Enantioselective Synthesis of Medium-Sized-Ring Lactones via Iridium-Catalyzed Z-Retentive Asymmetric Allylic Substitution Reaction

The Catalytic Asymmetric Allylic Alkylation of Acyclic Enolates for the Construction of Quaternary and Tetrasubstituted Stereogenic Centres

To facilitate the discovery and development of new pharmaceuticals, the demand for novel stereofunctionalised building blocks has never been greater. Whilst molecules bearing quaternary and tetrasubstituted stereogenic centres are ideally suited to explore untapped areas of chemical space, the asymmetric construction ofsterically congested carbon centres remains a longstanding challenge in organic synthesis. The enantioselective assembly of acyclic stereogenic centres is even more demanding due to the need to restrict a much wider range of geometries and conformations of the intermediates involved. In this context, the catalytic asymmetric allylicalkylation (AAA) of acyclic prochiral nucleophiles, namely enolates, has become an indispensable tool to access a range of linearα-quaternary andα-tetrasubstituted carbonyl compounds. However, unlike the AAA of cyclic enolates with a fixed enolate geometry, to achieve high levels of stereocontrol in the AAA of acyclic enolates, the stereoselectivity of enolisation must be considered. The aim of this review is to offer acomprehensivediscussion of catalytic AAA reactions of acyclic prochiral enolates and their analogues to generate congested quaternary and tetrasubstituted chiral centres using metal, non-metal and dual catalysis, with particular focus given to the control of enolate geometry and its impact on the stereochemical outcome of the reaction.

I2/CF3CO2Ag-mediated iodolactonization of various allenoic acids to access versatile 6- to 9-membered ring vinylic iodolactones

Medium-sized lactones are important structural units, but their synthesis remains a great challenge. Herein, we report I2/CF3CO2Ag-mediated iodolactonization of allenoic acids to synthesize various 6- to 9-membered ring vinylic iodolactones in 16-89% yield. This protocol not only develops a new cyclization strategy of allenoic acids, but also provides highly functionalized medium-sized lactones containing alkene and halogen groups.

Benzo-fused Nitrogen Heterocycles by Asymmetric Ring Expansion and Stereochemically Retentive Re-contraction of Cyclic Ureas

Benzo-fused nitrogen heterocycles are common features of bioactive molecules, and the enantioselective synthesis of their substituted analogues is an important goal. In this paper we demonstrate a practical and mechanistically intriguing approach to the enantioselective synthesis of 1-arylbenzazepines and their analogues. The reaction sequence starts with an asymmetric migratory ring expansion of indoline, tetrahydroquinoline, or tetrahydrobenzazepine ureas on treatment with a chiral lithium amide base. Treatment of the ring-expanded ureas with acid triggers a two-atom ring contraction-an 'azatropic shift' in which one urea nitrogen displaces the other-with almost complete retention of stereochemistry. Aminolysis of the urea products provides enantioenriched 1-aryl-tetrahydrobenzazepine derivatives and their congeners, including an analogue of an intermediate in the synthesis of the drug solifenacin. Deuteration, in situ IR, and DFT studies provide evidence for the mechanisms of the reaction steps.

Z-Retentive Asymmetric Allylic Substitution Reactions of Aldimine Esters under Ru/Cu Dual Catalysis

Ru/Cu dual catalysis has been applied for Z-retentive asymmetric allylic substitution reactions of aldimine esters. This reaction provides an enantioselective synthesis of chiral Z-olefins in high yields (up to 91% yield) with excellent enantioselectivity (up to 98% ee) under mild conditions. The previously unreacted trisubstituted allylic electrophiles under Ir catalytic system are found to be compatible, affording the stereoretentive products in either Z- or E-form. Both linear and branched allylic electrophiles are suitable substrates with excellent reaction outcomes. Notably, Ru and Cu complexes are added in one-pot and simplifies the manipulation of this protocol and self-sorting phenomena could be observed in this Ru/Cu dual catalytic system.

Iridium/Acid Dual-Catalyzed Enantioselective Aza-ene-type Allylic Alkylation of Nitro Ketene Aminals with Racemic Allylic Alcohols

The enantioselective allylic alkylation of nitro ketene aminals with racemic allylic alcohols was realized by iridium/acid dual catalysis. An allyl group was installed on the α-position of nitro ketene aminals in a branched-selective manner in high efficiency with excellent enantioselectivities (93-99% ee). The protocol was applied to the late-stage modification of neonicotinoid insecticides, which directly furnished a novel neonicotinoid analogue with good insecticidal activity against Aphis craccivora (LC50 = 6.40 mg/L). On the basis of the control experiment, an aza-ene-type allylic alkylation reaction mechanism was proposed.

