Recent Developments in Transition-Metal-Catalyzed Asymmetric Hydrogenation of Enamides

P-Stereogenic Phosphorus Ligands in Asymmetric Catalysis

Chiral phosphorus ligands play a crucial role in asymmetric catalysis for the efficient synthesis of useful optically active compounds. They are largely categorized into two classes: backbone chirality ligands and P-stereogenic phosphorus ligands. Most of the reported ligands belong to the former class. Privileged ones such as BINAP and DuPhos are frequently employed in a wide range of catalytic asymmetric transformations. In contrast, the latter class of P-stereogenic phosphorus ligands has remained a small family for many years mainly because of their synthetic difficulty. The late 1990s saw the emergence of novel P-stereogenic phosphorus ligands with their superior enantioinduction ability in Rh-catalyzed asymmetric hydrogenation reactions. Since then, numerous P-stereogenic phosphorus ligands have been synthesized and used in catalytic asymmetric reactions. This Review summarizes P-stereogenic phosphorus ligands reported thus far, including their stereochemical and electronic properties that afford high to excellent enantioselectivities. Examples of reactions that use this class of ligands are described together with their applications in the construction of key intermediates for the synthesis of optically active natural products and therapeutic agents. The literature covered dates back to 1968 up until December 2023, centering on studies published in the late 1990s and later years.

Cinchona-Based Hydrogen-Bond Donor Organocatalyst Metal Complexes: Asymmetric Catalysis and Structure Determination

In this study, we describe the synthesis of cinchona (thio)squaramide and a novel cinchona thiourea organocatalyst. These catalysts were employed in pharmaceutically relevant catalytic asymmetric reactions, such as Michael, Friedel-Crafts, and A3 coupling reactions, in combination with Ag(I), Cu(II), and Ni(II) salts. We identified several organocatalyst-metal salt combinations that led to a significant increase in both yield and enantioselectivity. To gain insight into the active catalyst species, we prepared organocatalyst-metal complexes and characterized them using HRMS, NMR spectroscopy, and quantum chemical calculations (B3LYP-D4/def2-TZVP), which allowed us to establish a structure-activity relationship.

Copper-Catalyzed Asymmetric Remote C(sp3)-H Alkylation of N-Fluorocarboxamides with Glycine Derivatives and Peptides

Saturated hydrocarbon bonds are ubiquitous in organic molecules; to date, the selective functionalization of C(sp3)-H bonds continues to pose a notorious difficulty, thereby garnering significant attention from the synthetic chemistry community. During the past several decades, a wide array of powerful new methodologies has been developed to enantioselectively modify C(sp3)-H bonds that is successfully applied in asymmetric formation of diverse bonds, including C-C, C-N, and C-O bonds; nevertheless, the asymmetric C(sp3)-H alkylation is elusive and, therefore, far less explored. In this work, we report a direct and robust strategy to construct highly valuable enantioenriched unnatural α-amino acid (α-AA) cognates and peptides by a copper-catalyzed enantioselective remote C(sp3)-H alkylation of N-fluorocarboxamides and readily accessible glycine esters under ambient conditions. The key to success lies in the optically active Cu catalyst generated through the coordination of glycine derivatives to enantiopure bisphosphine/Cu(I) species, which is beneficial to the single electronic reduction of N-fluorocarboxamides and the subsequent stereodetermining alkylation. More importantly, all types (primary, secondary, tertiary, and even α-oxy) of δ-C(sp3)-H bonds could be site- and stereospecifically activated by the kinetically favored 1,5-hydrogen atom transfer (1,5-HAT) step.

Unlock the C-N Bond Amidation of Enaminones: Metal-Free Synthesis of Enamides by Water-Assisted Transamidation

The C-N bond transamidation of primary amides with N,N-dimethyl enaminones has been efficiently realized by heating in the presence of trifluoromethanesulfonic acid (TfOH). The method enables the practical synthesis of valuable enamides without the use of any metal reagent. In addition, this transamidation protocol can also be expanded to the reactions of sulfonamides, and the late-stage functionalization on sulfonamide drugs such as Celecoxib and Valdecoxib has been verified. Moreover, the participation of water in assisting the transamidation process has been identified by the isotope labeling experiments using D2O, disclosing a new possibility in designing catalytic tactic to other transamidation reactions.

