Highly Diastereoselective Synthesis of Methylenecyclobutanes by Merging Boron-Homologation and Boron-Allylation Strategies

Stereoselective polar radical crossover for the functionalization of strained-ring systems

Radical-polar crossover of organoborates is a poweful tool that enables the creation of two C-C bonds simultaneously. Small ring systems have become essential motifs in drug discovery and medicinal chemistry. However, step-economic methods for their selective functionalization remains scarce. Here we present a one-pot strategy that merges a simple preparation of strained organoboron species with the recently popularized polar radical crossover of borate derivatives to stereoselectively access tri-substituted azetidines, cyclobutanes and five-membered carbo- and heterocycles.

Enantioselective Synthesis of Chiral Cyclobutenes Enabled by Brønsted Acid-Catalyzed Isomerization of BCBs

Chiral cyclobutene units are commonly found in natural products and biologically active molecules. Transition-metal-catalysis has been extensively used in asymmetric synthesis of such structures, while organocatalytic approaches remain elusive. In this study, bicyclo[1.1.0]butanes are involved in enantioselective transformation for the first time to offer a highly efficient route toward cyclobutenes with good regio- and enantiocontrol. The utilization of N-triflyl phosphoramide as a chiral Brønsted acid promoter enables this isomerization process to proceed under mild conditions with low catalyst loading as well as good functional group compatibility. The resulting chiral cyclobutenes could serve as platform molecules for downstream manipulations with excellent reservation of stereochemical integrity, demonstrating the synthetic practicality of the developed method. Control experiments have also been performed to verify the formation of a key carbocation intermediate at the benzylic position.

A general catalytic synthetic strategy for highly strained methylenecyclobutanes and spiromethylenecyclobutanes

Highly strained methylenecyclobutanes (MCBs) are intriguing scaffolds in synthetic chemistry and drug discovery, but there is no such strategy that enables the synthesis of structurally diverse MCBs with defined stereochemistry. We report a general synthetic strategy for (boromethylene)cyclobutanes (BMCBs) and spiro-BMCBs by a challenging Cu-catalyzed highly chemo-, stereo-, and regioselective borylative cyclization of aliphatic alkynes. This strategy not only enables the installation of various functionalities at each site on the MCB skeleton with unambiguous stereochemistry but also introduces a versatile boromethylene unit that is readily transformable to a wide range of new functional groups; these features significantly expand the structural diversity of MCBs and are particularly valuable in drug discovery. The concise and divergent total syntheses of four cyclobutane-containing natural products were achieved from one common BMCB obtained by this strategy. The origin of the high regioselectivity in the borylcupration of alkynes and the high efficiency of the strained ring cyclization was also studied.

Oxyenamides as Versatile Building Blocks for a Highly Stereoselective One-Pot Synthesis of the 1,3-Diamino-2-ol-Scaffold Containing Three Continuous Stereocenters

A highly diastereoselective one-pot synthesis of the 1,3-diamino-2-alcohol unit bearing three continuous stereocenters is described. This method utilizes 2-oxyenamides as a novel type of building block for the rapid assembly of the 1,3-diamine scaffold containing an additional stereogenic oxygen functionality at the C2 position. A stereoselective preparation of the required (Z)-oxyenamides is reported as well.

Uncommon Four-Membered Building Blocks - Cyclobutenes, Azetines and Thietes

Strained ring systems have gained considerable importance over the last few years for their implication in natural product syntheses or in drug discovery programs. We present herein a recollection of our work on the construction and functionalization of unsaturated four-membered carbo- and heterocycles in the context of the literature, as well as their applications in further reactions.

Stereoselective Access to Azetidine-Based α-Amino Acids and Applications to Small Peptide Synthesis

Non-natural azetidine-based amino acids (Aze) present interesting features in protein engineering. A simple organometallic route toward unsaturated carboxylic acid precursors is presented. Subsequent metal-catalyzed asymmetric reduction allowed for the synthesis of a new library of 2-azetidinylcarboxylic acids, which were finally employed in the formation of small peptide chains.

Single-Pot Access to Bisorganoborinates: Applications in Zweifel Olefination

Zweifel olefination is a catalyst-free reaction that serves alkene functionalization. While most methods employ commercially available boron pinacol esters, we have assembled a sequence in which the two partners of the formal coupling reaction are installed successively, starting from inexpensive boron alkoxides. The in situ formation of bisorganoborinates was accomplished by consecutive reaction of two different organometallic species. This single-pot procedure represents a great advancement in the generation of organoborinates and their involvement in C-C bond formation.

