Asymmetric Allylation of Furfural Derivatives: Synergistic Effect of Chiral Ligand and Organocatalyst on Stereochemical Control

Enantioselective transformations of 5-hydroxymethylfurfural via catalytic asymmetric 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition of azomethine ylides

A catalytic asymmetric 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition between iminoesters derived from 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) and different activated alkenes is reported. Excellent levels of diastereo and enantioselectivity were obtained when Fesulphos/Cu^I complex was used as catalyst. This metodology provides an effective and sustainable access to challenging enantioenriched heterocyclic scaffolds and represents one of the rare examples of catalytic asymmetric transformations using HMF as a starting material.

Discovery of 2-(furan-2-ylmethylene)hydrazine-1-carbothioamide derivatives as novel inhibitors of SARS-CoV-2 main protease

The COVID-19 posed a serious threat to human life and health, and SARS-CoV-2 M^pro has been considered as an attractive drug target for the treatment of COVID-19. Herein, we report 2-(furan-2-ylmethylene)hydrazine-1-carbothioamide derivatives as novel inhibitors of SARS-CoV-2 M^pro developed by in-house library screening and biological evaluation. Similarity search led to the identification of compound F8–S43 with the enzymatic IC₅₀ value of 10.76 μM. Further structure-based drug design and synthetic optimization uncovered compounds F8–B6 and F8–B22 as novel non-peptidomimetic inhibitors of M^pro with IC₅₀ values of 1.57 μM and 1.55 μM, respectively. Moreover, enzymatic kinetic assay and mass spectrometry demonstrated that F8–B6 was a reversible covalent inhibitor of M^pro. Besides, F8–B6 showed low cytotoxicity with CC₅₀ values of more than 100 μM in Vero and MDCK cells. Overall, these novel SARS-CoV-2 M^pro non-peptidomimetic inhibitors provide a useful starting point for further structural optimization.

Combining Palladium and Chiral Organocatalysis for the Enantioselective Deconjugative Allylation of Enals via Dienamine Intermediates

A catalytic enantioselective deconjugative allylation of enals is reported. A variety of enals underwent this transformation in high yield and ee, and products can be readily transformed into γ-allyl enals via a Cope rearrangement without erosion of ee. This transformation was used to install the quaternary stereocenter in (S)-bakuchiol, enabling completion of a concise formal synthesis.

A Bifunctional Copper Catalyst Enables Ester Reduction with H2: Expanding the Reactivity Space of Nucleophilic Copper Hydrides

Employing a bifunctional catalyst based on a copper(I)/NHC complex and a guanidine organocatalyst, catalytic ester reductions to alcohols with H₂ as terminal reducing agent are facilitated. The approach taken here enables the simultaneous activation of esters through hydrogen bonding and formation of nucleophilic copper(I) hydrides from H₂, resulting in a catalytic hydride transfer to esters. The reduction step is further facilitated by a proton shuttle mediated by the guanidinium subunit. This bifunctional approach to ester reductions for the first time shifts the reactivity of generally considered "soft" copper(I) hydrides to previously unreactive "hard" ester electrophiles and paves the way for a replacement of stoichiometric reducing agents by a catalyst and H₂.

Synergistic Pd/Amine-Catalyzed Stereodivergent Hydroalkylation of 1,3-Dienes with Aldehydes: Reaction Development, Mechanism, and Stereochemical Origins

Metal-hydride-catalyzed hydroalkylation of 1,3-dienes with enolizable carbonyl compounds is an atom- and step-economical method for preparing chiral molecules with allylic stereocenters. Although high diastereo- and enantioselectivities have been achieved for many coupling partners, aldehydes have not yet been used for this purpose because they are less stable than other carbonyl compounds under basic conditions and they have the potential to rapidly epimerize at the α-position. Moreover, stereodivergent hydroalkylation reactions of 1,3-dienes to access complementary diastereomers with vicinal stereocenters is challenging. Herein, we describe a synergistic palladium/amine catalyst system that allowed us to achieve the first stereodivergent hydroalkylation reactions of 1,3-dienes with aldehydes. By choosing an appropriate combination of chiral palladium and amine catalysts, we could obtain either syn or anti coupling products, and this method therefore provides highly diastereo- and enantioselective access to complementary diastereomers of chiral aldehydes with α,β-vicinal stereocenters. Density functional theory calculations revealed a mechanism involving PdH formation and migratory insertion into the alkene, followed by C-C bond formation. The origin of the stereoselectivities was investigated by means of distortion/interaction analysis.

Remote asymmetric conjugate addition catalyzed by a bifunctional spiro-pyrrolidine-derived thiourea catalyst

A novel spiro-pyrrolidine (SPD)-derived bifunctional thiourea catalyst has been developed and used in a stereoselective conjugate addition of furfurals to β,γ-unsaturated α-ketoesters.

Auto-tandem palladium/phosphine cooperative catalysis: synthesis of bicyclo[3.1.0]hexenes by selective activation of Morita–Baylis–Hillman carbonates

A new palladium/phosphine cooperatively catalytic sequential annulation strategy has been developed for the synthesis of bicyclo[3.1.0]hexene derivatives.

