Toward the synthesis of sparteine: Intramolecular Schmidt reactions on a norbornanone platform

Overcoming product inhibition in catalysis of the intramolecular Schmidt reaction

A method for carrying out the intramolecular Schmidt reaction of alkyl azides and ketones using a substoichiometric amount of catalyst is reported. Following extensive screening, the use of the strong hydrogen-bond-donating solvent hexafluoro-2-propanol was found to be consistent with low catalyst loadings, which ranged from 2.5 mol % for favorable substrates to 25 mol % for more difficult cases. Reaction optimization, broad substrate scope, and preliminary mechanistic studies of this improved version of the reaction are described.

Total syntheses of lyconadins A-C

The total synthesis of the Lycopodium alkaloid lyconadin A was accomplished and it was applied to the total syntheses of the related congeners, lyconadins B and C. Lyconadin A has attracted attention as a challenging target for total synthesis due to the unprecedented pentacyclic skeleton. Our synthesis of lyconadin A features a facile construction of the highly fused tetracyclic skeleton through a combination of an aza-Prins reaction and an electrocyclic ring opening, followed by formation of a C-N bond. Transformation of the bromoalkene moiety of the tetracycle to a key enone intermediate was extensively investigated, and three methods via sulfide, oxime, or azide intermediates were established. A pyridone ring was constructed from the key enone intermediate to complete the synthesis of lyconadin A. A dihydropyridone ring could also be formed from the same enone intermediate, leading to a synthesis of lyconadin B. Establishment of the conditions for an electrocyclic ring opening without formation of the C-N bond resulted in completion of the total synthesis of lyconadin C.

Synthesis of enantiomerically pure P-stereogenic diphosphacrowns and their palladium complexes

A practical synthetic route for enantiomerically pure P-stereogenic diphosphacrowns was developed by using a P-stereogenic bisphosphine as a chiral building block. Their molecular structures were confirmed by NMR spectroscopy and X-ray crystallography. Complexation of the diphosphacrowns with palladium was carried out, and the corresponding palladium complexes were obtained. The P-stereogenic diphosphacrowns were applicable to the chiral ligand for the asymmetric 1,4-addition of arylboronic acids to α,β-unsaturated ketone catalyzed by palladium. This reaction proceeded smoothly to afford the corresponding 1,4-addition products in high yield with good enantioselectivities.

Asymmetric total synthesis of alkaloids 223A and 6-epi-223A

Concise and asymmetric total synthesis of the title compounds are described. The key ring system was constructed using an intramolecular Schmidt reaction on a norbornenone derivative, which was subsequently subjected to ring-opening metathesis followed by reduction. An unusual isomerization of the C-6 ethyl group afforded the desired stereochemistry of the natural product. The synthesis is readily adaptable to analogue production.

Organic azides: an exploding diversity of a unique class of compounds

Since the discovery of organic azides by Peter Griess more than 140 years ago, numerous syntheses of these energy-rich molecules have been developed. In more recent times in particular, completely new perspectives have been developed for their use in peptide chemistry, combinatorial chemistry, and heterocyclic synthesis. Organic azides have assumed an important position at the interface between chemistry, biology, medicine, and materials science. In this Review, the fundamental characteristics of azide chemistry and current developments are presented. The focus will be placed on cycloadditions (Huisgen reaction), aza ylide chemistry, and the synthesis of heterocycles. Further reactions such as the aza-Wittig reaction, the Sundberg rearrangement, the Staudinger ligation, the Boyer and Boyer-Aubé rearrangements, the Curtius rearrangement, the Schmidt rearrangement, and the Hemetsberger rearrangement bear witness to the versatility of modern azide chemistry.

Concise access to indolizidine and pyrroloazepine skeleta via intramolecular Schmidt reactions of azido 1,3-diketones

Readily prepared 2-alkyl-2-azidopropylcycloalkyl-1,3-diones undergo intramolecular Schmidt rearrangement with a range of hard Lewis acids, leading to indolizidinediones and pyrroloazepinediones. Chiral aluminium-based Lewis acids could also be used to mediate this symmetry-breaking transformation, but no significant asymmetric induction was observed.

Modular synthesis of cyclic peptidomimetics inspired by gamma-turns

[reaction: see text] A series of peptidomimetics based on a gamma-turn motif were synthesized using a modular approach, in which N-protected piperidones were reacted with a selection of 2-hydroxyalkyl azides derived from common l-amino acids. Hydrolysis of the initially formed iminium ethers afforded the targeted series of substituted 1,4-diazepin-5-ones.

Base-Promoted Reactions of Bridged Ketones and 1,3- and 1,4-Haloalkyl Azides: Competitive Alkylation vs Azidation Reactions of Ketone Enolates

The reactions of 1,3- and 1,4-haloalkyl azides with enolates of 2-norbornanone (and a ring-expanded analog) afford polycyclic 1,2,3-triazolines in good yields. The reaction occurs by the initial azidation of the ketone enolate, followed in order by triazoline formation and O-alkylation. An interesting element of this process is the preferential reaction of the alkyl azide with an enolate anion as opposed to the more familiar reaction of the alkyl halide (including Cl and I derivatives). Reactions of acyclic or monocyclic enolates generally lead to 1,2,3-triazoles but none of the alternative C-alkylation product.

Amination of Arenes through Electron-Deficient Reaction Cascades of Aryl Epoxyazides

[reaction: see text] Aryl epoxyazides undergo efficient electron-deficient reaction cascades mediated by Lewis acids, leading to regiospecific amination of the aromatic ring.

Intramolecular reactions of benzylic azides with ketones: competition between Schmidt and Mannich pathways

The Lewis acid-promoted reactions of benzylic azides with ketones can proceed by two major pathways. The azido-Schmidt reaction involves simple addition of azide to the ketone followed by rearrangement and ring expansion. In addition, benzylic azides can undergo prior rearrangement to afford iminium ions that can subsequently participate in a Mannich reaction. A series of ketones containing an alpha CH2(CH2)nCH(N3)Ph substituent (n = 1-3) was prepared to investigate the dependence of products on ketone ring size and tether length. For all ketones examined, good yields of bicyclic lactams arising from intramolecular Schmidt reaction were obtained when a four-carbon linker was used (n = 1 in the above formulation), but Mannich products predominated for the longer tethers examined (n = 2, 3).