A Recyclable Organocatalyst for Asymmetric Michael Addition of Acetone to Nitroolefins

Catalytic Asymmetric Synthesis of Spiropyrazolones and their Application in Medicinal Chemistry

Chiral spiropyrazolones are unique frameworks widely found in a large family of medicinally relevant compounds with various biological activities. Substantial research efforts have been invested toward stereoselectively by constructing spiro-cyclic structures. Over the past years, remarkable progress has been made in the organo- and metal-catalyzed asymmetric synthesis of spiropyrazolones through the utilization of accessible simple pyrazolone derivatives as raw materials. This review is organized according to the size of the spiro-ring fused at the 4-position of the pyrazolone framework. In the last part, the bio-evaluations of chiral spiropyrazolones for drug discovery are summarized.

Pyrrolidine-Oxadiazolone Conjugates as Organocatalysts in Asymmetric Michael Reaction

Pyrrolidine-oxadiazolone based organocatalysts are envisaged, synthesized, and utilized for asymmetric Michael reactions. Results of the investigations suggest that some of the catalysts are indeed efficient for stereoselective 1,4-conjugated Michael additions (dr: >97:3, ee up to 99%) in high chemical yields (up to 97%) often in short reaction time. As an extension, one enantiopure Michael adduct has been utilized to synthesize optically active octahydroindole.

Mechanistic Insight into Fast and Highly Efficient Organocatalytic Activity of a Tripodal Dimeric Hexaurea Capsular Assembly in Michael Addition Reactions

A tris(2-aminoethyl)-amine-based dimeric capsular assembly of pentafluorophenyl urea (C1) has been employed as a catalyst in a wide range of Michael addition reactions. This capsular catalyst assembly dramatically accelerates the Michael addition reaction of β-nitrostyrenes (2a-2d) with various Michael donors such as ketoesters (3a, 3e), 1,3-diketones (3b), diesters (3C), and cyanoesters (3d) at room temperature to yield the corresponding nitroalkanes in significantly high yields within a very short reaction time. Significant improvement in solubility and use of conventional organic solvents in reaction along with a drastic decrease in reaction time (high value of the rate constant of the reaction) has been achieved through C1 as compared to the previously reported homologous tripodal monomeric urea catalyst (L1). The addition of enolate to β-nitrostyrenes to generate an anionic intermediate seemed to be highly stabilized by the six urea units of capsular assembly. Control experiments and in situ kinetic studies are performed for this addition reaction and based on the results, a plausible mechanism has been proposed for the formation of Michael adduct inside the capsular cavity.

Synthesis of enamino-2-oxindoles via conjugate addition between α-azido ketones and 3-alkenyl oxindoles: Cytotoxicity evaluation and apoptosis inducing studies

A facile method for the construction of double bond between 3-ylidene oxindoles and α-azido ketones has been successfully accomplished with a mild base. This method features azido reduction with concomitant double bond formation to provide the new class of bioactive enamino-2-oxindoles. These new compounds were screened for their in vitro cytotoxic potential on selected human cancer cell lines such as colon, lung, breast, and cervical cancer cells. Among them, representative compounds 3a, 3h, 3k, 3p, 3w and 3x showed notable cytotoxicity profile with IC₅₀ values ranging from 1.40 ± 0.10 to 28.7 ± 0.36 µM. Compound 3k displayed most potent cytotoxicity against lung cancer (NCI-H460) cells with an IC₅₀ value of 1.40 ± 0.10 µM. 3k also arrested the G2/M phase of the cell cycle and induced distinctive apoptotic features on lung cancer cells. The apoptosis induction is supported by various cellular assays such as AO/EB, DAPI, and DCFDA staining studies including clonogenic assay. Extent of apoptosis was also analyzed by Annexin binding and JC-1 staining. Moreover, this method is amenable for the generation of a library of new class of stable bioactive enamino-2-oxindoles.

Helical-Peptide-Catalyzed Enantioselective Michael Addition Reactions and Their Mechanistic Insights

Helical peptide foldamer catalyzed Michael addition reactions of nitroalkane or dialkyl malonate to α,β-unsaturated ketones are reported along with the mechanistic considerations of the enantio-induction. A wide variety of α,β-unsaturated ketones, including β-aryl, β-alkyl enones, and cyclic enones, were found to be catalyzed by the helical peptide to give Michael adducts with high enantioselectivities (up to 99%). On the basis of X-ray crystallographic analysis and depsipeptide study, the amide protons, N(2)-H and N(3)-H, at the N terminus in the α-helical peptide catalyst were crucial for activating Michael donors, while the N-terminal primary amine activated Michael acceptors through the formation of iminium ion intermediates.

