α-Quaternary Proline Derivatives by Intramolecular Diastereoselective Arylation of N-Carboxamido Proline Ester Enolates

Stereoselective two-carbon ring expansion of allylic amines via electronic control of palladium-promoted equilibria

General methodologies enabling the two-carbon homologation of pyrrolidine and piperidine systems have yet to be developed. Herein we report that palladium-catalysed allylic amine rearrangements enable efficient two-carbon ring expansion of 2-alkenyl pyrrolidine and piperidines to their azepane and azocane counterparts. Conditions are mild, tolerant of a range of functional groups and the process can occur with high enantioretention. The products formed undergo a range of orthogonal transformations, making them ideal scaffolds for the creation of compound libraries.

Rigidified Bis(sulfonyl)ethylenes as Effective Michael Acceptors for Asymmetric Catalysis: Application to the Enantioselective Synthesis of Quaternary Hydantoins

The catalytic, enantio- and diastereoselective addition of hydantoin surrogates II to "rigidified" vinylidene bis(sulfone) reagents is developed, thus overcoming the inability of commonly employed β-substituted vinylic sulfones to react. Adducts are transformed in enantioenriched 5,5-disubstituted hydantoins through hydrolysis and reductive desulfonylation processes providing new structures for eventual bioassays. Density functional theory studies that rationalize the observed reactivity and stereoselectivity trends are also provided.

C(sp3)-Arylation by Conformationally Accelerated Intramolecular Nucleophilic Aromatic Substitution (SNAr)

The asymmetric synthesis of heavily substituted benzylic stereogenic centers, prevalent in natural products, therapeutics, agrochemicals, and catalysts, is an ongoing challenge. In this Account, we outline our contribution to this endeavor, describing our discovery of a series of new reactions that not only have synthetic applicability but also present significant mechanistic intrigue. The story originated from our longstanding interest in the stereochemistry and reactivity of functionalized organolithiums. While investigating the lithiation chemistry of ureas (a “Cinderella” sister of the more established amides and carbamates), we noted an unexpected Truce–Smiles (T-S) rearrangement involving the 1,4-N → C transposition of a urea N′-aryl group to the α-carbanion of an adjacent N-benzyl group. Despite this reaction formally constituting an S_NAr substitution, we found it to be remarkably tolerant of the electronic properties of the migrating aryl substituent and the degree of substitution at the carbanion. Moreover, in contrast to classical S_NAr reactions, the rearrangement was sufficiently rapid that it took place under conditions compatible with configurational stability in an organolithium intermediate, enabling enantiospecific arylation at benzylic stereogenic centers. Experimental and computational studies confirmed a low kinetic barrier to the aryl migration arising from the strong preference for a trans arrangement of the urea N′-aryl and carbonyl groups, populating a reactive conformer in which spatial proximity was enforced between the carbanion and N′-aryl group, hugely accelerating ipso-substitution.

This discovery led us to uncover a whole series of conformationally accelerated intramolecular N → C aryl transfers using different anilide-based functional groups, including a diverse range of urea, carbamate, and thiocarbamate-substituted anions. Products included enantioenriched α-tertiary amines (including α-arylated N-heterocycles) and alcohols, as well as rare α-tertiary thiols. Synthetically challenging diarylated centers with differentiated aryl groups featured heavily in all product sets. The absolute enantiospecificity (retention versus inversion) of the reaction was dependent on the heteroatom α to the lithiation site: the origin of this stereodivergence was probed both experimentally and computationally. Asymmetric variants of the rearrangement were realized by enantioselective deprotonation, and connective strategies were developed in which an intermolecular C–C bond-forming event preceded the anionic rearrangement. Substrates where the N′-nucleofuge (at the aryl ipso position) was tethered to the migrating arene allowed us to use the rearrangement as a ring expansion method to generate 8- to 12-membered medium-ring N-heterocycles from very simple precursors. Stabilized carbon nucleophiles such as alkali metal enolates also readily promoted intramolecular N → C aryl transfer in N′-arylureas, opening up access to biologically relevant hydantoins, and enabling a “chiral memory” approach for the (hetero)arylation of chiral α-amino acids with programmable retention or inversion of configuration. Collectively, our studies of electronically versatile T-S rearrangements in anilide-based systems have culminated in a practical and general strategy for transition metal-free C(sp³)-arylation. More broadly, our results highlight the power of conformational activation to achieve unprecedented reactivity in the construction of challenging C–C bonds.

