Asymmetric synthesis of telcagepant, a CGRP receptor antagonist for the treatment of migraine

Enantioselective Transformations in the Synthesis of Therapeutic Agents

The proportion of approved chiral drugs and drug candidates under medical studies has surged dramatically over the past two decades. As a consequence, the efficient synthesis of enantiopure pharmaceuticals or their synthetic intermediates poses a profound challenge to medicinal and process chemists. The significant advancement in asymmetric catalysis has provided an effective and reliable solution to this challenge. The successful application of transition metal catalysis, organocatalysis, and biocatalysis to the medicinal and pharmaceutical industries has promoted drug discovery by efficient and precise preparation of enantio-enriched therapeutic agents, and facilitated the industrial production of active pharmaceutical ingredient in an economic and environmentally friendly fashion. The present review summarizes the most recent applications (2008-2022) of asymmetric catalysis in the pharmaceutical industry ranging from process scales to pilot and industrial levels. It also showcases the latest achievements and trends in the asymmetric synthesis of therapeutic agents with state of the art technologies of asymmetric catalysis.

A one-step base-free synthesis of N-arylamides via modified pivaloyl mixed anhydride mediated amide coupling

Pivalic anhydride is shown to be an effective reagent for direct amidation of carboxylic acids with N-alkyl anilines. The only by-product of this reaction is nontoxic pivalic acid, which can be easily removed by aqueous workup. The reactions are conducted under mild conditions and found to be compatible with a range of carboxylic acids, including aromatic, heterocyclic, acrylic, and aliphatic carboxylic acids and amino acids generating the desired amides in short reaction times.

Asymmetric organocatalysis in drug discovery and development for active pharmaceutical ingredients

INTRODUCTION

Over the last 20 years, it has become clear that organocatalysis is the third pillar of catalysis. The low reactivity in the early days of organocatalysis has been overcome with the invention of more efficient catalysts, and by harnessing enabling technologies like continuous-flow chemistry and photo-redox catalysis.

AREAS COVERED

The main focus of this review is on the development over the last 10-15 years of key APIs using asymmetric organocatalysis. Due to significant engineering advances, and also due to the need for continuous manufacturing, flow and photo-redox approaches are becoming more widespread.

EXPERT OPINION

Over the last 20 years, organocatalysis has been used on various occasions for accessing chiral drugs. The great advantage of using these catalysts is that the final active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) is metal-free. Also due to their inherent stability in air and water, they are very amenable to recovery via attachment to appropriate solid supports and also application in continuous flow systems. In recent years, more efficient organocatalysts have been developed, which includes the photoredox types, with much potential for chiral API synthesis.

Asymmetric Organocatalysis: A Survival Guide to Medicinal Chemists

Majority of drugs act by interacting with chiral counterparts, e.g., proteins, and we are, unfortunately, well-aware of how chirality can negatively impact the outcome of a therapeutic regime. The number of chiral, non-racemic drugs on the market is increasing, and it is becoming ever more important to prepare these compounds in a safe, economic, and environmentally sustainable fashion. Asymmetric organocatalysis has a long history, but it began its renaissance era only during the first years of the millennium. Since then, this field has reached an extraordinary level, as confirmed by the awarding of the 2021 Chemistry Nobel Prize. In the present review, we wish to highlight the application of organocatalysis in the synthesis of enantio-enriched molecules that may be of interest to the pharmaceutical industry and the medicinal chemistry community. We aim to discuss the different activation modes observed for organocatalysts, examining, for each of them, the generally accepted mechanisms and the most important and developed reactions, that may be useful to medicinal chemists. For each of these types of organocatalytic activations, select examples from academic and industrial applications will be disclosed during the synthesis of drugs and natural products.

Tandem reduction and trifluoroethylation of quinolines and quinoxalines with trifluoroacetic acid and trimethylamine borane

A metal-free tandem reduction and N-trifluoroethylation of quinolines and quinoxalines has been developed. It provided a convenient route to access trifluoroethylated tetrahydroquinolines and tetrahydroquinoxalines. This one-pot method avoids the purification process of the intermediate. Mechanistically, the in situ-generated boryl acetal species reacted with tetrahydroquinolines to generate iminiums followed by reduction to give the target compounds.