Enantioselective Intramolecular Allylic Substitution via Synergistic Palladium/Chiral Phosphoric Acid Catalysis: Insight into Stereoinduction through Statistical Modeling

The mode of asymmetric induction in an enantioselective intramolecular allylic substitution reaction catalyzed by a combination of palladium and a chiral phosphoric acid was investigated by a combined experimental and statistical modeling approach. Experiments to probe nonlinear effects, the reactivity of deuterium-labeled substrates, and control experiments revealed that nucleophilic attack to the π-allylpalladium intermediate is the enantio-determining step, in which the chiral phosphate anion is involved in stereoinduction. Using multivariable linear regression analysis, we determined that multiple noncovalent interactions with the chiral environment of the phosphate anion are integral to enantiocontrol in the transition state. The synthetic protocol to form chiral pyrrolidines was further applied to the asymmetric construction of C-O bonds at fully substituted carbon centers in the synthesis of chiral 2,2-disubstituted benzomorpholines.

New Developments of the Principle of Vinylogy as Applied to π-Extended Enolate-Type Donor Systems

The principle of vinylogy states that the electronic effects of a functional group in a molecule are possibly transmitted to a distal position through interposed conjugated multiple bonds. As an emblematic case, the nucleophilic character of a π-extended enolate-type chain system may be relayed from the legitimate α-site to the vinylogous γ, ε, ..., ω remote carbon sites along the chain, provided that suitable HOMO-raising strategies are adopted to transform the unsaturated pronucleophilic precursors into the reactive polyenolate species. On the other hand, when "unnatural" carbonyl ipso-sites are activated as nucleophiles (umpolung), vinylogation extends the nucleophilic character to "unnatural" β, δ, ... remote sites. Merging the principle of vinylogy with activation modalities and concepts such as iminium ion/enamine organocatalysis, NHC-organocatalysis, cooperative organo/metal catalysis, bifunctional organocatalysis, dicyanoalkylidene activation, and organocascade reactions represents an impressive step forward for all vinylogous transformations. This review article celebrates this evolutionary progress, by collecting, comparing, and critically describing the achievements made over the nine year period 2010-2018, in the generation of vinylogous enolate-type donor substrates and their use in chemical synthesis.

π-Coordinating Chiral Primary Amine/Palladium Synergistic Catalysis for Asymmetric Allylic Alkylation

We report an arene-containing chiral primary amine as a dual aminocatalyst and ligand: the π-coordinating aminocatalyst/palladium synergistic catalysis for asymmetric allylic alkylation of α-branched β-ketocarbonyls. The use of arene-containing chiral primary amine catalyst led to not only enhanced reaction rate but also reversed chiral induction compared with its sterically bulky derivative. Both enantiomers of the allylic adducts bearing acyclic all-carbon quaternary stereocenters could be obtained from the same configured chiral aminocatalysts with high efficiency and excellent regio-, stereo-, and enantioselectivity. Mechanistic studies revealed a distinctive Pd-arene π-coordination mode for effective catalysis. The π-coordinating chiral primary amine catalyst could be successfully applied in the asymmetric allylation reactions of vinylethylene carbonates, vinyl epoxides, or simple allylic alcohols.

Recent trends in catalytic sp3 C-H functionalization of heterocycles

Heterocycles are a ubiquitous substructure in organic small molecules designed for use in materials and medicines. Recent work in catalysis has focused on enabling access to new heterocycle structures by sp³ C-H functionalization on alkyl side-chain substituents-especially at the heterobenzylic position-with more than two hundred manuscripts published just within the last ten years. Rather than describing in detail each of these reports, in this mini-review we attempt to highlight gaps in existing techniques. A semi-quantitative overview of ongoing work strongly suggests that several specific heterocycle types and bond formations outside of C-C, C-N, and C-O have been almost completely overlooked.

Combining Chiral Aldehyde Catalysis and Transition-Metal Catalysis for Enantioselective α-Allylic Alkylation of Amino Acid Esters

A chiral aldehyde is rationally combined with a Lewis acid and a transition metal for the first time to form a triple catalytic system. This cocatalytic system exhibits good catalytic activation and stereoselective-control abilities in the asymmetric α-allylation reaction of N-unprotected amino acid esters and allyl acetates. Optically active α,α-disubstituted α-amino acids (α-AAs) are generated in good yields (up to 87%) and enantioselectivities (up to 96% ee). Preliminary mechanism investigation indicates that the chiral aldehyde 3f acts both as an organocatalyst to activate the amino acid ester via the formation of a Schiff base, and as a ligand to facilitate the nucleophilic attack process by coordinating with π-allyl Pd(II) species.

Asymmetric [4 + 2] cycloadditions with 3-furfural derivatives and α-cyano-α,β-unsaturated ketones

An asymmetric [4 + 2] cycloaddition reaction with 2-benzyl-3-furfurals and α-cyano-chalcones was developed to afford chiral tetrahydrobenzofurans having dense substitutions.