Chiral hybrid materials based on pyrrolidine building units to perform asymmetric Michael additions with high stereocontrol

Highly efficient morpholine-based organocatalysts for the 1,4-addition reaction between aldehydes and nitroolefins: an unexploited class of catalysts

Many studies have demonstrated how the pyrrolidine nucleus is more efficient than the corresponding piperidine or morpholine as organocatalysts in the condensation of aldehydes with electrophiles via enamine. Focussing on morpholine-enamines, their low reactivity is ascribed to the presence of oxygen on the ring and to the pronounced pyramidalisation of nitrogen, decreasing the nucleophilicity of the enamine. Thus, the selection of efficient morpholine organocatalysts appears to be a difficult challenge. Herein, we reported on the synthesis of new organocatalysts belonging to the class of ß-morpholine amino acids that were tested in a model reaction, i.e., the 1,4-addition reaction of aldehydes to nitroolefins. Starting from commercially available amino acids and epichlorohydrin, we designed an efficient synthesis for the aforementioned catalysts, controlling the configuration and the substitution pattern. Computational studies indeed disclosed the transition state of the reaction, explaining why, despite all the limitations of the morpholine ring for enamine catalysis, our best catalyst works efficiently, affording condensation products with excellent yields, diastereoselection and good-to-exquisite enantioselectivity.

Asymmetric Organocatalysis in the Remote (3 + 2)-Cycloaddition to 4-(Alk-1-en-1-yl)-3-cyanocoumarins

The application of organocatalytic bifunctional activation in the remote (3 + 2)-cycloaddition between 4-(alk-1-en-1-yl)-3-cyanocoumarins and imines derived from salicylaldehyde is demonstrated. Products, bearing two biologically relevant units, have been obtained with good chemical and stereochemical efficiency. The stereochemical outcome of the process results from the application of a quinine-derived catalyst. Selected transformations of the cycloadducts leading to further chemical diversity have been demonstrated.

Structure activity relationship (SAR) and anticancer activity of pyrrolidine derivatives: Recent developments and future prospects (A review)

Pyrrolidine molecules are a significant class of synthetic and natural plant metabolites, which show the diversity of pharmacological activities. An extensive variety of synthetic pyrrolidine compounds with numerous derivatization like spirooxindole, thiazole, metal complexes, coumarin, etc have revealed significant anticancer activity. Pyrrolidine molecules are found not only as potential anticancer candidates but also retain the lowest side effects. Depending upon the diverse substitution patterns of the derivatives, these molecules have demonstrated an incredible ability to regulate the various targets to give excellent anti-proliferative activities. Taking these into consideration, efforts have been taken by the scientific fraternity to design and develop a potent anticancer scaffold with negligible side effects. In the present review, we cover the latest advancements in the synthesis of pyrrolidine molecules which have promising anticancer activity toward numerous cancer cell lines. Additionally, it also highlights the effectiveness of derivatives via elucidation of Structural-Activity-Relationship (SAR) which is discussed in detail.

Pyrrolidine in Drug Discovery: A Versatile Scaffold for Novel Biologically Active Compounds

The five-membered pyrrolidine ring is one of the nitrogen heterocycles used widely by medicinal chemists to obtain compounds for the treatment of human diseases. The great interest in this saturated scaffold is enhanced by (1) the possibility to efficiently explore the pharmacophore space due to sp3-hybridization, (2) the contribution to the stereochemistry of the molecule, (3) and the increased three-dimensional (3D) coverage due to the non-planarity of the ring-a phenomenon called "pseudorotation". In this review, we report bioactive molecules with target selectivity characterized by the pyrrolidine ring and its derivatives, including pyrrolizines, pyrrolidine-2-one, pyrrolidine-2,5-diones and prolinol described in the literature from 2015 to date. After a comparison of the physicochemical parameters of pyrrolidine with the parent aromatic pyrrole and cyclopentane, we investigate the influence of steric factors on biological activity, also describing the structure-activity relationship (SAR) of the studied compounds. To aid the reader's approach to reading the manuscript, we have planned the review on the basis of the synthetic strategies used: (1) ring construction from different cyclic or acyclic precursors, reporting the synthesis and the reaction conditions, or (2) functionalization of preformed pyrrolidine rings, e.g., proline derivatives. Since one of the most significant features of the pyrrolidine ring is the stereogenicity of carbons, we highlight how the different stereoisomers and the spatial orientation of substituents can lead to a different biological profile of drug candidates, due to the different binding mode to enantioselective proteins. We believe that this work can guide medicinal chemists to the best approach in the design of new pyrrolidine compounds with different biological profiles.

