Cyclization by Intramolecular Suzuki-Miyaura Cross-Coupling-A Review

Ring systems of all sizes are frequent core or substructures in natural products and they are important elements of many drug molecules, as they often confer high binding affinity to and selectivity for disease-relevant biological targets. A uniform key transformation in the synthesis of such structures is the cyclization step. Among the various approaches that have been developed for ring closure, the intramolecular Suzuki-Miyaura reaction has emerged as a powerful option for the construction of normal- and medium-sized rings as well as macrocycles, due to its stereospecificity, the mild reaction conditions, and the non-toxic nature of the boron by-products. In this review, we summarize the state-of-the-art of the application of intramolecular Suzuki-Miyaura cross-coupling reactions in the construction of (macro)cyclic frameworks of natural products and bioactive molecules of synthetic origin, covering (mostly) examples that have been reported since 2015. Target molecules prepared via intramolecular Suzuki-Miyaura cross-coupling as a key step range from natural products/natural product analogs to synthetic drug candidates, featuring ring sizes from 4 to ≫12. We highlight the utility, scope, and limitations of the reaction for different ring sizes and arrays of functional groups. Where possible, comparisons with other methods of cyclization are provided.

Pd/BIPHEPHOS is an Efficient Catalyst for the Pd-Catalyzed S-Allylation of Thiols with High n-Selectivity

The Pd-catalyzed S-allylation of thiols with stable allylcarbonate and allylacetate reagents offers several advantages over established reactions for the formation of thioethers. We could demonstrate that Pd/BIPHEPHOS is a catalyst system which allows the transition metal-catalyzed S-allylation of thiols with excellent n-regioselectivity. Mechanistic studies showed that this reaction is reversible under the applied reaction conditions. The excellent functional group tolerance of this transformation was demonstrated with a broad variety of thiol nucleophiles (18 examples) and allyl substrates (9 examples), and could even be applied for the late-stage diversification of cephalosporins, which might find application in the synthesis of new antibiotics.

Labeling and Natural Post-Translational Modification of Peptides and Proteins via Chemoselective Pd-Catalyzed Prenylation of Cysteine

The prenylation of peptides and proteins is an important post-translational modification observed in vivo. We report that the Pd-catalyzed Tsuji-Trost allylation with a Pd/BIPHEPHOS catalyst system allows the allylation of Cys-containing peptides and proteins with complete chemoselectivity and high n/i regioselectivity. In contrast to recently established methods, which use non-native connections, the Pd-catalyzed prenylation produces the natural n-prenylthioether bond. In addition, a variety of biophysical probes such as affinity handles and fluorescent tags can be introduced into Cys-containing peptides and proteins. Furthermore, peptides containing two cysteine residues can be stapled or cyclized using homobifunctional allylic carbonate reagents.

Additive-Free Pd-Catalyzed α-Allylation of Imine-Containing Heterocycles

An additive-free Pd-catalyzed α-allylation of different imino-group-ontaining heterocycles is reported. The activation of α-CH pronucleophiles (pKa (DMSO) > 25) occurs without the addition of strong bases or Lewis acids using only the Pd/Xantphos catalyst system. The reaction scope has been studied for various 5- and 6-membered nitrogen-containing heterocycles (yields up to 96%). Mechanistic investigations suggest an initial allylation of the imine-N followed by a Pd-catalyzed formal aza-Claisen rearrangement.

Synthesis and application of monodisperse oligo(oxyethylene)-grafted polystyrene resins for solid-phase organic synthesis

In a preliminary investigation by our group, we found that poly(styrene-oxyethylene) graft copolymers (PS-PEG), for example, TentaGel resins, are advantageous for gel-phase (13)C NMR spectroscopy. Because of the solution-like environment provided by the PS-PEG resins, good spectral quality of the attached moiety can be achieved, which is useful for nondestructive on-resin analysis. The general drawbacks of such resins are low loading capacities and the intense signal in the spectra resulting from the PEG linker (>50 units). Here, we describe the characterization of solvent-dependent swelling and reaction kinetics on a new type of resin for solid-phase organic synthesis (SPOS) that allows an accurate monitoring by gel-phase NMR without the above disadvantages. A series of polystyrene-oligo(oxyethylene) graft copolymers containing monodisperse PEG units (n = 2-12) was synthesized. A strong correlation between the linker (PEG) length and the line widths in the (13)C gel-phase spectra was observed, with a grafted PEG chain of 8 units giving similar results in terms of reactivity and gel-phase NMR monitoring to TentaGel resin. Multistep on-resin reaction sequences were performed to prove the applicability of the resins in solid-phase organic synthesis.