Process for preparing Ezetimibe intermediate by an acid enhanced chemo- and enantioselective CBS catalyzed ketone reduction

Molecular Editing of Ketones through N-Heterocyclic Carbene and Photo Dual Catalysis

The molecular editing of ketones represents an appealing strategy due to its ability to maximize the structural diversity of ketone compounds in a straightforward manner. However, developing efficient methods for the arbitrary modification of ketonic molecules, particularly those integrated within complex skeletons, remains a significant challenge. Herein, we present a unique strategy for ketone recasting that involves radical acylation of pre-functionalized ketones facilitated by N-heterocyclic carbene and photo dual catalysis. This protocol features excellent substrate tolerance and can be applied to the convergent synthesis and late-stage functionalization of structurally complex bioactive ketones. Mechanistic investigations, including experimental studies and density functional theory (DFT) calculations, shed light on the reaction mechanism and elucidate the basis of the regioselectivity.

Structure-based mechanisms: On the way to apply alcohol dehydrogenases/reductases to organic-aqueous systems

Alcohol dehydrogenases/reductases catalyze enantioselective syntheses of versatile chiral compounds relying on direct hydride transfer from cofactor to substrates, or to an intermediate and then to substrates. Since most of the substrates catalyzed by alcohol dehydrogenases/reductases are insoluble in aqueous solutions, increasing interest has been turning to organic-aqueous systems. However, alcohol dehydrogenases/reductases are normally instable in organic solvents, leading to the unsatisfied enantioselective synthesis efficiency. The behaviors of these enzymes in organic solvents at an atomic level are unclear, thus it is of great importance to understand its structure-based mechanisms in organic-aqueous systems to improve their relative stability. Here, we summarized the accessible structures of alcohol dehydrogenases/reductases in Protein Data Bank crystallized in organic-aqueous systems, and compared the structures of alcohol dehydrogenases/reductases which have different tolerance towards organic solvents. By understanding the catalytic behaviors and mechanisms of these enzymes in organic-aqueous systems, the efficient enantioselective syntheses mediated by alcohol dehydrogenases/reductases and further challenges are also discussed through solvent engineering and enzyme-immobilization in the last decade.

Prescribed drugs containing nitrogen heterocycles: an overview

Heteroatoms as well as heterocyclic scaffolds are frequently present as the common cores in a plethora of active pharmaceuticals natural products. Statistically, more than 85% of all biologically active compounds are heterocycles or comprise a heterocycle and most frequently, nitrogen heterocycles as a backbone in their complex structures. These facts disclose and emphasize the vital role of heterocycles in modern drug design and drug discovery. In this review, we try to present a comprehensive overview of top prescribed drugs containing nitrogen heterocycles, describing their pharmacological properties, medical applications and their selected synthetic pathways. It is worth mentioning that the reported examples are actually limited to current top selling drugs, being or containing N-heterocycles and their synthetic information has been extracted from both scientific journals and the wider patent literature.

Practical Enantioselective Reduction of Ketones Using Oxazaborolidine Catalysts Generated In Situ from Chiral Lactam Alcohols

Oxazaborolidine catalyst (CBS catalyst) has been extensively used for catalytic borane reduction with a predictable absolute stereochemistry and high enantioselectivity. However, the use of isolated CBS catalyst sometimes has the drawback of low reproducibility due to the aging of the CBS catalyst during storage. Therefore, we investigated a more reliable and practical method for the reduction of a variety of ketones including challenging substrates, primary aliphatic ketones, α,β-enones, and trifluoromethyl ketones. This review surveys the developments in borane reduction using oxazaborolidine catalysts generated in situ from chiral lactam alcohols and borane.

Highly enantioselective Ir/f-amphox-catalyzed hydrogenation of ketoamides: efficient access to chiral hydroxy amides

Asymmetric synthesis of chiral hydroxy amides has been successfully accomplished by asymmetric hydrogenation of prochiral α-, β-, γ-, δ-keto amides catalyzed by Ir/f-amphox with up to >99% conversion and >99% ee.

Enzymatic synthesis of an ezetimibe intermediate using carbonyl reductase coupled with glucose dehydrogenase in an aqueous-organic solvent system

(4S)-3-[(5S)-5-(4-Fluorophenyl)-5-hydroxypentanoyl]-4-phenyl-1,3-oxazolidin-2-one ((S)-ET-5) is an important chiral intermediate in the synthesis of chiral side chain of ezetimibe. Recombinant Escherichia coli expressing carbonyl reductase (CBR) was successfully constructed in this study. The total E. coli biomass and the specific activity of recombinant CBR in 5L fermenter culture were 10.9gDCWL^-1 and 14900.3Ug^-1DCW, respectively. The dual-enzyme coupled biocatalytic process in an aqueous-organic biphasic solvent system was first constructed using p-xylene as the optimal organic phase under optimized reaction conditions, and 150gL^-1 (4S)-3-[5-(4-fluorophenyl)-1,5-dioxophentyl]-4-phenyl-1,3-oxazolidin-2-one (ET-4) was successfully converted to (S)-ET-5 with a conversion of 99.1% and diastereomeric excess of 99% after 24-h, which are the highest values reported to date for the production of (S)-ET-5.

