Ti(IV)/BINOL-catalyzed asymmetric aldol reaction of a masked acetoacetic ester: pronounced influence of catalyst concentration on nonlinear effects

Exploiting the p-Bromodienone Route for the Formation and Trapping of Calixarene Oxenium Cations with Enamine Nucleophiles

This study shows that calixarene p-bromodienone derivatives can act as precursors for the formation of oxenium cations, which can be trapped with enamine C-nucleophiles. When calixarene p-bromodienones were treated with enamines, in the presence of AgClO₄, the lower rim-substituted C-O-C products were obtained by an electrophilic attack of the intermediate calixarene-oxenium cation with a contemporary cone-to-partial-cone inversion of the involved aromatic ring.

Supramolecular synthons in the gamma-hydroxybutenolides

The supramolecular organization in the solid state of five novel gamma-hydroxybutenolides is described.

Total synthesis and structure-activity investigation of the marine natural product neopeltolide

The total synthesis and biological evaluation of neopeltolide and analogs are reported. The key bond-forming step utilizes a Lewis acid-catalyzed intramolecular macrocyclization that installs the tetrahydropyran ring and macrocycle simultaneously. Independent of each other, neither the macrolide nor the oxazole side chain substituents of neopeltolide can inhibit the growth of cancer cell lines. The biological data of the analogs indicate that alterations to either the ester side chain or the stereochemistry of the macrolide result in a loss of biological activity.

Nonlinear effects in asymmetric catalysis

There is a need for the preparation of enantiomerically pure compounds for various applications. An efficient approach to achieve this goal is asymmetric catalysis. The chiral catalyst is usually prepared from a chiral auxiliary, which itself is derived from a natural product or by resolution of a racemic precursor. The use of non-enantiopure chiral auxiliaries in asymmetric catalysis seems unattractive to preparative chemists, since the anticipated enantiomeric excess (ee) of the reaction product should be proportional to the ee value of the chiral auxiliary (linearity). In fact, some deviation from linearity may arise. Such nonlinear effects can be rich in mechanistic information and can be synthetically useful (asymmetric amplification). This Review documents the advances made during the last decade in the use of nonlinear effects in the area of organometallic and organic catalysis.

Catalytic, Enantioselective, Vinylogous Aldol Reactions

In 1935, R. C. Fuson formulated the principle of vinylogy to explain how the influence of a functional group may be felt at a distant point in the molecule when this position is connected by conjugated double-bond linkages to the group. In polar reactions, this concept allows the extension of the electrophilic or nucleophilic character of a functional group through the pi system of a carbon-carbon double bond. This vinylogous extension has been applied to the aldol reaction by employing "extended" dienol ethers derived from gamma-enolizable alpha,beta-unsaturated carbonyl compounds. Since 1994, several methods for the catalytic, enantioselective, vinylogous aldol reaction have appeared, with which varying degrees of regio- (site), enantio-, and diastereoselectivity can be attained. In this Review, the current scope and limitations of this transformation, as well as its application in natural product synthesis, are discussed.