Recent Progress in the Asymmetric Syntheses of α‐Heterofunctionalized (Masked) α‐ and β‐Amino Acid Derivatives

Acridine photocatalysis enables tricomponent direct decarboxylative amine construction

Amines are centrally important motifs in medicinal chemistry and biochemistry, and indispensable intermediates and linchpins in organic synthesis. Despite their cross-disciplinary prominence, synthetic access to amine continues to rely on two-electron approaches based on reductions and additions of organometallic reagents, limiting their accessible chemical space and necessitating stepwise preassembly of synthetic precursors. We report herein a homogeneous photocatalytic tricomponent decarboxylative radical-mediated amine construction that enables modular access to α-branched secondary amines directly from the broad and structurally diverse chemical space of carboxylic acids in a tricomponent reaction with aldehydes and aromatic amines. Our studies reveal the key role of acridine photocatalysis acting in concert with copper and Brønsted acid catalytic processes in facilitating the previously inaccessible homogeneous photocatalytic reaction and provide a streamlined segue to a wide range of amines and nonproteinogenic α-amino acids.

Asymmetric Synthesis of SCF3-Substituted Alkylboronates by Copper-Catalyzed Hydroboration of 1-Trifluoromethylthioalkenes

A synthetic method for preparation of optically active trifluoromethylthio (SCF3) compounds by a copper-catalyzed regio- and enantioselective hydroboration of 1-trifluoromethylthioalkenes with H-Bpin has been developed. The enantioselective hydrocupration of an in situ generated CuH species and subsequent boration reaction generate a chiral SCF3-containing alkylboronate, of which Bpin moiety can be further transformed to deliver various optically active SCF3 molecules. Computational studies suggest that the SCF3 group successfully controls the regioselectivity in the reaction.

The "cesium effect" magnified: exceptional chemoselectivity in cesium ion mediated nucleophilic reactions

Chemodivergent construction of structurally distinct heterocycles from the same precursors by adjusting specific reaction parameters is an emergent area of organic synthesis; yet, understanding of the processes that underpin the reaction divergence is lacking, preventing the development of new synthetic methods by systematically harnessing key mechanistic effects. We describe herein cesium carbonate-promoted oxadiaza excision cross-coupling reactions of β-ketoesters with 1,2,3-triazine 1-oxides that form pyridones in good to high yields, instead of the sole formation of pyridines when the same reaction is performed in the presence of other alkali metal carbonates or organic bases. The reaction can be further extended to the construction of synthetically challenging pyridylpyridones. A computational study comparing the effect of cesium and sodium ions in the oxadiaza excision cross-coupling reactions reveals that the cesium-coordinated species changes the reaction preference from attack at the ketone carbonyl to attack at the ester carbon due to metal ion-specific transition state conformational accommodation, revealing a previously unexplored role of cesium ions that may facilitate the development of chemodivergent approaches to other heterocyclic systems.

N-Terminal-Specific Dual Modification of Peptides through Copper-Catalyzed [3+2] Cycloaddition

Site-specific introduction of multiple components into peptides is greatly needed for the preparation of densely functionalized and structurally uniform peptides. In this regard, N-terminal-specific peptide modification is attractive, but it can be difficult due to the presence of highly nucleophilic lysine ϵ-amine. In this work, we developed a method for the N-terminal-specific dual modification of peptides through a three-component [3+2] cycloaddition with aldehydes and maleimides under mild copper catalysis. This approach enables exclusive functionalization at the glycine N-terminus of iminopeptides, regardless of the presence of lysine ϵ-amine, thus affording the cycloadducts in excellent yields. Tolerating a broad range of functional groups and molecules, the present method provides the opportunity to rapidly construct doubly functionalized peptides using readily accessible aldehyde and maleimide modules.

Phosphine Catalyzed Michael-Type Additions: The Synthesis of Glutamic Acid Derivatives from Arylidene-α-amino Esters

The reaction of arylidene-α-amino esters with electrophilic alkenes to yield Michael-type addition compounds is optimized using several phosphines as organocatalysts. The transformation is very complicated due to the generation of several final compounds, including those derived from the 1,3-dipolar cycloadditions. For this reason, the selection of the reaction conditions is a very complex task and the slow addition of the acrylic system is very important to complete the process. The study of the variation in the structural components of the starting imino ester is performed as well as the expansion of other electron-poor alkenes. The crude products have a purity higher than 90% in most cases without any purification. A plausible mechanism is detailed based on the bibliography and the experimental results. The synthesis of pyroglutamate entities, after the reduction of the imino group and cyclization, is performed in high yields. In addition, the hydrolysis of the imino group, under acidic media, represents a direct access to glutamate surrogates.