Enantioselective Synthesis of Cyclobutenes by Intermolecular [2+2] Cycloaddition with Non-C2 Symmetric Digold Catalysts

The enantioselective intermolecular gold(I)-catalyzed [2+2] cycloaddition of terminal alkynes and alkenes has been achieved using non-C2-chiral Josiphos digold(I) complexes as catalysts, by the formation of the monocationic complex. This new approach has been applied to the enantioselective total synthesis of rumphellaone A.

Stereoselective Access to Alkylidenecyclobutanes through γ-Selective Cross-Coupling Strategies

Alkylidenecyclobutanes (ACBs) containing all-carbon quaternary stereocenters were simply and efficiently synthesized by combining boron-homologation and γ-selective cross-coupling strategies. This unique sequence led to excellent regio- and diastereoselectivities in the generation of targeted four-membered rings with up to 99% enantiomeric excess using chiral substrates. In addition to the original synthesis of ACBs, the first asymmetric catalytic formation of quaternary stereocenters based on γ-selective cross-coupling reactions is finally shown.

Cyclobutene vs 1,3-Diene Formation in the Gold-Catalyzed Reaction of Alkynes with Alkenes: The Complete Mechanistic Picture

The intermolecular gold(I)-catalyzed reaction between arylalkynes and alkenes leads to cyclobutenes by a [2 + 2] cycloaddition, which takes place stepwise, first by formation of cyclopropyl gold(I) carbenes, followed by a ring expansion. However, 1,3-butadienes are also formed in the case of ortho-substituted arylalkynes by a metathesis-type process. The corresponding reaction of alkenes with aryl-1,3-butadiynes, ethynylogous to arylalkynes, leads exclusively to cyclobutenes. A comprehensive mechanism for the gold(I)-catalyzed reaction of alkynes with alkenes is proposed on the basis of density functional theory calculations, which shows that the two pathways leading to cyclobutenes or dienes are very close in energy. The key intermediates are cyclopropyl gold(I) carbenes, which have been independently generated by retro-Buchner reaction from stereodefined 1a,7b-dihydro-1H-cyclopropa[a]naphthalenes.

Stereoselective Sequence toward Biologically Active Fused Alkylidenecyclobutanes

Combining an efficient preparation of cyclobutenylmetal species, high-yielding cross-coupling reactions, and highly diastereoselective [4 + 2]-cycloaddition led to opening a new route toward the synthesis of fused alkylidenecyclobutanes containing up to five consecutive stereocenters. New complex architectures, analogues to protoilludane skeletons, were obtained in a very efficient manner and with a minimum number of steps starting from commercial sources and were tested for their cytotoxicity against leukemia cell lines HL60.

Unsaturated Four-Membered Rings: Efficient Strategies for the Construction of Cyclobutenes and Alkylidenecyclobutanes

Our recent studies of the diastereo- and enantioselective formation of strained alkylidenecycloalkanes drove us to more-thoroughly investigate the formation of four-membered rings for which only few efficient methods are described. We first developed a strategy to diversify the saturated part of the four-membered ring and applied it to a highly diastereoselective synthesis of more-elaborate alkylidenecyclobutanes, which completed our precedent studies. In parallel, cyclobutene structures were built employing simple organometallic methods and further functionalized to give a diverse range of new substitution patterns, which consequently enriched the pool of cyclobutene-based building blocks.

Single-Pot Asymmetric Approach toward Enantioenriched Quaternary Stereocenter-Containing Alkylidenecyclobutanes

Enantioenriched alkylidenecyclobutanes possessing a quaternary stereogenic center, usually difficult to access, have been synthesized by combining a double boron-homologation and an allylboration through a highly efficient and diastereoselective one-pot process. Starting from commercially available substrates, this protocol represents a simple way of accessing chiral unsaturated four-membered ring systems with excellent stereoisomeric ratios.

Highly diastereoselective approach to methylenecyclopropanes via boron-homologation/allylboration sequences

A simple and efficient diastereoselective synthesis of methylenecyclopropanes is described, in which boron-homologation and allylboration are merged into a one-pot process, starting from in situ generated cyclopropenyllithium species. This unprecedented methodology opens a new route to strained alkylidenecycloalkanes containing a quaternary stereocenter, in high yields and excellent diastereomeric ratios.