Catalytic enantiocontrol over a non-classical carbocation.

Carbocations can be categorized into classical carbenium ions and non-classical carbonium ions. These intermediates are ubiquitous in reactions of both fundamental and practical relevance, finding application in the petroleum industry as well as the discovery of new drugs and materials. Conveying stereochemical information to carbocations is therefore of interest to a range of chemical fields. While previous studies targeted systems proceeding through classical ions, enantiocontrol over their non-classical counterparts has remained unprecedented. Here we show that strong and confined chiral acids catalyse enantioselective reactions via the non-classical 2-norbornyl cation. This reactive intermediate is generated from structurally different precursors by leveraging the reactivity of various functional groups to ultimately deliver the same enantioenriched product. Our work demonstrates that tailored catalysts can act as suitable hosts for simple, non-functionalized carbocations via a network of non-covalent interactions. We anticipate that the methods described herein will provide catalytic accessibility to valuable carbocation systems.

Confined acids catalyze asymmetric single aldolizations of acetaldehyde enolates.

Reactions that form a product with the same reactive functionality as that of one of the starting compounds frequently end in oligomerization. As a salient example, selective aldol coupling of the smallest, though arguably most useful, enolizable aldehyde, acetaldehyde, with just one partner substrate has proven to be extremely challenging. Here, we report a highly enantioselective Mukaiyama aldol reaction with the simple triethylsilyl (TES) and tert-butyldimethylsilyl (TBS) enolates of acetaldehyde and various aliphatic and aromatic acceptor aldehydes. The reaction is catalyzed by recently developed, strongly acidic imidodiphosphorimidates (IDPi), which, like enzymes, display a confined active site but, like small-molecule catalysts, have a broad substrate scope. The process is scalable, fast, efficient (0.5 to 1.5 mole % catalyst loading), and greatly simplifies access to highly valuable silylated acetaldehyde aldols.

Approaching sub-ppm-level asymmetric organocatalysis of a highly challenging and scalable carbon-carbon bond forming reaction.

The chemical synthesis of organic molecules involves, at its very essence, the creation of carbon-carbon bonds. In this context, the aldol reaction is among the most important synthetic methods, and a wide variety of catalytic and stereoselective versions have been reported. However, aldolizations yielding tertiary aldols, which result from the reaction of an enolate with a ketone, are challenging and only a few catalytic asymmetric Mukaiyama aldol reactions with ketones as electrophiles have been described. These methods typically require relatively high catalyst loadings, deliver substandard enantioselectivity or need special reagents or additives. We now report extremely potent catalysts that readily enable the reaction of silyl ketene acetals with a diverse set of ketones to furnish the corresponding tertiary aldol products in excellent yields and enantioselectivities. Parts per million (ppm) levels of catalyst loadings can be routinely used and provide fast and quantitative product formation in high enantiopurity. In situ spectroscopic studies and acidity measurements suggest a silylium ion based, asymmetric counteranion-directed Lewis acid catalysis mechanism.

Activation of olefins via asymmetric Brønsted acid catalysis.

The activation of olefins for asymmetric chemical synthesis traditionally relies on transition metal catalysts. In contrast, biological enzymes with Brønsted acidic sites of appropriate strength can protonate olefins and thereby generate carbocations that ultimately react to form natural products. Although chemists have recently designed chiral Brønsted acid catalysts to activate imines and carbonyl compounds, mimicking these enzymes to protonate simple olefins that then engage in asymmetric catalytic reactions has remained a substantial synthetic challenge. Here, we show that a class of confined and strong chiral Brønsted acids enables the catalytic asymmetric intramolecular hydroalkoxylation of unbiased olefins. The methodology gives rapid access to biologically active 1,1-disubstituted tetrahydrofurans, including (-)-Boivinianin A.

The Catalytic Asymmetric Mukaiyama-Michael Reaction of Silyl Ketene Acetals with α,ß-Unsaturated Methyl Esters.

α,ß-Unsaturated esters are readily available but challenging substrates to activate in asymmetric catalysis. We now describe an efficient, general, and highly enantioselective Mukaiyama-Michael reaction of silyl ketene acetals with α,ß-unsaturated methyl esters that is catalyzed by a silylium imidodiphosphorimidate (IDPi) Lewis acid.

Catalytic Asymmetric [4+2]-Cycloaddition of Dienes with Aldehydes.

Despite its significant potential, a general catalytic asymmetric [4+2]-cycloaddition of simple and electronically unbiased dienes with any type of aldehyde has long been unknown. Previously developed methodologies invariably require activated, electronically engineered substrates. We now provide a general solution to this problem. We show that highly acidic and confined imidodiphosphorimidates (IDPis) are extremely effective Brønsted acid catalysts of the hetero-Diels-Alder reaction of a wide variety of aldehydes and dienes to give enantiomerically enriched dihydropyrans. Excellent stereoselectivity is generally observed and a variety of scents and natural products can be easily accessed.

Asymmetric Catalysis via Cyclic, Aliphatic Oxocarbenium Ions.

A direct enantioselective synthesis of substituted oxygen heterocycles from lactol acetates and enolsilanes has been realized using a highly reactive and confined imidodiphosphorimidate (IDPi) catalyst. Various chiral oxygen heterocycles, including tetrahydrofurans, tetrahydropyrans, oxepanes, chromans, and dihydrobenzofurans, were obtained in excellent enantioselectivities by reacting the corresponding lactol acetates with diverse enol silanes. Mechanistic studies suggest the reaction to proceed via a nonstabilized, aliphatic, cyclic oxocarbenium ion intermediate paired with the confined chiral counteranion.

