Copper Catalyzed Regioselective and Stereospecific Aziridine Opening with Pyridyl Grignard Nucleophiles.

Copper catalyzed regioselective and stereospecific coupling between aziridines and in situ generated pyridine Grignard reagents is reported. This method provides ß-pyridylethylamines with diverse structures and functionalities from aziridines and iodopyridines. ß-Pyridylethylamines are potential scaffolds for the synthesis of biologically active compounds often found in pharmaceuticals. The synthesis of challenging chiral dihydroazaindoles was also achieved through mild one-pot reaction conditions via aziridine opening followed by nucleophilic cyclization.

Rational Design of New Dihydrobenzooxophosphole-Based Lewis Base Organocatalysts.

A series of new dihydrobenzooxophosphole-based Lewis Base organocatalysts were designed and synthesized. They are demonstrated effective in trichlorosilane-mediated stereoselective conjugate reductions of C=C bonds. DFT calculations reveal that the strong hydrogen bond between the amide linker and the chloride on silicon in the transition state contributes to the high reactivity of the catalyst 3a.

Asymmetric Library Synthesis of P-Chiral t-Butyl-Substituted Secondary and Tertiary Phosphine Oxides.

An asymmetric synthesis, amenable to library preparation of structurally diverse P-chiral t-butyl substituted secondary phosphine oxides (SPOs) and tertiary phosphine oxides (TPOs), was developed. A P-chiral H-phosphinate building block was prepared via a two-step, one-pot condensation of a chiral auxiliary with t-BuPCl2, followed by hydrolysis. Nucleophilic displacement of the chiral auxiliary with Grignard reagents, followed by hydrolysis, provided a library of P-chiral SPOs. In situ treatment of the prehydrolysis intermediate with electrophiles also provided a library of P-chiral TPOs in high enantiomeric purity.

Application of a Preformed Pd-BIDIME Precatalyst to Suzuki-Miyaura Cross-Coupling Reaction in Flow.

The application of a Buchwald's third generation palladacycle containing a dihydrobenzooxaphosphole-based ligand (e.g., BIDIME) was reported in the Suzuki cross-coupling reaction. Using flow technology, high yield and reproducible Suzuki cross-coupling reaction for one of our key intermediates was achieved with Pd loadings as low as 0.5 mol %. This continuous flow approach overcomes catalyst deactivation and scale dependence issues that can be a problem in some traditional batch-mode operations and responds to the challenge of improving process greenness.

Development of a Scalable, Chromatography-Free Synthesis of t-Bu-SMS-Phos and Application to the Synthesis of an Important Chiral CF3-Alcohol Derivative with High Enantioselectivity Using Rh-Catalyzed Asymmetric Hydrogenation.

A chromatography-free, asymmetric synthesis of the C2-symmetric P-chiral diphosphine t-Bu-SMS-Phos was developed using a chiral auxiliary-based approach in five steps from the chiral auxiliary in 36% overall yield. Separtion and recovery of the auxiliary were achieved with good yield (97%) to enable recycling of the chiral auxiliary. An air-stable crystalline form of the final ligand was identified to enable isolation of the final ligand by crystallization to avoid chromatography. This synthetic route was applied to prepare up to 4 kg of the final ligand. The utility of this material was demonstrated in the asymmetric hydrogenation of trifluoromethyl vinyl acetate at 0.1 mol % Rh loading to access a surrogate for the pharmaceutically relavent chiral trifluoroisopropanol fragment in excellent yield and enantiomeric excess (98.6%).

Rhodium-Catalyzed Addition of Aryl Boronic Acids to 2,2-Disubstituted Malononitriles.

ß-Ketonitriles bearing a quaternary carbon at the 2-position were prepared through Rh-catalyzed addition of aryl boronic acids to 2,2-disubstituted malononitriles. In contrast to the previously described transnitrilative cyanation of aryl boronic acids with dialkylmalononitriles, the present reaction avoids retro-Thorpe collapse of the intermediate addition product through the use of a milder base. The reaction was amenable to a variety of aryl boronic acids and disubstituted malononitriles, providing a diverse array of ß-ketonitriles. The products could be further derivatized to valuable chiral α,α-disubstituted-ß-aminonitriles through addition reactions to the corresponding N-tert-butanesulfinyl imines.

General and Stereoselective Method for the Synthesis of Sterically Congested and Structurally Diverse P-Stereogenic Secondary Phosphine Oxides.

A general and efficient method for the synthesis of bulky and structurally diverse P-stereogenic chiral secondary phosphine oxides (SPOs) by using readily available chiral amino alcohol templates is described. These chiral SPOs could be used as chiral building blocks for the synthesis of difficult-to-access bulky P-stereogenic phosphine compounds or ligands for organic catalysis.

Metal-Free Cycloetherification by in Situ Generated P-Stereogenic α-Diazanium Intermediates: A Convergent Synthesis of Enantiomerically Pure Dihydrobenzooxaphospholes.

A metal-free tandem reaction, initiated by the generation of a diazonium cation and followed by cycloetherification, was developed. Acid-promoted de-tert-butylation of N-nitroso N-tert-butylamine was used to generate a diazonium cation in situ, demonstrating a new application of nitroso chemistry. This reaction was employed in the synthesis of substituted benzofuran-3(2H)-ones and dihydrobenzo[d][1,3]oxaphosphole 3-oxides.

Efficient asymmetric synthesis of structurally diverse P-stereogenic phosphinamides for catalyst design.