Organocatalytic Asymmetric Synthesis of SynVesT-1, a Synaptic Density Positron Emission Tomography Imaging Agent

Heterocyclic nonacetamide ligands are used as positron emission tomography (PET) imaging agents of the synaptic vesicle glycoprotein 2A (SV2A), with potential applications in the diagnosis of various neuropsychiatric diseases. To date, the main synthetic strategy to access these optically active compounds has involved the racemic synthesis of a late-stage intermediate followed by the separation of the enantiomers. Here, we describe the use of iminium organocatalysis for the asymmetric synthesis of SynVesT-1, an important PET imaging agent of SV2A. The key step involved the conjugate addition of nitromethane with a cinnamaldehyde in the presence of the Jørgensen-Hayashi catalyst using the Merck dual acid cocatalyst system. Pinnick-type oxidation and esterification of the adduct was then followed by chemoselective nitro group reduction and cyclization using nickel borate. N-Alkylation of the resulting lactam then completed the seven-step synthesis of SynVesT-1. This approach was amenable for the synthesis of an organotin analogue, which following copper(II)-mediated fluoro-destannylation allowed rapid access to [¹⁸F]SynVesT-1.

Asymmetric Organocatalysis—A Powerful Technology Platform for Academia and Industry: Pregabalin as a Case Study

Enantioselective organocatalysis has quickly established itself as the third pillar of asymmetric catalysis. It is a powerful technology platform, and it has a tremendous impact in both academic and industrial settings. By focusing on pregabalin, as a case study, this Perspective aims to show how a process amenable to industry of a simple chiral molecule can be tackled in several different ways using organocatalysis.

Asymmetric Organocatalytic Syntheses of Bioactive Compounds

Background:

The total syntheses of complex natural products have evolved to include new methodologies to save time, simplifying the form to achieve these natural compounds.

Objective:

In this review, we have described the asymmetric synthesis of different natural products and biologically active compounds of the last ten years until the current day.

Results:

An asymmetric organocatalytic reaction is a key to generate stereoselectively the main structure with the required stereochemistry.

Conclusion:

Even more remarkable, the organocatalytic cascade reactions, which are carried out with high stereoselectivity, as well as a possible approximation of the organocatalysts activation with sub-strates are also described.

Horizons in Asymmetric Organocatalysis: En Route to the Sustainability and New Applications

Nowadays, the development of new enantioselective processes is highly relevant in chemistry due to the relevance of chiral compounds in biomedicine (mainly drugs) and in other fields, such as agrochemistry, animal feed, and flavorings. Among them, organocatalytic methods have become an efficient and sustainable alternative since List and MacMillan pioneering contributions were published in 2000. These works established the term asymmetric organocatalysis to label this area of research, which has grown exponentially over the last two decades. Since then, the scientific community has attended to the discovery of a plethora of organic reactions and transformations carried out with excellent results in terms of both reactivity and enantioselectivity. Looking back to earlier times, we can find in the literature a few examples where small organic molecules and some natural products could act as effective catalysts. However, with the birth of this type of catalysis, new chemical architectures based on amines, thioureas, squaramides, cinchona alkaloids, quaternary ammonium salts, carbenes, guanidines and phosphoric acids, among many others, have been developed. These organocatalysts have provided a broad range of activation modes that allow privileged interactions between catalysts and substrates for the preparation of compounds with high added value in an enantioselective way. Here, we briefly cover the history of this chemistry, from our point of view, including our beginnings, how the field has evolved during these years of research, and the road ahead.

Preparation of mono-substituted malonic acid half oxyesters (SMAHOs)

The use of mono-substituted malonic acid half oxyesters (SMAHOs) has been hampered by the sporadic references describing their preparation. An evaluation of different approaches has been achieved, allowing to define the best strategies to introduce diversity on both the malonic position and the ester function. A classical alkylation step of a malonate by an alkyl halide followed by a monosaponification gave access to reagents bearing different substituents at the malonic position, including functionalized derivatives. On the other hand, the development of a monoesterification step of a substituted malonic acid derivative proved to be the best entry for diversity at the ester function, rather than the use of an intermediate Meldrum acid. Both these transformations are characterized by their simplicity and efficiency, allowing a straightforward access to SMAHOs from cheap starting materials.

Domino and one-pot syntheses of biologically active compounds using diphenylprolinol silyl ether

The successful application of diphenylprolinol silyl ether, which is one of the widely used organocatalysts, to the synthesis of natural products and drugs, is described mostly focusing on the author’s results. The molecules that are explained in this paper are baclofen, telcagepant, oseltamivir, ABT-341, prostaglandins, estradiol, horsfiline and coerulescine.

Advances in the Asymmetric Total Synthesis of Natural Products Using Chiral Secondary Amine Catalyzed Reactions of α,β-Unsaturated Aldehydes

Chirality is one of the most important attributes for its presence in a vast majority of bioactive natural products and pharmaceuticals. Asymmetric organocatalysis methods have emerged as a powerful methodology for the construction of highly enantioenriched structural skeletons of the target molecules. Due to their extensive application of organocatalysis in the total synthesis of bioactive molecules and some of them have been used in the industrial synthesis of drugs have attracted increasing interests from chemists. Among the chiral organocatalysts, chiral secondary amines (MacMillan's catalyst and Jorgensen's catalyst) have been especially considered attractive strategies because of their impressive efficiency. Herein, we outline advances in the asymmetric total synthesis of natural products and relevant drugs by using the strategy of chiral secondary amine catalyzed reactions of α,β-unsaturated aldehydes in the last eighteen years.

