Current Status of Indole-Derived Marine Natural Products: Synthetic Approaches and Therapeutic Applications.

Indole is a versatile pharmacophore widely distributed in bioactive natural products. This privileged scaffold has been found in a variety of molecules isolated from marine organisms such as algae and sponges. Among these, indole alkaloids represent one of the biggest, most promising family of compounds, having shown a wide range of pharmacological properties including anti-inflammatory, antiviral, and anticancer activities. The aim of this review is to show the current scenario of marine indole alkaloid derivatives, covering not only the most common chemical structures but also their promising therapeutic applications as well as the new general synthetic routes developed during the last years.

Asymmetric nucleophilic monofluorobenzylation of allyl and propargyl halides mediated by a remote sulfinyl group: synthesis of homoallylic and homopropargylic fluorides.

Fluorinated 2-(p-tolylsulfinyl)benzyl carbanions react with allyl and propargyl halides in a highly stereoselective way, providing homoallylic and homopropargylic fluorides, respectively, with high optical purity. Theoretical calculations found transition states for these transformations whose relative stabilities are consistent with the experimentally observed stereoselectivity.

Asymmetric nucleophilic monofluorobenzylation of carbonyl compounds: synthesis of enantiopure vic-fluorohydrins and α-fluorobenzylketones.

Asymmetric nucleophilic monofluoroalkylation of a broad range of aldehydes with an α-fluoro-γ-sulfinylbenzyl carbanion takes place with complete control of the facial selectivity at the carbanion and good to high anti-diastereoselectivity to give easily separable mixtures of two optically pure 1,2-fluorohydrin derivatives (up to 24:1 anti/syn). Separation and removal of the p-tolylsulfinyl group with tBuLi provides enantiomerically pure anti-1,2-disubstituted-1,2-fluorohydrins, whereas α-fluorobenzylketones can be obtained by desulfinylation of the mixture followed by pyridinium chlorochromate oxidation (one-pot process).

Synthesis of optically pure vic-sulfanyl amines mediated by a remote sulfinyl group.

Enantiomerically pure syn-1,2-diaryl-1,2-sulfanylamine derivatives can be obtained in a completely stereoselective manner by reaction of the benzylcarbanion Li-(S)-1 with N-phenyl (or PMP)-arylidene aldimines and further desulfinylation with t-BuLi. Theoretical studies at the DFT (mPW1PW91) level with the CPCM model, by using the Gaussian09 program, provide a good explanation for the stereochemical results.

Chiral monofluorobenzyl carbanions: synthesis of enantiopure ß-fluorinated ß-phenylethylamines.

The preparation of a stabilized monofluorobenzyl carbanion by means of a remote homochiral sulfinyl group and its completely stereoselective reactions with N-p-tolylsulfinylimines are described. The use of these reactions followed by the simultaneous removal of both chiral auxiliaries with tBuLi, which occurs without epimerization at the benzylic position, provides the quickest entry to enantiomerically pure ß-fluorinated ß-phenylethylamines.

2-(p-Tolylsulfinyl)benzyl halides as efficient precursors of optically pure trans-2,3-disubstituted aziridines.

Aziridination of (R)-N-sulfinylaldimines (aryl, heteroaryl and alkenyl derivatives) with 2-(p-tolyl sulfinyl)benzyl iodide in the presence of sodium hexamethyl disilazide takes place with almost complete control of the stereoselectivity (facial and anti/syn) and with very high yields affording optically pure N-sulfinyl trans-2,3-disubstituted aziridines 7. Simultaneous removal of both C- and N-p-tolylsulfinyl groups with tBuLi provides the corresponding trans-NH aziridines 8 without affecting their optical purity. Some experimental results suggest these processes evolve through benzyl halocarbenoids as intermediates, whereas theoretical calculations support the formation of benzyl carbanions. These results have served for revising the mechanistic aspects of the reactions of substituted 2-p-tolylsulfinyl benzylcarbanions with electrophiles.

Stereoselective control of planar alpha-dimethylsulfonium benzyl carbanions. Synthesis of optically pure trans-aziridines.

