β-Hydroxy-α-tosyloxy esters as chiral building blocks for the enantioselective synthesis of benzo-annulated oxa-heterocycles: scope and limitations

Synthesis and medicinal chemical characterisation of antiproliferative O,N-functionalised isopulegol derivatives

Benzylation of isopulegol furnished O-benzyl-protected isopulegol, which was transformed into aminodiols via epoxidation followed by ring opening of the corresponding epoxides and subsequent hydrogenolysis. On the other hand, (-)-isopulegol was oxidised to a diol, which was then converted into dibenzyl-protected diol derivatives. The products were then transformed into aminotriols by using a similar method. The antiproliferative activity of aminodiol and aminotriol derivatives was examined. In addition, structure-activity relationships were also explored from the aspects of substituent effects and stereochemistry on the aminodiol and aminotriol systems. The drug-likeness of the compounds was assessed by in silico and experimental physicochemical characterisations, completed by kinetic aqueous solubility and in vitro intestinal-specific parallel artificial membrane permeability assay (PAMPA-GI) measurements.

Stereochemistry of Chiral 2-Substituted Chromanes: Twist of the Dihydropyran Ring and Specific Optical Rotation

Chiral 2-substituted chromanes are important substructures in organic synthesis and appear in numerous natural products. Herein, the correlation between specific optical rotations (SORs) and the stereochemistry at C2 of chiral 2-substituted chromanes was investigated through data mining, quantum-chemical calculations using density functional theory (DFT), and mechanistic analyses. For 2-aliphatic (including acyloxy and alkenyl) chromanes, the P-helicity of the dihydropyran ring usually corresponds to a positive SOR; however, 2-aryl chromanes with P-helicity tend to exhibit negative SORs. 2-Carboxyl (including alkoxycarbonyl and carbonyl) chromanes often display small experimental SORs, and theoretical calculations for them are prone to error because of the fluctuating conformational distribution with computational parameters. Several typical compounds were discussed, including detailed descriptions of the asymmetric synthesis, absolute configuration (AC) assignment methods, and systematic conformational analysis. We hope this work will enrich the knowledge of the stereochemistry of chiral 2-substituted chromanes.

Transition metal-free, base mediated one-pot approach for the construction of the benzo[b][1,4,5]oxathiazepine 1-oxide core

Protocol for synthesising selected separable diastereomers of benzo[b][1,4,5]oxathiazepine 1-oxides via intermolecular epoxide ring opening by o-halogenated NH-sulfoximine followed by cyclisation and configurations were assigned by 2D NMR and X-ray crystallography.

TBN-triggered, manipulable annulations of o-hydroxyarylenaminones for divergent syntheses of oximinochromanones and oximinocoumaranones

Divergent synthesis provides an indispensable route to rapid acquisition of structurally diverse chemical scaffolds from identical starting materials. Herein, we describe unprecedented divergent annulations of o-hydroxyarylenaminones promoted by tert-butyl nitrite (TBN) under mild conditions. Two different types of benzo-oxa-heterocycle, including oximinochromanones and oximinocoumaranones, were smoothly assembled with a broad substrate scope and good functional group compatibility.

Dihydronaphthofurans: synthetic strategies and applications

Dihydronaphthofurans (DHNs) are an important class of arene ring-fused furans which are widely found in many natural and non-natural products and drug candidates with relevant biological and pharmacological activities. Furthermore, vinylidene-naphthofurans exhibit photochromic properties when exposed to UV or sun light at room temperature. For these reasons, a vast array of synthetic procedures for the preparation of dihydronaphthofurans including annulation of naphthols with various reagents, cycloaddition reactions ([3 + 2], [4 + 1] and Diels-Alder), intramolecular transannulation, Friedel-Crafts, Wittig, Claisen rearrangement, neophyl rearrangement and other reactions under various conditions have been developed over the past decades. This review aims to describe the different strategies developed so far for the synthesis of dihydronaphthofurans and their applications. After a brief introduction to the types of dihydronaphthofurans and their biological activities, the different synthetic approaches such as chemical, photochemical, and electrochemical, methods are described and organized on the basis of the catalysts and the other reagents employed in the syntheses. The subsequent section focuses on biological and pharmacological applications and photochromic properties of the target compounds.

Phenolate-induced intramolecular ring-opening cyclization of N-tosylaziridines: access to functionalized benzoxacycles

Phenolate-induced, diastereo- and regioselective intramolecular exo-tet ring-opening cyclization of N-tosylaziridines has been achieved for the first time.