Photochemical Wolff Rearrangement Initiated Generation and Subsequent α-Chlorination of C1 Ammonium Enolates

The enantioselective synthesis of α-chlorinated carboxylic acid esters with er up to 99:1 and yields up to 82% was achieved via a one-pot multistep protocol starting from α-diazoketones. This process proceeds via a photochemical Wolff rearrangement, trapping of the generated ketene with a chiral Lewis base catalyst, subsequent enantioselective α-chlorination, and a final nucleophilic displacement of the bound catalyst. The obtained products were successfully utilized for stereospecific nucleophilic displacement reactions with N- and S-nucleophiles.

Enantioselective organocatalytic syntheses of α-selenated α- and β-amino acid derivatives

Selenium-containing amino acids are valuable targets but methods for the stereoselective α-selenation of simple amino acid precursors are rare. We herein report the enantioselective electrophilic α-selenation of azlactones (masked α-amino acid derivatives) and isoxazolidin-5-ones (masked β-amino acids) using Cinchona alkaloids as easily accessible organocatalysts. A variety of differently substituted derivatives was accessed with reasonable levels of enantioselectivities and further studies concerning the stability and suitability of these compounds for further manipulations have been carried out as well.

Enantioenriched γ-Aminoalcohols, β-Amino Acids, β-Lactams, and Azetidines Featuring Tetrasubstituted Fluorinated Stereocenters via Palladacycle-Catalyzed Asymmetric Fluorination of Isoxazolinones

Enantiopure fluorine containing β-amino acids are of large biological and pharmaceutical interest. Strategies to prepare β-amino acid derivatives possessing a F-containing tetrasubstituted stereocenter at the α-C atom in a catalytic asymmetric sense are rare, in particular using an enantioselective electrophilic C-F bond formation. In the present study, a highly enantioselective palladacycle-catalyzed fluorination of isoxazolinones was developed. It is demonstrated that isoxazolinones are useful precursors toward enantiopure β-amino acid derivatives by diastereo- and chemoselective reduction. The formed γ-aminoalcohols served as valuable precursors toward β-amino acids, β-amino acid esters, and β-lactams, all featuring tetrasubstituted fluorinated stereocenters. In addition, by this work, enantioenriched fluorinated azetidines were accessible for the first time.

Silver/ThioClickFerrophos-Catalyzed 1,3-Dipolar Cycloaddition and Tandem Addition-Elimination Reaction of Morita-Baylis-Hillman Adducts

The asymmetric 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition of glycine imino esters to Morita-Baylis-Hillman (MBH) adducts or acetylated MBH adducts is described. The reaction was efficiently catalyzed by AgOAc/(R,S_p)-ThioClickFerrophos at room temperature to afford pyrrolidine derivatives bearing a quaternary carbon as a single diastereomer with excellent enantioselectivity. When a cyclic pyrroline ester was used as the nucleophile instead of a glycine imino ester, the enantioselective tandem addition-elimination reaction with an acetylated MBH adduct proceeded with an excellent yield and enantioselectivity, resulting in the formation of an exo-olefin. The wide substrate scope of these reactions and the transformability of the products enable expeditious access to divergent multifunctionalized pyrrolidines in an optically pure fashion.

Enantioselective Catalytic Synthesis of α-Halogenated α-Aryl-β2,2-amino Acid Derivatives

The enantioselective synthesis of a broad variety of novel differently functionalized α-halogenated α-aryl-β^2,2-amino acid derivatives by means of an ammonium-salt-catalyzed asymmetric α-halogenation of isoxazolidin-5-ones was accomplished. Key to success to obtain high levels of enantioselectivities was the use of Maruoka's spirocyclic binaphthyl-based ammonium salts, and detailed accompanying mechanistic studies using density functional theory methods revealed the key features for the catalyst-substrate interactions.

Enantioselective α-Chlorination Reactions of in Situ Generated C1 Ammonium Enolates under Base-Free Conditions

The asymmetric α-chlorination of activated aryl acetic acid esters can be carried out with high levels of enantioselectivities utilizing commercially available isothiourea catalysts under base-free conditions. The reaction, which proceeds via the in situ formation of chiral C1 ammonium enolates, is best carried out under cryogenic conditions combined with a direct trapping of the activated α-chlorinated ester derivative to prevent epimerization, thus allowing for enantioselectivities of up to e.r. 99:1.

Acid-Mediated Sulfonylthiolation of Arenes via Selective Activation of SS-Morpholino Dithiosulfonate

A trifluoroacetic-acid-mediated desulfurilative sulfonylthiolation of arenes using SS-morpholino dithiosulfonate is described. This system is based on selective activation of the morpholino group over the tosyl group of the doubly transformable sulfur surrogate. Mechanistic studies suggested that the reaction proceeds through electrophilic aromatic substitution followed by sulfur extrusion. The wide substrate scope of this reaction and the transformability of the resulting thiosulfonates enable expeditious access to divergent multifunctionalized sulfides.