Enantioselective Catalytic Aldol Reactions in the Presence of Knoevenagel Nucleophiles: A Chemoselective Switch Optimized in Deep Eutectic Solvents Using Mechanochemistry

In the presence of different nucleophilic Knoevenagel competitors, cyclic and acyclic ketones have been shown to undergo highly chemoselective aldol reactions with aldehydes. In doing so, the substrate breadth for this emerging methodology has been significantly broadened. The method is also no longer beholden to proline-based catalyst templates, e.g., commercially available O-t-Bu-L-threonine is advantageous for acyclic ketones. The key insight was to exploit water-based mediums under conventional (in-water) and non-conventional (deep eutectic solvents) conditions. With few exceptions, high aldol-to-Knoevenagel chemoselectivity (>10:1) and good product profiles (yield, dr, and ee) were observed, but only in DESs (deep eutectic solvents) in conjunction with ball milling did short reaction times occur.

Preparation of prolinamide with adamantane for aldol reaction catalysis in brine and separation using a poly(AN-MA-β-CD) nanofibrous film via host-guest interaction

Prolinamides with double-H potential were prepared and employed as organocatalysts in asymmetric aldol reactions. The catalyst with adamantane showed improved catalytic activity, which was further enhanced by using brine as the solvent. A series of aldol reactions in brine at 0 °C provided good yields (up to 98%) with high diastereoselectivities (>99 : 1) and enantioselectivities (>99%). The prepared catalyst was adsorbed by a nanofibrous film of poly(AN-MA-β-CD) via host-guest interaction in the reaction system. The catalyst was separated from the film by applying ultrasound, with a total recovery of 96.2%. The catalyst was reused up to five times without a significant change in diastereoselectivity and enantioselectivity.

The first protection-free synthesis of magnetic bifunctional l-proline as a highly active and versatile artificial enzyme: Synthesis of imidazole derivatives

l-Proline is a bifunctional versatile organocatalyst that could promote a variety of useful transformations. Some passive and dynamic interactions between this simple amino acid and different substrates, which are necessary to enzymatic reactions, have given it "the simplest enzyme" title. Herein we presented the first report on the synthesis of magnetic bifunctional l-proline as an artificial enzyme without requiring any protection/deprotection steps according to an operationally simple process. This magnetic nano-biocatalyst is a promising catalyst that in a case study was successfully applied for the synthesis of 2,4,5-trisubstituted and 1,2,4,5-tetrasubstituted imidazoles in the 70-99% and 60-90% yields respectively, which it could be extended to the variety of l-proline-based organic transformations. The synergic effect of bifunctional l-proline shell as catalytic active site and magnetite nanoparticles core, which could function as protein mimics endow it high efficiency, versatility, recoverability, reusability and good turnover frequency, which are necessary characters for artificial enzymes' designing.

Binaphthyl-based chiral bifunctional organocatalysts for water mediated asymmetric List–Lerner–Barbas aldol reactions

Binaphthyl-based organocatalysts were synthesized and successfully applied to the asymmetric List–Lerner–Barbas aldol reaction in water medium. These organocatalysts were found to be effective catalysts for the reactions of ketones with different aldehydes to give aldol products with higher yield and ee's.

Chemoselective O-acylation of hydroxyamino acids and amino alcohols under acidic reaction conditions: History, scope and applications

Amino acids, whether natural, semisynthetic or synthetic, are among the most important and useful chiral building blocks available for organic chemical synthesis. In principle, they can function as inexpensive, chiral and densely functionalized starting materials. On the other hand, the use of amino acid starting materials routinely necessitates protective group chemistry, and in reality, large-scale preparations of even the simplest side-chain derivatives of many amino acids often become annoyingly strenuous due to the necessity of employing protecting groups, on one or more of the amino acid functionalities, during the synthetic sequence. However, in the case of hydroxyamino acids such as hydroxyproline, serine, threonine, tyrosine and 3,4-dihydroxyphenylalanine (DOPA), many O-acyl side-chain derivatives are directly accessible via a particularly expedient and scalable method not commonly applied until recently. Direct acylation of unprotected hydroxyamino acids with acyl halides or carboxylic anhydrides under appropriately acidic reaction conditions renders possible chemoselective O-acylation, furnishing the corresponding side-chain esters directly, on multigram-scale, in a single step, and without chromatographic purification. Assuming a certain degree of stability under acidic reaction conditions, the method is also applicable for a number of related compounds, such as various amino alcohols and the thiol-functional amino acid cysteine. While the basic methodology underlying this approach has been known for decades, it has evolved through recent developments connected to amino acid-derived chiral organocatalysts to become a more widely recognized procedure for large-scale preparation of many useful side-chain derivatives of hydroxyamino acids and related compounds. Such derivatives are useful in peptide chemistry and drug development, as amino acid amphiphiles for asymmetric catalysis, and as amino acid acrylic precursors for preparation of catalytically active macromolecular networks in the form of soluble polymers, crosslinked polymer beads or nanoparticulate systems. The objective of the present review is to increase awareness of the existence and convenience of this methodology, assess its competitiveness compared to newer and more elaborate procedures for chemoselective O-acylation reactions, spur its further development, and finally to chronicle the informative, but poorly documented history of its development.

Enantioseparation of aldols by high-performance liquid chromatography on polysaccharide-based chiral stationary phases that bear chlorinated substituents

Two families of aldols, obtained from the condensation of aromatic aldehydes with cyclohexanone or acetone (ten examples in each group), were analyzed by high-performance liquid chromatography in normal phase elution mode on three polysaccharide-based chiral stationary phases of the Lux series, namely, Lux Cellulose-2, Lux Cellulose-4 and Lux Amylose-2, which share the common feature of chlorinated substituents in the chiral selectors. Following simple optimization steps, the enantioseparation of all aldols derived from cyclohexanone was achieved and the highest values of separation factor (α, 1.32 < α < 2.20) and resolution (Rs , 4.5 < Rs <17.2) were observed on Lux Cellulose-2, with the only exception of the 4-nitro-substituted derivative that was better resolved on Lux Cellulose-4. On the contrary, Lux Amylose-2 was the best choice for aldols derived from acetone and only specific analytes in this group were resolved on the cellulose-based supports. A variable-temperature study of selected compounds allowed us to determine thermodynamic parameters of the enantioseparation process, which was enthalpy-controlled in all the cases except one.