Direct organocatalytic in situ generation of novel push–pull dienamines: application in tandem Claisen–Schmidt/iso-aromatization reactions

Dieckmann Condensation of Ugi N-Acylamino Amide Product: Facile Access to Functionalized 2,2-Disubstituted Indolin-3-ones

Structurally unique 2,2-disubstituted indolin-3-ones with a quaternary carbon center have been constructed through a novel C-C bond formation at the C3 position of Ugi N-acylamino amide adducts employing an organic base-mediated Dieckmann condensation. This facile, flexible protocol can be fine-tuned to construct drug-like pyrazino[1,2-a]indole fragments with the same quaternary carbon center only through the variation of the acid part in Ugi input. This novel and expeditious methodology has a broad scope and can rapidly generate the drug-like indolin-3-one core.

Cascade 8π Electrocyclization/Benzannulation to Access Highly Substituted Phenylpyridines

A cascade 8π electrocyclization/benzannulation reaction was developed to obtain the synthetically important highly substituted phenyl-pyridines. This method shows great potential in the rapid and inexpensive application of the scalable and operationally simple production of accessible substrates. On the basis of the resulting phenyl-pyridine products, a new Ru catalyst and bidentate ligand were designed and prepared, further demonstrating its high practicability.

Enantio- and Diastereoselective Two-Pot Synthesis of Isoquinuclidines from Glutaraldehyde and N-Aryl Imines with DFT Calculations

A pot-economic method for the enantio- and diastereoselective synthesis of a [2.2.2] azabicyclic isoquinuclidine system is developed. This protocol involves the proline-catalyzed direct Mannich reaction-cyclization/IBX-mediated site-selective oxidation/NaBH₄-reduction sequence between glutaraldehyde and imines to generate in situ chiral 1,2-DHPs, followed by the diastereoselective Diels-Alder reaction with N-aryl maleimides furnishing isoquinuclidines in overall five steps. A variety of isoquinuclidines having five-contiguous chiral centers, including an all-carbon quaternary, were prepared with high yields (up to 78%) and excellent stereoselectivity (>50:1 dr, and up to >99:1 er). DFT calculations support the observed high stereoselective reaction outcome.

One-Pot Synthesis of Chiral Tetracyclic Dibenzo[ b, f][1,4]oxazepine-Fused 1,2-Dihydropyridines (DHPs) under Metal-Free Conditions

An efficient protocol for the catalytic asymmetric synthesis of new dibenzo[ b, f][1,4]-oxazepine-fused 1,2-dihydropyridines (DHPs) has been described under metal-free conditions. This reaction proceeds through proline-catalyzed direct Mannich/cyclization between seven-membered dibenzo[ b, f][1,4]-oxazepine-imines and aqueous glutaraldehyde, followed by IBX-mediated site-selective dehydrogenative oxidation in one-pot operation with high yields (up to 92%) and excellent enantioselectivity (up to >99:1 er).

Sequential one-pot combination of multi-component and multi-catalysis cascade reactions: an emerging technology in organic synthesis

Creating sequential one-pot combinations of multi-component reactions (MCRs) and multi-catalysis cascade (MCC) reactions is a challenging task that has already emerged as a new technology in synthetic organic chemistry. Through one-pot sequential combination of MCRs/MCC reactions, the chemical products (fine chemicals, agrochemicals and pharmaceuticals) that add value to our lives can be produced with less waste and greater economic benefits. Within this Emerging Area, we describe our recent developments and designs for sequential one-pot MCRs/MCC reactions to facilitate their realization as biomimetics in organic chemistry.

Direct amino acid-catalyzed cascade biomimetic reductive alkylations: application to the asymmetric synthesis of Hajos-Parrish ketone analogues

A direct amino acid-catalyzed chemo- and enantioselective process for the double cascade synthesis of highly substituted 2-alkyl-cyclopentane-1,3-diones, 2-alkyl-3-methoxy-cyclopent-2-enones and Hajos-Parrish (H-P) ketone analogs is presented via reductive alkylation chemistry. For the first time, we have developed a single-step alkylation of cyclopentane-1,3-dione with aldehydes/ketones and a Hantzsch ester through an organocatalytic reductive alkylation strategy. A direct combination of amino acid-catalyzed cascade olefination-hydrogenation and cascade Robinson annulations of cyclopentane-1,3-dione, aldehydes/ketones, a Hantzsch ester and methyl vinyl ketone furnished the highly functionalized H-P ketone analogues in good to high yields and with excellent enantioselectivities. Many of the reductive alkylation products have shown direct applications in pharmaceutical chemistry.

Organocatalytic Cascade Reactions Based on Push−Pull Dienamine Platform: Synthesis of Highly Substituted Anilines

A practical and novel one-pot organocatalytic selective process for the cascade synthesis of highly substituted o-hydroxydiarylamines and o-pyrrolidin-1-yldiarylamines is reported. Direct combination of amine-catalyzed cascade Knoevenagel/Michael/aldol condensation/decarboxylation and cascade enamine amination/isoaromatization of alkyl acetoacetates, aldehydes, and nitrosoarenes furnished the highly functionalized anilines with high yields.

3,3‘-Bimorpholine Derivatives as a New Class of Organocatalysts for Asymmetric Michael Addition

New N-alkyl-3,3'-bimorpholine derivatives (iPBM) were revealed to be efficient organocatalysts for the asymmetric direct Michael addition of aldehydes to nitroolefins and a vinyl sulfone. In these transformations using iPBM, 1,4-adducts were afforded in high yields, with good to high levels of diastereo- and enantioselectivity. The stereochemical outcome of the reaction could be explained by an acyclic synclinal model. [reaction: see text]

Development of drug intermediates by using direct organocatalytic multi-component reactions

Novel, economic and environmentally friendly one-pot three-component Knoevenagel/hydrogenation (K/H) and four-component Knoevenagel/hydrogenation/alkylation (K/H/A) reactions of ketones, CH-acids, dihydropyridines and alkyl halides using proline and proline/metal carbonate catalysis, respectively, have been developed. Many of the products of these K/H and K/H/A reactions have direct applications in pharmaceutical chemistry.

Towards organo-click reactions: development of pharmaceutical ingredients by using direct organocatalytic bio-mimetic reductions

Economic and environmentally friendly bio-mimetic one-pot three and four-component Knoevenagel-hydrogenation (K-H), five-component Knoevenagel-hydrogenation-alkylation (K-H-A) and six-component Knoevenagel-hydrogenation-alkylation-Huisgen cycloaddition (K-H-A-HC) reactions of aldehydes, CH-acids, o-phenylenediamine, alkyl halides and azides using proline, proline-metal carbonate and proline-metal carbonate-Cu(I)-catalysis, respectively have been developed. Many of K-H and K-H-A compounds have direct application in pharmaceutical chemistry.