NHC‐Catalyzed Chemoselective Reactions of Enals and Aminobenzaldehydes for Access to Chiral Dihydroquinolines

Kinetic Resolution of 2-Aryldihydroquinolines Using Lithiation - Synthesis of Chiral 1,2- and 1,4-Dihydroquinolines

Highly enantiomerically enriched dihydrohydroquinolines were prepared in two steps from quinoline. Addition of aryllithiums to quinoline with tert-butoxycarbonyl (Boc) protection gave N-Boc-2-aryl-1,2-dihydroquinolines. These were treated with n-butyllithium and electrophilic trapping occurred exclusively at C-4 of the dihydroquinoline, a result supported by DFT studies. Variable temperature NMR spectroscopy gave kinetic data for the barrier to rotation of the carbonyl group (ΔG≠ ≈49 kJ mol-1 , 195 K). Lithiation using the diamine sparteine allowed kinetic resolutions with high enantioselectivities (enantiomer ratio up to 99 : 1). The enantioenriched 1,2-dihydroquinolines could be converted to 1,4-dihydroquinolines with retention of stereochemistry. Further functionalisation led to trisubstituted products. Reduction provided enantioenriched tetrahydroquinolines, whereas acid-promoted removal of Boc led to quinolines, and this was applied to a synthesis of the antimalarial compound M5717.

Revealing the Similarities of α,β-Unsaturated Iminiums and Acylazoliums in Organocatalysis

The secondary amine-catalyzed reactions proceeding via α,β-unsaturated iminiums and the N-heterocyclic carbene (NHC)-catalyzed transformations taking place via α,β-unsaturated acylazoliums are the two widely used electrophilic intermediates in organocatalysis. Over the last two decades, these two intermediates are extensively utilized for the enantioselective construction of valuable molecules. Both intermediates are generated by the covalent binding of catalysts to the substrates leading to LUMO activation of α,β-unsaturated carbonyls. A variety of soft nucleophiles are known to add to the α,β-unsaturated iminiums and acylazoliums in a conjugate fashion, and in many cases, striking similarity in reactivity has been observed. Having said this, there are few cases where these intermediates exhibit difference in reactivity. This Minireview is aimed at highlighting the resemblances in reactivity between α,β-unsaturated iminiums and acylazoliums thereby shedding light on the unnoticed parallels of the two intermediates in organocatalysis.

Regioselective synthesis of tetrahydroquinolines via syn- and anti-nucleopalladation-initiated cascade processes

Regioselective synthesis of tetrahydroquinolines via nucleopalladation-initiated cascade sequences was established.