Chiral diene-promoted room temperature conjugate arylation: highly enantioselective synthesis of substituted chiral phenylalanine derivatives and α,α-di(arylmethyl)acetates

A highly enantiocontrolled room temperature rhodium-catalyzed conjugate arylation process was developed. The reaction proceeds through 1,4-addition of α-substituted acrylates followed by enantioselective protonation using a C1-symmetric chiral bicyclo[2,2,2] diene as the ligand and water as the proton source. This exceptionally simple protocol provides a reliable and practical access to structurally important phenylalanine derivatives and α,α-di(arylmethyl)acetates in high yields (up to 99%) with good to excellent ee values (up to 99%).

Chiral N,N'-dioxide/Mg(OTf)2 complex-catalyzed asymmetric [2,3]-rearrangement of in situ generated ammonium salts

Catalytic enantioselective [2,3]-rearrangements of in situ generated ammonium ylides from glycine pyrazoleamides and allyl bromides were achieved by employing a chiral N,N'-dioxide/MgII complex as the catalyst. This protocol provided a facile and efficient synthesis route to a series of anti-α-amino acid derivatives in good yields with high stereoselectivities. Moreover, a possible catalytic cycle was proposed to illustrate the reaction process and the origin of stereoselectivity.

Highly enantioselective synthesis of α-tertiary chiral amino acid derivatives through rhodium-catalyzed asymmetric arylation of cyclic N-sulfonyl α-ketimino esters

A simple sulfur-olefin ligand promoted Rh-catalyzed highly enantioselective arylation of cyclic α-ketimino esters with arylboronic acids is described.

Quaternized α,α'-Amino Acids via Curtius Rearrangement of Substituted Malonate-Imidazolidinones

An efficient synthesis protocol is presented for accessing quaternized α-amino acids in chiral, nonracemic form via diastereoselective malonate alkylation followed by C- to N-transposition. The key stereodifferentiating step involves a diastereoselective alkylation of an α-monosubstituted malonate-imidazolidinone, which is followed first by a chemoselective malonate PMB ester removal and then a Curtius rearrangement to provide the transposition. The method demonstrates a high product ee (89-99% for eight cases) for quaternizing a range of proteinogenic α-amino acids. The stereogenicity in targets 5a-i supports previous conclusions that the diastereoselective alkylation step proceeds via an α-substituted malonate-imidazolidinone enolate in its Z-configuration, with the auxiliary in an s-trans_C-N conformation.

A highly diastereoselective Friedel–Crafts reaction of indoles with isatin-derived N-sulfinyl ketimines towards the efficient synthesis of chiral tetrasubstituted 3-indolyl-3-aminooxindoles

A Lewis acid promoted highly diastereoselective asymmetric Friedel–Crafts alkylation of indoles with isatin-derived N-tert-butanesulfinyl ketimines is described.

Lewis acid promoted diastereoselective addition of TMSCN and TMSCF3 to isatin-derived N-sulfinyl ketimines: synthesis of optically active tetrasubstituted 3-aminooxindoles

A practical and efficient method for preparation of highly enantiomerically enriched 3-cyano-3-aminooxindoles and 3-trifluoromethyl-3-aminooxindoles with up to 99% optical purity by a Lewis acid promoted diastereoselective Strecker reaction and trifluoromethylation of isatin-derived N-tert-butanesulfinyl ketimines has been developed. This protocol allows direct use of N-free isatin substrates under mild conditions.

Double axial chirality promoted asymmetric [2,3] Stevens rearrangement of N-cinnamyl L-alanine amide-derived ammonium ylides

The base-induced asymmetric [2,3] Stevens rearrangement of N-cinnamyl tetraalkylammonium ylides derived from L-alanine amides proceeds via a double axially chiral intermediate to afford the corresponding α-substituted alanine derivatives with high enantio- and diastereoselectivities.