Brønsted-Acid-Catalyzed In Situ Formation of Acyclic Tertiary Enamides and Its Application to the Preparation of Diverse Nitrogen-Containing Heterocyclic Compounds

A Brønsted acid-catalyzed cascade process, involving in situ formation of acyclic tertiary enamides and intramolecular Michael reaction, is developed for the synthesis of functionalized cyclic tertiary enamides. Based on the dual reactivities of the enamide moiety, several reaction sequences were realized by using rationally designed substrates, leading to biologically relevant nitrogen-containing heterocyclic compounds with diverse structural skeletons in a concise and diastereocontrolled manner.

Directing Group Repositioning Strategy Enabled Site- and Enantioselective Addition of Heteroaromatic C-H Bonds to Acyclic Internal Alkenes

Despite the notable advances achieved in the Murai-type hydroarylations, highly enantioselective catalytic addition of native (hetero)arenes to internal alkenes remains a prominent challenge. Herein, we report a directing group repositioning strategy, which enables the iridium-catalyzed enantioselective addition of heteroarenes including furan, benzofuran, and thiophene to internal enamides. The C-H bond at the C2 position of the heteroarene is site-selectively cleaved and added regioselectively to the β-position of an enamide, affording a valuable β-heteroaryl amide with high enantioselectivity. Mechanistic studies indicate that the rate and the enantioselectivity are determined by separate elementary steps.

Coordination Assistance: A Powerful Strategy for Metal-Catalyzed Regio- and Enantioselective Hydroalkynylation of Internal Alkenes

ConspectusAlkenes are versatile compounds that are readily available on a large scale from industry or through organic synthesis. The widespread occurrence of alkenes provides the continuous impetus for the development of catalytic asymmetric alkene hydrofunctionalizations, which enables expeditious construction of complex chiral molecules from readily available starting materials. Catalytic asymmetric hydrofunctionalization of internal alkenes presents a notable challenge, due to their low reactivity, many potential side reactions, and the simultaneous control of the regio-, diastereo-, and enantioselectivities.Dehydroamino acids and enamides are among the first substrates that provide notable enantioselectivities in catalytic asymmetric hydrogenation. The crucial importance of an amide coordinating group is established by a series of classical mechanistic studies. This initial success greatly stimulated further development for catalytic hydrogenation and hydrofunctionalization. Building on these pioneering works in asymmetric hydrogenation as well as related hydrofunctionalizations, we have adopted coordination assistance as a powerful tool to address the challenges associated with the asymmetric hydrofunctionalization of internal alkenes. Using a functional group on the alkene substrate as a native coordinating group, a two-point binding mode of the substrate to the metal center effectively enhances the reactivity and facilitates the control of regio-, diastereo- and enantioselectivities. Through this strategy, we have developed a number of alkene hydrofunctionalization methods with excellent regio-, diastereo-, and enantiocontrols.In this Account, we summarize the recent advance in our lab using coordination assistance as a key element to achieve regio- and enantioselective hydroalkynylation of internal alkenes. First, we describe our early work aimed at controlling the regio- and enantioselectivity of hydroalkynylation using disubstituted enamide as the substrate. Both α- and β-alkynylation were achieved by channeling the reaction pathway into a Chalk-Harrod or modified Chalk-Harrod mechanism. Next, we discuss the further development of catalysts to achieve regiodivergent and enantioselective hydroalkynylation of trisubstituted enamide to access vicinal stereocenters and quaternary carbon stereocenters. We also discuss the hydroalkynylation of α,β-unsaturated amides to achieve unconventional site-selectivity through a combination of alkene isomerization and regioselective hydroalkynylation. This provides the basis for the construction of a remote quaternary carbon stereocenter through catalytic hydroalkynylation of trisubstituted β,γ-unsaturated amides. We further show that this controlling principle is applicable to terminal alkene with a coordinating group as well. A ligand-controlled mechanism shift is discussed for the enantioselective alkynylation at the terminal and internal position of 1,1,-disubstituted alkenes. Finally, we briefly mention the application of coordination assistance to other hydrofunctionalizations such as hydroboration and hydrosilylation, where previously inaccessible reactivity and selectivity were achieved. Collectively, these catalytic methods demonstrate the power of coordination assistance for enantioselective hydrofunctionalizations. We anticipate that this strategy will create a platform to enable diverse enantioselective alkene transformations.

