Simple cyclohexanediamine-derived primary amine thiourea catalyzed highly enantioselective conjugate addition of nitroalkanes to enones

Bifunctional iminophosphorane organocatalyst with additional hydrogen bonding: Calculations predict enhanced catalytic performance in a michael addition reaction

A new iminophosphorane-thiourea superbase was rationally designed and investigated as an organocatalyst for the enantioselective Michael addition reaction of nitromethane to 4-phenylbut-3-en-2-one. Starting from an iminophosphorane-thiourea organocatalyst structure already known, we have used theoretical calculations to determine the structures of transition states involved in the carbon-carbon bond formation step and carried out structural modifications to accelerate the reaction rate and to increase the enantioselectivity. The effective structural modification was adding a rigid hydroxyl group able to make an additional hydrogen bond to the transition state, producing a substantial decrease of the ΔG‡ by 7 kcal mol-1. The enantiomeric excess is predicted to be above of 97% using the reliable M06-2X and ωB97M - V functionals. The determination of the complete reaction mechanism and free energy profile was followed by a detailed microkinetic analysis. The present study points out a new direction for structural modifications on this kind of organocatalyst.

Cascade Processes Merging Chemical and Enzyme Catalysis

Cascade processes are an attractive strategy to rapidly build molecular complexity and circumvent the need to isolate reaction intermediates, providing higher efficiencies into synthetic routes with lower environmental toll. We have recently developed a new method to synthesise chiral 1,4-nitro alcohols by sequentially combining three transformations in the same reaction vessel via asymmetric C–C bond formation using a chiral thiourea catalyst and a bioreduction process as key steps.

1 Introduction

2 A Chemoenzymatic Cascade to Make Chiral 1,4-Nitro Alcohols

3 Conclusions and Perspectives

Stereoselective Three-Step One-Pot Cascade Combining Amino- and Biocatalysis to Access Chiral γ-Nitro Alcohols

The combination of small-molecule catalysis and enzyme catalysis represents an underexploited area of research with huge potential in asymmetric synthetic chemistry due to both compatibility of reaction conditions and complementary reactivity. Herein, we describe the telescopic synthesis of chiral nitro alcohols starting from commercially available benzaldehyde derivatives through the one-pot three-step chemoenzymatic cascade combination of a Wittig reaction, chiral-thiourea-catalysed asymmetric conjugate addition, and ketoreductase-mediated reduction to access the corresponding target compounds in moderate to excellent overall isolated yields (36-80 %) and high diastereomeric and enantiomeric ratios (up to >97 : 3). This represents the first example of the combination of an organocatalysed asymmetric conjugate addition via iminium ion activation and a bioreduction step catalysed by ketoreductases.

Stereoselective Synthesis of Chiral Hydrophenanthridines via a One-Pot Stepwise Aza-Michael/Michael/Michael Process

A one-pot, two-step aza-Michael/Michael/Michael process was developed to diastereospecifically construct C6a,C10a-cis-hydrophenanthridines in a highly enantioselective manner (83-99% ee). The tricyclic products were provided in 50-99% isolated yields, sequentially promoted by bifunctional squaramide and diamine in a one-pot operation. This doubly annulative protocol indicated that the complicated polycyclic structures could be easily constructed via full employment of the available reaction sites of readily prepared precursors.

Catalysts’ evolution in the asymmetric conjugate addition of nitroalkanes to electron-poor alkenes

This review provides a journey of the catalyst usage for the enantioselective conjugate addition of nitroalkanes to electron-poor olefins from the early attempts to the latest achievements. Selected applications are also reported.

Chiral Thioureas-Preparation and Significance in Asymmetric Synthesis and Medicinal Chemistry

For almost 20 years, thioureas have been experiencing a renaissance of interest with the emerged development of asymmetric organocatalysts. Due to their relatively high acidity and strong hydrogen bond donor capability, they differ significantly from ureas and offer, appropriately modified, great potential as organocatalysts, chelators, drug candidates, etc. The review focuses on the family of chiral thioureas, presenting an overview of the current state of knowledge on their synthesis and selected applications in stereoselective synthesis and drug development.

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.

High pressure-assisted low-loading asymmetric organocatalytic conjugate addition of nitroalkanes to chalcones

A highly enantioselective and relatively fast (1–5 h) Michael reaction with substantial reduction of organocatalyst loading (0.2–1 mol%) was developed under high-pressure conditions (up to 9 kbar) and at room temperature.

Synthesis of pyrrolidine-3-carboxylic acid derivatives via asymmetric Michael addition reactions of carboxylate-substituted enones

An enantioselective Michael addition reaction system was developed. Using the reaction system, 5-methylpyrrolidine-3-carboxylic acid was synthesized in two steps.

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.

Enantioselective organocatalytic Michael addition of isorhodanines to α,β-unsaturated aldehydes

The Michael reaction of substituted isorhodanines with α,β-unsaturated aldehydes in the presence of a catalytic amount of a chiral secondary amine is presented. This transformation proceeds in good to high yields furnishing the corresponding 4,5-disubstituted isorhodanine adducts in good to excellent enantioselectivities.

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.

Synthesis of novel estrone analogs by incorporation of thiophenols via conjugate addition to an enone side chain

Functionalized estrogen analogs have received interest due to their unique and differing biological activity compared to their parent compounds. The synthesis of a new class of 3-methoxyestrone analogs functionalized at the C17 position possessing both alkyl and aryl substituted α,β-unsaturated ketones is described, along with their thiophenol conjugate addition products.

Camphor-derived C1-symmetric chiral diamine organocatalysts for asymmetric Michael addition of nitroalkanes to enones

A series of stable C(1)-symmetric chiral diamines (2a–2l) were conveniently synthesized by condensing exo-(-)-bornylamine or (+)-(1S,2S,5R)-menthylamine with various commercially available Cbz-protected amino acids. Among them, 2a can efficiently promote the Michael addition of nitroalkanes to a broad scope of enones with high yields (up to 96%) and excellent enantioselectivities (up to 98%) under mild conditions.