Studies directed toward the exploitation of vicinal diols in the synthesis of (+)-nebivolol intermediates

While the exploitation of the Sharpless asymmetric dihydroxylation as the source of chirality in the synthesis of acyclic molecules and saturated heterocycles has been tremendous, its synthetic utility toward chiral benzo-annulated heterocycles is relatively limited. Thus, in the search for wider applications of Sharpless asymmetric dihydroxylation-derived diols for the synthesis of benzo-annulated heterocycles, we report herein our studies in the asymmetric synthesis of (R)-1-((R)-6-fluorochroman-2-yl)ethane-1,2-diol, (R)-1-((S)-6-fluorochroman-2-yl)ethane-1,2-diol and (S)-6-fluoro-2-((R)-oxiran-2-yl)chroman, which have been used as late-stage intermediates for the asymmetric synthesis of the antihypertensive drug (S,R,R,R)-nebivolol. Noteworthy is that a large number of racemic and asymmetric syntheses of nebivolol and their intermediates have been described in the literature, however, the Sharpless asymmetric dihydroxylation has never been employed as the sole source of chirality for this purpose.

cis-Diastereoselective synthesis of chroman-fused tetralins as B-ring-modified analogues of brazilin

We have synthesized a series of cis-6a,7,8,12b-tetrahydro-6H-naphtho[2,1-c]chromen-6a-ols as B-ring-modified analogues of (±)-brazilin. A completely regio- and cis-diastereoselective intramolecular Friedel–Crafts epoxy–arene cyclization of 1-tetralone-derived glycidyl ethers catalyzed by Brønsted acids was used as the key step. Our worries concerning the formation of cis–trans product mixtures and their probable conversion to naphthopyran derivatives via dehydration of the tertiary hydroxy group were laid to rest. Additionally, the angular hydroxy group of one of the synthesized products has been reductively removed by a diastereoselective method which should be useful in future for preparing libraries of chroman-fused tetralins with trans-stereochemistry at the ring junction.

Formation of tetrahydrofurans via a 5-endo-tet cyclization of aziridines--synthesis of (-)-pachastrissamine

The formation of tetrahydrofurans from 2-hydroxyalkyl-oxirane or aziridine is reported. The 5-endo-tet cyclization/ring opening of aziridine proceeded smoothly to give tetrahydrofurans (THFs) under mild conditions. In contrast, the corresponding process of oxirane was unsuccessful and a sequence of SN2 substitution/cyclization was required to form THFs. The application of the process to prepare ent-(-)-pachastrissamine is described.

Reactions of o-quinone methides with pyridinium methylides: a diastereoselective synthesis of 1,2-dihydronaphtho[2,1-b]furans and 2,3-dihydrobenzofurans

A simple, general route to the 1,2-dihydronaphtho[2,1-b]furans and 2,3-dihydrobenzofurans substituted at C-2 by an acyl or aryl group, starting from phenolic Mannich bases and pyridinium ylides, has been developed. The mechanism of the reaction is believed to involve the formation of the o-quinone methide intermediate, Michael-type addition of the ylide to the o-quinone methide, followed by intramolecular nucleophilic substitution.

Strategies for the Synthesis of 2,3-Dihydrobenzofurans

This article gives an overview of synthetic approaches to the 2,3-dihydrobenzofuran ring system with an emphasis on recently developed methods. The synthetic approaches are classified according to the key bond(s) formed during the construction of the dihydrobenzofuran skeleton, and approaches of relevance to the synthesis of natural products are highlighted.

Chiral amine/chiral acid as an excellent organocatalytic system for the enantioselective tandem oxa-Michael-aldol reaction

The asymmetric tandem oxa-Michael-aldol reaction of salicylic aldehyde derivatives with alpha,beta-unsaturated aldehydes catalyzed by a chiral amine/chiral acid organocatalytic system was investigated. The organocatalytic system of (S)-diphenylpyrrolinol trimethylsilyl ether with chiral shift reagent (S)-Mosher acid presented a synergistic effect in the improvement of reaction performance and offered an efficient steric effect in the transformation. The tandem oxa-Michael-aldol reaction proceeded with high yields (up to 90%) and with excellent ee values (up to 99%) to give the corresponding chromene derivatives. The structure of the chiral ammonium salt formed in situ and the corresponding mechanism were also studied by (1)H NMR.