Denitrogenative Hydrotrifluoromethylation of Benzaldehyde Hydrazones: Synthesis of (2,2,2-Trifluoroethyl)arenes

Reacting hydrazones of arylaldehydes with Togni's CF₃ -benziodoxolone reagent, in the presence of potassium hydroxide and cesium fluoride, induces a denitrogenative hydrotrifluoromethylation event to produce (2,2,2-trifluoroethyl)arenes. This novel reaction was tolerant to many electronically-diverse functional groups and substitution patterns, as well as naphthyl- and heteroaryl-derived substrates. Advantages of this process include the easy access to hydrazone precursors on a large scale, speed and operational simplicity, and being transition metal-free.

Synthesis of α,β-Disubstituted Acrylates via Galat Reaction

Galat reactions between aldehydes and substituted malonic acids half oxyester were found to be efficiently catalyzed by morpholine in refluxing toluene. This transformation allows the stereoselective synthesis of diverse α,β-disubstituted acrylates in moderate to good yields. This method constitutes an attractive alternative to existing methods in terms of scope and eco-compatibility.

Enantioselective organocatalytic approaches to active pharmaceutical ingredients – selected industrial examples

Catalysis is, often, the preferred approach to access chiral molecules in enantioenriched form both in academia and in industry; nowadays, organocatalysis is recognised as the third pillar in asymmetric catalysis, along with bio- and metal-catalysis. Despite enormous advancements in academic research, there is a common belief that organocatalysis is not developed enough to be applicable in industry. In this review, we describe a selection of industrial routes and their R&D process for the manufacture of active pharmaceutical ingredients, highlighting how asymmetric organocatalysis brings added value to an industrial process. The thorough study of the steps, driven by economic stimuli, developed and improved chemistry that was, otherwise, believed to not be applicable in an industrial setting. The knowledge discussed in the reviewed papers will be an invaluable resource for the whole research community.

Transition-metal-free C-H amidation and chlorination: synthesis of N/N'-mono-substituted imidazopyridin-2-ones from N-pyridyl-N-hydroxylamine intermediates

Non-symmetric 1,3-substituted imidazopyridin-2-ones are a common structural scaffold found among many biologically active molecules. Herein we report an efficient, mild, and transition-metal free C-H amidation strategy to access such a pyrido-fused cyclic urea framework in good yields and with a broad functional group tolerance.

A practical and catalyst-free trifluoroethylation reaction of amines using trifluoroacetic acid

Amines are a fundamentally important class of biologically active compounds and the ability to manipulate their physicochemical properties through the introduction of fluorine is of paramount importance in medicinal chemistry. Current synthesis methods for the construction of fluorinated amines rely on air and moisture sensitive reagents that require special handling or harsh reductants that limit functionality. Here we report practical, catalyst-free, reductive trifluoroethylation reactions of free amines exhibiting remarkable functional group tolerance. The reactions proceed in conventional glassware without rigorous exclusion of either moisture or oxygen, and use trifluoroacetic acid as a stable and inexpensive fluorine source. The new methods provide access to a wide range of medicinally relevant functionalized tertiary β-fluoroalkylamine cores, either through direct trifluoroethylation of secondary amines or via a three-component coupling of primary amines, aldehydes and trifluoroacetic acid. A reduction of in situ-generated silyl ester species is proposed to account for the reductive selectivity observed.

Amino and trifluoromethyl groups are ubiquitous within medicinal chemistry, but synthesis of fluoroalkylamines normally requires harsh conditions or sensitive reagents. Here the authors report an operationally simple, catalyst-free procedure for the trifluoroethylation of primary and secondary amines.

Oxadendralenes in asymmetric organocatalysis for the construction of tetrahydroisochromenes

