Direct conversion of benzylic and allylic alcohols to phosphonates

Recent Advances in the Application of P(III)-Nucleophiles to Create New P-C Bonds through Michaelis-Arbuzov-Type Rearrangement

Organophosphorus compounds have long been considered valuable in both organic synthesis and life science. P(III)-nucleophiles, such as phosphites, phosphonites, and diaryl/alkyl phosphines, are particularly noteworthy as phosphorylation reagents for their ability to form new P-C bonds, producing more stable, ecofriendly, and cost-effective organophosphorus compounds. These nucleophiles follow similar phosphorylation routes as in the functionalization of P-H bonds and P-OH bonds. Activation can occur through photocatalytic, electrocatalytic, or thermo-driven reactions, often in coordination with a Michaelis-Arbuzov-trpe rearrangement process, to produce the desired products. As such, this review offers a thorough overview of the phosphorylated transformation and potential mechanisms of P(III)-nucleophiles, specifically focusing on developments since 2010. Notably, this review may provide researchers with valuable insights into designing and synthesizing functionalized organophosphorus compounds from P(III)-nucleophiles, guiding future advancements in both research and practical applications.

Stereoselective synthesis of thailandamide A methyl ester

A convergent strategy for the stereoselective synthesis of the methyl ester of the structurally challenging and highly labile antibacterial polyene polyketide natural product thailandamide A has been developed. The key steps include the Zincke aldehyde reaction, Stille cross coupling, Negishi reaction, Julia-Kocienski olefination, cross metathesis, and the less explored Pd(I)-based Heck coupling to access different unsaturation bonds. Additionally, Urpi acetal aldol, Evans methylation, and Crimmins acetate aldol reactions were employed to construct four out of six asymmetric centers of the molecule.

Total Syntheses of Scabrolide A and Yonarolide

The concise total syntheses of oxidized norcembranoid terpenoids (-)-scabrolide A and (-)-yonarolide have been accomplished in 10 and 11 steps, respectively. The carbocyclic skeleton was efficiently constructed from two chiral-pool-derived fragments, including a [5,5]-bicyclic lactone accessed through a powerful Ni-catalyzed pentannulation of functionalized cyclopentenone with methylenecyclopropane and subsequent fragmentation. Additional features included a Liebeskind-Srogl coupling, induction of a cyclization/elimination cascade by a zinc-amido base, and installation of a sensitive enedione motif by late-stage γ-oxidation.

Total Synthesis of Loroxanthin

The first total synthesis of loroxanthin (1) was accomplished by Horner-Wadsworth-Emmons reaction of C25-apocarotenal 8 having a silyl-protected 19-hydroxy moiety with C15-phosphonate 25 bearing a silyl-protected 3-hydroxy-ε-end group. Preparation of apocarotenal 8 was achieved via Stille coupling reaction of alkenyl iodide 10 with alkenyl stananne 9, whereas phosphonate 25 was prepared through treatment of ally alcohol 23 with triethyl phosphite and ZnI2. The ally alcohol 23 was derived from the known (3R,6R)-3-hydroxy C15-aldehyde 20, which was obtained by direct optical resolution of racemate 20 using a semi-preparative chiral HPLC column.

Improvements, Variations and Biomedical Applications of the Michaelis-Arbuzov Reaction

Compounds bearing the phosphorus–carbon (P–C) bond have important pharmacological, biochemical, and toxicological properties. Historically, the most notable reaction for the formation of the P–C bond is the Michaelis–Arbuzov reaction, first described in 1898. The classical Michaelis–Arbuzov reaction entails a reaction between an alkyl halide and a trialkyl phosphite to yield a dialkylalkylphosphonate. Nonetheless, deviations from the classical mechanisms and new modifications have appeared that allowed the expansion of the library of reactants and consequently the chemical space of the yielded products. These involve the use of Lewis acid catalysts, green methods, ultrasound, microwave, photochemically-assisted reactions, aryne-based reactions, etc. Here, a detailed presentation of the Michaelis–Arbuzov reaction and its developments and applications in the synthesis of biomedically important agents is provided. Certain examples of such applications include the development of alkylphosphonofluoridates as serine hydrolase inhibitors and activity-based probes, and the P–C containing antiviral and anticancer agents.

