The Enantioselective Total Synthesis of Bisquinolizidine Alkaloids: A Modular "Inside-Out" Approach.

Bisquinolizidine alkaloids are characterized by a chiral bispidine core (3,7-diazabicyclo[3.3.1]nonane) to which combinations of an α,N-fused 2-pyridone, an endo- or exo-α,N-annulated piperidin(on)e, and an exo-allyl substituent are attached. We developed a modular "inside-out" approach that permits access to most members of this class. Its applicability was proven in the asymmetric synthesis of 21 natural bisquinolizidine alkaloids, among them more than ten first enantioselective total syntheses. Key steps are the first successful preparation of both enantiomers of C2 -symmetric 2,6-dioxobispidine by desymmetrization of a 2,4,6,8-tetraoxo precursor, the construction of the α,N-fused 2-pyridone by using an enamine-bromoacrylic acid strategy, and the installation of endo- or, optionally, exo-annulated piperidin(on)es.

Manganese-Catalyzed Multicomponent Synthesis of Pyrimidines from Alcohols and Amidines.

The development of catalytic reactions for synthesizing different compounds from alcohols to save fossil carbon feedstock and reduce CO2 emissions is of high importance. Replacing rare noble metals with abundantly available 3d metals is equally important. We report a manganese-complex-catalyzed multicomponent synthesis of pyrimidines from amidines and up to three alcohols. Our reaction proceeds through condensation and dehydrogenation steps, permitting selective C-C and C-N bond formations. ß-Alkylation reactions are used to multiply alkylate secondary alcohols with two different primary alcohols to synthesize fully substituted pyrimidines in a one-pot process. Our PN5 P-Mn-pincer complexes efficiently catalyze this multicomponent process. A comparison of our manganese catalysts with related cobalt catalysts indicates that manganese shows a reactivity similar to that of iridium but not cobalt. This analogy could be used to develop further (de)hydrogenation reactions with manganese complexes.

General and Mild Cobalt-Catalyzed C-Alkylation of Unactivated Amides and Esters with Alcohols.

The borrowing hydrogen or hydrogen autotransfer methodology is an elegant and sustainable or green concept to construct carbon-carbon bonds. In this concept, alcohols, which can be obtained from barely used and indigestible biomass, such as lignocellulose, are employed as alkylating reagents. An especially challenging alkylation is that of unactivated esters and amides. Only noble metal catalysts based on iridium and ruthenium have been used to accomplish these reactions. Herein, we report on the first base metal-catalyzed α-alkylation of unactivated amides and esters by alcohols. Cobalt complexes stabilized with pincer ligands, recently developed in our laboratory, catalyze these reactions very efficiently. The precatalysts can be synthesized easily from commercially available starting materials on a multigram scale and are self-activating under the basic reaction conditions. This Co catalyst class is also able to mediate alkylation reactions of both esters and amides. In addition, we apply the methodology to synthesize ketones and to convert alcohols into aldehydes elongated by two carbon atoms.

A Sustainable Multicomponent Pyrimidine Synthesis.

Since alcohols are accessible from indigestible biomass (lignocellulose), the development of novel preferentially catalytic reactions in which alcohols are converted into important classes of fine chemicals is a central topic of sustainable synthesis. Multicomponent reactions are especially attractive in organic chemistry as they allow the synthesis of large libraries of diversely functionalized products in a short time when run in a combinatorial fashion. Herein, we report a novel, regioselective, iridium-catalyzed multicomponent synthesis of pyrimidines from amidines and up to three (different) alcohols. This reaction proceeds via a sequence of condensation and dehydrogenation steps which give rise to selective C-C and C-N bond formations. While the condensation steps deoxygenate the alcohol components, the dehydrogenations lead to aromatization. Two equiv of hydrogen and water are liberated in the course of the reactions. PN5P-Ir-pincer complexes, recently developed in our laboratory, catalyze this sustainable multicomponent process most efficiently. A total of 38 different pyrimidines were synthesized in isolated yields of up to 93%. Strong points of the new protocol are its regioselectivity and thus the immediate access to pyrimidines that are highly and unsymmetrically decorated with alkyl or aryl substituents. The combination of this novel protocol with established methods for converting alcohols to nitriles now allows to selectively assemble pyrimidines from four alcohol building blocks and 2 equiv of ammonia.