Hydantoin-bridged medium ring scaffolds by migratory insertion of urea-tethered nitrile anions into aromatic C-N bonds

Bicyclic or tricyclic nitrogen-containing heterocyclic scaffolds were constructed rapidly by intramolecular nucleophilic aromatic substitution of metallated nitriles tethered by a urea linkage to a series of electronically unactivated heterocyclic precursors. The substitution reaction constitutes a ring expansion, enabled by the conformationally constrained tether between the nitrile and the heterocycle. Attack of the metallated urea leaving group on the nitrile generates a hydantoin that bridges the polycyclic products. X-ray crystallography reveals ring-dependant strain within the hydantoin.

Connective synthesis of 5,5-disubstituted hydantoins by tandem α-amination and α-arylation of silyl ketene acetals

Amination of a silylated ester generates an intermediate urea that transfers an aryl ring to the aminated centre and cyclises to a hydantoin.

5,5-Disubstituted hydantoins, formally the cyclisation products of quaternary amino acids, were formed connectively from simple ester-derived starting materials by a one-pot tandem method. Amination of the silyl ketene acetal derivative of a methyl ester takes place by silver-catalysed addition to the N Created by potrace 1.16, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2019 ]]> N bond of an azocarboxamide, generating a N-amino-N′-aryl urea derivative of a substituted aminoester. Treatment with a base forms an ester enolate which undergoes arylation by intramolecular migration of an aryl ring to the α-position of the ester. The product undergoes ring closure to a hydantoin, which may itself be deprotected and functionalised. Aryl migration is successful with rings of various electronic character and with esters bearing functionalised and unfunctionalised chains, and the products have features in common with several bioactive compounds.

Rapid Assembly of Saturated Nitrogen Heterocycles in One-Pot: Diazo-Heterocycle "Stitching" by N-H Insertion and Cyclization

Methods that provide rapid access to new heterocyclic structures in biologically relevant chemical space provide important opportunities in drug discovery. Here, a strategy is described for the preparation of 2,2-disubstituted azetidines, pyrrolidines, piperidines, and azepanes bearing ester and diverse aryl substituents. A one-pot rhodium catalyzed N-H insertion and cyclization sequence uses diazo compounds to stitch together linear 1,m-haloamines (m=2-5) to rapidly assemble 4 -, 5 -, 6 -, and 7 -membered saturated nitrogen heterocycles in excellent yields. Over fifty examples are demonstrated, including examples with diazo compounds derived from biologically active compounds. The products can be functionalized to afford α,α-disubstituted amino acids and applied to fragment synthesis.

Enantioselective Synthesis of 5,5-Disubstituted Hydantoins by Brønsted Base/H-Bond Catalyst Assisted Michael Reactions of a Design Template

A new method for the enantioselective synthesis of 5,5-disubstituted (quaternary) hydantoins was developed on the basis of an organocatalytic Michael reaction approach involving the use of 2-benzylthio-3,5-dihydroimidazol-4-ones as key hydantoin surrogates. The method is general with respect to the substitution pattern at the hydantoin N¹ (alkyl, aryl, acyl), N³ (aryl), and C⁵ (linear/branched alkyl, aryl) positions and affords essentially single diastereomeric products with enantioselectivities higher than 95 % ee in most cases. Among the bifunctional Brønsted base/H-bond catalysts examined, a known squaramide-tertiary amine catalyst and a newly prepared squaramide-tertiary amine catalyst provide the highest selectivity so far with either nitroolefins or vinyl ketones as the acceptor components. Kinetic measurements support a first-order rate dependence on both reaction partners, the donor template and the Michael acceptor, whereas competitive ¹ H NMR spectroscopy experiments reveal the high ability of the template for catalyst binding.

Recent Advances in the Synthesis of Hydantoins: The State of the Art of a Valuable Scaffold

The review highlights the hydantoin syntheses presented from the point of view of the preparation methods. Novel synthetic routes to various hydantoin structures, the advances brought to the classical methods in the aim of producing more sustainable and environmentally friendly procedures for the preparation of these biomolecules, and a critical comparison of the different synthetic approaches developed in the last twelve years are also described. The review is composed of 95 schemes, 8 figures and 528 references for the last 12 years and includes the description of the hydantoin-based marketed drugs and clinical candidates.