Acetyl Chloride–Silver Nitrate–Acetonitrile: A Reagent System for the Synthesis of 2-Nitroglycals and 2-Nitro-1-Acetamido Sugars from Glycals

Metal and acid-free synthesis of acenaphthenone-2-ylidene ketones in PEG 400 and their radical nitration by TBN in water

The synthesis of acenaphthenone-2-ylidene ketones has been developed using PEG 400 as a solvent under metal and acid-free conditions. Using TBN as a nitrating agent under atmospheric oxygen, nitration of acenaphthenone-2-ylidene ketones has been accomplished for the first time. Upon nitration, (E)-2-(2-oxo-2-phenylethylidene)acenaphthylen-1(2H)-one and alkyl (E)-2-(2-oxoacenaphthylen-1(2H)-ylidene)acetate give the diastereomer with the same geometry. The variety of substrates employed and low cost and non-toxicity of the chemicals used in this process demonstrate its important applicability. Another noteworthy aspect of the procedure is that, in contrast to previous procedures, it does not use HNO3 or metal nitrates during the transformation.

Controllable 1,3-Bis-Functionalization of 2-Nitroglycals with High Regioselectivity and Stereoselectivity Enabled by a H-Bond Catalyst

The selective modification of carbohydrates is significant for producing their unnatural analogues for drug discovery. C1-functionalization (glycosylation) and C1,C2-difunctionalization of carbohydrates have been well developed. In contrast, C3-functionalization or C1,C3-difunctionalization of carbohydrates remains rare. Herein, we report such processes that efficiently and stereoselectively modify carbohydrates. Specifically, we found that trifluoroethanol (TFE) could promote 1,3-bis-indolylation/pyrrolylation of 2-nitroglycals generated carbohydrate derivatives in up to 93% yield at room temperature; slightly reducing the temperature could install two different indoles at the C1- and C3-positions. Switching TFE to a bifunctional amino thiourea catalyst leads to the generation of C3 monosubstituted carbohydrates, which could also be used to construct 1,3-di-C-functionalized carbohydrates. This approach produced a range of challenging sugar derivatives (over 80 examples) with controllable and high stereoselectivity (single isomer for over 90% of the examples). The potential applications of the reaction were demonstrated by a set of transformations including the synthesis of bridged large-ring molecules and gram scale reactions. Biological activities evaluation demonstrated that three compounds exhibit a potent inhibitory effect on human cancer cells T24, HCT116, AGS, and MKN-45 with IC50 ranged from 0.695 to 3.548 μM.

Direct Nitration of Vinylcycles with Copper Nitrate

A direct nitration of vinylcyclopropanes is disclosed with Cu(NO₃)₂ and KI in a regio- and stereoselective manner to afford nitroalkenes efficiently, where the cyclopropane skeleton was retained. The given method could be extended to other vinylcycles as well as biomolecule derivatives with wide substrate scope, good functionality tolerance, and efficient synthesis modularity. Further transformations illustrated the obtained products as versatile building blocks in organic synthesis. The proposed ionic pathway could account for the untouched small ring and the effect of KI during the reaction.

Recent Advances in the Nitration of Olefins

Nitroolefins are important synthetic intermediates in the field of organic synthesis as well as in medicinal chemistry. The high reactivity of nitroalkenes due to the polarized double bond which enables them to act as Michael acceptor in conjugate addition reactions, or as a dienophile in cycloaddition makes it an essential synthetic handle for accessing complex molecules. The classical method to prepare nitroolefins is indeed the Henry nitroaldol reaction, where a carbonyl compound and nitroalkane are condensed in presence of base. Direct nitration of olefin, on the other hand, serves as a useful alternative as olefins are abundant, have broad commercial availability and easy to manipulate. In this context, numerous methods have been developed over the last few decades, focusing on direct nitration of styrene and aliphatic olefins. Furthermore, thorough literature search revealed that implementation of this class of reactions are gaining momentum as a preferred pathway to access nitroolefins, despite the presence of a powerful technique such as Henry reaction. In this review, we aim to cover recent advances in direct olefin nitration and their importance in accessing biorelevant molecules, total synthesis targets and future outlook in this specific research area.

Stereoselective synthesis of substituted 1,2-annulated sugars by domino double-Michael addition reaction

A simple, highly stereoselective one-pot methodology for the synthesis of novel 1,2-annulated sugars comprising of oxa-oxa and oxa-carbasugar fused skeletons from 2-nitrogalactal and a sugar-derived enone, obtained from 2-formylgalactal, promoted by KO^tBu and CH₃ONa respectively is described. Both processes rely on a domino double-Michael addition reaction resulting in the formation of three stereocenters in a single pot, including a quaternary center.

