Stereospecific Pd(0)-Catalyzed Arylation of an Allylic Hydroxy Phosphonate Derivative: Formal Synthesis of (S)-(+)-ar-Turmerone

Enantioselective Synthesis of γ-Phenyl-γ-amino Vinyl Phosphonates and Sulfones and Their Application to the Synthesis of Novel Highly Potent Antimalarials

Racemic and enantioselective syntheses of γ-phenyl-γ-amino vinyl phosphonates and sulfones have been achieved using Horner-Wadsworth-Emmons olefination of trityl protected α-phenyl-α-amino aldehydes with tetraethyl methylenediphosphonate and diethyl ((phenylsulfonyl)methyl)phosphonate, respectively, without any racemization. The present strategy has also been successfully applied to the synthesis of peptidyl vinyl phosphonate and peptidyl vinyl sulfone derivatives as potential cysteine protease inhibitors of Chagas disease, K11002, with 100% de. The developed synthetic protocol was further utilized to synthesize hybrid molecules consisting of artemisinin as an inhibitor of major cysteine protease falcipain-2 present in the food vacuole of the malarial parasite. The synthesized artemisinin-dipeptidyl vinyl sulfone hybrid compounds showed effective in vitro inhibition of falcipain-2 and potent parasiticidal efficacies against Plasmodium falciparum in nanomolar ranges. Overall, the developed synthetic protocol could be effectively utilized to design cysteine protease inhibitors not only as novel antimalarial compounds but also to be involved in other life-threatening diseases.

O-Allylated Pudovik and Passerini Adducts as Versatile Scaffolds for Product Diversification

The palladium-catalyzed O-allylation of α-hydroxyphosphonates and α-hydroxyamides obtained from Pudovik and Passerini multicomponent reactions has allowed interesting and highly straightforward access to a variety of building blocks for product diversification. These post-functionalizations include a selective base- or ruthenium hydride-mediated isomerization/Claisen rearrangement cascade and a ring-closing metathesis that allows access to a variety of diversely functionalized phosphono-oxaheterocycles.

Synthesis of Phostones via the Palladium-Catalyzed Ring Opening of Epoxy Vinyl Phosphonates

The reaction of epoxy aldehydes with tetraethyl methylenediphosphonate gave γ,δ-epoxy vinyl phosphonates. The palladium-catalyzed addition of primary alcohols gave the monoprotected diols as single diastereoisomers. The trans- and cis-epoxides lead to opposite ( syn and anti) diastereoisomers of the addition products. The alkene of the vinyl phosphonates was subjected to hydrogenation, and the resulting saturated phosphonates underwent base-catalyzed cyclization to give phostones with a very high diastereoselectivity in the formation of the new chiral center at the phosphorus atom.

Phosphonate-Directed Catalytic Asymmetric Hydroboration: Delivery of Boron to the More Substituted Carbon, Leading to Chiral Tertiary Benzylic Boronic Esters

Phosphonate-directed catalytic asymmetric hydroboration (CAHB) of β-aryl/heteroaryl methylidenes and trisubstituted alkenes by pinacolborane enables facile access to functionalized, chiral tertiary benzylic boronic esters. Hydroboration is catalyzed by a chiral rhodium catalyst prepared in situ from a Rh(I)-precursor in combination with a simple TADDOL-derived chiral cyclic monophosphite in a 1:1 ratio. The regio- and stereochemistry arises from the combined effects of the relative disposition of the directing group to the alkene, the alkene substitution pattern, and the necessity of an aryl substituent attached to the alkene. A range of aryl and heteroaryl substituents can be accommodated, and for several chiral substrates, the reactions are efficiently catalyst-controlled enabling the choice of diastereomeric products as desired. Stereospecific transformations of the chiral boronic ester afford chiral phosphonates bearing a quaternary carbon stereocenter. The synthetic utility of the products is further demonstrated by α-oxidation of the phosphonate leading to hydroxy- and oxo-phosphonates; the latter readily undergo elimination/substitution reactions to unmask the phosphonate functionality with the formation of aldehydes, alcohols, esters, amides, acids and ketones.

