A stereodivergent strategy to both product enantiomers from the same enantiomer of a stereoinducing catalyst: agelastatin A

A Review of the Synthetic Strategies toward Dihydropyrrolo[1,2-a]Pyrazinones

Dihydropyrrolo[1,2-a]pyrazinone rings are a class of heterocycles present in a wide range of bioactive natural products and analogues thereof. As a direct result of their bioactivity, the synthesis of this privileged class of compounds has been extensively studied. This review provides an overview of these synthetic pathways. The literature is covered up until 2020 and is organized according to the specific strategies used to construct the scaffold: fusing a pyrazinone to an existing pyrrole, employing a pyrazinone-first strategy, an array of multicomponent reactions and some miscellaneous reactions.

Recent Advances in Enantioselective Pd-Catalyzed Allylic Substitution: From Design to Applications

This Review compiles the evolution, mechanistic understanding, and more recent advances in enantioselective Pd-catalyzed allylic substitution and decarboxylative and oxidative allylic substitutions. For each reaction, the catalytic data, as well as examples of their application to the synthesis of more complex molecules, are collected. Sections in which we discuss key mechanistic aspects for high selectivity and a comparison with other metals (with advantages and disadvantages) are also included. For Pd-catalyzed asymmetric allylic substitution, the catalytic data are grouped according to the type of nucleophile employed. Because of the prominent position of the use of stabilized carbon nucleophiles and heteronucleophiles, many chiral ligands have been developed. To better compare the results, they are presented grouped by ligand types. Pd-catalyzed asymmetric decarboxylative reactions are mainly promoted by PHOX or Trost ligands, which justifies organizing this section in chronological order. For asymmetric oxidative allylic substitution the results are grouped according to the type of nucleophile used.

Stereodivergent routes in organic synthesis: marine natural products, lactones, other natural products, heterocycles and unnatural compounds

Enantio- and diastereodivergent routes to marine-origin natural products with different sizes of cyclic ethers and lactones have been used in order to assign stereochemical features. Kainoid amino acids such as isodomoic acids have been synthesized using diastereodivergent routes. The bis(indole) alkaloid dragmacidin F has been prepared by enantiodivergent strategies as well as furanoterpenes and the tetracyclic agelastatin A. Natural products containing five-membered lactones like quercus lactones, muricatacins, goniofufuranones, methylenolactocins and frenolicin B have been synthesized using stereodivergent routes. Macrolides are very abundant lactones and have been mainly prepared from the corresponding seco-acids by lactonization, such as lasiodiplodin, zaeralanes, macrosphelides and haloprins, or by ring-closing metathesis, such as aspercyclides, microcarpalides, macrolides FD-891 and 892, and tetradic-5-en-9-olides. Other natural products including cyclic ethers (such as sesamin, asarinin, acetogenins, centrolobines and nabilones), alcohols (such as sulcatol), esters (such as methyl jasmonates), polycyclic precursors of fredericamycin, amino alcohols (such as ambroxol and sphingosines), isoprostanes, isofurans, polyketide precursors of anachelins, brevicomins, gummiferol, shikimic acid and the related compounds, and the pheromone disparlure have been synthesized stereodivergently. Heterocyclic systems such as epoxides, theobroxides and bromoxones, oxetan-3-ones, 5- to 8-membered cyclic ethers, azetidones, γ-lactams, oxazolidinones, bis(oxazolines), dihydropyridoisoindolines and octahydroisoquinolines have been prepared following stereodivergent routes. Stereodivergent routes to unnatural compounds such as alkenes, dienes, allenes, cyclopropanes, alcohols, aldols, amines, amino alcohols, β-amino acids, carboxylic acids, lactones, nitriles and α-amino nitriles have been considered as well.

The microwave-assisted syntheses and applications of non-fused single-nitrogen-containing heterocycles

Microwave technology has emerged as a great tool for the efficient synthesis of organic compounds and it provides opportunities for chemists to achieve chemical transformations that tend to be challenging using classical approaches. Additionally, N-heterocycles are well-known for their medicinal/biological significance, along with their applications as excellent building blocks in chemical synthesis. The dominance of N-heterocycles in drug molecules and other pharmacological agents makes them attractive scaffolds, which encourages chemists to develop a wide range of strategies towards the greener synthesis and functionalization of these heterocycles. In this regard, we have collated and discussed literature relating to the microwave-assisted synthesis and the modification of non-(benzo)fused single-nitrogen-containing N-heterocycles from the past decade. The role of the microwave technique and its benefits over the conventional approach have also been emphasized in terms of overall reaction efficiency, reaction time, yield, reduced side-product generation, neat and clean reactions, chemo-/regio-/enantio-selectivity, and the use of mild reagents/reaction conditions to achieve the objectives of green and sustainable chemistry.