Synthesis of di- and trihydroxy proline derivatives from D-glycals: Application in the synthesis of polysubstituted pyrrolizidines and bioactive 1C-aryl/alkyl pyrrolidines

Six different types of O-benzyl protected proline derivatives have been synthesized from D-glycals and 2C-formyl-glycals. One of the di-O-benzyl protected proline derivatives has been utilized for the synthesis of polysubstituted pyrrolizidines via [3 + 2] cycloaddition in a stereoselective manner. Further, we also report on the stereoselective synthesis of biologically active 1C-aryl/alkyl pyrrolidines i.e. 4-epi-radicamine B, 4-epi-radicamine A, 1C-butyl and 1C-methyl pyrrolidines through double reductive amination of a variety of D-glucal derived diketones with p-methoxybenzylamine.

Copper nitrate: a privileged reagent for organic synthesis

Copper has been explored as an ideal candidate for replacing noble metals in organic synthesis, especially for practical large scale preparation. Recent decades have witnessed the renaissance and improvement of copper-catalyzed and copper-mediated organic reactions. Copper nitrate is a common inorganic copper salt which has been proved to be a ubiquitous reactant in organic synthesis due to its commercial availability, stability, inexpensiveness and environmentally benign nature. Copper nitrate could be used as a nitration reagent, oxidant, catalyst or promoter, and Lewis acid as well. Remarkably, great attention has been devoted to the efficient transformation of copper nitrate into functionalized or complicated compounds through various reaction types including cyclization, C-H activation, difunctionalization, nitration, rearrangement and asymmetric synthesis with chiral ligands. Further modification of copper nitrate, such as solid-supported copper nitrate or copper nitrate complexes, extends its applications in organic synthesis. The present review highlights recent advances of copper nitrate in organic synthesis, along with the mechanisms.

Conversion of glycals into vicinal-1,2-diazides and 1,2-(or 2,1)-azidoacetates using hypervalent iodine reagents and Me3SiN3. Application in the synthesis of N-glycopeptides, pseudo-trisaccharides and an iminosugar

Glycals react with PIFA (or PIDA)–TMSN₃in presence of TMSOTf to form sugar derived 1,2-diazides and vicinal azidoacetates. Synthesis of 2-azido-N-glycopeptides, pseudotrisaccharides, and a piperidine triol derivative is reported.

Cinchona alkaloid and di-tert-butyldicarbonate–DMAP promoted efficient synthesis of (E)-nitroolefins

A simple and efficient metal-free methodology for the synthesis of β-nitroolefins has been developed from arylidinemalononitrile using bifunctional cinchona alkaloid along with di-tert-butyldicarbonate–DMAP in high yields with total selectivity.

Stereoselective synthesis of fluorinated aminoglycosyl phosphonates

We report the highly stereoselective addition of lithiated difluorophosphonates to nitroglycals, providing synthetic access to biologically relevant fluorinated aminoglycosyl phosphonates.

Recent advances in the synthesis of nitroolefin compounds

This review focuses on recent achievements in nitroolefin synthesis and the mechanisms of the reactions are also discussed.

A versatile and efficient approach for the synthesis of chiral 1,3-nitroamines and 1,3-diamines via conjugate addition to new (S,E)-γ-aminated nitroalkenes derived from L-α-amino acids

New chiral (S,E)-γ-N,N-dibenzylated nitroalkenes 2a-c were synthesized from natural L-(α)-amino acids in five steps with overall yields of 68-88%. The conjugate addition of hydride, methoxide, nitronate and azide nucleophiles to 2a-c led to the corresponding chiral 1,3-nitroamines in 74-90% yield. The conjugate addition of cyanide anion to 2a,b was followed by HNO2 elimination affording chiral aminated acrylonitriles (73-98%). On the other hand, the azide anion reacted with 2a, in acetonitrile, via a [3 + 2]-cycloaddition in which HNO2 was lost, providing the corresponding 1,2,3-triazole derivative. Direct reduction of 1,3-nitroamine derivatives 9a,b produced the corresponding 1,3-diamines in good yields.

Methods for direct alkene diamination, new & old

The 1,2-diamine moiety is a ubiquitous structural motif present in a wealth of natural products, including non-proteinogenic amino acids and numerous alkaloids, as well as in pharmaceutical agents, chiral ligands and organic reagents. The biological activity associated with many of these systems and their chemical utility in general has ensured that the development of methods for their preparation is of critical importance. While a wide range of strategies for the preparation of 1,2-diamines have been established, the diamination of alkenes offers a particularly direct and efficient means of accessing these systems. The purpose of this review is to provide an overview of all methods of direct alkene diamination, metal-mediated or otherwise.