Improved protocol for asymmetric, intramolecular heteroatom Michael addition using organocatalysis: enantioselective syntheses of homoproline, pelletierine, and homopipecolic acid

Catalytic Asymmetric Additions of Enol Silanes to in situ Generated Cyclic, Aliphatic N-Acyliminium Ions

Strong and confined imidodiphosphorimidate (IDPi) catalysts enable highly enantioselective substitutions of cyclic, aliphatic hemiaminal ethers with enol silanes. 2‐Substituted pyrrolidines, piperidines, and azepanes are obtained with high enantioselectivities, and the method displays a broad tolerance of various enol silane nucleophiles. Several natural products can be accessed using this methodology. Mechanistic studies support the intermediacy of non‐stabilized, cyclic N‐(exo‐acyl)iminium ions, paired with the confined chiral counteranion. Computational studies suggest transition states that explain the observed enantioselectivity.

Organocatalytic Asymmetric Synthesis of Spirooxindole Embedded Oxazolidines

The first organocatalytic asymmetric synthesis of spirooxindole embedded oxazolidines has been developed via a domino reaction involving hemiaminal formation, followed by an unprecedented aza-Michael reaction between isatin derived N-Boc ketimines and γ-hydroxy enones. A quinine derived bifunctional squaramide catalyst was found to be efficient for this reaction, and the products were obtained in good diastereoselectivity and with high enantioselectivity.

Two Decades of Progress in the Asymmetric Intramolecular aza-Michael Reaction

The asymmetric intramolecular aza-Michael reaction (IMAMR) is a very convenient strategy for the generation of heterocycles bearing nitrogen-substituted stereocenters. Due to the ubiquitous presence of these skeletons in natural products, the IMAMR has found widespread applications in the total synthesis of alkaloids and biologically relevant compounds. The development of asymmetric versions of the IMAMR are quite recent, most of them reported in this century. The fundamental advances in this field involve the use of organocatalysts. Chiral imidazolidinones, diaryl prolinol derivatives, Cinchone-derived primary amines and quaternary ammonium salts, and BINOL-derived phosphoric acids account for the success of those methodologies. Moreover, the use of N-sulfinyl imines with a dual role, as nitrogen nucleophiles and as chiral auxiliaries, appeared as a versatile mode of performing the asymmetric IMAMR.

Asymmetric "Clip-Cycle" Synthesis of Pyrrolidines and Spiropyrrolidines

The development of an asymmetric "clip-cycle" synthesis of 2,2- and 3,3-disubstituted pyrrolidines and spiropyrrolidines, which are increasingly important scaffolds in drug discovery programs, is reported. Cbz-protected bis-homoallylic amines were activated by "clipping" them to thioacrylate via an alkene metathesis reaction. Enantioselective intramolecular aza-Michael cyclization onto the activated alkene, catalyzed by a chiral phosphoric acid, formed a pyrrolidine. The reaction accommodated a range of substitutions to form 2,2- and 3,3-disubstituted pyrrolidines and spiropyrrolidines with high enantioselectivities. The importance of the thioester activating group was demonstrated by comparison to ketone and oxoester-containing substrates. DFT studies supported the aza-Michael cyclization as the rate- and stereochemistry-determining step and correctly predicted the formation of the major enantiomer. The catalytic asymmetric syntheses of N-methylpyrrolidine alkaloids (R)-irnidine and (R)-bgugaine, which possess DNA binding and antibacterial properties, were achieved using the "clip-cycle" methodology.

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.

Recent advances in the asymmetric synthesis of pharmacology-relevant nitrogen heterocycles via stereoselective aza-Michael reactions

In this review, recent applications of a stereoselective aza-Michael reaction for asymmetric synthesis of naturally occurring N-containing heterocyclic scaffolds and their usefulness to pharmacology are summarized.

