Photocatalytic Enantioselective Radical Cascade Multicomponent Minisci Reaction of ß-Carbolines Using Diazo Compounds as Radical Precursors.

Here, a photocatalytic asymmetric multicomponent cascade Minisci reaction of ß-carbolines with enamides and diazo compounds is reported, enabling an effective enantioselective radical C─H functionalization of ß-carbolines with high yields and enantioselectivity (up to 83% yield and 95% ee). This enantioselective multicomponent Minisci protocol exhibits step economy, high chemo-/enantio-selective control, and good functional group tolerance, allowing access to a variety of valuable chiral ß-carbolines. Notably, diazo compounds are suitable radical precursors in enantioselective cascade radical reactions. Moreover, the efficiency and practicality of this approach are demonstrated by the asymmetric synthesis of bioactive compounds and natural products.

Chiral Cpx Rhodium(III)-Catalyzed Enantioselective Aziridination of Unactivated Terminal Alkenes.

Chiral cyclopentadienyl-rhodium(III) Cpx Rh(III) catalysis has been demonstrated to be competent for catalyzing highly enantioselective aziridination of challenging unactivated terminal alkenes and nitrene sources. The chiral Cpx Rh(III) catalysis system exhibited outstanding catalytic performance and wide functional group tolerance, yielding synthetically important and highly valuable chiral aziridines with good to excellent yields and enantioselectivities (up to 99 % yield, 93 % ee). This protocol presents a novel and effective strategy for synthesizing enantioenriched aziridines from simple alkenes. Various transformations were performed on the aziridine products, illustrating the versatility and synthetic potential of this protocol for constructing highly functionalized compounds.

Ratiometric NAD+ Sensors Reveal Subcellular NAD+ Modulators.

Mapping NAD+ dynamics in live cells and human is essential for translating NAD+ interventions into effective therapies. Yet, genetically encoded NAD+ sensors with better specificity and pH resistance are still needed for the cost-effective monitoring of NAD+ in both subcellular compartments and clinical samples. Here, we introduce multicolor, resonance energy transfer-based NAD+ sensors covering nano- to millimolar concentration ranges for clinical NAD+ measurement and subcellular NAD+ visualization. The sensors captured the blood NAD+ increase induced by NMN supplementation and revealed the distinct subcellular effects of NAD+ precursors and modulators. The sensors then enabled high-throughput screenings for mitochondrial and nuclear NAD+ modulators and identified α-GPC, a cognition-related metabolite that induces NAD+ redistribution from mitochondria to the nucleus relative to the total adenine nucleotides, which was further confirmed by NAD+ FRET microscopy.

Photocatalytic enantioselective Minisci reaction of ß-carbolines and application to natural product synthesis.

A highly efficient enantioselective direct C-H functionalization of ß-carbolines via a Minisci-type radical process under a photo-redox and chiral phosphoric acid cooperative catalytic system has been disclosed. Through this protocol, a wide range of C1 aminoalkylated ß-carbolines were constructed directly with high levels of enantioselectivities from readily available ß-carbolines and alanine-derived redox-active esters. This transformation allows straightforward access to highly valuable enantioenriched ß-carbolines, which are an intriguing structural motif in valuable natural products and synthetic bio-active compounds. This protocol has been utilized as a highly efficient synthetic strategy for the concise asymmetric total synthesis of marine alkaloids eudistomin X, (+)-eudistomidin B and (+)-eudistomidin I.

Glycerol is Released from a New Path in MGL Lipase Catalytic Process.

Traditionally, it is believed that the substrate and products of a monoacylglycerol lipase (MGL) share the same path to enter and exit the catalytic site. Glycerol (a product of MGL), however, was recently hypothesized to be released through a different path. In order to improve the catalytic efficacy and thermo-stability of MGL, it is important to articulate the pathways of a MGL products releasing. In this study, with structure biological approaches, biochemical experiments, and in silico methods, we prove that glycerol is released from a different path in the catalytic site indeed. The fatty acid (another product of MGL) does share the same binding path with the substrate. This discovery paves a new road to design MGL inhibitors or optimize MGL catalytic efficacy.

FeCl3-Promoted Annulation of 2-Haloindoles: Switchable Synthesis of Spirooxindole-chromeno[2,3-b]indoles and Spirooxindole-chromeno[3,2-b]indoles.

Electrophilic indoles bearing a leaving group at C2 undergo C3-regioselective dearomative hydroaryloxylation and subsequent 1,2-tertiary alkyl migration/aromatization. This is the first ring-opening migration of the spiroindolenine intermediate formed by the C3 nucleophilic addition reaction. Various spiro-oxindole-chromeno[3,2-b]/[2,3-b]indoles were successfully synthesized in excellent yields (up to 98%). This reaction features selective ring-opening migration (C-C/C-O) of the tertiary alkyl group from the indole C3 position to the C2 position stereoselectively, providing a unique synthetic method for constructing novel polycyclic indole skeletons.

Iron(III)-Catalyzed Arylation of Spiro-Epoxyoxindoles with Phenols/Naphthols towards the Synthesis of Spirocyclic Oxindoles.

An efficient and highly regioselective iron(III)-catalyzed Friedel-Crafts-type arylation of spiro-epoxyoxindoles with phenols was developed for rapid access to 3-(3-indolyl)-oxindole-3-methanols, which could be further elaborated into benzofuranyl-spirooxindoles under Mitsunobu conditions. When spiro-epoxyoxindoles were reacted with naphthols in the presence of a catalytic amount of FeCl3 ⋅6 H2 O in dichloromethane, they underwent a tandem Friedel-Crafts-type arylation and O-cyclization to yield novel naphthofuranyl-spirooxindoles in excellent yields. This method is applied to enable the efficient and highly regioselective synthesis of a small-molecule inhibitor of the sodium channel Nav 1.7 (±)-XEN402, which is currently in a phase IIb clinical trial for the treatment of pain.

Radical-induced metal-free alkynylation of aldehydes by direct C-H activation.

A direct C(sp(2) )H alkynylation of aldehyde C(O)H bonds with hypervalent iodine alkynylation reagents provides ynones under metal-free conditions. In this method, 1-[(triisopropylsilyl)ethynyl]-1,2-benziodoxol-3(1H)-one (TIPS-EBX) constitutes an efficient alkynylation reagent for the introduction of the triple bond. The substrate scope is extended to a variety of (hetero)aromatic, aliphatic, and α,ß-unsaturated aldehydes.