Organocatalytic chiral polymeric nanoparticles for asymmetric aldol reaction.

Chiral polymeric particles (CPPs) were studied extensively in recent years due to their importance in pharmaceutical applications. Here, nanosized CPPs were synthesized and applied as catalysts for direct asymmetric aldol reaction. The CPPs were prepared by miniemulsion or inverse miniemulsion based on various chiral amino acid derivatives and characterized by dynamic light scattering and scanning electron microscopy. The nanoparticles with spherical structure between 250 and 400 nm and high chiral surface area were used as catalysts in the aldol reaction at room temperature without additional solvent. l-tryptophan gave the highest enantiomeric excess, >86% with similar catalytic performance four times.

Recent advances in ring-opening of donor acceptor cyclopropanes using C-nucleophiles.

Ring-opening transformations of donor-acceptor cyclopropanes (DAC) with carbon-centered nucleophiles is a simple, straight-forward approach to 1,3-bifunctional compounds that has witnessed remarkable progress over the past several years. To date, different reactivity patterns of DACs have been successfully exploited in racemic/stereoselective syntheses of various acyclic compounds or carbocycles with an impressive structural diversity. The thriving strategies have been successfully utilized in multistep synthesis of complex target molecules. Herein, the recent advances (2015-present) in the ring-opening of DAC involving electron rich arenes and indoles, active methylene compounds, various dipolarophiles, organoborates/boronates, vinyl ethers etc. following Friedel-Crafts alkylation, annulation/formal cycloaddition reaction, organocatalytic reaction, Nazarov cyclisation etc. are presented.

Stereoselective Syntheses of Highly Functionalized Imidazolidines and Oxazolidines via Ring-Opening Cyclization of Activated Aziridines and Epoxides with Amines and Aldehydes.

A mild one-pot stereospecific synthetic route to highly functionalized imidazolidines and oxazolidines via SN2-type ring-opening of the corresponding activated aziridines and epoxides with amines followed by p-toluenesulfonic acid (PTSA)-catalyzed intramolecular cyclization with aldehydes has been developed. The methodology tolerates a variety of functional groups and furnishes the desired products in high yields (up to 92%) with excellent stereoselectivities (de, ee > 99%). Interestingly, imidazolidines were formed as the cis-isomers, whereas oxazolidines were produced as trans-isomers exclusively.

Stereoselective Construction of Pyrazinoindoles and Oxazinoindoles via Ring-Opening/Pictet-Spengler Reaction of Aziridines and Epoxides with 3-Methylindoles and Carbonyls.

A highly efficient and stereoselective route to access 1,3-disubstituted 1,2,3,4-tetrahydropyrazino[1,2- a]indoles and 3,4-dihydro-1H-[1,4]oxazino[4,3- a]indoles with excellent stereoselectivity (de, ee >99%) via base mediated ring opening of aziridines/epoxides with 3-methylindoles followed by BF3·OEt2 catalyzed Pictet-Spengler reaction is accomplished. Interestingly, PTSA promoted cyclization led to the formation of oxidized 3,4-dihydropyrazino[1,2- a]indoles in excellent yields via an unprecedented Pictet-Spengler-detosylation cascade.

Domino Michael-Michael and Aldol-Aldol Reactions: Diastereoselective Synthesis of Functionalized Cyclohexanone Derivatives Containing Quaternary Carbon Center.

A simple strategy for the synthesis of highly functionalized cyclohexanone derivatives containing an all-carbon quaternary center from α-(aryl/alkyl)methylidene-ß-keto esters or ß-diketones via a K-enolate mediated domino Michael-Michael reaction sequence with moderate to good yield and excellent diastereoselectivity (de > 99%) is described. Interestingly, Li-base mediated reaction of α-arylmethylidene-ß-diketones affords functionalized 3,5-dihydroxy cyclohexane derivatives as the kinetically controlled products via a domino aldol-aldol reaction sequence with excellent diastereoselectivity. Li-enolates of the ß-keto esters or ß-diketones undergo facile domino Michael-Michael reaction with nitro-olefins to afford the corresponding nitrocyclohexane derivatives in good yields and excellent diastereoselectivity (de > 99%). The formation of the products and the observed stereoselectivity were explained by plausible mechanisms and supported by extensive computational study. An asymmetric version of the protocol was explored with (L)-menthol derived nonracemic substrates, and the corresponding nonracemic cyclohexanone derivatives containing an all-carbon quaternary center were obtained with excellent stereoselectivity (de, ee > 99%).

Stereoselective synthesis of activated 2-arylazetidines via imino-aldol reaction.

A simple and efficient synthetic route to substituted N-sulfinyl and N-sulfonyl azetidines is described involving imino-aldol reaction of ester enolates with racemic and non-racemic aldimines for obtaining ß-amino esters as a key step. These ß-amino esters on subsequent reduction followed by TsCl/KOH mediated cyclization produced the corresponding racemic and non-racemic azetidines with high yield and stereoselectivity.