Construction of Bispirooxindole Heterocycles via Palladium-Catalyzed Ring-Opening Formal [3 + 2]-Cycloaddition of Spirovinylcyclopropyl Oxindole and 3-Oxindole Derivatives

Synthesis of 4-Hydroxyindolin-2-ones via Phosphoric Acid-Mediated Annulation of β-Nitrostyrenes with 1,3-Cyclohexanedione

The efficient synthesis of 4-hydroxy-3-arylindolin-2-ones via phosphoric acid-mediated annulation of various β-nitrostyrenes and 1,3-cyclohexanedione is described. This annulation reaction gives a practical method for affording a diverse set of oxindoles, having simple experimentation, readily available starting materials, and very good yields. Additionally, substituted 1,3-cyclohexanediones under the same conditions afforded tetrahydrobenzofuran oxime compounds.

Recent updates on vinyl cyclopropanes, aziridines and oxiranes: access to heterocyclic scaffolds

This present review delineates the repertoire of vinyl cyclopropanes and their stuctural analogues to accomplish a wide array of oxa-cycles, aza-cycles, and thia-cycles under transition metal catalysis and metal-free approaches from early 2019 to the present date. The generation of electrophilic π-allyl intermediates and 1-3/1-5-dipolarophile chemistry originating from VCPs are always green, step- and atom-economical and sustainable strategies in comparsion with prefunctionalized and/or C-H activation protocols. Here, the strained ring-system extends its applicability by relieving the strain to undergo a ring-expansion reaction to accomplish 5-9 membered carbo- and heterocyclic systems. The availability of chiral ligands in the ring-expansion reaction of VCPs and their analogues has paved the way to realizing asymmetric synthetic transformations.

Recent Advances in Palladium-Catalyzed [4 + n] Cycloaddition of Lactones, Benzoxazinanones, Allylic Carbonates, and Vinyloxetanes

Palladium-catalyzed allylation cyclization reaction has recently emerged as an efficient and powerful synthetic platform for the construction of diverse and valuable carbo- and heterocycles. Thus the development of new allylic motifs for achieving this type of transformations in high reactivity and selectivity is of great importance. Generally, these substrates have been utilized as 1,3-, 1,4-, 1,5-, 1,6-dipoles in many reactions, which are applied to prepare highly functionalized products with complete control of chemo-, regio-, diastereo-, and enantioselectivity. In this review, we focus our attention on the development of palladium-catalyzed [4 + n] cycloaddition of allylic motifs and describe a comprehensive and impressive advances in this area. Meanwhile, the related mechanism and the application of these annulation strategies in natural product total synthesis will be highlighted in detail.

Palladium-Catalyzed Annulative Coupling of Spirovinylcyclopropyl Oxindoles with p-Quinone Methides

Pd-catalyzed annulative coupling of spirovinylcyclopropyl oxindoles with p-quinone methides has been accomplished via cascade carbon-carbon bond formation to afford bis-spirooxindole scaffolds. The mild reaction conditions, diastereoselectivity, functional group diversity, post-synthetic transformations, and mechanistic studies using DFT calculations are the important practical features.

Copper acetate catalysed C-C bond formation en route to the synthesis of spiro indanedione cyclopropylpyrazolones

This article reports the synthesis of spiro compounds based on an indanedione-cyclopropane-pyrazolone framework. The reaction relied upon the Michael-initiated ring closure strategy and was carried out under Cu(OAc)₂ catalysis, assisted by an oxygen atmosphere and the base Et₃N. The final compounds were obtained as an inseparable mixture in most cases with modest to good yields using diverse substrates. Among the two plausible routes, computational studies indicated the feasibility of a route which involves a four-membered Cu containing intermediate. Given the generic nature of the developed method, it may be utilised to synthesise other analogous spiro systems.

Ligand-Controlled Palladium-Catalyzed Asymmetric [4+3] and [2+3] Annulation Reactions of Spirovinylcyclopropyl Oxindoles with o-Quinone Methides

We herein report regiodivergent ligand-controlled palladium-catalyzed asymmetric cycloaddition reactions between spirovinylcyclopropyl oxindoles and o-quinone methides. Specifically, by using the chiral P,P-ligand Segphos (L5), we obtained various spirooxindole-3,4-benzo[b]oxepanes in moderate to good yields with excellent enantioselectivities via [4+3] cycloaddition reactions. In contrast, reactions involving Trost's ligand (L7) showed different regio- and stereoselectivities, affording bispirooxindole heterocyclic compounds in good yields via [2+3] cycloaddition reactions.

Cooperative Palladium-Catalyzed and P(NEt2)3-Mediated (4+1) Annulation of Isatins with 2-Hydroxymethylallylcarbonates

P(NR2)3-promoted transformations of isatins with electron-withdrawing alkenes have received consistently attention over the last decades. However, no example involving chemical transformations of nonactivated or weakly activated alkenes is discovered in...

Gold/scandium bimetallic relay catalysis of formal [5+2]- and [4+2]-annulations: access to tetracyclic indole scaffolds

Regiodivergent formal [5+2]- and [4+2]-annulation reactions of indole derivatives with 2-(2-alkynyl)aryl cyclopropane-1,1-diesters (ACPs) have been developed. A series of tetracyclic indole derivatives were delivered in a 77% average yield with excellent regioselectivities enabled by Au(I)/Sc(III) bimetallic relay catalysis. A gram-scale reaction and further transformation of the resulting tetracyclic indoles demonstrated the practical utility of this protocol. Moreover, the photophysical properties of the obtained multicyclic compounds were also investigated.

