An un-forgotten classic: the nitro-Mannich reaction between nitrones and silyl nitronates catalysed by B(C6F5)3

Herein we report the B(C6F5)3-catalysed nitro-Mannich reaction between nitrones and silyl nitronates, affording silyl-protected α-nitro hydroxylamines with yields up to 99% and diastereoselectivities up to 99 : 1. Crucially, the obtained products can be converted into 1,2-diamines under simple reductive conditions. This work provides a new orthogonal method to the existing routes for the instalment of a nitro moiety under Lewis acid catalysed conditions, and expands the state-of-the-art substrate scope with respect to the silyl nitronates.

Reticular framework materials for photocatalytic organic reactions

Photocatalytic organic reactions, harvesting solar energy to produce high value-added organic chemicals, have attracted increasing attention as a sustainable approach to address the global energy crisis and environmental issues. Reticular framework materials, including metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) and covalent organic frameworks (COFs), are widely considered as promising candidates for photocatalysis owing to their high crystallinity, tailorable pore environment and extensive structural diversity. Although the design and synthesis of MOFs and COFs have been intensively developed in the last 20 years, their applications in photocatalytic organic transformations are still in the preliminary stage, making their systematic summary necessary. Thus, this review aims to provide a comprehensive understanding and useful guidelines for the exploration of suitable MOF and COF photocatalysts towards appropriate photocatalytic organic reactions. The commonly used reactions are categorized to facilitate the identification of suitable reaction types. From a practical viewpoint, the fundamentals of experimental design, including active species, performance evaluation and external reaction conditions, are discussed in detail for easy experimentation. Furthermore, the latest advances in photocatalytic organic reactions of MOFs and COFs, including their composites, are comprehensively summarized according to the actual active sites, together with the discussion of their structure-property relationship. We believe that this study will be helpful for researchers to design novel reticular framework photocatalysts for various organic synthetic applications.

Tetramethylammonium Fluoride: Fundamental Properties and Applications in C-F Bond-Forming Reactions and as a Base

Nucleophilic ionic sources of fluoride are essential reagents in the synthetic toolbox to access high added-value fluorinated building blocks unattainable by other means. In this review, we provide a concise description and rationale of the outstanding features of one of these reagents, tetramethylammonium fluoride (TMAF), as well as disclosing the different methods for its preparation, and how its physicochemical properties and solvation effects in different solvents are intimately associated with its reactivity. Furthermore, herein we also comprehensively describe its historic and recent utilization, up to December 2021, in C-F bond-forming reactions with special emphasis on nucleophilic aromatic substitution fluorinations with a potential sustainable application in industrial settings, as well as its use as a base capable of rendering unprecedented transformations.

Synthesis of Pyrrolidine Monocyclic Analogues of Pochonicine and Its Stereoisomers: Pursuit ofSimplified Structures and Potent β-N-Acetylhexosaminidase Inhibition

Ten pairs of pyrrolidine analogues of pochonicine and its stereoisomers have been synthesized from four enantiomeric pairs of polyhydroxylated cyclic nitrones. Among the ten N-acetylamino pyrrolidine analogues, only compounds with 2,5-dideoxy-2,5-imino-d-mannitol (DMDP) and pochonicine (1) configurations showed potent inhibition of β-N-acetylhexosaminidases (β-HexNAcases); while 1-amino analogues lost almost all their inhibitions towards the tested enzymes. The assay results reveal the importance of the N-acetylamino group and the possible right configurations of pyrrolidine ring required for this type of inhibitors.

The Stereoselective Nitro-Mannich Reaction in the Synthesis of Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients and Other Biologically Active Compounds

The nitro-Mannich (aza-Henry) reaction, in which a nitroalkane and an imine react to form a β-nitroamine, is a versatile tool for target-oriented synthesis. Although the first stereoselective reaction was developed only 20 years ago, and enantioselective and diastereoselective versions for the synthesis of non-racemic compounds soon after, there are nowadays a variety of reliable methods which can be used for the synthesis of APIs and other biologically active substances. Hence many anticancer drugs, antivirals, antimicrobials, enzyme inhibitors and many more substances, containing C-N bonds, have been synthesized using this reaction. Several transition metal complexes and organocatalysts were shown to be compatible with the presence of a wide range of functional groups in these molecules, and very high levels of asymmetric induction have been achieved in some cases. The reaction has also been applied in cascade processes. The structural diversity of the products, ranging from simple heterocycles or azabicycles to complex alkaloids, iminosugars, amino acids or diamino acids and phosphonates, shows the versatility of the nitro-Mannich reaction and its potential for future developments.

Comprehension of the α-Arylation of Nitroalkanes

Background:

α-Aryl substituted nitroalkanes are important synthetic intermediates for the preparation of pharmaceutical molecules, natural products, and functional materials. Due to their scare existence in Nature, synthesis of these compounds has attracted the attention of synthetic and medicinal chemists, rendering α-arylation of nitroalkanes of an important research topic. This article summarizes the important advances of α- arylation of nitroalkanes since 1963.

Results:

After a brief introduction of the synthetic application and the reactions of nitroalkanes, this article reviewed the synthetic methods for the α-arylated aliphatic nitro compound. The amount of research on α-arylation of nitroalkanes using various arylation reagents and the discovery of elegant synthetic approaches towards such skeleton have been discussed. This review described these advances in two sections. One is the arylation of non-activated nitroalkanes, with an emphasis on the application of diverse arylation reagents; the other focuses on the arylation of activated nitroalkanes, including dinitroalkanes, trinitroalkanes, α-nitrosulfones, α-nitroesters, α-nitrotoluenes, and α-nitroketones. The synthetic application of these methods has also been presented in some cases.

Conclusion:

In this review, we described the progress of α-arylation of nitroalkanes. Although the immense amount of research on α-arylation of aliphatic nitro compounds has been achieved, many potential issues still need to be addressed, especially the asymmetric transformation and its wide application in organic synthesis.

Regiospecific formation of sugar-derived ketonitrone towards unconventional C-branched pyrrolizidines and indolizidines

The synthesis of unprecedented branched pyrrolizidines and indolizidines was accomplished via nitrone chemistry.