Two-Step Synthesis of 3,4-Dihydropyrrolopyrazinones from Ketones and Piperazin-2-ones

An expedient two-step synthesis of 3,4-dihydropyrrolopyrazinones has been achieved via a Vilsmeier-Haack reaction of ketones, followed by an annulation of the corresponding chloroaldehydes with commercially available piperazin-2-ones. A variety of cyclic and acyclic ketones and piperazin-2-ones participated in this two-step chemistry, affording the desired 3,4-dihydropyrrolopyrazinones in up to 78% yield.

Total synthesis of (−)-agelastatin A: an SH2′ radical azidation strategy

A new synthetic approach to (−)-agelastatin A has been established through the strategic implementation of brominative olefin transposition of a silyl enol ether and subsequent S_H2′ radical azidation of the resultant allylic bromide.

Synthesis and Evaluation of Agelastatin Derivatives as Potent Modulators for Cancer Invasion and Metastasis

The synthesis of new agelastatin alkaloid derivatives and their anticancer evaluation in the context of the breast cancer microenvironment is described. A variety of N1-alkyl and C5-ether agelastatin derivatives were accessed via application of our strategy for convergent imidazolone synthesis from a common thioester along with appropriately substituted urea and alcohol components. These agelastatin derivatives were evaluated in our three-dimensional coculture assay for the effects of mammary fibroblasts on associated breast cancer cells. We have discovered that agelastatin alkaloids are potent modulators for cancer invasion and metastasis at noncytotoxic doses. Herein, we discuss the increased potency of (-)-agelastatin E as compared to (-)-agelastatin A in this capacity, in addition to identification of new agelastatin derivatives with activity that is statistically equivalent to (-)-agelastatin E. The chemistry described in this report provides a platform for the rapid synthesis of agelastatin derivatives with excellent potency (50-100 nM) as modulators for cancer invasion and metastasis.

Compounds, compositions, and methods of agelastatin alkaloids: patent evaluation of WO2015042239 (A1)

Agelastatins are a family of tetracyclic alkaloids isolated from marine sponges. The patent examined in this publication covers the chemical synthesis of agelastatins A to F and eight analogues and their therapeutic use against hematologic malignancies. The claim on the chemical synthesis features a novel biomimetic cyclization of a tricyclic precursor, which streamlines scalable access to agelastatins and their analogues. This new synthetic approach can potentially expedite the research on these compounds for therapeutic use against cancers by making them more easily available. The claim on the therapeutic use against hematologic malignancies is based on the in vitro cytotoxicity against a limited number of cell lines and can be further strengthened by in vivo therapeutic evaluations focusing on specific hematologic malignancies. The comparative evaluation of the cytotoxicities of the natural alkaloids described in the application greatly enhances the understanding of their structure-activity relationships (SARs) relevant to the development of novel medicinal leads. Overall, the patent application is strong and has the potential to advance the rapidly expanding agelastatin research.

Transition metal-catalyzed iodine(iii)-mediated nitrene transfer reactions: efficient tools for challenging syntheses

The main synthetic applications of catalytic C(sp³)–H amination and alkene aziridination reactions are discussed in the context of natural product synthesis. The examples highlight that these synthetic methods now firmly belong in the organic chemist's toolbox.

Studies on the formal [3 + 2] cycloaddition of aziridines with alkenes for the synthesis of 1-azaspiroalkanes

The Lewis acid-mediated [3 + 2] cycloaddition of N-sulfonyl- and N-sulfamoylaziridines with alkenes provides a rapid and efficient access to 1-azaspiro[4.n]alkanes. Experimental studies have been combined with DFT calculations to explore the mechanism of the reaction. They demonstrate that the nature of the electron-withdrawing nitrogen protecting group has a very limited influence on the course of the reaction and, particularly, on the initial formation of the 1,3-zwitterionic species through C-N bond cleavage, which has been found to be the rate-determining step. Compared to N-sulfonylaziridines, N-sulfamoylaziridines have proved to be more synthetically useful synthons that afford crystalline polycyclic structures in good yields. A short sequence of catalytic C(sp(3))-H amination-cyclization-[3 + 2] cycloaddition has then been successfully designed to afford the homologue 1-azaspiro[5.n]alkanes, thereby illustrating the higher versatility of sulfamates in these cycloadditions.