Mannich-type Reactions of Cyclic Nitrones: Effective Methods for the Enantioselective Synthesis of Piperidine-containing Alkaloids

Even though there are dozens of biologically active 2-substituted and 2,6-disubstituted piperidines, only a limited number of approaches exist for their synthesis. Herein is described two Mannich-type additions to nitrones, one using β-ketoacids under catalyst-free conditions and another using methyl ketones in the presence of chiral thioureas, which can generate a broad array of such 2-substituted materials, as well as other ring variants, in the form of β-N-hydroxy-aminoketones. Both processes have broad scope, with the latter providing products with high enantioselectivity (up to 98 %). The combination of these methods, along with other critical steps, has enabled 8-step total syntheses of the 2,6-disubstituted piperidine alkaloids (-)-lobeline and (-)-sedinone.

Alkaloid Synthesis Using Organocatalysts

This chapter covers the literature since the advent, in the 21st century, of total syntheses of alkaloids using enantio- or diastereoselective organocatalytic reactions to construct the alkaloid scaffolds. The details of these alkaloid syntheses are described separately for each basic skeleton, including indole, indoline, oxindole, and piperidine alkaloids.

Stereoselective Coupling of N-tert-Butanesulfinyl Aldimines and β-Keto Acids: Access to β-Amino Ketones

The reaction of chiral N-tert-butanesulfinyl aldimines with β-keto acids under basic conditions at room temperature proceeds with high levels of diastereocontrol, leading to β-amino ketones in high yields. Based on DFT calculations, an eight-membered cyclic transition state involving coordination of the lithium atom to the oxygens of carboxylate and sulfinyl units was proposed, being in agreement with the observed experimental diastereomeric ratios. The synthesis of the piperidine alkaloid (-)-pelletierine was successfully undertaken in order to demonstrate the utility of this methodology.

Asymmetric synthesis of 2,3-disubstituted indolines via an organocatalytic intramolecular Michael addition

An asymmetric synthesis of 2,3-disubstituted indolines has been developed via an organocatalytic intramolecular Michael addition.

Transaminase Triggered Aza-Michael Approach for the Enantioselective Synthesis of Piperidine Scaffolds

The expanding "toolbox" of biocatalysts opens new opportunities to redesign synthetic strategies to target molecules by incorporating a key enzymatic step into the synthesis. Herein, we describe a general biocatalytic approach for the enantioselective preparation of 2,6-disubstituted piperidines starting from easily accessible pro-chiral ketoenones. The strategy represents a new biocatalytic disconnection, which relies on an ω-TA-mediated aza-Michael reaction. Significantly, we show that the reversible enzymatic process can power the shuttling of amine functionality across a molecular framework, providing access to the desired aza-Michael products.

Alkaloid synthesis using chiral secondary amine organocatalysts

The full strategies of alkaloid syntheses which contain asymmetric organocatalytic reaction for construction of these scaffolds is discussed.

Enzymatic Kinetic Resolution of 2-Piperidineethanol for the Enantioselective Targeted and Diversity Oriented Synthesis

2-Piperidineethanol (1) and its corresponding N-protected aldehyde (2) were used for the synthesis of several natural and synthetic compounds. The existence of a stereocenter at position 2 of the piperidine skeleton and the presence of an easily-functionalized group, such as the alcohol, set 1 as a valuable starting material for enantioselective synthesis. Herein, are presented both synthetic and enzymatic methods for the resolution of the racemic 1, as well as an overview of synthesized natural products starting from the enantiopure 1.

Stereospecific cyclization reaction of alkenyl esters and amides of ethenetricarboxylate

The stereospecificity of the cyclization reaction of (E)- and (Z)-2-alkenyl esters and amides of ethenetricarboxylate has been examined. The reaction of (E)/(Z)-2-butenyl esters with AlCl3 or FeCl3 gave trans-substituted chlorinated γ-lactone diastereomers stereospecifically. (E)/(Z)-2-butenyl and pentenyl amides undergo an intramolecular ene reaction at room temperature gradually. At 80 °C, the (Z)-alkenyl amides were transformed to cis-substituted ene adducts and the (E)-amides were transformed to cis- and trans-substituted ene adduct mixtures. The reaction of (E)/(Z)-2-alkenyl amides with ZnI2 gave trans-substituted γ-lactam diastereomers stereospecifically along with the ene adducts.

