ABSTRACT
A new mode of catalysis of the semipinacol rearrangement of 2,3-epoxy alcohols is described. In combination with a halide salt additive, diarylborinic acids promote a Type II rearrangement that occurs with net retention of configuration. This unusual stereochemical outcome is consistent with a mechanism involving regioselective ring opening of the epoxy alcohol by halide, followed by rearrangement of the resulting halohydrin-derived borinic ester. The protocol is applicable to a range of substrates, enabling ring contractions and expansions as well as stereospecific syntheses of acyclic ß-hydroxycarbonyl compounds.
ABSTRACT
A mechanistic study of the borinic acid-catalyzed chloroacylation of 2,3-epoxy alcohols is presented. In this unusual mode of catalysis, the borinic acid activates the substrate toward sequential reactions with a nucleophile (epoxide ring-opening by chloride) and an electrophile (O-acylation of the resulting alkoxide). Reaction progress kinetic analysis of data obtained through in situ FTIR spectroscopy is consistent with a mechanism involving turnover-limiting acylation of a chlorohydrin-derived borinic ester. This proposal is further supported by investigations of the effects of aroyl chloride substitution on reaction rate. The kinetics experiments also shed light on the effects of chloride concentration on reaction rate and indicate that the catalyst is subject to inhibition by the product of the chloroacylation reaction. Computational modeling is employed to gain insight into the effects of the organoboron catalyst on the regioselectivities of the epoxide ring-opening and acylation steps. The density functional theory calculations provide a plausible pathway for selective chlorinolysis at C-3 and benzoylation at O-1, as is observed experimentally.
ABSTRACT
Directed hydration of α-amino nitriles was achieved under mild conditions using simple carbohydrates as catalysts exploiting temporary intramolecularity. A broadly applicable procedure using both formaldehyde and NaOH as catalysts efficiently hydrated a variety of primary and secondary susbtrates, and allowed the hydration of enantiopure substrates to proceed without racemization. This work also provides a rare comparison of the catalytic activity of carbohydrates, and shows that the simple aldehydes at the basis of chemical evolution are efficient organocatalysts mimicking the function of hydratase enzymes. Optimal catalytic efficiency was observed with destabilized aldehydes, and with difficult substrates only simple carbohydrates such as formaldehyde and glycolaldehyde proved reliable.
Subject(s)
Carbohydrates/chemistry , Nitriles/chemistry , Catalysis , Water/chemistryABSTRACT
Nucleoside analogues bearing a fluorine in the C2'-position have been synthesized by SN2-like cyclizations of acyclic thioaminal precursors. This strategy provides access to two scaffolds, d-1',2'-cis-thiofuranosides and d-1',2'-trans-furanosides, which are difficult to generate using the standard approach for nucleoside synthesis. The addition of silylated nucleobases onto model C2-fluorinated dithioacetal substrates resulted in 1,2-syn diastereoselectivity, which is consistent with the C2-F and S-alkyl moiety being in close proximity. A new series of analogues bearing a C3' all-carbon quaternary center along with a C2'-F atom have also been synthesized using this approach and are being investigated as potential antimetabolites.
ABSTRACT
In the presence of a borinic acid derived catalyst, 2,3-epoxy alcohols undergo couplings with acyl and sulfonyl chlorides. This transformation directly generates O-acylated or O-sulfonylated chlorohydrin diols, with significant levels of regioselectivity for both the ring-opening and O-functionalization steps.
