The reaction of XeF2 with trialkylvinylstannanes: Scope and some mechanistic observations

Cu-catalyzed cascade difluoroalkylation/5-endo cyclization/β-fluorine cleavage of ynones

A copper-catalyzed, redox-neutral cascade difluoroalkylation/5-endo annulation/β-fluorine cleavage of ynones is developed, providing a direct and stereoselective method to access synthetically important α-monofluoroalkenyl cyclopentanones. Mechanistic studies suggest an unprecedented Cu^II-assisted β-fluorine fragmentation, which may be valuable for the challenging but important C-F bond activation. Moreover, the in situ generated difluorocarbene was found to serve as an effective reductant for the regeneration of copper(I) catalyst, thus avoiding the addition of external reductants.

Stereodivergent Alkyne Hydrofluorination Using Protic Tetrafluoroborates as Tunable Reagents

The discovery of safe, general, and practical procedures to prepare vinyl fluorides from readily available precursors remains a synthetic challenge. The metal-free hydrofluorination of alkynes constitutes an attractive though elusive strategy for their preparation. Introduced here is an inexpensive and easily handled reagent that enables the development of simple and scalable protocols for the regioselective hydrofluorination of alkynes to access both the E and Z isomers of vinyl fluorides. These reaction conditions were suitable for a diverse collection of alkynes, including several highly functionalized pharmaceutical derivatives. Computational and experimental mechanistic studies support C-F bond formation through vinyl cation intermediates, with the E- and Z-hydrofluorination products forming under kinetic and thermodynamic control, respectively.

Differentiation and classification of RNA motifs using small molecule-based pattern recognition

Understanding how to design small molecules that target coding and non-coding RNA has the potential to exponentially increase the number of therapeutically-relevant druggable targets, which are currently mostly proteins. However, there is limited information on the principles at the basis of RNA recognition. In this chapter, we describe a pattern-based technique that can be used for the simultaneous elucidation of RNA motifs and small molecule features for RNA selective recognition, termed Pattern Recognition of RNA by Small Molecules (PRRSM). We provide protocols for the computational design and synthetic preparation of an RNA training set as well as how to perform the assay in plate reader format. Furthermore, we provide details on how to perform and interpret the statistical analysis and indicate possible future extensions of the technique. By combining insights into characteristics of the small molecules and of the RNA that leads to differentiation, PRRSM promises to accelerate the elucidation of the determinants at the basis of RNA recognition.

Palladium-Catalyzed Fluorination of Cyclic Vinyl Triflates: Effect of TESCF3 as an Additive

A method for the palladium-catalyzed fluorination of cyclic vinyl triflates has been developed. As with several previous palladium-catalyzed fluorination reactions using fluoride salts, controlling the regioselectivity presented a challenge in developing a practical synthetic procedure. The addition of triethyl(trifluoromethyl)silane (TESCF3 ) was found to effectively address this problem and resulted in drastically improved regioselectivities in this palladium-catalyzed fluorination reaction. This discovery, along with the use of a new biarylphosphine ligand, allowed for the development of an efficient and highly regioselective protocol for the fluorination of vinyl triflates. This method is compatible with a range of sensitive functional groups and provides access to five-, six-, and seven-membered cyclic vinyl fluorides.

Stereospecific Synthesis of Fluoroalkenes by Silver-Mediated Fluorination of Functionalized Alkenylstannanes

The known procedures for the conversion of alkenylstannanes into the corresponding fluoroalkenes suffer from largely variable yields and a limited compatibility with functional groups; most notably, protodestannation becomes a serious issue whenever protic sites are present in the substrate. Outlined in this paper is a convenient alternative with a much improved application profile, which is largely unperturbed by free alcohols and amides of all sorts. Key to success is the use of F-TEDA-PF₆ in combination with non-hygroscopic and bench-stable silver phosphinate (AgOP(O)Ph₂ ) that acts as an essentially neutral, non-nucleophilic promotor and effective tin-scavenger at the same time. This new method opens many opportunities for late-stage fluorination of elaborate compounds far beyond the scope of the literature procedures, as witnessed by the preparation of a fluorinated macrolide antibiotic, a fluorinated prostaglandin derivative, and a set of fluorinated amino acid surrogates and peptide isosteres.