Synthesis and anticancer activity of all known (-)-agelastatin alkaloids

The full details of our enantioselective total syntheses of (-)-agelastatins A-F (1-6), the evolution of a new methodology for synthesis of substituted azaheterocycles, and the first side-by-side evaluation of all known (-)-agelastatin alkaloids against nine human cancer cell lines are described. Our concise synthesis of these alkaloids exploits the intrinsic chemistry of plausible biosynthetic precursors and capitalizes on a late-stage synthesis of the C-ring. The critical copper-mediated cross-coupling reaction was expanded to include guanidine-based systems, offering a versatile preparation of substituted imidazoles. The direct comparison of the anticancer activity of all naturally occurring (-)-agelastatins in addition to eight advanced synthetic intermediates enabled a systematic analysis of the structure-activity relationship within the natural series. Significantly, (-)-agelastatin A (1) is highly potent against six blood cancer cell lines (20-190 nM) without affecting normal red blood cells (>333 μM). (-)-Agelastatin A (1) and (-)-agelastatin D (4), the two most potent members of this family, induce dose-dependent apoptosis and arrest cells in the G2/M-phase of the cell cycle; however, using confocal microscopy, we have determined that neither alkaloid affects tubulin dynamics within cells.

Bioinspired total synthesis of agelastatin A

A one-two punch: two potentially biosynthetically relevant cyclizations of a keramadine analogue give agelastatin A. A diastereoselective C-ring formation, which proceeds through a 5-exo-trig cyclization or a Nazarov cyclization of a red-colored N-acyliminium intermediate, generates the three contiguous stereocenters of the cyclopentane core. A silica gel assisted cyclization of a nagelamide J analogue gives agelastatin A.

Palladium-catalyzed asymmetric allylic alkylation of electron-deficient pyrroles with meso electrophiles

Pyrroles can serve as competent nucleophiles with meso electrophiles in the Pd-catalyzed asymmetric allylic alkylation. The products from this transformation were obtained as a single regio- and diastereomer in high yield and enantiopurity. A nitropyrrole-containing nucleoside analogue was synthesized in seven steps to demonstrate the synthetic utility of this transformation.

Total syntheses of (-)-hanishin, (-)-longamide B, and (-)-longamide B methyl ester via a novel preparation of N-substituted pyrrole-2-carboxylates [corrected]

A novel preparation of N-substituted pyrrole-2-carboxylates has been developed based upon 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition and a conventional hydrogenolysis. By using this method as the key step, total syntheses of natural alkaloids (-)-hanishin, (-)-longamide [corrected] B, and (-)-longamide [corrected] B methyl ester were accomplished in the highest overall yields, respectively.

Pd and Mo Catalyzed Asymmetric Allylic Alkylation

The ability to control the alkylation of organic substrates becomes ever more powerful by using metal catalysts. Among the major benefits of metal catalysis is the possibility to perform such processes asymmetrically using only catalytic amounts of the chiral inducing agent which is a ligand to the metal of the catalyst. A unique aspect of asymmetric metal catalyzed processes is the fact that many mechanisms exist for stereoinduction. Furthermore, using the same catalyst system, many types of bonds including but not limited to C-C, C-N, C-O, C-S, C-P, and C-H can be formed asymmetrically. An overview of this process using palladium and molybdenum based metals being developed in my laboratories and how they influence strategy in synthesizing bioactive molecular targets is presented.

Copper-catalyzed iminoiodane-mediated aminolactonization of olefins: application to the synthesis of 5,5-disubstituted butyrolactones

A copper(I)-catalyzed reaction of a variety of 4-aryl-pent-4-enoates with nosyliminoiodane generated in situ provides the corresponding 5-aryl-5-nosylamidomethylbutyrolactones. The reaction presumably proceeds via an aziridine intermediate, which could be isolated in one case.

Aziridines from intramolecular alkene aziridination of sulfamates: reactivity toward carbon nucleophiles. application to the synthesis of spisulosine and its fluoro analogue

Catalytic intramolecular alkene aziridination of sulfamate is an emerging methodology for the asymmetric synthesis of chiral functionalized amines involving the formation of bicyclic aziridines. This study demonstrates the ability of the latter to undergo ring-opening with various carbon nucleophiles: Grignard reagents, lithium salts of terminal alkynes, dithiane, malonate. These S(N)2-type reactions occur with high levels of regio- and chemoselectivity to generally afford seven-membered cyclic sulfamidates in good yields. Carbon nucleophiles have also been found to react with these sulfamidates provided that the sulfamate ester has been previously activated by introduction of a tosyl substituent on the NH group. The versatility of this strategy has been illustrated with the syntheses of spisulosine and its fluoro analogue.

Biosynthesis, asymmetric synthesis, and pharmacology, including cellular targets, of the pyrrole-2-aminoimidazole marine alkaloids

The pyrrole-2-aminoimidazole (P-2-AI) alkaloids are a growing family of marine alkaloids, now numbering well over 150 members, with high topographical and biological information content. Their intriguing structural complexity, rich and compact stereochemical content, high N to C ratio (~1 : 2), and increasingly studied biological activities are attracting a growing number of researchers from numerous disciplines world-wide. This review surveys advances in this area with a focus on the structural diversity, biosynthetic hypotheses with increasing, but still rare, verifying experimental studies, asymmetric syntheses, and biological studies, including cellular target receptor isolation studies, of this stimulating and exciting alkaloid family.