with excellent regio- and stereoselectivity. The reaction appears to proceed through an ylide-type mechanism, where the unique strain and structure of the methylene aziridine promotes a ring-opening/ring-closing cascade that efficiently transfers chirality from substrate to product. The resultant products can be elaborated into new azetidine scaffolds containing vicinal tertiary-quaternary and even quaternary-quaternary stereocenters.