Chiral Phosphoric Acid Catalyzed Asymmetric Synthesis of 2-Substituted 2,3-Dihydro-4-quinolones by a Protecting-Group-Free Approach

Chiral 2-substituted 2,3-dihydro-4-quinolones were synthesized based on the chiral phosphoric acid catalyzed intramolecular aza-Michael addition reaction using N-unprotected 2-aminophenyl vinyl ketones as substrates in good yields with high enantioselectivities.

Enantioselective synthesis of benzoindolizidine derivatives using chiral phase-transfer catalytic intramolecular domino aza-Michael addition/alkylation

An efficient and enantioselective strategy to synthesize benzoindolizidinesviadomino intramolecular aza-Michael addition/alkylation was developed.

Enantioselective synthesis of 3-substituted 1,2-oxazinanes via organocatalytic intramolecular aza-Michael addition

A highly enantioselective intramolecular 6-exo-trig aza-Michael addition was developed to afford chiral 3-substituted 1,2-oxazinanes in high yields (up to 99% yield) and good enantioselectivities (up to 98/2 er). These reactions were enabled by a quinine-derived primary-tertiary diamine as a catalyst and pentafluoropropionic acid (PFP) as a co-catalyst.

A general overview of the organocatalytic intramolecular aza-Michael reaction

The organocatalytic intramolecular aza-Michael reaction: a useful strategy to generate enantiomerically enriched nitrogen-containing heterocycles.

Enantioselective approach to quinolizidines: total synthesis of cermizine D and formal syntheses of senepodine G and cermizine C

The formal syntheses of C5-epi-senepodine G and C5-epi-cermizine C have been accomplished through a novel diastereoselective, intramolecular amide Michael addition process. The total synthesis of cermizine D has been achieved through use of an organocatalyzed, heteroatom Michael addition to access a common intermediate. Additional key steps of this sequence include a matched, diastereoselective alkylation with an iodomethylphenyl sulfide and sulfone-aldehyde coupling/reductive desulfurization sequence to combine the major subunits. The utility of a Hartwig-style C-N coupling has been explored on functionally dense coupling partners. Diastereoselective conjugate additions to α,β-unsaturated sulfones have been investigated, which provided the key sulfone intermediate in just six steps from commercially available starting materials. The formal syntheses of senepodine G and cermizine C have been accomplished through an intramolecular cyclization process of a N-Boc-protected piperidine sulfone.

Toward a unified approach for the lycopodines: synthesis of 10-hydroxylycopodine, deacetylpaniculine, and paniculine

The enantioselective syntheses of 10-hydroxylycopodine, deacetylpaniculine, and paniculine have been accomplished through use of a common intermediate. Key steps in the synthetic sequence toward these lycopodium alkaloids include formation of the tricyclic core via a conformationally accelerated, intramolecular Mannich cyclization and an organocatalyzed, intramolecular Michael addition to form the C(7)-C(12) linkage.

Asymmetric synthesis of (+)-vertine and (+)-lythrine

The total syntheses of the Lythracea alkaloids (+)-vertine and (+)-lythrine are described. Enantioenriched pelletierine is used as a chiral building block and engaged into a two step pelletierine condensation leading to two quinolizidin-2-one diastereomers in a 8 : 1 ratio. The major product is used in the synthesis of (+)-vertine via aryl-aryl coupling and ring closing metathesis to provide a Z-alkene α to the lactone carbonyl function. The same procedure was used for (+)-lythrine after base induced epimerization of the main quinolizidin-2-one diastereomer. Alternative classical ring closure strategies like macrolactonisation or aryl-aryl coupling failed.

Expedient enantioselective synthesis of cermizine D

An efficient enantioselective synthesis of cermizine D has been developed that exploits the use of a common intermediate to access over 85% of the carbon backbone. Key steps include an organocatalyzed heteroatom Michael addition, a diastereoselective alkylation with α-iodomethyl phenyl sulfide, a conjugate addition to a vinyl sulfone species, and a sulfone coupling/desulfurization sequence to join the two major subunits.