Catalytic Asymmetric Vinylogous Prins Cyclization: A Highly Diastereo- and Enantioselective Entry to Tetrahydrofurans.

We describe the design and development of the first catalytic asymmetric vinylogous Prins cyclization. This reaction constitutes an efficient approach for highly diastereo- and enantioselective synthesis of tetrahydrofurans (THFs) and is catalyzed by a confined chiral imidodiphosphoric acid (IDP). Aromatic and heteroaromatic aldehydes react with various 3,5-dien-1-ols to afford 2,3-disubstituted THFs in excellent selectivity (d.r. > 20:1, e.r. up to 99:1). Aliphatic aldehydes react with similarly excellent results when a highly acidic imidodiphosphorimidate (IDPi) catalyst is used. With a racemic dienyl alcohol, the reaction proceeds via a kinetic resolution. DFT calculations suggest an explanation for unusually high stereoselectivity.

Extremely Active Organocatalysts Enable a Highly Enantioselective Addition of Allyltrimethylsilane to Aldehydes.

The enantioselective allylation of aldehydes to form homoallylic alcohols is one of the most frequently used carbon-carbon bond-forming reaction in chemical synthesis and, for several decades, has been a testing ground for new asymmetric methodology. However, a general and highly enantioselective catalytic addition of the inexpensive, nontoxic, air- and moisture-stable allyltrimethylsilane to aldehydes, the Hosomi-Sakurai reaction, has remained elusive. Reported herein is the design and synthesis of a highly acidic imidodiphosphorimidate motif (IDPi), which enables this transformation, thus converting various aldehydes with aromatic and aliphatic groups at catalyst loadings ranging from 0.05 to 2.0 mol % with excellent enantioselectivities. Our rationally constructed catalysts feature a highly tunable active site, and selectively process small substrates, thus promising utility in various other challenging chemical reactions.

A General Catalytic Asymmetric Prins Cyclization.

A new class of highly acidic confined imino-imidodiphosphate (iIDP) Brønsted acids catalyze the asymmetric Prins cyclization of both aliphatic and aromatic aldehydes. Diverse functionalized 4-methylenetetrahydropyrans are obtained in good to excellent yields and with good to excellent regio- and enantioselectivities. Our iIDP catalysts provide an efficient and scalable enantioselective approach to various fragrances, including rose oxide and doremox.

Disulfonimide-Catalyzed Asymmetric Reduction of N-Alkyl Imines.

A chiral disulfonimide (DSI)-catalyzed asymmetric reduction of N-alkyl imines with Hantzsch esters as a hydrogen source in the presence of Boc2 O has been developed. The reaction delivers Boc-protected N-alkyl amines with excellent yields and enantioselectivity. The method tolerates a large variety of alkyl amines, thus illustrating potential for a general reductive cross-coupling of ketones with diverse amines, and it was applied in the synthesis of the pharmaceuticals (S)-Rivastigmine, NPS R-568 Hydrochloride, and (R)-Fendiline.

The catalytic asymmetric α-benzylation of aldehydes.

The first aminocatalyzed α-alkylation of α-branched aldehydes with benzyl bromides as alkylating agents has been developed. Using a sterically demanding proline derived catalyst, racemic α-branched aldehydes are reacted with alkylating agents in a DYKAT process to give the corresponding α-alkylated aldehydes with quaternary stereogenic centers in good yields and high enantioselectivities.

Versatile approaches for the synthesis of fused-ring γ-lactones utilizing cyclopropane intermediates.

A highly effective acid-catalyzed cyclopropyl ester to γ-lactone skeletal rearrangement has been demonstrated and applied to the synthesis of a variety of bi- and tricyclic functionalized lactones, rigid and highly compact structures for use as biological probes.

Molecular recognition at the active site of factor Xa: cation-π interactions, stacking on planar peptide surfaces, and replacement of structural water.

Factor Xa, a serine protease from the blood coagulation cascade, is an ideal enzyme for molecular recognition studies, as its active site is highly shape-persistent and features distinct, concave sub-pockets. We developed a family of non-peptidic, small-molecule inhibitors with a central tricyclic core orienting a neutral heterocyclic substituent into the S1 pocket and a quaternary ammonium ion into the aromatic box in the S4 pocket. The substituents were systematically varied to investigate cation-π interactions in the S4 pocket, optimal heterocyclic stacking on the flat peptide walls lining the S1 pocket, and potential water replacements in both the S1 and the S4 pockets. Structure-activity relationships were established to reveal and quantify contributions to the binding free enthalpy, resulting from single-atom replacements or positional changes in the ligands. A series of high-affinity ligands with inhibitory constants down to K(i)=2 nM were obtained and their proposed binding geometries confirmed by X-ray co-crystal structures of protein-ligand complexes.

Acetoxy Meldrum's acid: a versatile acyl anion equivalent in the Pd-catalyzed asymmetric allylic alkylation.

Acetoxy Meldrum's acid can serve as a versatile acyl anion equivalent in the Pd-catalyzed asymmetric allylic alkylation. The reaction of this nucleophile with various meso and racemic electrophiles afforded alkylated products in high yields and enantiopurities. These enantioenriched products are versatile intermediates that can be further functionalized using nitrogen- and oxygen-centered nucleophiles, affording versatile scaffolds for the synthesis of nucleoside analogues. These scaffolds were used to complete formal syntheses of the anti-HIV drugs carbovir, abacavir, and the antibiotic aristeromycin.