(S)-3-[(S)-5-(4-Fluorophenyl)-5-hydroxypentanoyl]-4-phenyloxazolidin-2-one 0.67-hydrate

The asymmetric unit of the title compound, 3C20H20FNO4·2H2O, consists of three (S)-3-[(S)-5-(4-fluorophenyl)-5-hydroxypentanoyl]-4-phenyloxazolidin-2-one molecules and two solvent water molecules. The carbonyl groups of the oxazolidin-2-one and hydroxypentanoyl units are orientedantito one another in each molecule. In the crystal, O—H...O, C—H...O and C—H...F hydrogen bonds link the molecules into a three-dimensional supramolecular architecture with the organic molecules linked by water molecules and stacked along theb-axis direction.

Ru-catalyzed asymmetric hydrogenation of δ-keto Weinreb amides: enantioselective synthesis of (+)-Centrolobine

An efficient asymmetric hydrogenation of δ-keto Weinreb amides catalyzed by a Ru-Xyl-SunPhos-Daipen bifunctional catalyst has been achieved.

Systematic approach to conformational sampling for assigning absolute configuration using vibrational circular dichroism

Systematic methods that speed-up the assignment of absolute configuration using vibrational circular dichrosim (VCD) and simplify its usage will advance this technique into a robust platform technology. Applying VCD to pharmaceutically relevant compounds has been handled in an ad hoc fashion, relying on fragment analysis and technical shortcuts to reduce the computational time required. We leverage a large computational infrastructure to provide adequate conformational exploration which enables an accurate assignment of absolute configuration. We describe a systematic approach for rapid calculation of VCD/IR spectra and comparison with corresponding measured spectra and apply this approach to assign the correct stereochemistry of nine test cases. We suggest moving away from the fragment approach when making VCD assignments. In addition to enabling faster and more reliable VCD assignments of absolute configuration, the ability to rapidly explore conformational space and sample conformations of complex molecules will have applicability in other areas of drug discovery.

Recent development and improvement for boron hydride-based catalytic asymmetric reduction of unsymmetrical ketones

Catalytic asymmetric reduction of prochiral ketones with hydrides such as boranes and borohydrides is one of the simplest and the most convenient methods for obtaining chiral alcohols. This tutorial review describes the most significant advances recently achieved for enhancing the enantioselectivity and practicability of the reduction using this methodology. The review covers the development of new homogeneous and/or immobilized catalysts for asymmetric reduction using borane or borohydride reagents and practical improvement of the well-known oxazaborolidine (OAB)-catalysed reduction through developing more stable, cost effective and recoverable OABs, scalable and environmental friendly borane sources, and one-pot procedures for the reduction.

SuperQuat N-acyl-5,5-dimethyloxazolidin-2-ones for the asymmetric synthesis of alpha-alkyl and beta-alkyl aldehydes

The proclivity of alpha-branched N-2'-benzyl-3'-phenylpropionyl derivatives of (S)-4-benzyl-5,5-dimethyl-, (S)-4-phenyl-5,5-dimethyl-, (S)-4-isopropyl-5,5-dimethyl-, (S)-4-benzyl- and (S)-4-benzyl-5,5-diphenyl-oxazolidin-2-ones to generate directly 2-benzyl-3-phenylpropionaldehyde upon hydride reduction with DIBAL is investigated. The (S)-4-benzyl-5,5-dimethyl-derivative proved optimal for inhibition of endocyclic nucleophilic attack, giving 2-benzyl-3-phenylpropionaldehyde in good yield upon reduction. Application of this methodology for the asymmetric synthesis of chiral aldehydes via diastereoselective enolate alkylation of a range of (S)-N-acyl-4-benzyl-5,5-dimethyloxazolidin-2-ones to afford and array of alpha-substituted-N-acyl-5,5-dimethyloxazolidin- 2-ones (85-94% de) and subsequent reduction with DIBAL afforded directly non-racemic alpha-substituted aldehydes without loss of stereochemical integrity (87-94% ee). The extension of this protocol for the asymmetric synthesis of beta-substituted aldehydes is demonstrated, via the diastereoselective conjugate addition of a range of organocuprates to (S)-N-acyl-4-phenyl-5,5-dimethyloxazolidin-2-ones which proceeds with high diastereoselectivity (generally > 95% de). Reduction of the conjugate addition products with DIBAL gives non-racemic beta-substituted aldehydes in high yields and in high ee (generally > 95% ee). This methodology is exemplified by the asymmetric synthesis of (R)-3-isopropenylhept-6-enal, which has previously been used in the synthesis of (3Z,6R)-3-methyl-6-isopropenyl-3,9-decadien-1-yl acetate, a component of the sex pheromones of the California red scale.