Asymmetric Alkylation of Cyclic Ketones with Dehydroalanine via H-Bond-Directing Enamine Catalysis: Straightforward Access to Enantiopure Unnatural α-Amino Acids

The growing importance of structurally diverse and functionalized enantiomerically pure unnatural amino acids in the design of drugs, including peptides, has stimulated the development of new synthetic methods. This study reports the challenging direct asymmetric alkylation of cyclic ketones with dehydroalanine derivatives via a conjugate addition reaction for the synthesis of enantiopure ketone-based α-unnatural amino acids. The key to success was the design of a bifunctional primary amine-thiourea catalyst that combines H-bond-directing activation and enamine catalysis. The simultaneous dual activation of the two relatively unreactive partners, confirmed by mass spectrometry studies, results in high reactivity while securing high levels of stereocontrol. A broad substrate scope is accompanied by versatile downstream chemical modifications. The mild reaction conditions and consistently excellent enantioselectivities (>95 % ee in most cases) render this protocol highly practical for the rapid construction of valuable noncanonical enantiopure α-amino-acid building blocks.

Chemoselective Transfer Hydrogenation of Enamides Using Ru Pincer Complexes for the Synthesis of α-Amino Acids

The chemoselective reduction of enamides to α-amino acids with iPrOH and EtOH as H-donors and solvents catalyzed by Ru pincer complexes is demonstrated. A range of α-amino acids is synthesized in good to excellent yields. Applications, large scale, and a one-pot experiment are also reported. Finally, deuterium-labeling experiments show high regioselectivity between the α- and β-positions of the alkene unit.

Acylative kinetic resolution of racemic methyl-substituted cyclic alkylamines with 2,5-dioxopyrrolidin-1-yl (R)-2-phenoxypropanoate

The diastereoselective acylation of a number of racemic methyl-substituted cyclic alkylamines with active esters of 2-phenoxypropanoic acid was studied in detail. The ester of (R)-2-phenoxypropanoic acid and N-hydroxysuccinimide was found to be the most selective agent. The highest stereoselectivity was observed in the kinetic resolution of racemic 2-methylpiperidine in toluene at -40 °C (selectivity factor s = 73) with the predominant formation of (R,R)-amide (93.7% de). To explain the observed stereoselectivity, DFT modelling of the transition states in the reactions of the title acylating agent with 2-methylpiperidine and 2-methylpyrrolidine was performed. The calculated values were in good agreement with experimental data. It has been demonstrated that the acylation proceeds via a concerted mechanism, in which the addition of an amine occurs simultaneously with the elimination of the hydroxysuccinimide fragment. The high stereoselectivity of the (R,R)-amide formation is largely ensured by the lower steric hindrances in the transition states as compared to the formation of (R,S)-amide.

Recent Advances in the Enantioselective Synthesis of Chiral Amines via Transition Metal-Catalyzed Asymmetric Hydrogenation

Chiral amines are key structural motifs present in a wide variety of natural products, drugs, and other biologically active compounds. During the past decade, significant advances have been made with respect to the enantioselective synthesis of chiral amines, many of them based on catalytic asymmetric hydrogenation (AH). The present review covers the use of AH in the synthesis of chiral amines bearing a stereogenic center either in the α, β, or γ position with respect to the nitrogen atom, reported from 2010 to 2020. Therefore, we provide an overview of the recent advances in the AH of imines, enamides, enamines, allyl amines, and N-heteroaromatic compounds.

Hydroarylation of Enamides Enabled by HFIP via a Hexafluoroisopropyl Ether as Iminium Reservoir

Here we describe that HFIP greatly expands the scope with respect to both reaction partners of the Brønsted acid-catalyzed hydroarylation of enamides. The reaction is fast and practical and can...

