Asymmetric aldol reaction with diisopinocampheyl enolborinates of propionates

Temperature- and Reagent-Controlled Complementary Syn- and Anti-Selective Enolboration-Aldolization of Substituted Phenylacetates

In contrast to methyl phenylacetates, methyl arylacetates do not provide syn-aldols in the dicyclohexylboron triflate/triethylamine (Chx₂BOTf/Et₃N)-mediated enolboration-aldolization reaction. However, a combination of a less bulky boron reagent (dibutylboron triflate, n-Bu₂BOTf), a bulky amine (i-Pr₂NEt), and ambient temperature is required to obtain syn-aldols from methyl arylacetates. The corresponding anti-aldol products have been synthesized by the enolboration-aldolization of methyl arylacetates in the presence of Chx₂BOTf/Et₃N at a lower temperature. We report the first example of a complementary syn- and anti-selective enolboration-aldolization of arylacetates.

A study on the AMACR catalysed elimination reaction and its application to inhibitor testing

α-Methylacyl-CoA racemase (AMACR; P504S) catalyses a key step in the degradation of branched-chain fatty acids and is important for the pharmacological activation of Ibuprofen and related drugs. Levels of AMACR are increased in prostate and other cancers, and it is a drug target. Development of AMACR as a drug target is hampered by lack of a convenient assay. AMACR irreversibly catalyses the elimination of HF from 3-fluoro-2-methylacyl-CoA substrates, and this reaction was investigated for use as an assay. Several known inhibitors and alternative substrates reduced conversion of 3-fluoro-2-methyldecanoyl-CoA by AMACR, as determined by (1)H NMR. The greatest reduction of activity was observed with known potent inhibitors. A series of novel acyl-CoA esters with aromatic side chains were synthesised for testing as chromophoric substrates. These acyl-CoA esters were converted to unsaturated products by AMACR, but their use was limited by non-enzymatic elimination. Fluoride sensors were also investigated as a method of quantifying released fluoride and thus AMACR activity. These sensors generally suffered from high background signal and lacked reproducibility under the assay conditions. In summary, the elimination reaction can be used to characterise inhibitors, but it was not possible to develop a convenient colorimetric or fluorescent assay using 3-fluoro-2-methylacyl-CoA substrates.

(Diisopinocampheyl)borane-mediated reductive aldol reactions of acrylate esters: enantioselective synthesis of anti-aldols

The (diisopinocampheyl)borane promoted reductive aldol reaction of acrylate esters 4 is described. Isomerization of the kinetically formed Z(O)-enolborinate 5Z to the thermodynamic E(O)-enolborinate 5E via 1,3-boratropic shifts, followed by treatment with representative achiral aldehydes, leads to anti-α-methyl-β-hydroxy esters 9 or 10 with excellent diastereo- (up to ≥20:1 dr) and enantioselectivity (up to 87% ee). The results of double asymmetric reactions of 5E with several chiral aldehydes are also presented.

Enantioselective synthesis of anti- and syn-β-hydroxy-α-phenyl carboxylates via boron-mediated asymmetric aldol reaction

A reagent-controlled, diastereo- and enantioselective synthesis of anti- and syn-β-hydroxy-α-phenyl carboxylates has been achieved by the proper choice of solvent, temperature, alkoxy group, and amine for the diisopinocampheylboron-mediated asymmetric enolization-aldolization of phenylacetates. The pure diastereomers can be readily separated by column chromatography.

Stereoselective synthesis of the C15-C26 fragment of the antitumor agent (-)-dictyostatin

The synthesis of the C15-C26 fragment of (-)-dictyostatin is reported in 10 steps and 28% overall yield. The key steps are the two stereoselective sulfoxide-directed processes: a Reformatsky-type reaction and a β-keto sulfoxide reduction.