The use of chiral phosphinamides is relatively unexplored because of the lack of a general method for the synthesis. Reported herein is the development of a general, efficient, and highly enantioselective method for the synthesis of structurally diverse P-stereogenic phosphinamides. The method relies on nucleophilic substitution of a chiral phosphinate derived from the versatile chiral phosphinyl transfer agent 1,3,2-benzoxazaphosphinine-2-oxide. These chiral phosphinamides were utilized for the first synthesis of readily tunable P-stereogenic Lewis base organocatalysts, which were used successfully for highly enantioselective catalysis.

A mild dihydrobenzooxaphosphole oxazoline/iridium catalytic system for asymmetric hydrogenation of unfunctionalized dialins.

Air-stable P-chiral dihydrobenzooxaphosphole oxazoline ligands were designed and synthesized. When they were used in the iridium-catalyzed asymmetric hydrogenation of unfunctionalized 1-aryl-3,4-dihydronaphthalenes under one atmosphere pressure of H2 , up to 99:1 e.r. was obtained. High enantioselectivities were also observed in the reduction of the exocyclic imine derivatives of 1-tetralones.

Development of new P-chiral P,π-dihydrobenzooxaphosphole hybrid ligands for asymmetric catalysis.

A new family of P-chiral P,π-hybrid ligands was prepared from the dihydrobenzooxaphosphole core. These new ligands were demonstrated to be both sterically and electronically tunable at the substituents on the phosphorus atom and the π-system of the ligand. Application of these new ligands to the catalytic asymmetric addition of boronic acids to imine electrophiles was shown to proceed with high levels of enantioinduction.

Facile entry to an efficient and practical enantioselective synthesis of a polycyclic cholesteryl ester transfer protein inhibitor.

An efficient enantioselective synthesis of the chiral polycyclic cholesteryl ester transfer protein (CETP) inhibitor 1 has been developed. The synthesis was rendered practical for large scale via the development of a modified Hantzsch-type reaction to prepare the sterically hindered pyridine ring, enantioselective hydrogenation of hindered ketone 6 utilizing novel BIBOP-amino-pyridine derived Ru complex, efficient ICl promoted lactone formation, and a BF3 mediated hydrogenation process for diastereoselective lactol reduction. This efficient route was successfully scaled to produce multikilogram quantities of challenging CETP drug candidate 1.

The reaction of Grignard reagents with Bunte salts: a thiol-free synthesis of sulfides.

S-Alkyl, S-aryl, and S-vinyl thiosulfate sodium salts (Bunte salts) react with Grignard reagents to give sulfides in good yields. The S-alkyl Bunte salts are prepared from odorless sodium thiosulfate by an SN2 reaction with alkyl halides. A Cu-catalyzed coupling of sodium thiosulfate with aryl and vinyl halides was developed to access S-aryl and S-vinyl Bunte salts. The reaction is amenable to a broad structural array of Bunte salts and Grignard reagents. Importantly, this route to sulfides avoids the use of malodorous thiol starting materials or byproducts.

Carbamoyl anion addition to N-sulfinyl imines: highly diastereoselective synthesis of α-amino amides.

Carbamoyl anions, generated from N,N-disubstituted formamides and lithium diisopropylamide, add with high diastereoselectivity to chiral N-sulfinyl aldimines and ketimines to provide α-amino amides. The methodology enables the direct introduction of a carbonyl group without the requirement of unmasking steps as with other nucleophiles. The products may be converted to α-amino esters or 1,2-diamines. Iterative application of the reaction enabled the stereoselective synthesis of a dipeptide. Spectroscopic and computational studies support an anion structure with η(2) coordination of lithium by the carbonyl group.

Efficient asymmetric synthesis of P-chiral phosphine oxides via properly designed and activated benzoxazaphosphinine-2-oxide agents.

A general, efficient, and highly diastereoselective method for the synthesis of structurally and sterically diverse P-chiral phosphine oxides was developed. The method relies on sequential nucleophilic substitution on the versatile chiral phosphinyl transfer agent 1,3,2-benzoxazaphosphinine-2-oxide, which features enhanced and differentiated P-N and P-O bond reactivity toward nucleophiles. The reactivities of both bonds are fine-tuned to allow cleavage to occur even with sterically hindered nucleophiles under mild conditions.

Asymmetric synthesis of sulfinamides using (-)-quinine as chiral auxiliary.

A process has been designed and demonstrated for the asymmetric synthesis of sulfinamides using quinine as auxiliary. A variety of chiral sulfinamides including N-alkyl sulfinamides with diverse structure were prepared in good yields and excellent enantioselectivity starting from easily available and inexpensive reagents. The auxiliary quinine could be recovered and recycled.

Enantioselective synthesis of diverse sulfinamides and sulfinylferrocenes from phenylglycine-derived chiral sulfinyl transfer agent.

A new chiral sulfinyl transfer auxiliary derived from readily available phenylglycine was developed. This auxiliary is utilized to synthesize a diverse array of alkyl- and arylsulfinamides and sulfinylferrocenes in high yields and excellent ee's. The desired products are produced in a one-pot sequence from the oxathiazolidine 2-oxide by two sequential nucleophilic additions that proceed in a stereospecific manner.

RCM macrocyclization made practical: an efficient synthesis of HCV protease inhibitor BILN 2061.

We report here that dramatic improvement of the key RCM reaction in the synthesis of HCV protease inhibitor BILN2061 can be achieved by N-substitution of the diene substrate with an electron-withdrawing group. Mechanistic studies using 1H NMR spectroscopy showed an unprecedented switch of the initiation sites and the correlation between such switch and the results of RCM, from the unmodified to the modified substrates. We also provided theoretical evidence that such modification may also increase the thermodynamic preference of the macrocyclic product over the diene substrate.