Combined Theoretical and Experimental Studies Unravel Multiple Pathways to Convergent Asymmetric Hydrogenation of Enamides

We present a highly efficient convergent asymmetric hydrogenation of E/Z mixtures of enamides catalyzed by N,P-iridium complexes supported by mechanistic studies. It was found that reduction of the olefinic isomers (E and Z geometries) produces chiral amides with the same absolute configuration (enantioconvergent hydrogenation). This allowed the hydrogenation of a wide range of E/Z mixtures of trisubstituted enamides with excellent enantioselectivity (up to 99% ee). A detailed mechanistic study using deuterium labeling and kinetic experiments revealed two different pathways for the observed enantioconvergence. For α-aryl enamides, fast isomerization of the double bond takes place, and the overall process results in kinetic resolution of the two isomers. For α-alkyl enamides, no double bond isomerization is detected, and competition experiments suggested that substrate chelation is responsible for the enantioconvergent stereochemical outcome. DFT calculations were performed to predict the correct absolute configuration of the products and strengthen the proposed mechanism of the iridium-catalyzed isomerization pathway.

Green Chemistry in the Synthesis of Pharmaceuticals

The principles of green chemistry (GC) can be comprehensively implemented in green synthesis of pharmaceuticals by choosing no solvents or green solvents (preferably water), alternative reaction media, and consideration of one-pot synthesis, multicomponent reactions (MCRs), continuous processing, and process intensification approaches for atom economy and final waste reduction. The GC's execution in green synthesis can be performed using a holistic design of the active pharmaceutical ingredient's (API) life cycle, minimizing hazards and pollution, and capitalizing the resource efficiency in the synthesis technique. Thus, the presented review accounts for the comprehensive exploration of GC's principles and metrics, an appropriate implication of those ideas in each step of the reaction schemes, from raw material to an intermediate to the final product's synthesis, and the final execution of the synthesis into scalable industry-based production. For real-life examples, we have discussed the synthesis of a series of established generic pharmaceuticals, starting with the raw materials, and the intermediates of the corresponding pharmaceuticals. Researchers and industries have thoughtfully instigated a green synthesis process to control the atom economy and waste reduction to protect the environment. We have extensively discussed significant reactions relevant for green synthesis, one-pot cascade synthesis, MCRs, continuous processing, and process intensification, which may contribute to the future of green and sustainable synthesis of APIs.

Scalable Asymmetric Synthesis of MK-8998, a T-Type Calcium Channel Antagonist

Two scalable and efficient synthetic routes for the synthesis of a T-type calcium channel antagonist MK-8998 were developed from a simple pyridine building block. The key step to set the stereochemistry relied on either chiral rhodium catalyst-mediated asymmetric hydrogenation of an enamide or transamination of an arylketone that provided the corresponding product in high enantioselectivity and high yield.

Recent Advances in Asymmetric Hydrogenation Catalysis Utilizing Spiro and Other Rigid C-Stereogenic Phosphine Ligands

Transition-metal-catalyzed asymmetric reactions have been a powerful tool in organic synthesis for many years. The design of chiral ligands with the right configuration is fundamental to induce high regio- and stereoselectivity to catalytic reactions and to achieve high turnover numbers and high yields. A challenge is the control of prochiral centers with similar electronic properties in a similar steric environment within the same molecule. Over the last 10 years, a range of novel rigid C-stereogenic chiral phosphine ligands has been developed and successfully applied in various types of asymmetric transformations. Many of these ligands are of a di-, tri-, or multidentate nature. The purpose of this Perspective is to highlight recent synthetic achievements (since 2010) with spiro-phosphines and other rigid phosphines and discuss some mechanistic aspects of the catalytic reactions.

Biomimetic Asymmetric Reduction of Tetrasubstituted Olefin 2,3-Disubstituted Inden-1-ones with Chiral and Regenerable NAD(P)H Model CYNAM

Because of the formidable development of the asymmetric reduction of tetrasubstituted olefins, an effective method is in urgent demand. Herein, through the biomimetic protocol of the coenzyme NAD(P)H, the reduction of tetrasubstituted olefin 2,3-substituted 1H-inden-1-ones has been successfully realized with the catalytic chiral NAD(P)H model CYNAM, which is hard to bring about via the common rhodium or iridium-based catalytic system, producing the corresponding products in good yield (up to 98%) with good enantioselectivity (up to 99% ee). Furthermore, the chiral bioactive molecule can be concisely synthesized from the reduced product.

