Combined experimental and quantum mechanical elucidation of the synthetically accessible stereoisomers of Hydroxyestradienone (HED), the starting material for vilaprisan synthesis.

Selective progesterone receptor modulators are promising therapeutic options for the treatment of uterine fibroids. Vilaprisan, a new chemical entity that was discovered at Bayer is currently in clinical development. In this study we provide a combined experimental and quantum chemical approach providing the data that allowed to present hydroxyestradienone as an acceptable starting material for drug substance synthesis. Hydroxyestradienone has four stereogenic centers leading to 8 diastereomers and 16 enantiomers of which only six diastereomers were synthetically accessible but two not. A computational multistep protocol resulting in density functional P2PLYP-D3(BJ)/dev2-TZVPP Gibbs free energies and SMD solvation free energies led to a clear separation between the existing and the synthetically not accessible enantiomers, whereas multiple geometry-based and cheminformatic descriptors were not able to explain experimental findings.

Functionalized chiral vinyl aminosulfoxonium salts: asymmetric synthesis and application to the synthesis of enantiopure unsaturated prolines, beta,gamma-dehydro amino acids, and cyclopentanoid keto aminosulfoxonium ylides.

Methylation of the enantiopure functionalized vinyl sulfoximines 5a-e and 14a-d followed by a F- ion or DBU-mediated isomerization of the vinyl aminosulfoxonium salts 7a-e and 15a-d, respectively, gave the allyl aminosulfoxonium salts 10a-e and 17a-d, respectively. A concomitant intramolecular substitution of the aminosulfoxonium group of 10a-e and 17a-d by the amino group afforded the unsaturated prolines 8a-e and 18a-d, respectively. The starting vinyl sulfoximines are accessible through a highly selective and stereo-complementary aminoalkylation of the corresponding sulfonimidoyl-substituted mono- and bis(allyl)titanium complexes with the imino ester 4. The vinyl aminosulfoxonium salts 34, 7a-d, and E-15c experienced upon treatment with the Cl- ion a migratory substitution with formation of the delta-chloro-beta,gamma-dehydro amino acids 36, E/Z-37a-d, and 38, respectively. A migratory substitution of the hydroxy-substituted vinyl aminosulfoxonium salts 46a and 46b furnished the delta-chloro allyl alcohols E/Z-48a and E-48b, respectively. A facile one-pot conversion of the vinyl sulfoximines 31b, 5c and 45a to the allyl chlorides 36, E/Z-37c and E/Z-48a, respectively, was achieved upon treatment with a chloroformiate. A tandem cyclization of the vinyl aminosulfoxonium salts 7b, Al-7b and 57 with LiN(H)tBu yielded the cyclopentanoid keto aminosulfoxonium ylides 54, Al-54, 59, 60 and 61, respectively. The structure of the tricyclic keto aminosulfoxonium ylide Al-54 has been determined by X-ray crystal structure analysis. Ab initio calculations and a NBO analysis of the tricyclic keto aminosulfoxonium ylide XXIII show a polar structure stabilized by electrostatic interactions between the ylidic C atom and both the carbonyl C atom and the S atom.

Asymmetric synthesis of unsaturated, fused bicyclic proline analogues through amino alkylation of cyclic bis(allylsulfoximine)titanium complexes and migratory cyclization of delta-amino alkenyl aminosulfoxonium salts.