Recent Development of Bis-Cyclometalated Chiral-at-Iridium and Rhodium Complexes for Asymmetric Catalysis

The field of asymmetric catalysis has been developing to access synthetically efficacious chiral molecules from the last century. Although there are many sustainable ways to produce nonracemic molecules, simplified and unique methodologies are always appreciated. In the recent developments of asymmetric catalysis, chiral-at-metal Lewis acid catalysis has been recognized as an attractive strategy. The catalysts coordinatively activate a substrate while serving the sole source of chirality by virtue of its helical environment. These configurationally stable complexes were utilized in a large number of asymmetric transformations, ranging from asymmetric Lewis acid catalysis to photoredox and electrocatalysis. Here we provide a comprehensive review of the current advancements in asymmetric catalysis utilizing iridium and rhodium-based chiral-at-metal complexes as catalysts. First, the asymmetric transformations via LUMO and HOMO activation assisted by a chiral Lewis acid catalyst are reviewed. In the second part, visible-light-induced asymmetric catalysis is summarized. The asymmetric transformation via the electricity-driven method is discussed in the final section.

Lewis acid-catalyzed [3 + 2] annulations of oxindole based spirocyclic donor-acceptor cyclopropanes with ynamides

[3 + 2] annulations of oxindole based spirocyclic donor-acceptor cyclopropanes and ynamides catalyzed by copper triflate have been developed for the synthesis of biologically important spirocyclopenteneoxindoles. These reactions tolerated a wide scope of substrates and provided the desired products in good to high yields (up to 90%) with up to >40 : 1 diastereoselectivities under mild conditions.

Enantioselective formal [3+2]-cycloadditions to access spirooxindoles bearing four contiguous stereocenters through synergistic catalysis

An enantioselective ring-opening formal [3+2]-cycloaddition of spirovinylcyclopropyl oxindoles with enals via synergistic catalysis of palladium(0) and a chiral organocatalyst has been developed, affording spirooxindoles bearing four contiguous stereocenters in good yields with excellent enantioselectivities. The generality and utility of the protocol were also demonstrated through scale-up experiments and synthetic transformation of the resulting cycloadduct.

Stereoselective synthesis and applications of spirocyclic oxindoles

This review summaries recent synthetic developments towards spirocyclic oxindoles and applications as valuable medicinal and synthetic targets.

A base-catalyzed domino reaction between isoindigos and α-alkylidene succinimides-convenient preparation of highly steric bispirooxindoles

A new base promoted Michael-Michael domino cycloaddition between isoindigos and α-alkylidene succinimides has been developed for highly efficient and one-step convenient preparation of highly steric bispiroxindoles with two adjacent quaternary carbon centers and four consecutive cycles in excellent yields (up to 96%) and diastereoselectivities (up to >20 : 1) under mild conditions within a few minutes. A series of bisprooxindoles were obtained and the synthetic potential of the protocol was evaluated in a scale-up preparation.

Recent Advances in Stereoselective Ring Expansion of Spirocyclopropanes: Access to the Spirocyclic Compounds

Spirocyclopropane represents a privileged structural scaffold for accessing synthetic libraries of densely functionalized spirocarbo- and heterocyclic compounds. Due to the ubiquity of spirocyclic motifs as a potent pharmacophore in natural products and pharmaceuticals, recent years have witnessed significant advances in developing synthetic strategies that exploits carbon-carbon bond scission in spirocyclopropanes. This paper summarizes the recent developments in stereoselective ring expansion of spirocyclopropanes in diversity-oriented synthesis and highlights the synthetic as well as mechanistic rationale of those methodologies. This review also encompasses the applicability of the protocols in bioactive natural product syntheses.

Iodine-Catalyzed Aerobic Oxidation of Spirovinylcyclopropyl Oxindoles to Form Spiro-1,2-dioxolanes Diastereoselectively

A novel method of iodine-catalyzed aerobic oxidation with spirovinylcyclopropyl oxindoles under mild conditions has been described. A series of spiro-1,2-dioxolanes were prepared in good to excellent yields and considerable diastereoselectivities. The new approach is operationally simple, scalable, and tolerant of various functional groups.

Umpolung Strategy for the Synthesis of Chiral Dispiro[2-amino-4,5-dihydrofuran-3-carbonitrile]bisoxindoles

Based on a novel umpolung strategy, an efficient and highly enantioselective cascade aldol/cyclization/tautomerization of the 2-(2-oxoindolin-3-yl)malononitrile to active carbonyl compounds with excellent diastereo- and enantioselectivity has been developed. Also, various enantio-enriched multifunctional dispiro[2-amino-4,5-dihydrofuran-3-carbonitrile]bisoxindoles with adjacent spiro-stereocenters were conveniently obtained by this novel methodology. Also, the dispiro[2-amino-4,5-dihydrofuran-3-carbonitrile]bisoxindoles were easily transformed into structurally complex molecules without any effect on the diastereo- and enantioselectivity.

Chameleon-Like Activating Nature of the Spirooxindole Group in Donor-Acceptor Cyclopropanes

The concept of a chameleon activating group is considered in the context of donor-acceptor cyclopropane chemistry. When spiro-conjugated with cyclopropane, oxindole can act as an acceptor or a donor depending on the electronic nature of vicinal substituents. This dichotomy is reflected in the alteration of chemoselectivity of spiro[oxindole-1,3'-cyclopropane] ring opening with nucleophiles.