Application of "Hydrogen-Bonding Interaction" in Drug Design. Part 2: Design, Synthesis, and Structure-Activity Relationships of Thiophosphoramide Derivatives as Novel Antiviral and Antifungal Agents

On the basis of the structure of natural product harmine, lead compound 18, and the structure of compounds in part 1, a series of thiophosphoramide derivatives 1-17 were designed and synthesized from various amines in one step. Their antiviral and antifungal activities were evaluated. Most of the compounds showed significantly higher antiviral activity against tobacco mosaic virus (TMV) than commercial virucide ribavirin. Compound (R,R)-17 showed the best anti-TMV activity in vitro (70%/500 μg/mL and 33%/100 μg/mL) and in vivo (inactivation effect, 68%/500 μg/mL and 30%/100 μg/mL; curative effect, 64%/500 μg/mL and 31%/100 μg/mL; protection effect, 66%/500 μg/mL and 31%/100 μg/mL), which is higher than that of ningnanmycin and lead compound 18. The antiviral activity of (R,R)-17·HCl is about similar to that of (R,R)-17. However, the antifungal activity of (R,R)-17·HCl against Puccinia sorghi is slightly lower than that of (R,R)-17. The systematic study provides compelling evidence that these simple thiophosphoramide compounds could become efficient antiviral and antifungal agents.

Continuous asymmetric Michael addition of ketones to β-nitroolefins over (1R,2R)-(+)-1,2-DPEN-modified sulfonic acid resin

A trifunctional catalyst was successfully prepared by bonding (1R,2R)-(+)-1,2-DPEN to sulfonic acid resin.

Small changes result in large differences: discovery of (-)-incrustoporin derivatives as novel antiviral and antifungal agents

On the basis of the structure of natural product (-)-incrustoporin (1), a series of lactone compounds 4a-i and 5a-i were designed and synthesized from nitroolefin. The antiviral and antifungal activities of these compounds were evaluated in vitro and in vivo. The small changes between 4 and 5 at the 3,4-position result in large differences in bioactivities. Compounds 4 exhibited significantly higher antiviral activity against tobacco mosaic virus (TMV) than dehydro compounds 5. However, the antifungal activity of 4 is relatively lower than that of 5. Compounds 4a, 4c, and 4i with excellent in vivo anti-TMV activity emerged as new antiviral lead compounds. Compounds 5d-g showed superiority over the commercial fungicides chlorothalonil and carbendazim against Cercospora arachidicola Hor at 50 mg kg(-1). The present study provides fundamental support for the development and optimization of (-)-incrustoporin derivatives as potential inhibitors of plant virus and pathogenic fungi.

Asymmetric Michael addition of ketones to nitroolefins: pyrrolidinyl-oxazole-carboxamides as new efficient organocatalysts

New pyrrolidinyl-oxazole-carboxamides were synthesized and utilized as efficient organocatalysts for asymmetric Michael addition reaction. In addition, computational mechanistic studies were performed.

Adapting to substrate challenges: peptides as catalysts for conjugate addition reactions of aldehydes to α,β-disubstituted nitroolefins

Conjugate addition reactions of aldehydes to α,β-disubstituted nitroolefins are important because they provide synthetically useful γ-nitroaldehydes bearing three consecutive stereogenic centers. Such reactions are challenging due to the drastically lower reactivity of α,β-disubstituted nitroolefins compared to, for example, β-monosubstituted nitroolefins. The testing of a small collection of peptides of the type Pro-Pro-Xaa (Xaa=acidic amino acid) led to the identification of H-Pro-Pro-D-Gln-OH and H-Pro-Pro-Asn-OH as excellent stereoselective catalysts for this transformation. In the presence of 5 mol% of these peptides different combinations of aldehydes and α,β-disubstituted nitroolefins react readily with each other providing γ-nitroaldehydes in good yields and diastereoselectivities as well as excellent enantioselectivities. Chiral pyrrolidines as well as fully substituted γ-butyrolactams and γ-amino acids are easily accessible from the γ-nitroaldehydes. Mechanistic studies demonstrate that the configuration at all three stereogenic centers is induced by the peptidic catalysts. Only a minimal amount of products from homo-aldol reactions is observed demonstrating the high chemoselectivity of the peptidic catalysts.

Electrophilicities of trans-β-nitrostyrenes

The kinetics of the reactions of the trans-β-nitrostyrenes 1a-f with the acceptor-substituted carbanions 2a-h have been determined in dimethyl sulfoxide solution at 20 °C. The resulting second-order rate constants were employed to determine the electrophile-specific reactivity parameters E of the trans-β-nitrostyrenes according to the correlation equation log k(2)(20 °C) = s(N)(N + E). The E parameters range from -12 to -15 on our empirical electrophilicity scale (www.cup.lmu.de/oc/mayr/DBintro.html). The second-order rate constants for the reactions of trans-β-nitrostyrenes with some enamines were measured and found to agree with those calculated from the electrophilicity parameters E determined in this work and the previously published N and s(N) parameters for enamines.