Described is an asymmetric synthesis of new Delta(3a,4)-unsaturated, fused bicyclic proline analogues from cyclic bis(allylsulfoximine)titanium complexes and N-tert-butylsulfonyl imino ethyl ester. Treatment of the enantiomerically pure five-, six-, seven-, and eight-membered cyclic bis(allylsulfoximine)titanium complexes with the imino ester gave mixtures of the corresponding (E,syn)- and (Z,syn)-configured, delta-sulfoximine substituted, cyclic gamma,delta-unsaturated alpha-amino acid esters with high regio- and diastereoselectivities in good yields. Activation of the N-methyl sulfoximine group of these amino acid derivatives through methylation with Me(3)OBF(4) afforded in nearly quantitative yields the corresponding (dimethylamino)sulfoxonium salts. A novel migratory cyclization of these salts with DBU gave via an isomerization to the corresponding allylic (dimethylamino)sulfoxonium salts and an intramolecular substitution of the (dimethylamino)sulfoxonium group the enantio- and diastereomerically pure, bicyclic, N-tert-butylsulfonyl protected proline analogues having a six- and eight-membered unsaturated carbocyclic ring. Cyclization of the alkenyl (dimethylamino)sulfoxonium salts was independent of the configuration of the double bond. N,N-Dimethylphenylsulfinamide of > or =99% ee was obtained in good yield as a further reaction product. Conversion of the sulfinamide to N,S-dimethyl-S-phenylsulfoximine of > or =99% ee, the starting material for the synthesis of the allylic sulfoximines, had been accomplished previously. Finally, cleavage of the tert-butylsulfonyl protecting group with anhydrous acid furnished the fused bicyclic proline analogue containing an unsaturated six-membered ring in high yield.

Highly selective addition of chiral, sulfonimidoyl substituted bis(allyl)titanium complexes to N-sulfonyl alpha-imino esters: asymmetric synthesis of gamma,delta-unsaturated alpha-amino acids bearing a chiral, electron-withdrawing nucleofuge at the delta-position.

Selective addition of the chiral, sulfonimidoyl substituted bis(allyl)titanium complexes 5a-d, which are configurationally labile in regard to the Calpha-atoms, to N-toluenesulfonyl (Ts)-, N-2-trimethylsilylethanesulfonyl (SES)-, and N-tert-butylsulfonyl (Bus) alpha-imino ester (9a-c) in the presence of Ti(OiPr)(4) and ClTi(OiPr)(3) afforded with high regio- and diastereoselectivities in good yields the (syn, E)-configured beta-alkyl-gamma,delta-unsaturated alpha-amino acid derivatives 2a-g, which carry a chiral, electron-withdrawing nucleofuge at the delta-position and a cyclohexyl, an isopropyl, a phenyl, and a methyl group at the beta-position. Addition of the cyclic bis(allyl)titanium complex 14 to N-Bus alpha-imino ester 9c afforded with similar high regio- and diastereoselectivities the (E)- and (Z)-configured amino acid derivatives (E)-8 and (Z)-8. Reaction of complexes 5a-d with alpha-imino esters 9a-c in the presence of Ti(OiPr)(4) occurs stepwise to give first the mono(allyl)titanium complexes containing 2a-g as ligands, which react in the presence of ClTi(OiPr)(3) with a second molecule of 9a-c with formation of two molecules of 2a-g. Formation of (S,R,E)-configured homoallylic amines 2a-g entails Si,Re,E processes of alpha-imino esters 9a-c with the (R,R)-configured bis(allyl)titanium complexes (R,R)-5a-d and (R)-configured mono(allyl)titanium complexes (R)-17a-d, both of which are most likely in rapid equilibrium with their (S,S)-diastereomers and (S)-diastereomers, respectively. Interestingly, in the reaction of 5a-d with aldehydes, the (S,S)-configured complexes (S,S)-5a-d are the ones which react faster. Reaction of the N-titanated amino acid derivatives Ti-2a and Ti-2b with N-Ts alpha-imino ester 9a led to the highly diastereoselective formation of imidazolidinones 15a and 15b, respectively. Cleavage of the sulfonamide group of the N-Bus amino acid derivative 2d with CF(3)SO(3)H gave quantitatively the sulfonimidoyl functionalized amino acid H-2d. A Ni-catalyzed cross-coupling reaction of the amino acid derivative 2e with ZnPh(2) led to a substitution of the sulfonimidoyl group by a phenyl group and furnished the enantiomerically pure protected alpha-amino acid Bus-1. Two new N-sulfonyl alpha-imino esters, the SES and the Bus alpha-imino esters 9b and 9c, respectively, have been synthesized from the corresponding sulfonamides by the Kresze method in medium to good yields. The N-SES alpha-imino ester 9b and the N-Bus alpha-imino ester 9c should find many synthetic applications, in particular, in cases where the N-Ts alpha-imino ester 9a had been used before.