SYNTHESIS AND CLEAVAGE OF LACTONES AND THIOLACTONES. APPLICATIONS IN ORGANIC SYNTHESIS. A REVIEW

Highly Enantioselective Catalytic Lactonization at Nonactivated Primary and Secondary γ-C-H Bonds

Chiral oxygenated aliphatic moieties are recurrent in biological and pharmaceutically relevant molecules and constitute one of the most versatile types of functionalities for further elaboration. Herein we report a protocol for straightforward and general access to chiral γ-lactones via enantioselective oxidation of strong nonactivated primary and secondary C(sp3)-H bonds in readily available carboxylic acids. The key enabling aspect is the use of robust sterically encumbered manganese catalysts that provide outstanding enantioselectivities (up to >99.9%) and yields (up to 96%) employing hydrogen peroxide as the oxidant. The resulting γ-lactones are of immediate interest for the preparation of inter alia natural products and recyclable polymeric materials.

Sustainable Polythioesters via Thio(no)lactones: Monomer Synthesis, Ring-Opening Polymerization, End-of-Life Considerations, and Industrial Perspectives

As the environmental effects of plastics are of ever greater concern, the industry is driven towards more sustainable polymers. Besides sustainability, our fast-developing society imposes the need for highly versatile materials. Whereas aliphatic polyesters (PEs) are widely adopted and studied as next-generation biobased and (bio)degradable materials, their sulfur-containing analogs, polythioesters (PTEs), only recently gained attention. Nevertheless, the introduction of S atoms is known to often enhance thermal, mechanical, electrochemical, and optical properties, offering prospects for broad applicability. Furthermore, thanks to their thioester-based backbone, PTEs are inherently susceptible to degradation, giving them a high sustainability potential. The key route to PTEs is through ring-opening polymerization (ROP) of thio(no)lactones. This Review critically discusses the (potential) sustainability of the most relevant state-of-the-art in every step from sulfur source to end-of-life treatment options of PTEs, obtained through ROP of thio(no)lactones. The benefits and drawbacks of PTEs versus PEs are highlighted, including their industrial perspective.

Carboxylic Acid Directed γ-Lactonization of Unactivated Primary C-H Bonds Catalyzed by Mn Complexes: Application to Stereoselective Natural Product Diversification

Reactions that enable selective functionalization of strong aliphatic C-H bonds open new synthetic paths to rapidly increase molecular complexity and expand chemical space. Particularly valuable are reactions where site-selectivity can be directed toward a specific C-H bond by catalyst control. Herein we describe the catalytic site- and stereoselective γ-lactonization of unactivated primary C-H bonds in carboxylic acid substrates. The system relies on a chiral Mn catalyst that activates aqueous hydrogen peroxide to promote intramolecular lactonization under mild conditions, via carboxylate binding to the metal center. The system exhibits high site-selectivity and enables the oxidation of unactivated primary γ-C-H bonds even in the presence of intrinsically weaker and a priori more reactive secondary and tertiary ones at α- and β-carbons. With substrates bearing nonequivalent γ-C-H bonds, the factors governing site-selectivity have been uncovered. Most remarkably, by manipulating the absolute chirality of the catalyst, γ-lactonization at methyl groups in gem-dimethyl structural units of rigid cyclic and bicyclic carboxylic acids can be achieved with unprecedented levels of diastereoselectivity. Such control has been successfully exploited in the late-stage lactonization of natural products such as camphoric, camphanic, ketopinic, and isoketopinic acids. DFT analysis points toward a rebound type mechanism initiated by intramolecular 1,7-HAT from a primary γ-C-H bond of the bound substrate to a highly reactive Mn^IV-oxyl intermediate, to deliver a carbon radical that rapidly lactonizes through carboxylate transfer. Intramolecular kinetic deuterium isotope effect and ¹⁸O labeling experiments provide strong support to this mechanistic picture.