Synthesis of a Coumarin-Based Analogue of Schweinfurthin F

The natural schweinfurthins are stilbenes with significant antiproliferative activity and an uncertain mechanism of action. To obtain a fluorescent analogue with minimal deviation from the natural structure, a coumarin ring system was annulated to the D-ring, creating a new analogue of schweinfurthin F. This stilbene was prepared through a convergent synthesis, with a Horner-Wadsworth-Emmons condensation employed to form the central stilbene olefin. After preparation of a tricyclic phosphonate via a recent and more efficient modification of the classic Arbuzov reaction, condensation was attempted with an appropriately substituted bicyclic aldehyde but the coumarin system did not survive the reaction conditions. When olefin formation preceded generation of the coumarin, the stilbene formation proceeded smoothly and ultimately allowed access to the targeted coumarin-based schweinfurthin analogue. This analogue displayed the desired fluorescence properties along with significant biological activity in the National Cancer Institute's 60-cell line bioassay, and the pattern of this biological activity mirrored that of the natural product schweinfurthin F. This approach gives facile access to new fluorescent analogues of the natural schweinfurthins and should be applicable to other natural stilbenes as well.

Polymer-Supported Phosphoric, Phosphonic and Phosphinic Acids-From Synthesis to Properties and Applications in Separation Processes

Efficient separation technologies are crucial to the environment and world economy. The challenge posed to scientists is how to engineer selectivity towards a targeted substrate, especially from multicomponent solutions. Polymer-supported reagents have gained a lot of attention in this context, as they eliminate a lot of inconveniences concerning widely used solvent extraction techniques. Nevertheless, the choice of an appropriate ligand for immobilization may be derived from the behavior of soluble compounds under solvent extraction conditions. Organophosphorus compounds play a significant role in separation science and technology. The features they possess, such as variable oxidation states, multivalence, asymmetry and metal-binding properties, highlight their status as a unique and versatile class of compounds, capable of selective separations proceeding through different mechanisms. This review provides a detailed survey of polymers containing phosphoric, phosphonic and phosphinic acid functionalities in the side chain and covers main advances in the preparation and application of these materials in separation science, including the most relevant synthesis routes (Arbuzov, Perkow, Mannich, Kabachnik-Fields reactions, etc.), as well as the main stages in the development of organophosphorus resins and the most important achievements in the field.

Mechanistic details of metal-free cyclization reaction of organophosphorus oxide with alkynes mediated by 2,6-lutidine and Tf2 O

Theoretical investigations have elucidated the mechanism of metal-free electrophilic phosphinative cyclization of alkynes reaction reported by Miura and coworkers. Two competitive mechanisms I and II were explored without or with 2,6-lutidine. Both of I and II involve transformation of P(V) to P(III), electrophilic addition, ring opening and cyclization/cyclization, hydrogen-transfer, and oxidation. The rate-determining step of mechanism I and competitive less-step II is electrophilic [2 + 1] cycloaddition and electrophilic addition via single CP bond formation with activation barrier of 13.5 and 10.6 kcal/mol, respectively. Our calculation results suggested that the cumulative effect of the isomer of 2,6-lutidine and Tf₂ O as well as TfO^- affects the title reaction to some extent, and simultaneously activates key reaction sites and reverses the polarities of them via the formation of abundant noncovalent interactions to decrease activation barriers of TSs. In addition, the effects of two series substituents on reactivity of phosphine oxide were investigated. Therefore, our study will serve as useful guidance for more efficient metal-free synthesis of organophosphorus compounds mediated by pyridine reagents.

Bidirectional Hiyama-Denmark Cross-Coupling Reactions of Bissilyldeca-1,3,5,7,9-pentaenes for the Synthesis of Symmetrical and Non-Symmetrical Carotenoids

The construction of the carotenoid skeleton by Pd-catalyzed Csp² -Csp² cross-coupling reactions of symmetrical and non-symmetrical 1,10-bissilyldeca-1,3,5,7,9-pentaenes and the corresponding complementary alkenyl iodides has been developed. Reaction conditions for these bidirectional and orthogonal Hiyama-Denmark cross-coupling reactions of bisfunctionalized pentaenes are mild and the carotenoid products preserve the stereochemical information of the corresponding oligoene partners. The carotenoids synthesized in this manner include β,β-carotene and (3R,3'R)-zeaxanthin (symmetrical) as well as 9-cis-β,β-carotene, 7,8-dihydro-β,β-carotene and β-cryptoxanthin (non-symmetrical).

Defluorinative C(sp3 )-P Bond Construction for the Synthesis of Phosphorylation gem-Difluoroalkenes under Catalyst- and Oxidant-Free Conditions

Defluorinative C(sp³ )-P bond formation of α-trifluoromethyl alkenes with phosphine oxides or phosphonates have been achieved under catalyst- and oxidant-free conditions, giving phosphorylation gem-difluoroalkenes as products. α-Trifluoromethyl alkenes bearing various of aryl substituents such as halogen, cyano, ester and heterocyclic groups are available in this transformation. The results of control experiments demonstrated that the mechanism of dehydrogenative/defluorinative cross-coupling reactions was not a radical route, but might be an S_N 2' process involving phosphine oxide anion.

