glucoBox ligand—a new carbohydrate-based bis(oxazoline) ligand. Synthesis and first application

The Asymmetric A³(Aldehyde⁻Alkyne⁻Amine) Coupling: Highly Enantioselective Access to Propargylamines

The recent developments in asymmetric A³ (aldehyde⁻alkyne⁻amine) coupling has been summarized in this review. Several interesting modifications of the ligands enabled the highly enantioselective synthesis of chiral propargylamines, which are further used in the construction of nitrogen-containing chiral building blocks.

Orthogonal protection of saccharide polyols through solvent-free one-pot sequences based on regioselective silylations

tert-Butyldimethylsilyl (TBDMS) and tert-butyldiphenylsilyl (TBDPS) are alcohol protecting groups widely employed in organic synthesis in view of their compatibility with a wide range of conditions. Their regioselective installation on polyols generally requires lengthy reactions and the use of high boiling solvents. In the first part of this paper we demonstrate that regioselective silylation of sugar polyols can be conducted in short times with the requisite silyl chloride and a very limited excess of pyridine (2-3 equivalents). Under these conditions, that can be regarded as solvent-free conditions in view of the insolubility of the polyol substrates, the reactions are faster than in most examples reported in the literature, and can even be further accelerated with a catalytic amount of tetrabutylammonium bromide (TBAB). The strategy proved also useful for either the selective TBDMS protection of secondary alcohols or the fast per-O-trimethylsilylation of saccharide polyols. In the second part of the paper the scope of the silylation approach was significantly extended with the development of unprecedented "one-pot" and "solvent-free" sequences allowing the regioselective silylation/alkylation (or the reverse sequence) of saccharide polyols in short times. The developed methodologies represent a very useful and experimentally simple tool for the straightforward access to saccharide building-blocks useful in organic synthesis.

Sugar-Annulated Oxazoline Ligands: A Novel Pd(II) Complex and Its Application in Allylic Substitution

Two novel carbohydrate-derived pyridyl (PYOX)- and cyclopropyl (CYBOX)-substituted oxazoline ligands were prepared from d-glucosamine hydrochloride and 1,3,4,6-tetra-O-acetyl-2-amino-2-deoxy-β-d-glucopyranose hydrochloride in two steps, respectively. The sugar-annulated PYOX ligand formed a stable metal complex with Pd(II), which was fully characterized by NMR spectroscopy and X-ray crystallography. NMR and X-ray analysis revealed a change of the conformation in the sugar moiety upon complexation with the palladium(II) species. Both glycosylated ligands resulted in high asymmetric induction (up to 98% ee) upon application as chiral ligands in the Pd-catalyzed allylic alkylation of rac-1,3-diphenylallyl acetate with dimethyl malonate (Tsuji-Trost reaction). Both ligands provided mainly the (R)-enantiomer of the alkylation product.

Carbohydrates as enantioinduction components in stereoselective catalysis

Carbohydrate derivatives are readily available chiral molecules, yet they are infrequently employed as enantioinduction components in stereoselective catalysis. In this review, synthetic approaches to carbohydrate-based ligands and catalysts are outlined, along with example applications in enantioselective catalysis. A wide range of carbohydrate-based functionality is covered, and key trends and future opportunities are identified.

Synthesis of D-fructose-derived spirocyclic 2-substituted-2-oxazoline ribosides

The TMSOTf-mediated synthesis of β-configured spirocyclic 2-substituted-2-oxazoline ribosides was achieved using a “Ritter-like” reaction in toluene through nucleophilic addition of electron-rich nitriles to the oxacarbenium ion intermediate of 1,2;3,4-di-O-isopropylidene-β-D-psicofuranose derivatives with concomitant intramolecular trapping of the C2 hydroxymethyl group on the electrophilic nitrilium carbon. These carbohydrate-derived spirooxazolines are stable and were obtained in good yield with high stereoselectivity due to the conformational rigidity imparted by the 3,4-isopropylidene group.

Synthesis of spirofused carbohydrate-oxazoline based palladium(II) complexes

Four carbohydrate-derived 2-pyridyl and 2-quinolinyl substituted spiro-oxazoline ligands were prepared from 3,4,5-tri-O-benzyl-1,2-di-O-isopropylidene-β-D-fructose in four steps. Conversion of the latter compound with trimethylsilylazide followed by hydrogenation gave an anomeric mixture of 2-amino-3,4,5-tri-O-benzyl-2-deoxy-1-O-trimethylsilyl-D-fructopyranose. Amide coupling of the fructosylamines with picolinic acid and quinaldic acid, respectively afforded the corresponding anomeric amidofructosides, which were both separated and characterized by NMR spectroscopy and X-ray crystallography. Cyclization of alpha-amides was achieved by treatment of the corresponding mesylates with NaH while beta-amides were directly cyclisized with NCS and Ph3P to give the corresponding 2-pyridyl (PyOx) and 2-quinolyl (QuinOx) substituted spiro-oxazoline ligands, respectively. The 2-pyridyl substituted spiro-oxazoline ligands PyOx formed stable complexes with Pd(II), which were fully characterized and their structure determined by X-ray crystallography, whereas the corresponding QuinOx ligands failed to form similar Pd complexes.

Chemoselective per-O-trimethylsilylation and homogeneous N-functionalisation of amino sugars

HomogeneousN-functionalisation of amino sugars can be achievedviaefficient CH₃CN-promoted hexamethyldisilazane per-O-trimethylsilylation.

Addition of lithiated enol ethers to nitrones and subsequent Lewis acid induced cyclizations to enantiopure 3,6-dihydro-2H-pyrans - an approach to carbohydrate mimetics

A stereodivergent synthesis of enantiopure 3,6-dihydro-2H-pyrans is presented. The addition of lithiated enol ethers to carbohydrate-derived nitrones afforded syn- or anti-configured hydroxylamine derivatives 4a-d that were cyclized under Lewis acidic conditions to yield functionalized dihydropyrans cis- or trans-5a-d containing an enol ether moiety. This functional group was employed for a variety of subsequent reactions such as dihydroxylation or bromination. Bicyclic enol ether 19 was oxidatively cleaved to provide the highly functionalized ten-membered ring lactone 20. The synthesized enantiopure aminopyrans 24, 26, 28 and 30 can be regarded as carbohydrate mimetics. Trimeric versions of 24 and 28 were constructed via their attachment to a tricarboxylic acid core.

Bis(oxazolines) based on glycopyranosides - steric, configurational and conformational influences on stereoselectivity

In previous studies we found that the asymmetric induction of bis(oxazolines) based on D-glucosamine strongly depended on the steric demand of the 3-O-substituents. To further probe the impact of the 3-position of the pyranose scaffold, we prepared 3-epimerised and 3-defunctionalised versions of these ligands as well as a 3-O-formyl derivative. Application of these new ligands in asymmetric cyclopropanation revealed strong steric and configurational effects of position 3 on asymmetric induction, further dramatic effects of the pyranose conformation were also observed.

Carbohydrates as Synthetic Tools in Organic Chemistry

While amino acids, terpenes and alkaloids have found broad application as tools in stereoselective organic synthesis, carbohydrates have only lately been recognised as versatile starting materials for chiral auxiliaries, reagents, ligands and organocatalysts. The structural diversity of carbohydrates and the high density of functional groups offer a wide variety of opportunities for derivatization and tailoring of synthetic tools to a specific problem.