Access to Chiral HWE Reagents by Rhodium-Catalyzed Asymmetric Arylation of γ,δ-Unsaturated β-Ketophosphonates

Asymmetric arylation of γ,δ-unsaturated β-ketophosphonates with arylboronic acids is reported. By using the ( R)-diene* ligated rhodium(I) chloride complex as a catalyst under none basic conditions, the corresponding β-ketophosphonates bearing a δ-chiral center were obtained in high yields (up to 99%) with good to excellent enantioselectivities (up to >99% ee). The enantioenriched products can be readily converted to diverse chiral β'-aryl enones by the Horner-Wadsworth-Emmons reaction.

Betulin Phosphonates; Synthesis, Structure, and Cytotoxic Activity

Betulin derivatives are a widely studied group of compounds of natural origin due to their wide spectrum of biological activities. This paper describes new betulin derivatives, containing a phosphonate group. The allyl-vinyl isomerization and synthesis of acetylenic derivatives have been reported. Structural identification of products as E and Z isomers has been carried out using ¹H-, ¹³C-, ³¹P-NMR, and crystallographic analysis. The crystal structure in the orthorhombic space group and analysis of crystal packing contacts for 29-diethoxyphosphoryl-28-cyclopropylpropynoyloxy-lup-20E(29)-en-3β-ol 8a are reported. All new compounds were tested in vitro for their antiproliferative activity against human T47D (breast cancer), SNB-19 (glioblastoma), and C32 (melanoma) cell lines.

Selective Tsuji–Trost type C-allylation of hydrazones: a straightforward entry into 4,5-dihydropyrazoles

Tsuji–Trost type C-allylation access to 4,5-dihydropyrazoles.

Relay cross metathesis reactions of vinylphosphonates

Dimethyl (β-substituted) vinylphosphonates do not readily undergo cross metathesis reactions with Grubbs catalyst and terminal alkenes. However, the corresponding mono- or diallyl vinylphosphonate esters undergo facile cross metathesis reactions. The improved reactivity is attributed to a relay step in the cross metathesis reaction mechanism.

Synthesis of non-racemic α-hydroxyphosphonates via asymmetric phospho-aldol reaction

It has been more than 50 years since the first phospho-aldol reactions of dialkyl phosphites were reported. These efficient P-C bond-forming reactions have become the cornerstone of methods for the synthesis of α-hydroxyphosphonates and, by numerous available substitution reactions, the synthesis of other α- and γ-substituted phosphonates and phosphonic acids. Much of the interest in α- and γ-substituted phosphonates and phosphonic acids has been stimulated by reports of their biological activity, which is often dependent upon their absolute and relative stereochemistry. In this chapter, we review diastereoselective and enantioselective additions of dialkyl phosphites to aldehydes and ketones, otherwise called the phospho-aldol, Pudovik or Abramov reactions.

A short synthesis of bisabolane sesquiterpenes

A facile total synthesis of three members of the bisabolane sesquiterpene family, namely (±)-curcumene, (±)-xanthorrhizol and (±)-curcuhydroquinone had been achieved in high overall yield. The synthesis used bromobenzene derivatives as starting materials. The halogen-lithium exchange followed by addition of isoprenylacetone and reduction of the obtained carbinols are the key steps of the synthetic pathway. This synthetic approach provides a new route to the bisabolane sesquiterpenes.

Stereoselective synthesis of cyclic ethers via the palladium-catalyzed intramolecular addition of alcohols to phosphono allylic carbonates

Cross metathesis of the acrolein-derived phosphono allylic carbonate and hydroxy alkenes using second generation Grubbs catalyst and copper(I) iodide gave the substituted phosphonates in good yield. Stereospecific palladium(0)-catalyzed cyclization gave tetrahydrofuran and tetrahydropyran vinyl phosphonates. Regioselective Wacker oxidation of the vinyl phosphonate gave the beta-keto phosphonate, which underwent HWE reaction with benzaldehyde to yield the unsaturated ketone. The utility of the cross metathesis/cyclization protocol was further demonstrated by a formal synthesis of centrolobine.