Oxadendralenes are integrated in a novel manner into a one-pot cascade utilizing synergistic catalysis for the construction of valuable and complex bicyclic heterocyclic scaffolds. The construction is based on the organocatalytic activation of the oxadendralenes generating a vinylogous iminium-ion intermediate which is set-up for a 1,6-addition with an enamine formed from an aldehyde and the same organocatalyst. This reaction generates a cyclic oxadendralenic intermediate, which acts as an electron-deficient heterodiene reacting in a Lewis-acid catalyzed hetero-Diels-Alder reaction with vinyl ethers to form tetrahydroisochromenes with five continuous stereocenters in high yields, >20 : 1 dr and 99% ee. This synergistic organo- and Lewis-acid catalysed system also displays high tolerance for variation in oxadendralenes and aldehydes, which provides tetrahydroisochromenes with high diversity in the substituent pattern and the same excellent stereoselectivities. Mechanistic studies have been performed to account for the activation modes and stereochemical outcome of the reaction. The reaction concept has been extended to also include a sequential organocatalytic reaction of oxadendralenes with aldehydes, in which the enamine formed from the aldehyde and the organocatalyst act both in the first catalytic cycle forming the cyclic oxadendralenic intermediate and in a second catalytic cycle leading to tetrahydroisochromenes in good yields and excellent stereoselectivities. Mechanistic studies reveal that the stereochemistry of the organocatalyst has an influence on the diastereoselectivity of the reaction sequence. Some transformations of the tetrahydroisochromenes are also presented. The chiral tetrahydroisochromenes formed might be applied in the diversified synthesis of important drugs.

Pot economy and one-pot synthesis

The one-pot synthesis of a target molecule in the same reaction vessel is widely considered to be an efficient approach in synthetic organic chemistry. In this review, the characteristics and limitations of various one-pot syntheses of biologically active molecules are explained, primarily involving organocatalytic methods as key tactics. Besides catalysis, the pot-economy concepts presented herein are also applicable to organometallic and organic reaction methods in general.

Efficient Organocatalytic Construction of C4-Alkyl Substituted Piperidines and Their Application to the Synthesis of (+)-α-Skytanthine

Chiral piperidines which contain an alkyl group at C4 positions are one of the important architectures because it is appeared in several natural products. An efficient protocol for the preparation of C4-alkyl substituted chiral piperidines using secondary amine catalyzed formal aza [3+3] cycloaddition reaction with aliphatic α,β-unsaturated aldehydes and thiomalonamate derivatives is reported. In our reaction system, thiomalonamate is an excellent nucleophile and the addition of suitable acid and its amount is an important factor for the acceleration effect in organocatalytic reaction. Furthermore, water and MeOH also have an acceleration effect. These efforts lead to only 0.1 mol % catalyst loading in multigram scale synthesis for suitable reaction time. In addition, the efficient enantioselective total synthesis of (+)-α-skytanthine by using our developed reaction as key step was achieved in total 15 % yield. All carbon and nitrogen units were introduced by one step with high enantioselectivity.

Mechanistic investigations of a bifunctional squaramide organocatalyst in asymmetric Michael reaction and observation of stereoselective retro-Michael reaction

The mechanism of cinchona–squaramide organocatalytic Michael addition was studied usingin situIR and NMR experiments. As a result, not only kinetic parameters were determined but a stereoselective retro-Michael reaction was also observed.

Organocatalysis: Key Trends in Green Synthetic Chemistry, Challenges, Scope towards Heterogenization, and Importance from Research and Industrial Point of View

This paper purports to review catalysis, particularly the organocatalysis and its origin, key trends, challenges, examples, scope, and importance. The definition of organocatalyst corresponds to a low molecular weight organic molecule which in stoichiometric amounts catalyzes a chemical reaction. In this review, the use of the term heterogenized organocatalyst will be exclusively confined to a catalytic system containing an organic molecule immobilized onto some sort of support material and is responsible for accelerating a chemical reaction. Firstly, a brief description of the field is provided putting it in a green and sustainable perspective of chemistry. Next, research findings on the use of organocatalysts on various inorganic supports including nano(porous)materials, nanoparticles, silica, and zeolite/zeolitic materials are scrutinized in brief. Then future scope, research directions, and academic and industrial applications will be outlined. A succinct account will summarize some of the research and developments in the field. This review tries to bring many outstanding researches together and shows the vitality of the organocatalysis through several aspects.

Asymmetric organocatalysis at the service of medicinal chemistry

The application of the most representative and up-to-date examples of homogeneous asymmetric organocatalysis to the synthesis of molecules of interest in medicinal chemistry is reported. The use of different types of organocatalysts operative via noncovalent and covalent interactions is critically reviewed and the possibility of running some of these reactions on large or industrial scale is described. A comparison between the organo- and metal-catalysed methodologies is offered in several cases, thus highlighting the merits and drawbacks of these two complementary approaches to the obtainment of very popular on market drugs or of related key scaffolds.

Direct synthesis of β-hydroxy-α-amino acids via diastereoselective decarboxylative aldol reaction

A straightforward metal-free synthesis of anti-β-hydroxy-α-amino acids is described. The organic base-mediated decarboxylative aldol reaction of cheap, readily available α-amidohemimalonates with various aldehydes afforded under very mild conditions anti-β-hydroxy-α-amido esters in high yields and complete diastereoselectivity. Simple one-pot subsequent transformations enabled the corresponding anti-β-hydroxy-α-amino acids or in a few examples their syn diastereomers to be obtained directly using epimerization conditions.