Regioselective functionalization of aryl azoles as powerful tool for the synthesis of pharmaceutically relevant targets.

Aryl azole scaffolds are present in a wide range of pharmaceutically relevant molecules. Their ortho-selective metalation at the aryl ring is challenging, due to the competitive metalation of the more acidic heterocycle. Seeking a practical access to a key Active Pharmaceutical Ingredient (API) intermediate currently in development, we investigated the metalation of 1-aryl-1H-1,2,3-triazoles and other related heterocycles with sterically hindered metal-amide bases. We report here a room temperature and highly regioselective ortho-magnesiation of several aryl azoles using a tailored magnesium amide, TMPMgBu (TMP = 2,2,6,6-tetramethylpiperidyl) in hydrocarbon solvents followed by an efficient Pd-catalyzed arylation. This scalable and selective reaction allows variation of the initial substitution pattern of the aryl ring, the nature of the azole moiety, as well as the nature of the electrophile. This versatile method can be applied to the synthesis of bioactive azole derivatives and complements existing metal-mediated ortho-functionalizations.

Photochemical C-H Hydroxyalkylation of Quinolines and Isoquinolines.

We report herein a visible light-mediated C-H hydroxyalkylation of quinolines and isoquinolines that proceeds via a radical path. The process exploits the excited-state reactivity of 4-acyl-1,4-dihydropyridines, which can readily generate acyl radicals upon blue light absorption. By avoiding the need for external oxidants, this radical-generating strategy enables a departure from the classical, oxidative Minisci-type pattern and unlocks a unique reactivity, leading to hydroxyalkylated heteroarenes. Mechanistic investigations provide evidence that a radical-mediated spin-center shift is the key step of the process. The method's mild reaction conditions and high functional group tolerance accounted for the late-stage functionalization of active pharmaceutical ingredients and natural products.

Formation of XPhos-Ligated Palladium(0) Complexes and Reactivity in Oxidative Additions.

Understanding the nature of the intermediate species operating within a palladium catalytic cycle is crucial for developing efficient cross-coupling reactions. Even though the XPhos/Pd(OAc)2 catalytic system has found numerous applications, the nature of the active catalytic species remains elusive. A Pd0 complex ligated to XPhos has been detected and characterized in situ for the first time using cyclic voltammetry and NMR techniques. In the presence of XPhos, Pd(OAc)2 initially associates with the ligand to form a complex in solution, which has been characterized as PdII (OAc)2 (XPhos). This PdII center is then reduced to the Pd0 (XPhos)2 species by an intramolecular process. This study also sheds light on the formation of PdI -PdI dimers. Finally, a kinetic study probes a dissociative mechanism for the oxidative addition with aryl halides involving Pd0 (XPhos) as the reactive species in equilibrium with the unreactive Pd0 (XPhos)2 . Remarkably, the reportedly poorly reactive PhCl reacts at room temperature in the oxidative addition, which confirms the crucial role of the XPhos ligand in the activation of aryl chlorides.

A Redox-Active Nickel Complex that Acts as an Electron Mediator in Photochemical Giese Reactions.

We report a simple protocol for the photochemical Giese addition of C(sp3 )-centered radicals to a variety of electron-poor olefins. The chemistry does not require external photoredox catalysts. Instead, it harnesses the excited-state reactivity of 4-alkyl-1,4-dihydropyridines (4-alkyl-DHPs) to generate alkyl radicals. Crucial for reactivity is the use of a catalytic amount of Ni(bpy)3 2+ (bpy=2,2'-bipyridyl), which acts as an electron mediator to facilitate the redox processes involving fleeting and highly reactive intermediates.

Evidence for a Cooperative Mechanism Involving Two Palladium(0) Centers in the Oxidative Addition of Iodoarenes.

Oxidative addition of iodoarenes (ArI) to Pd0 ligated by 1-methyl-1H-imidazole (mim) in polar solvents leads to cationic arylpalladium(II) complexes [ArPd(mim)3 ]+ . Kinetic analyses evidence that this reaction is second order with respect to the concentration of Pd0 , and a mechanism involving the cooperative intervention of two Pd0 centers has been postulated to explain this finding. This unusual behavior is also observed with other nitrogen-containing ligands and it is general for iodobenzenes substituted with electron-donating or weakly electron-withdrawing groups. In contrast, bromoarenes and electron-poor iodoarenes display first-order kinetics with respect to Pd0 . Theoretical calculations performed at the density functional theory (DFT) level suggest the existence of mim-ligated ArI-Pd0 complexes, in which the iodoarene is bound to the metal in a halogen-bond-like fashion. Coordination weakens the C-I bond and facilitates the oxidative insertion of another Pd0 center across this C-I bond. This conceptually novel mechanism, involving the cooperative participation of two distinct metal centers, allows a full explanation of the experimentally observed kinetics.