2-Nitroallyl carbonate-based green bifunctional reagents for catalytic asymmetric annulation reactions.

2-Nitroallylic carbonates, a new class of "green" 1,3-bielectrophilic reagents for organic synthesis and catalysis, have been prepared. The bifunctional tertiary amine-catalyzed asymmetric [3 + 3] annulations of cyclic enols with these reagents occur much faster than corresponding reactions with 2-nitroallylic esters and produce no acidic by-products poisoning the catalyst. Furthermore, 2-nitroallylic carbonates enable highly enantioselective one-pot synthesis of a variety of fused dihydropyrane derivatives from available precursors bearing pharmacophoric fragments.

C2-Symmetric Chiral Squaramide, Recyclable Organocatalyst for Asymmetric Michael Reactions.

A very simple and highly efficient C2-symmetric tertiary amine-squaramide organocatalyst for asymmetric Michael reactions has been elaborated. In the presence of only 1 mol % of this catalyst, kojic acid derivatives and ß-dicarbonyl compounds reacted with nitroolefins, affording the corresponding adducts in a nearly quantitative yield with an enantioselectivity up to 99% ee. The kojic acid-derived adducts could be efficiently produced under "green" conditions (in 96% EtOH or pure water). Moreover, due to the very low solubility in organic solvents, the developed nonsupported catalyst could be readily recovered and reused in catalytic reactions up to 7 times. Utmost availability (one-step synthesis without chromatographic purification), high level of stereoinduction, low efficient loading, and recyclability make it attractive for industrial application in the pharmaceutical industry.

Asymmetric Michael addition between kojic acid derivatives and unsaturated ketoesters promoted by C2-symmetric organocatalysts.

An efficient sterically hindered C2-symmetric bifunctional tertiary amine-squaramide organocatalyst for the asymmetric Michael addition/hemiketalization domino reaction of kojic acid derivatives with ß,γ-unsaturated α-ketoesters has been designed. Pharmacology-relevant functionalized 2,3,4,8-tetrahydropyrano[3,2-b]pyran derivatives were produced over the catalyst in as low as 1 mol% with up to 99% yield and 99% ee. The procedure is at least 30-fold scalable and the catalyst is readily reusable in the catalytic reaction via acid-base extraction. Acylation of the products with (S)- or rac-ibuprofen and with undec-10-enoic acid afforded the corresponding chiral esters containing two privileged pharmacophoric motifs.