Soluble and Supported Molecular CoIIICatalysts for the Regioselective Ring-Opening of 1,2-Epoxyhexane with Methanol

An improved synthesis of [18 F]VAT and its precursor

The vesicular acetylcholine transporter (VAChT) in the brain is an important presynaptic cholinergic biomarker, and neuroimaging studies of VAChT may provide in vivo information about psychiatric and neurologic conditions including Alzheimer's disease that are not accessible by other methods. The 18 F-labeled radiotracer, ((-)-(1-(-8-(2-[18 F]fluoroethoxy)-3-hydroxy-1,2,3,4-tetrahydronaphthalen-2-yl)piperidin-4-yl)(4-fluorophenyl)-methanone ([18 F]VAT, 1), was reported as a selective and high affinity ligand for the in vivo imaging of VAChT. The synthesis of [18 F]VAT has been reported in a two-step procedure with total 140 min, which includes preparation of 2-[18 F]fluoroethyltosylate and alkylation of benzovesamicol (-)-5 precursor with this radiosynthon using two different automated production modules consecutively. A multiple step synthetic route was employed for the synthesis of stereospecific precursor benzovesamicol (-)-5, which is difficult to be adapted for scale-up. To make the production of this tracer more amenable for clinical imaging, we present an improved total synthesis protocol to attain [18 F]VAT: (1) a tosylethoxy group being pre-installed tosylate precursor (-)-8 is synthesized to render a simple one-step radiofluorination under mild conditions; (2) The key optically active intermediate benzovesamicol (-)-5 was obtained via the regio- and enantio-enriched ring-opening amination of meso-epoxide 3 with 4-phenylpiperidine derivative 2 under catalysis of a chiral salenCo(III) catalyst 4b, which dramatically simplifies the synthetic route of the tosylate precursor (-)-8. [18 F]VAT 1 was prepared within ~65 min with desired chemical and radiochemical purities, via a fully automated procedure, using a commercial PET tracer production module. The final drug product was obtained as a sterile, pyrogen-free solution that conforms United States Pharmacopeia (USP) <823> requirements.

Pd-tetrahydrosalan-type complexes as catalysts for sonogashira couplings in water: efficient greening of the procedure

New sulfonated tetrahydrosalen-type ligands and their water-soluble palladium(II) complexes have been synthesized. The palladium(II) complexes catalyze the Sonogashira coupling (23 examples) of various aryl halides (including chloroarenes) with terminal alkynes, with good to excellent conversions under mild conditions (80°C, air, no Cu(I) cocatalyst) in aqueous-organic mixtures and turnover frequencies of up to 2790 h(-1) . Under optimized reaction conditions to minimize environmental contamination, diphenylacetylenes can be isolated in 76-98% yield. The aqueous catalyst solution can be recycled four times with decreasing activity; however, yields between 93 and 98% can still be achieved with extended reaction times. Several water-insoluble products can be isolated in excellent yield by simple filtration and purification by washing with water; this method is used, for the first time, for this type of C-C coupling procedure.

A broadly applicable and practical oligomeric (salen) Co catalyst for enantioselective epoxide ring-opening reactions

The (salen) Co catalyst (4a) can be prepared as a mixture of cyclic oligomers in a short, chromatography-free synthesis from inexpensive, commercially available precursors. This catalyst displays remarkable enhancements in reactivity and enantioselectivity relative to monomeric and other multimeric (salen) Co catalysts in a wide variety of enantioselective epoxide ring-opening reactions. The application of catalyst 4a is illustrated in the kinetic resolution of terminal epoxides by nucleophilic ring-opening with water, phenols, and primary alcohols; the desymmetrization of meso epoxides by addition of water and carbamates; and the desymmetrization of oxetanes by intramolecular ring opening with alcohols and phenols. The favorable solubility properties of complex 4a under the catalytic conditions facilitated mechanistic studies, allowing elucidation of the basis for the beneficial effect of oligomerization. Finally, a catalyst selection guide is provided to delineate the specific advantages of oligomeric catalyst 4a relative to (salen) Co monomer 1 for each reaction class.