Photoinduced copper-catalysed asymmetric amidation via ligand cooperativity

The substitution of an alkyl electrophile by a nucleophile is a foundational reaction in organic chemistry that enables the efficient and convergent synthesis of organic molecules. Although there has been substantial recent progress in exploiting transition-metal catalysis to expand the scope of nucleophilic substitution reactions to include carbon nucleophiles1-4, there has been limited progress in corresponding reactions with nitrogen nucleophiles5-8. For many substitution reactions, the bond construction itself is not the only challenge, as there is a need to control stereochemistry at the same time. Here we describe a method for the enantioconvergent substitution of unactivated racemic alkyl electrophiles by a ubiquitous nitrogen-containing functional group, an amide. Our method uses a photoinduced catalyst system based on copper, an Earth-abundant metal. This process for asymmetric N-alkylation relies on three distinct ligands-a bisphosphine, a phenoxide and a chiral diamine. The ligands assemble in situ to form two distinct catalysts that act cooperatively: a copper/bisphosphine/phenoxide complex that serves as a photocatalyst, and a chiral copper/diamine complex that catalyses enantioselective C-N bond formation. Our study thus expands enantioselective N-substitution by alkyl electrophiles beyond activated electrophiles (those bearing at least one sp- or sp2-hybridized substituent on the carbon undergoing substitution)8-13 to include unactivated electrophiles.

Asymmetric Synthesis of Protected Unnatural α-Amino Acids via Enantioconvergent Nickel-Catalyzed Cross-Coupling

Interest in unnatural α-amino acids has increased rapidly in recent years in areas ranging from protein design to medicinal chemistry to materials science. Consequently, the development of efficient, versatile, and straightforward methods for their enantioselective synthesis is an important objective in reaction development. In this report, we establish that a chiral catalyst based on nickel, an earth-abundant metal, can achieve the enantioconvergent coupling of readily available racemic alkyl electrophiles with a wide variety of alkylzinc reagents (1:1.1 ratio) to afford protected unnatural α-amino acids in good yield and ee. This cross-coupling, which proceeds under mild conditions and is tolerant of air, moisture, and a broad array of functional groups, complements earlier approaches to the catalytic asymmetric synthesis of this valuable family of molecules. We have applied our new method to the generation of several enantioenriched unnatural α-amino acids that have previously been shown to serve as useful intermediates in the synthesis of bioactive compounds.

Recent Development in the Synthesis and Catalytic Application of Iridacycles

Cyclometallated complexes are well-known and have found many applications. This article provides a short review on the progress made in the synthesis and application to catalysis of cyclometallated half-sandwich Cp*Ir(III) complexes (Cp*: pentamethylcyclopentadienyl) since 2017. Covered in the review are iridacycles featuring conventional C,N chelates and less common metallocene and carbene-derived C,N and C,C ligands. This is followed by an overview of the studies of their applications in catalysis ranging from asymmetric hydrogenation, transfer hydrogenation, hydrosilylation to dehydrogenation.

The Asymmetric Synthesis of Amines via Nickel-Catalyzed Enantioconvergent Substitution Reactions

Chiral dialkyl carbinamines are important in fields such as organic chemistry, pharmaceutical chemistry, and biochemistry, serving for example as bioactive molecules, chiral ligands, and chiral catalysts. Unfortunately, most catalytic asymmetric methods for synthesizing dialkyl carbinamines do not provide general access to amines wherein the two alkyl groups are of similar size (e.g., CH2R versus CH2R1). Herein, we report two mild methods for the catalytic enantioconvergent synthesis of protected dialkyl carbinamines, both of which use a chiral nickel catalyst to couple an alkylzinc reagent (1.1-1.2 equiv) with a racemic partner, specifically, an α-phthalimido alkyl chloride or an N-hydroxyphthalimide (NHP) ester of a protected α-amino acid. The methods are versatile, providing dialkyl carbinamine derivatives that bear an array of functional groups. For couplings of NHP esters, we further describe a one-pot variant wherein the NHP ester is generated in situ, allowing the generation of enantioenriched protected dialkyl carbinamines in one step from commercially available amino acid derivatives; we demonstrate the utility of this method by applying it to the efficient catalytic enantioselective synthesis of a range of interesting target molecules.