(R)-N-sulfinylimine and (S)-N-sulfinylimine react with the ylide derived from (S)-dimethyl-[2-(p-toluenesulfinyl)phenyl]sulfonium salt, affording trans-2,3-disubstituted aziridines. A complete trans selectivity in low facial diastereoselectivity is observed when the configuration at the sulfur atoms of the reagents is the same. Otherwise, when their configurations are different, the reaction evolved with total facial diastereoselectivity and the cis/trans ratio ranged between 1/4.2 and 1/9. Theoretical calculations indicate the reaction proceeds mainly by evolution of a planar free carbanion. The relative stability of the transition states predicts a trans/cis ratio that is in excellent agreement with the experimental results.

Stereoselective addition of alpha-methylsulfenyl benzyl carbanions to N-sulfinylketimines: asymmetric synthesis of alpha,alpha-dibranched beta-sulfanyl amines.

(R)- and (S)-N-sulfinylketimines react with the ortho-sulfinyl benzyl carbanion derived from (S)-1 affording epimeric mixtures at the benzylic carbon of alpha,alpha-dibranched beta-sulfanyl amines. The N-sulfinyl group completely controls the configuration at the quaternary carbon bonded to the nitrogen, whereas the C-sulfinyl group is responsible for the level of asymmetric induction. High stereoselectivity can be achieved when the configuration at the sulfur atoms of the reagents are opposite (matched pair). After a two-step desulfinylation process, this reaction provides a procedure for synthesizing diastereomerically pure syn-1,2-sulfanyl amines containing a chiral quaternary carbon adjacent to nitrogen.

Stereoselective alkylidenation of ketones with 2-(p-toluenesulfinyl)benzyl iodide: synthesis of enantiomerically pure trisubstituted epoxides.

Alkylidenation of arylmethyl, dialkyl, and cyclic ketones with 2-( p-toluenesulfinyl)benzyl iodide in the presence of NaN(SiMe3)2 takes place with a high or complete control of the facial selectivity at the carbonyl group (up to 98% de) and the carbanion (>98% de), respectively, yielding mixtures of only two optically pure trisubstituted epoxides ( E/Z ratio ranges between 2:1 and >50:1). Removal of the p-tolylsulfinyl group with t-BuLi provides the corresponding (E)-3-phenyl-2,2-disubstituted epoxides without affecting their optical purity.

Asymmetric synthesis of beta-hydroxy sulfides controlled by remote sulfoxides.

Reactions of (S)-alpha-(methylthio)-2-(p-tolylsulfinyl)benzyl carbanion with different carbonyl compounds proceeds with complete control of the configuration at the benzylic position. Aldehydes yield easily separable mixtures of beta-hydroxy sulfides, epimers at the hydroxylic carbon, where the stereoselectivity depends on steric factors (from 20% to >98% de).

Synthesis of optically pure 1,2-diaryl- and 1,2-alkylaryl-1,2-amino sulfides.

[reaction: see text] The reactions of the lithium (S)-alpha-(methylthio)-2-(p-toluenesulfinyl)benzyl carbanion with (S)-N-p-tolylsulfinyl aldimines evolve in a completely stereoselective manner providing a one-step synthesis of enantiomerically pure anti-1,2-disubstituted 1,2-amino sulfide derivatives.

Diastereoselective Michael additions of N-Boc-2-(tert-butyldimethylsiloxy)pyrrole to 2-(Arylsulfinyl)-1,4-benzoquinones.

Reactions of 2-(arylsulfinyl)-1,4-benzoquinones 1a-c with N-(tert-butoxycarbonyl)-2-(tert-butyldimethylsiloxy)pyrrole 2 have been studied under different catalytic conditions. Under BF(3).OEt(2) catalysis, reactions were completely stereoselective leading to the Michael-type adducts 3, whereas in the presence of SnCl(4) diastereomeric mixtures of the pyrrolo[3,2-b]benzofuranes 5 and 6 were obtained. The latter products result from a tandem process involving the Michael reaction followed by an intramolecular cyclization of the intermediates 3 and 4, the first step being hardly stereoselective. Reactions catalyzed by Eu(fod)(3) evolved in a highly stereoselective manner yielding the products 3 or 5 depending on the electronic density of the arylsulfinyl group.