Recent advances in [4 + 4] annulation of conjugated heterodienes with 1,4-dipolar species for the synthesis of eight-membered heterocycles

Numerous eight-membered heterocycles are of significance in biological chemistry, the pharmaceutical industry, agrochemistry, and materials science. However, the assembly of eight-membered heterocycles is usually challenging due to the unfavorable enthalpic and entropic barriers of the transition states during the ring formation. Tremendous efforts have been devoted to the development of synthetic routes to eight-membered heterocycles. Despite these developments, the exploration of more strategies for the facile and effective assembly of eight-membered heterocyclic molecules in a single vessel under mild conditions is still highly desirable. The conjugated heterodiene-participating [4 + 4] annulation serves as a convenient and robust strategy for the synthesis of eight-membered heterocycles from easily accessible starting materials. In recent years, great progress has been achieved in this attractive field. In this short review, we highlighted the recent advances in the synthesis of eight-membered heterocycles via cascade reactions based on [4 + 4] annulation of conjugated heterodienes with 1,4-dipolar species. The brief backgrounds, the general reactions, the proposed mechanisms and their features are summarized. The prospects and challenges of this field are also outlined at the end of this review. In addition, to highlight the importance and practicality of these reactions, the properties of several series of eight-membered heterocycles have also been introduced briefly.

Regioselective Formal β-Allylation of Carbonyl Compounds Enabled by Cooperative Nickel and Photoredox Catalysis

The Tsuji-Trost reaction between carbonyl compounds and allylic precursors has been widely used in the synthesis of natural products and pharmaceutical compounds. As the α-C-H bond is far more acidic than the β-C-H bond, carbonyl compounds undergo highly regioselective allylation at the α-position and their β-allylation is therefore highly challenging. This innate α-reactivity conversely hampers diversity, especially if the corresponding β-allylation product is targeted. Herein, we present a formal intermolecular β-C-C bond formation reaction of a broad range of aldehydes and ketones with different allyl electrophiles through cooperative nickel and photoredox catalysis. β-Selectivity is achieved via initial transformation of the aldehydes and ketones to their corresponding silyl enol ethers. The overall transformation features mild conditions, excellent regioselectivity, wide functional group tolerance and high reaction efficiency. The introduced facile and regioselective β-allylation of carbonyl compounds proceeding through cooperative catalysis allows the preparation of valuable building blocks that are difficult to access from aldehydes and ketones using existing methodology.

Iridium-Catalyzed Diastereo- and Enantioselective [4 + 1] Cycloaddition of Hydroxyallyl Anilines with Sulfoxonium Ylides

We present here an iridium-catalyzed diastereo- and enantioselective [4 + 1] cycloaddition reaction of hydroxyallyl anilines with sulfoxonium ylides under mild reaction conditions, leading to 3-vinyl indolines in moderate to good yields with excellent enantioselectivities. Control experiments disclosed a plausible reaction mechanism.

Iridium-Catalyzed Asymmetric Allylic Substitution Reaction of 4-Hydroxypyran-2-one

Pyranones have raised great concerns owing to their considerable applications in a variety of sectors. However, the development of direct asymmetric allylation of 4-hydroxypyran-2-ones is still restricted. Herein, we present an effective iridium-catalyzed asymmetric functionalization technique for the synthesis of 4-hydroxypyran-2-one derivatives over direct and efficient catalytic asymmetric Friedel-Crafts-type allylation by using allyl alcohols. The allylation products could be obtained with good to high yields (up to 96%) and excellent enantioselectivities (>99% ee). Therefore, the disclosed technique provides a new asymmetric synthetic strategy to explore pyranone derivatives in depth, thus providing an interesting approach for global application and further utilization in organic synthesis and pharmaceutical chemistry.

Enantioselective Synthesis of Ten-Membered Lactones via Palladium-Catalyzed [5 + 5] Annulation

Ten-membered lactones are the core units of many biologically active natural products but with a great synthetic challenge. Based on the principle of vinylogy, novel types of cyclic vinylogous anhydrides have been designed as five-carbon carbonyl synthons, further applied in [5 + 5] annulation with vinylethylene carbonates under chiral palladium catalysis. This strategy features excellent regioselectivity, mild conditions, and broad substrate scope, affording a range of spiro ten-membered lactones bearing oxindole and pyrrolidinone motif in excellent yield (up to 99%) with moderate to high enantioselectivity (up to 89% ee).

Stereodivergent Construction of 1,3-Chiral Centers via Tandem Asymmetric Conjugate Addition and Allylic Substitution Reaction

Herein, we report a synthesis of cyclohexanones bearing multi-continuous stereocenters by combining copper-catalyzed asymmetric conjugate addition of dialkylzinc reagents to cyclic enones with iridium-catalyzed asymmetric allylic substitution reaction. Good to excellent yields, diastereoselectivity and enantioselectivity can be obtained. Unlike the stereodivergent construction of adjacent stereocenters (1,2-position) reported in the literature, the current reaction can achieve the stereodivergent construction of nonadjacent stereocenters (1,3-position) by a proper combination of two chiral catalysts with different enantiomers.