Recent Developments in Lactone Monomers and Polymer Synthesis and Application

Lactones are a group of compounds that have been known for several decades. The commercial importance of lactones results from the possibility of manufacturing of a broad scope of derivatives and polymers with a wide spectrum of applications. In this work the synthesis and characterization of simple lactones are described, which due to the easy methods of the synthesis are of high importance for the industry. The chemical as well as biochemical methods are included with special attention paid to the methods that avoid metal catalysts, initiators or toxic solvents, allowing the use of the final products for the medical applications, e.g., for controlled drug-release systems, resorbable surgical threads, implants, tissue scaffolds or for the production of drugs. Lactone-based derivatives, such as polymers, copolymers, composites or three-dimensional structures are also presented. The work is focused on the methods for the synthesis of lactones and lactones derivates, as well as on the special properties and application of the studied compounds.

Synthesis of macrocyclic and medium-sized ring thiolactones via the ring expansion of lactams

A side chain insertion method for the ring expansion of lactams into macrocyclic thiolactones is reported, that can also be incorporated into Successive Ring Expansion (SuRE) sequences. The reactions are less thermodynamically favourable than the analogous lactam- and lactone-forming ring expansion processes (with this notion supported by DFT data), but nonetheless, three complementary protecting group strategies have been developed to enable this challenging transformation to be achieved.

Synthesis of γ-Lactones via the Kowalski Homologation Reaction: Protecting-Group-Free Divergent Total Syntheses of Eupomatilones-2,5,6, and 3-epi-Eupomatilone-6

A highly efficient synthesis of functionalized chiral γ-butyrolactone scaffolds has been described. The basis of the approach is the Kowalski ester homologation that is modified for our proposed transformation. The newly developed methodology combines a divergent synthetic strategy to permit a straightforward protecting-group-free asymmetric total syntheses of eupomatilones-2,5,6, and 3-epi-eupomatilone-6 in five or six steps from commercial starting materials, making it one of the shortest syntheses reported to date.

Active Release of an Antimicrobial and Antiplatelet Agent from a Nonfouling Surface Modification

Two major challenges faced by medical devices are thrombus formation and infection. In this work, surface-tethered nitric oxide (NO)-releasing molecules are presented as a solution to combat infection and thrombosis. These materials possess a robust NO release capacity lasting ca. 1 month while simultaneously improving the nonfouling nature of the material by preventing platelet, protein, and bacteria adhesion. NO's potent bactericidal function has been implemented by a facile surface covalent attachment method to fabricate a triple-action coating-surface-immobilized S-nitroso- N-acetylpenicillamine (SIM-S). Comparison of NO loading amongst the various branching configurations is shown through the NO release kinetics over time and the cumulative NO release. Biological characterization is performed using in vitro fibrinogen and Staphylococcus aureus assays. The material with the highest NO release, SIM-S2, is also able to reduce protein adhesion by 65.8 ± 8.9% when compared to unmodified silicone. SIM-S2 demonstrates a 99.99% (i.e., ∼4 log) reduction for S. aureus over 24 h. The various functionalized surfaces significantly reduce platelet adhesion in vitro, for both NO-releasing and non-NO-releasing surfaces (up to 89.1 ± 0.9%), demonstrating the nonfouling nature of the surface-immobilized functionalities. The ability of the SIM-S surfaces to retain antifouling properties despite gradual depletion of the bactericidal source, NO, demonstrates its potential use in long-term medical implants.

Mild and chemoselective lactone ring-opening with (TMS)ONa. Mechanistic studies and application to sweroside derivatives

Mild and chemoselective opening of lactones with sodium trimethylsilanolate in high yields and aprotic solvents is described. Kinetic studies demonstrate that the B(Ac)2 mechanistic pathway is followed. Nucleophilic attack of silanolate onto the carbonyl of the lactone moiety is the rate-determining step. NaOH present as an impurity accelerates the reaction. The method was further applied to the base-sensitive and stable lactones derived from highly functionalized iridoid derivatives.