Synthesis and biological evaluation of a phosphonate analog of the natural acetyl cholinesterase inhibitor cyclophostin

Two diastereomers of a phosphonate analog 6 of the AChE inhibitor cyclophostin were synthesized. The substitution reaction of phosphono allylic carbonate 10a with methyl acetoacetate gave the vinyl phosphonate 9a. Attempted hydrogenation/debenzylation gave an unexpected enolether lactone. Alternatively, selective hydrogenation, demethylation, cyclization and debenzylation gave the phosphonate analog of cyclophostin as a separable mixture of diastereomers 6. The trans phosphonate isomer was more active than the cis isomer against AChE from two sources.

Binolam-AlCl: A Two-Centre Catalyst for the Synthesis of Enantioenriched CyanohydrinO-Phosphates

The enantioselective synthesis of cyanohydrin O-phosphates by using in situ generated bifunctional catalysts (R)- or (S)-3,3'-bis(diethylaminomethyl)-1,1'-binaphthol-aluminium chloride (binolam-AlCl) is reported. The reaction, which can be described as an overall cyano-O-phosphorylation of aldehydes, has a wide scope and applicability. Evidence is also provided, including ab initio and DFT calculations, in support of supported by the Lewis acid/Brønsted base (LABB) dual role of the catalyst in inducing first the key enantioselective hydrocyanation, which is then followed by O-phosphorylation. A brief screening of the synthetic usefulness of the resulting cyanohydrin O-phosphates unveiles some interesting applications. Among them, chemoselective hydrolysis, reduction and palladium-catalysed nucleophilic allyl substitution, thereby leading to enantiomerically enriched alpha-O-phosphorylated alpha-hydroxy esters, beta-amino alcohols and gamma-cyanoallyl alcohols, respectively. Naturally occurring (-)-tembamide and (-)-aegeline are synthesised accordingly.

Synthesis of Nonracemic Allylic Hydroxy Phosphonates via Alkene Cross Metathesis

Allylic hydroxy phosphonates and their derivatives can be interconverted by using cross metathesis with second generation Grubbs catalyst. The absolute stereochemistry of the starting phosphonate is conserved in the product. Cross metathesis reaction of the acrolein-derived phosphonate 2a yields a series of functionalized allylic hydroxy phosphonates. However, the cross metathesis reaction is often accompanied by competing dimerization and alkene migration reactions leading to a reduction in yield. The cinnamaldehyde- and crotonaldehyde-derived phosphonates 2b and 2c were also examined. In general, the metathesis reactions of phosphonates 2b and 2c are considerably slower than those for phosphonate 2a leading to mixtures. Several hydroxyl-protected derivatives of the phosphonate 2a (methyl carbonate 3a, acetate 4a, N-tosyl carbamate 5a, TBDMS 6a, and acetoacetate 7a) undergo metathesis without competing side reactions to give substituted allylic phosphonates in good to excellent yield.

Stereospecific Pd(O)-Catalyzed Malonate Additions to Allylic Hydroxy Phosphonate Derivatives: A Formal Synthesis of (−)-Enterolactone

A combination of cross-metathesis and malonate addition was applied to a formal synthesis of the mammalian lignan enterolactone 5. The cross-metathesis of alkene 6 and phosphonate 3a gave the substituted allylic phosphonate 3d. The palladium-catalyzed addition of malonate 10d to the allylic phosphonate 3d was stereospecific and highly regioselective and yielded the vinyl phosphonate 11d. The vinyl phosphonate 11d was converted in two steps into the lactone 14, a known intermediate in the synthesis of enterolactone 5.