Acridine photocatalysis enables tricomponent direct decarboxylative amine construction.

Amines are centrally important motifs in medicinal chemistry and biochemistry, and indispensable intermediates and linchpins in organic synthesis. Despite their cross-disciplinary prominence, synthetic access to amine continues to rely on two-electron approaches based on reductions and additions of organometallic reagents, limiting their accessible chemical space and necessitating stepwise preassembly of synthetic precursors. We report herein a homogeneous photocatalytic tricomponent decarboxylative radical-mediated amine construction that enables modular access to α-branched secondary amines directly from the broad and structurally diverse chemical space of carboxylic acids in a tricomponent reaction with aldehydes and aromatic amines. Our studies reveal the key role of acridine photocatalysis acting in concert with copper and Brønsted acid catalytic processes in facilitating the previously inaccessible homogeneous photocatalytic reaction and provide a streamlined segue to a wide range of amines and nonproteinogenic α-amino acids.

Ortho/Ipso Alkylborylation of Aryl Iodides.

This work describes a method for the difunctionalization of aryl iodides to generate polysubstituted arenes via Pd catalysis. The reaction hinges on the unique interplay between norbornene and the metal catalyst to impart a guided ortho C-H alkylation event followed by a programmatic ipso borylation to provide a diverse array of substituted arene products. The utility of this transformation is demonstrated through the functionalization of the boronic ester to a variety of valuable functionalities.

Synthesis and Evaluation of QS-7-Based Vaccine Adjuvants.

We have designed and synthesized two analogs (5 and 6) of QS-7, a natural saponin compound isolated from Quillaja saponaria (QS) Molina tree bark. The only structural difference between compound 5 and 6 is that 5 is acetylated at the 3- and 4-O positions of the quillaic acid C28 fucosyl unit while 6 is not. However, the two analogs show significantly different immunostimulant profiles. Compound 5 may potentiate a mixed Th1/Th2 (Th, T helper cells) immune response against the specific antigens while compound 6 may only induce a Th2-biased immunity. These results suggest that the 3- and/or 4-O acetyl groups of the fucosyl unit may play an important role in tuning the adjuvanticity of the QS-7 analogs, and compound 5 can serve as a structurally defined synthetic adjuvant when a mixed Th1/Th2 immune responses is desired.

Synthesis and Evaluation of a QS-17/18-Based Vaccine Adjuvant.

We have synthesized a QS-17/18 analogue (7) and evaluated its adjuvant activity in the formulation with rHagB antigen. Compound 7 and QS-21 analogues 5 and 6 are presumably the major components of GPI-0100, a widely used complex mixture of semisynthetic derivatives of Quillaja saponaria (QS) Molina saponins. The QS-17/18 analogue 7 shows an adjuvant activity profile similar to that of GPI-0100, potentiating mixed Th-1/Th-2 immune responses, which is different from those of QS-21 analogues 5 and 6 that probably only induce a Th2-like immunity. The combination of QS-17/18 and QS-21 analogues does not show a synergistic effect. These results suggest that QS-17/18 analogue 7 might be the active component of GPI-0100 responsible for its immunostimulant property. Therefore, compound 7 can not only be a structurally defined alternative to GPI-0100 but also provide a valuable clue for rational design of new QS-based vaccine adjuvants with better adjuvant properties.

The palladium/norbornene-catalyzed ortho-silylmethylation reaction: a practical protocol for ortho-functionalized one-carbon homologation of aryl iodides.

A palladium/norbornene-catalyzed ortho-silylmethylation reaction using of (iodomethyl)cyclohexyloxydimethylsilane as the electrophile was reported. The ((cyclohexyloxy)dimethylsilyl)methyl group was readily oxidized using the Fleming-Tamao process or by ceric ammonium nitrate to give benzylic alcohol derivatives. This method was successfully applied in a concise synthesis of a biaryl analogue of schisandrins.

Catalytically Asymmetric Pd/Norbornene Catalysis: Enantioselective Synthesis of (+)-Rhazinal, (+)-Rhazinilam, and (+)-Kopsiyunnanine C1-3.

A catalytically asymmetric palladium/norbornene-catalyzed reaction is reported, where α-aryl tetrahydroquinoline derived phosphoramidite L15 is found to be the optimum ligand. Taking advantage of this transformation, the concise and unified enantioselective syntheses of (+)-rhazinal, (+)-rhazinilam, and (+)-kopsiyunnanine C1, C2, and C3 are realized.

Cleavage of the C(O)-S Bond of Thioesters by Palladium/Norbornene/Copper Cooperative Catalysis: An Efficient Synthesis of 2-(Arylthio)aryl Ketones.

A Pd/norbornene/Cu cooperative catalysis for the efficient synthesis of 2-(arylthio)aryl ketones from aryl halides and thioesters has been developed. The first example of cooperative catalysis by palladium, norbornene, and copper, wherein the C(O)-S bond of thioesters is cleaved by a Pd(II) palladacycle with the assistance of CuI, has been observed.

Pd-catalyzed chemoselective Catellani ortho-arylation of iodopyrroles: rapid total synthesis of rhazinal.

A Pd-catalyzed chemoselective Catellani reaction of iodopyrroles was developed. The rare chemoselectivity between two different aryl halides was realized by optimizing the kinetics of the different steps of this multicomponent process. The new developed method led to the rapid synthesis of rhazinal in a highly efficient manner.

Preparation of levoglucosenone through sulfuric acid promoted pyrolysis of bagasse at low temperature.

Fast pyrolysis of bagasse pretreated by sulfuric acid was conducted in a fixed bed reactor to prepare levoglucosenone (LGO), a very important anhydrosugar for organic synthesis. The liquid yield and LGO yield were studied at temperatures from 240 to 350 °C and sulfuric acid loadings from 0.92 to 7.10 wt.%. An optimal LGO yield of 7.58 wt.% was obtained at 270 °C with a sulfuric acid pretreatment concentration of 0.05 M (corresponding to 4.28 wt.% sulfuric acid loading). For comparison, microcrystalline cellulose pretreated by 0.05 M sulfuric acid solution was pyrolyzed at temperature from 270 °C to 320 °C, and bagasse loaded with 3-5 wt.% phosphoric acid was pyrolyzed at temperature from 270 °C to 350 °C. The highest yield of LGO from bagasse was 30% higher than that from microcrystalline cellulose, and treatment with sulfuric acid allowed a 21% higher yield than treatment with phosphoric acid.