Porous Silica-Based Organic-Inorganic Hybrid Catalysts: A Review

Hybrid organic-inorganic catalysts have been extensively investigated by several research groups in the last decades, as they allow combining the structural robust-ness of inorganic solids with the versatility of organic chemistry. Within the field of hybrid catalysts, synthetic strategies based on silica are among the most exploitable, due to the convenience of sol-gel chemistry, to the array of silyl-derivative precursors that can be synthesized and to the number of post-synthetic functionalization strategies available, amongst others. This review proposes to highlight these advantages, firstly describing the most common synthetic tools and the chemistry behind sol-gel syntheses of hybrid catalysts, then presenting exemplificative studies involving mono- and multi-functional silica-based hybrid catalysts featuring different types of active sites (acid, base, redox). Materials obtained through different approaches are described and their properties, as well as their catalytic performances, are compared. The general scope of this review is to gather useful information for those approaching the synthesis of organic-inorganic hybrid materials, while providing an overview on the state-of-the art in the synthesis of such materials and highlighting their capacities.

NMR and Computational Studies on the Reactions of Enamines with Nitroalkenes That May Pass through Cyclobutanes

The addition of aldehyde enamines to nitroalkenes affords cyclobutanes in all solvents, with all of the pyrrolidine and proline derivatives tested by us and with all of the substrates we have examined. Depending on the temperature, concentration of water, solvent polarity, and other factors, the opening and hydrolysis of such a four-membered ring may take place rapidly or last for several days, producing the final Michael-like adducts (4-nitrobutanals). Thirteen new cyclobutanes have now been characterized by NMR spectroscopy. As could be expected, s-trans-enamine conformers give rise to all-trans-(4S)-4-nitrocyclobutylpyrrolidines, while s-cis-enamine conformers afford all-trans-(4R)-4-nitrocyclobutylpyrrolidines. These four-membered rings can isomerize to adduct enamines, which should be hydrolyzed via their iminium ions. MP2 and M06-2X calculations predict that one iminium ion is more stable than the other iminium species, so that protonation of the adduct enamines can be quite stereoselective; in the presence of water, the so-called syn adducts (e.g., OCH-*CHR-*CHPh-CH₂NO₂, with R and Ph syn) eventually become the major products. Why one syn adduct is obtained with aldehydes, whereas cyclic ketones (the predicted ring-fused cyclobutanes of which isomerize to their enamines more easily) produce the other syn adduct, is also explained by means of molecular orbital calculations. Nitro-Michael reactions of aldehyde enamines that "stop" at the nitrocyclobutane stage and final enamine stage do not work catalytically, as known, but those of cyclic ketone enamines that do not work stop at the final enamine stage (if their hydrolysis to the corresponding nitroethylketones is less favorable than expected). These and other facts are accounted for, and the proposals of the groups led by Seebach and Hayashi, Blackmond, and Pihko and Papai are reconciled.

Influence of the Framework Topology on the Reactivity of Chiral Pyrrolidine Units Inserted in Different Porous Organosilicas

Three families of organosiliceous materials with different structuration level, order, and textural properties (non-ordered, M41S, and SBA-15 type materials) were prepared incorporating in their structural framework chiral pyrrolidine units with variable content. Likewise, non-ordered mesoporous hybrid solids were obtained through a sol-gel process in a fluoride medium, while M41S and SBA-15 type materials were obtained through micellar routes in the presence of long-chain neutral surfactants or block copolymers. Thanks to appropriate characterization studies and catalytic tests for the Michael addition between butyraldehyde and β-nitrostyrene, we showed how the void shapes and sizes present in the structure of hybrid materials control the diffusion of reactants and products, as well as confine transition states and reactive intermediates. The best catalytic results, considering activity and enantioselectivity, were achieved in the presence of a non-ordered material, NOH-Pyr-5%, which exhibited the highest Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) area, with a 96% yield and a 82% ee for the Michael adduct.

Acid properties of organosiliceous hybrid materials based on pendant (fluoro)aryl-sulfonic groups through a spectroscopic study with probe molecules

Hybrid heterogeneous catalysts containing (fluoro)aryl-sulfonic groups were characterized through combined spectroscopic techniques and adsorption of probe molecules, with their reactivity being modulated for acetal formation.