Organocatalyzed enantio- and diastereoselective isomerization of prochiral 1,3-cyclohexanediones into nonalactones bearing distant stereocenters

The lactonization of 2-(2-nitrophenyl)-1,3-cyclohexanediones containing an alcohol side chain and up to three distant prochiral elements is reported by isomerization under the mediation of simple organocatalysts such as quinidine. Through a process of ring expansion, strained nonalactones and decalactone are produced with up to three stereocenters in high er and dr (up to 99 : 1). Distant groups, including alkyl, aryl, carboxylate and carboxamide moieties, were examined.

Role of Noncovalent Interactions in Inducing High Enantioselectivity in an Alcohol Reductive Deoxygenation Reaction Involving a Planar Carbocationic Intermediate

The involvement of planar carbocation intermediates is generally considered undesirable in asymmetric catalysis due to the difficulty in gaining facial control and their intrinsic stability issues. Recently, suitably designed chiral catalyst(s) have enabled a guided approach of nucleophiles to one of the prochiral faces of carbocations affording high enantiocontrol. Herein, we present the vital mechanistic insights from our comprehensive density functional theory (B3LYP-D3) study on a chiral Ir-phosphoramidite-catalyzed asymmetric reductive deoxygenation of racemic tertiary α-substituted allenylic alcohols. The catalytic transformation relies on the synergistic action of a phosphoramidite-modified Ir catalyst and Bi(OTf)₃, first leading to the formation of an Ir-π-allenyl carbocation intermediate through a turn-over-determining S_N1 ionization, followed by a face-selective hydride transfer from a Hantzsch ester analogue to yield an enantioenriched product. Bi(OTf)₃ was found to promote a significant number of ionic interactions as well as noncovalent interactions (NCIs) with the catalyst and the substrates (allenylic alcohol and Hantzsch ester), thus providing access to a lower energy route as compared to the pathways devoid of Bi(OTf)₃. In the nucleophilic addition, the chiral induction was found to depend on the number and efficacy of such key NCIs. The curious case of reversal of enantioselectivity, when the α-substituent of the allenyl alcohol is changed from methyl to cyclopropyl, was identified to originate from a change in mechanism from an enantioconvergent pathway (α-methyl) to a dynamic kinetic asymmetric transformation (α-cyclopropyl). These molecular insights could lead to newer strategies to tame tertiary carbocations in enantioselective reactions using suitable combinations of catalysts and additives.

Ir-Catalyzed Asymmetric Cascade Allylation/Spiroketalization Reaction for Stereoselective Synthesis of Oxazoline-Spiroketals

An asymmetric cascade allylation/spiroketalization reaction between 2-(1-hydroxyallyl)phenols and 5-methyleneoxazolines is accomplished by using a chiral Ir(I) catalyst derived from commercially available iridium precursor and the Carreira ligand. This protocol furnishes a class of structurally novel and unique oxazoline-spiroketals in up to 86% yield, >99% ee and >20:1 dr. Moreover, control experiments reveal that 4,4-disubstitution on 5-methyleneoxazolines is necessary to avoid the aromatization and for the spiroketalization to occur. On the basis of this, a plausible reaction mechanism is illustrated.

Enantioselective Synthesis of Functionalized Tetrahydropyridines through Iridium-Catalyzed Formal [5+1] Annulation

An efficient iridium-catalyzed asymmetric formal [5+1] annulation by in situ generation of enamines as N-nucleophiles for the synthesis of tetrahydropyridine derivatives is disclosed. The methodology offers direct access to a wide variety of chiral tetrahydropyridine derivatives in moderate to good yields and excellent enantioselectivity.

Asymmetric Total Syntheses of Hypoestin A, Albolic Acid, and Ceroplastol II

The first asymmetric total synthesis of bioactive diterpenoid hypoestin A with an unprecedented [5-8-5-3] tetracyclic skeleton is accomplished in 15 steps from commercially available (R)-limonene. Furthermore, the second asymmetric total syntheses of sesterterpenoids albolic acid and ceroplastol II in 21 steps are also reported. The synthetically challenging and highly functionalized [X-8-5] (X = 5 or 7) tricarbocyclic ring systems found in hypoestin A, albolic acid, ceroplastol II, and schindilactone A, as well as other natural products, are efficiently and directly constructed via a unique intramolecular Pauson-Khand reaction of an allene-yne. This work represents the first reported use of the Pauson-Khand reaction to access synthetically challenging eight-membered-ring systems in natural product synthesis.