Formal Synthesis of (+)-Sinefungin by Way of Sequential Asymmetric Metal Catalysis

Here, we report a de novo approach toward (+)-sinefungin, a potent inhibitor of the physiological methyl transfer process. A key feature is represented by the sequential metal catalysis combining Pd-catalyzed hydroalkoxylation and ring-rearrangement metathesis. The unique advantage of the method is highlighted by the unprecedented complete control of the C6 stereocenter.

Glycosyl Sulfonates Beyond Triflates

While glycosyl triflates are frequently invoked as intermediates in many chemical glycosylation reactions, the chemistry of other glycosyl sulfonates remains comparatively underexplored. Given the reactivity of sulfonates can span several orders of magnitude, this represents an untapped resource for the development of stereoselective glycosylation reactions. This personal account describes our laboratories efforts to take advantage of this reactivity to develop β-specific glycosylation reactions. Initial investigations led to the development of 2-deoxy-sugar tosylates as highly selective donors for β-glycoside synthesis, an approach which has been used to great success by our group and others for the construction of deoxy-sugar oligosaccharides and natural products. Subsequent studies demonstrate that "matching" the reactivity of the sulfonate to that of the sugar donor leads to highly selective SN 2-glycosylations with a range of substrates.

Automated, Multistep Continuous-Flow Synthesis of 2,6-Dideoxy and 3-Amino-2,3,6-trideoxy Monosaccharide Building Blocks

An automated continuous flow system capable of producing protected deoxy-sugar donors from commercial material is described. Four 2,6-dideoxy and two 3-amino-2,3,6-trideoxy sugars with orthogonal protecting groups were synthesized in 11-32 % overall yields in 74-131.5 minutes of total reaction time. Several of the reactions were able to be concatenated into a continuous process, avoiding the need for chromatographic purification of intermediates. The modular nature of the experimental setup allowed for reaction streams to be split into different lines for the parallel synthesis of multiple donors. Further, the continuous flow processes were fully automated and described through the design of an open-source Python-controlled automation platform.

Palladium-Catalyzed Asymmetric Decarboxylative Addition of β-Keto Acids to Heteroatom-Substituted Allenes

The Pd-catalyzed asymmetric addition reaction of β-keto acids to heteroatom-substituted allene is reported. This reaction generates β-substituted ketones in an asymmetric manner through a branch-selective decarboxylative allylation pathway. The reaction accommodates various alkoxyallenes as well as amidoallenes.