Direct C-OH/P(O)-H dehydration coupling forming phosphine oxides

A t-BuONa-mediated C-OH/P(O)-H cross dehydration coupling to produce alkylphosphine oxides is developed. This reaction employed readily available alcohols and P(O)-H compounds as the starting materials, providing an efficient alternative method for constructing sp3 C-P bonds. A reasonable reaction path involving dehydration and subsequent regio-selective hydrophosphorylation of the resulting alkenes was proposed.

First DMAP-mediated direct conversion of Morita-Baylis-Hillman alcohols into γ-ketoallylphosphonates: Synthesis of γ-aminoallylphosphonates

An efficient synthesis of a series of γ-ketoallylphosphonates through a direct conversion of both primary and secondary Morita–Baylis–Hillman (MBH) alcohols by trialkyl phosphites with or without DMAP, used as additive, and under solvent-free conditions, is described herein for the first time. Subsequently, a highly regioselective Luche reduction of the primary phosphonate 2a (R = H) gave the corresponding γ-hydroxyallylphosphonate 5 that further reacted with tosylamines in the presence of diiodine (15 mol %) as a catalyst, affording the corresponding S_N2-type products 6a–d in 63 to 70% isolated yields. Alternatively, the alcohol 5 produced the corresponding acetate 7 which, mediated by Ce(III), was successfully converted into the corresponding γ-aminoallylphosphonates 8a–d.

Monitoring organic reactions by UF-NMR spectroscopy

Standard 2D NMR experiments suffer from the many t1 increments needed for spectra with sufficient digital resolution in the indirect dimension. Despite the different methodological approaches to overcome this problem, these increments have prevented studies of fast reactions. The development of ultrafast NMR (UF-NMR) has decisively speeded up the time scale of standard NMR to allow the study of organic reactions as they happen in real time to reveal mechanistic details. This mini-review summarizes the results achieved in monitoring organic reactions through this exciting technique.

Synthesis of labile all-trans-7,8,7′,8′-bis-acetylenic carotenoids by bi-directional Horner–Wadsworth–Emmons condensation

Two symmetrical C₇,C₈-acetylenic carotenoids have been stereoselectively prepared using a bi-directional Horner–Wadsworth–Emmons condensation of the C₁₀-dialdehyde and C₁₅-phosphonates.

Efficient methods for enol phosphate synthesis using carbon-centred magnesium bases

Efficient conversion of ketones into enol phosphates under mild and accessible conditions has been realised using the developed methods with di-tert-butylmagnesium and bismesitylmagnesium. Optimisation of the quench protocol resulted in high yields of enol phosphates from a range of cyclohexanones and aryl methyl ketones.

Synthesis of a novel UDP-carbasugar as UDP-galactopyranose mutase inhibitor

The multistep synthesis of a novel UDP-C-cyclohexene, designed as a high energy intermediate analogue of the UDP-galactopyranose mutase (UGM) catalyzed isomerization reaction, is reported. The synthesis of the central carbasugar involved the preparation of a galactitol derivative bearing two olefins necessary for the construction of the cyclohexene ring by a ring-closing metathesis as a key step. Further successive phosphonylation, deprotection, and UMP coupling provided the target molecule. The final molecule was assayed against UGM and compared with UDP-C-Galf, the C-glycosidic UGM substrate analogue.

Synthesis of α-Arylphosphonates Using Copper-Catalyzed α-Arylation and Deacylative α-Arylation of β-Ketophosphonates

Efficient methods for the direct arylation and deacylative arylation of β-ketophosphonates with iodoarenes in presence of a copper(I) or a copper(II) salt as the catalysts were developed. The corresponding α-arylphosphonates were obtained in high yields. A tentative mechanism for the deacylative arylation reaction was proposed on the basis of the experimental data.

Synthesis and reactivity of alkyl-1,1,1-trisphosphonate esters

The α-trisphosphonic acid esters provide a unique spatial arrangement of three phosphonate groups and may represent an attractive motif for inhibitors of enzymes that utilize di- or triphosphate substrates. To advance studies of this unique functionality, a general route to alkyl derivatives of the parent system (R = H) has been developed. A set of new α-alkyl-1,1,1-trisphosphonate esters has been prepared through phosphinylation and subsequent oxidation of tetraethyl alkylbisphosphonates, and the reactivity of these new compounds has been studied in representative reactions that afford additional examples of this functionality.