C7-derivatization of C3-alkylindoles including tryptophans and tryptamines

A versatile strategy for C7-selective boronation of tryptophans, tryptamines, and 3-alkylindoles by way of a single-pot C2/C7-diboronation-C2-protodeboronation sequence is described. The combination of a mild iridium-catalyzed C2/C7-diboronation followed by an in situ palladium-catalyzed C2-protodeboronation allows efficient entry to valuable C7-boroindoles that enable further C7-derivatization. The versatility of the chemistry is highlighted by the gram-scale synthesis of C7-boronated N-Boc-L-tryptophan methyl ester and the rapid synthesis of C7-halo, C7-hydroxy, and C7-aryl tryptophan derivatives.

Introduction of fluorine and fluorine-containing functional groups

Over the past decade, the most significant, conceptual advances in the field of fluorination were enabled most prominently by organo- and transition-metal catalysis. The most challenging transformation remains the formation of the parent C-F bond, primarily as a consequence of the high hydration energy of fluoride, strong metal-fluorine bonds, and highly polarized bonds to fluorine. Most fluorination reactions still lack generality, predictability, and cost-efficiency. Despite all current limitations, modern fluorination methods have made fluorinated molecules more readily available than ever before and have begun to have an impact on research areas that do not require large amounts of material, such as drug discovery and positron emission tomography. This Review gives a brief summary of conventional fluorination reactions, including those reactions that introduce fluorinated functional groups, and focuses on modern developments in the field.

Stereoselective synthesis of mono-fluoroalkenes

Recent developments in the stereoselective synthesis of fluoroalkenes, which include hydrofluorination of alkyne, fluorination of alkenylmetal, condensation methods, dehydrofluorination of gem-difluoro compounds, and a cross-coupling reaction using fluorohaloalkenes or fluoroalkenylmetal, are described in this chapter.

Silver-mediated trifluoromethoxylation of aryl stannanes and arylboronic acids

A silver-mediated cross-coupling of trifluoromethoxide with aryl stannanes and arylboronic acids to give aryl trifluoromethyl ethers is reported. This is the first report of a transition-metal-mediated C(aryl)-OCF(3) bond formation.

Silver-catalyzed late-stage fluorination

Carbon-fluorine bond formation by transition metal catalysis is difficult, and only a few methods for the synthesis of aryl fluorides have been developed. All reported transition-metal-catalyzed fluorination reactions for the synthesis of functionalized arenes are based on palladium. Here we present silver catalysis for carbon-fluorine bond formation. Our report is the first example of the use of the transition metal silver to form carbon-heteroatom bonds by cross-coupling catalysis. The functional group tolerance and substrate scope presented here have not been demonstrated for any other fluorination reaction to date.

Fluorination of boronic acids mediated by silver(I) triflate

A regiospecific Ag-mediated fluorination reaction of aryl- and alkenylboronic acids and esters is reported. The fluorination reaction uses commercially available reagents, does not require the addition of exogenous ligands, and can be performed on a multigram scale. This report discloses the first practical reaction sequence from arylboronic acid to aryl fluorides.

High-yield synthesis of fluorinated benzothiazolyl sulfones: general synthons for fluoro-julia olefinations

[reaction: see text] General, high-yield tandem electrophilic fluorination and modified Julia olefination for the synthesis of fluoro olefins is reported. A series of alpha-fluoro 1,3-benzothiazol-2-yl sulfone-based synthons were synthesized via deprotonation-fluorination. Of critical importance for high-yield fluorinations were heterogeneous reaction conditions, as under homogeneous conditions only starting sulfones were recovered. The alpha-fluoro 1,3-benzothiazol-2-yl sulfones so obtained were subjected to condensations with a variety of aldehydes and ketones to afford high yields of regiospecifically fluorinated olefins.

Electrophilic fluorination of organosilanes

The fluorination of organosilanes with the silyl groups directly attached or adjacent to an aryl or alkenyl group has been only very recently examined despite the fact that the corresponding fluorinated products are synthetically useful building blocks. In these reactions, the silyl group enhances the reactivity of the pi-nucleophile and controls the sense of regiochemistry upon addition of the electrophilic source of fluorine. These reactions take advantage of the beta effect of the silicon-carbon bond and recent results from the literature revealed that this chemistry allows for the preparation of a variety of novel fluorinated building blocks including enantio-enriched derivatives.

Synthesis of α-Fluoro-β-lactones and Their Thermal Conversion to 1-Fluoroalkenes

α-Fluoro-β-lactones have been synthesized and isolated for the first time from α-fluoro-β-hydroxy acids by using the couple TsCl/DMAP as lactonization agent. A detailed description of the synthesis and spectroscopic properties of α-fluoro-β-lactones is presented. Preliminary results indicate that thermolysis of these new β-lactones produces 1-fluoroalkenes.