Asymmetric conjugate additions of chiral phosphonamide anions to alpha,beta-unsaturated carbonyl compounds. A versatile method for vicinally substituted chirons

Asymmetric Conjugate Addition of Chiral Secondary Borylalkyl Copper Species

We report the diastereo- and enantioselective conjugate addition of chiral secondary borylalkyl copper species derived from borylalkenes in situ to α,β-unsaturated diesters. In the presence of a chiral bisphosphine-ligated CuH catalyst, the conjugate addition provides a direct access to enantioenriched alkylboron compounds containing two contiguous carbon stereogenic centers in good yield with high diastereo- and enantioselectivity (up to >98:2 dr, >99:1 er) by assembling readily available starting alkenyl reagents in a single operation without using preformed organometallic reagents or chiral auxiliaries. The resulting products were used in various organic transformations. The utility of the synthetic approach was highlighted by the synthesis of (-)-phaseolinic acid.

Asymmetric vinylogous Michael addition of 5-substituted-furan-2(3H)-ones to an α,β-unsaturated-γ-lactam

Asymmetric vinylogous Michael addition involving an α,β-unsaturated-γ-lactam as an acceptor is described.

A New Chemoenzymatic Synthesis of the Chiral Key Intermediate of the Antiepileptic Brivaracetam

Brivaracetam is a new anticonvulsant compound, recently approved as an antiepileptic drug. This drug substance presents a 4-substituted pyrrolidone structure: the (4R)-configuration of the stereocenter present on the heterocyclic ring is the main target of the synthesis. The described method allows to prepare the suitable optically pure 2-substituted primary alcohol by means of a Pseudomonas fluorescens lipase-catalyzed transesterification. The obtained (2R)-alcohol was easily transformed into the (3R)-3-propylbutyrolactone, an advanced intermediate of brivaracetam. The described synthetic pathway is completed with the chromatographic methods and the NMR analyses necessary to establish the chemical and the optical purity of the intermediates and of the final lactone.

Application of cyclic phosphonamide reagents in the total synthesis of natural products and biologically active molecules

A review of the synthesis of natural products and bioactive compounds adopting phosphonamide anion technology is presented highlighting the utility of phosphonamide reagents in stereocontrolled bond-forming reactions. Methodologies utilizing phosphonamide anions in asymmetric alkylations, Michael additions, olefinations, and cyclopropanations will be summarized, as well as an overview of the synthesis of the employed phosphonamide reagents.

Carbanion-accelerated Claisen rearrangements: asymmetric induction with chiral phosphorus-stabilized anions

The carbanion-accelerated Claisen rearrangement has been extended to include phosphorus carbanion-stabilizing groups. The appropriately substituted allyl vinyl ethers are synthesized by the nucleophilic addition of allyl oxides to phosphorus-substituted allenes, which are obtained in one step from simple starting materials. The phosphorus-stabilized, carbanion-accelerated Claisen rearrangements proceed rapidly at room temperature in high yield, and the rearrangements are highly site- and stereoselective. The first examples of asymmetric induction in the Claisen rearrangement with chiral, phosphorus, anion-stabilizing groups are described. The observed asymmetric induction is highly dependent on the structure of the auxiliary and the metal counterion involved. Both internal and relative diastereoselectivity are high. A model for the observed sense of internal diastereoselectivity is proposed that is founded in the current understanding of the structure of phosphorus-stabilized anions.

A diastereoselective formal synthesis of berkelic acid

A formal synthesis of berkelic acid is reported. The strategy employs the combination of a chiral exocyclic enol ether and an achiral isochromanone to afford the chroman spiroketal core via a base-triggered generation and cycloaddition of an o-quinone methide intermediate. Other key steps include equilibration of the spiroketal, intramolecular benzylic oxidation, and lactone addition/hemiketal reduction; all occur with good diastereoselectivity.

Asymmetric aldol reactions catalyzed by efficient and recyclable silica-supported proline-based peptides

A series of silica-supported proline-based peptides were synthesized and applied as catalysts for direct asymmetric intermolecular aldol reactions. Among these, a peptide with two L-proline units was found to be the most efficient one for the asymmetric aldol reactions between acetone and aromatic aldehydes. The reactions generated the corresponding products with satisfactory isolated yields (up to 97%) and enantiomeric excesses (up to 96%) in the presence of this catalyst (5 mol %). Furthermore, the silica-supported organocatalyst could be recovered and recycled by a simple filtration of the reaction solution and used for five consecutive trials without loss of its reactivity.

Synthesis of (-)-berkelic acid

An extremophilic challenge: Stereospecific condensation of a fully functionalized ketal aldehyde and a 2,6-dihydroxybenzoic acid is the key step in the synthesis of (-)-berkelic acid confirming Fürstner's reassignment of the stereochemistry at C18 and C19, establishing the absolute stereochemistry, and tentatively assigning the stereochemistry at C22.

Deprotonation of β,β-disubstituted α,β-unsaturated amides - Mechanism and stereochemical consequences

A detailed study of the lithium dialkylamide induced deprotonation of β,β-disubstituted α,β-unsaturated amides is presented. The preferential γ-Z-deprotonation and stereochemical outcome of substituents on the γ-Z carbon atom are rationalized in terms of a cyclic eight-membered transition state, which is supported by DFT calculations. Analogous deprotonations on cyclohexylidenecarboxamides reveal a delicate balance of the preference for the eight-membered cyclic transition state with the effects of existing substituents on the ring and the intervention of a twist-boat transition state.Key words: dienolate, amide, deprotonation mechanism, transition state, enolization, regioselectivity, stereoselectivity.

Synthesis and Stereochemical Confirmation of the Secoiridoid Glucosides Nudiflosides D and A

We describe herein an efficient access to the highly substituted cyclopentane unit present in the Nudifloside secoiridoid family via crotyl phosphonamide anion mediated conjugate addition to cyclopentenone.

Unprecedented copper-catalyzed asymmetric conjugate addition of organometallic reagents to α,β-unsaturated lactams

For the first time, an excellent enantioselectivity has been obtained in the conjugate addition of hard organometallic reagents to alpha,beta-unsaturated lactams bearing appropriate protecting-activating groups on the nitrogen.

Triethylaluminum- or triethylborane-induced free radical reaction of alkyl iodides and alpha,beta-unsaturated compounds

A series of alpha,beta-unsaturated compounds, 1a-c, 9, 13, and 17, were used as reactants in free radical conjugate addition reactions with different radicals generated from alkyl iodides such as 3, 4, or 5 in the presence of triethylborane-oxygen in air or via the use of triethylaluminum-benzoyl peroxide as a free radical initiator. When the reactions were carried out using triethylborane-air, the products, in most cases, were clean and were easily purified. However, higher yields of the 1,4-adducts and less side reactions occurred when less reactive substrates were used as Michael acceptors in reactions with triethylaluminum-benzoyl peroxide and alkyl iodide under similar conditions. A mechanism for this is proposed in Scheme 1.