Enantioselective Radical Reactions Using Chiral Catalysts.

Benefiting from the impressive increase in fundamental knowledge, the last 20 years have shown a continuous burst of new ideas and consequently a plethora of new catalytic methods for enantioselective radical reactions. This review aims to provide a complete survey of progress achieved over this latter period. The first part of this review focuses on the use of chiral organocatalysts, and these include catalysts covalently linked to the substrate and those that interact with the substrate by weaker interactions like hydrogen bonds. The second part of the review is devoted to transition-metal redox catalysis which is organized according to increasing atomic number for the first-row transition metals (Ti, Cr, Fe, Mn, Co, Ni, Cu). Bioinspired manganese- and iron-mediated hydroxylations and oxidations are also discussed. A specific section is dedicated to the reactivity of Ru, Rh, and Ir complexes as Lewis acids with a special focus on complexes chiral at metal. Absorption of photons result in different events such as energy transfer, single-electron transfer, and hydrogen-atom transfer facilitating the formation of radicals. Organocatalysis has been successfully combined with photocatalysts, a reactivity which has opened new pathways enlarging the number of radical precursors available. The merger of photocatalysis with organo- or metalla-photocatalysis has brought novelty and allowed for the discovery of a large number of original transformations. The use of enzyme-catalyzed reactions involving radical intermediates which also largely benefit from visible-light irradiation are included in the review. This review provides a comprehensive inventory of progress in enantioselective radical reactions with a goal of detailing the reaction mechanisms involved in these transformations such that any nonspecialist could find their own creativity to invent yet unknown applications.

Monocomponent Photoinitiators based on Benzophenone-Carbazole Structure for LED Photoinitiating Systems and Application on 3D Printing.

In this article, different substituents (benzoyl, acetyl, styryl) are introduced onto the carbazole scaffold to obtain 8 novel carbazole derivatives. Interestingly, a benzoyl substituent, connected to a carbazole group, could form a benzophenone moiety, which composes a monocomponent Type II benzophenone-carbazole photoinitiator (PI). The synergetic effect of the benzophenone moiety and the amine in the carbazole moiety is expected to produce high performance photoinitiating systems (PISs) for the free radical photopolymerization (FRP). For different substituents, clear effects on the light absorption properties are demonstrated using UV-Visible absorption spectroscopy. Benzophenone-carbazole PIs can initiate the FRP of acrylates alone (monocomponent Type II photoinitiator behavior). In addition, fast polymerization rates and high function conversions of acrylate are observed when an amine and/or an iodonium salt are added in systems. Benzophenone-carbazole PIs have good efficiencies in cationic photopolymerization (CP) upon LED @ 365 nm irradiation in the presence of iodonium salt. In contrast, other PIs without synergetic effect demonstrate unsatisfied photopolymerization profiles in the same conditions. The best PIS identified for the free radical photopolymerization were used in three-dimensional (3D) printing. Steady state photolysis and fluorescence quenching experiments were carried out to investigate the reactivity and the photochemistry and photophysical properties of PIs. The free radicals, generated from the studied PISs, are detected by the electron spin resonance - spin trapping technique. The proposed chemical mechanisms are provided and the structure/reactivity/efficiency relationships are also discussed. All the results showed that the benzophenone-carbazole PIs have a good application potential, and this work provides a rational design route for PI molecules. Remarkably, BPC2-BPC4, C6, C8 were never synthetized before; therefore, 5 of the 8 compounds are completely new.

Push-Pull Chromophores Based on the Naphthalene Scaffold: Potential Candidates for Optoelectronic Applications.

A series of ten push-pull chromophores comprising 1H-cyclopenta[b]naphthalene-1,3(2H)-dione as the electron-withdrawing group have been designed, synthesized, and characterized by UV-visible absorption and fluorescence spectroscopy, cyclic voltammetry and theoretical calculations. The solvatochromic behavior of the different dyes has been examined in 23 solvents and a positive solvatochromism has been found for all dyes using the Kamlet-Taft solvatochromic relationship, demonstrating the polar form to be stabilized in polar solvents. To establish the interest of this polyaromatic electron acceptor only synthesizable in a multistep procedure, a comparison with the analog series based on the benchmark indane-1,3-dione (1H-indene-1,3(2H)-dione) has been done. A significant red-shift of the intramolecular charge transfer band has been found for all dyes, at a comparable electron-donating group. Parallel to the examination of the photophysical properties of the different chromophores, a major improvement of the synthetic procedure giving access to 1H-cyclopenta[b]naphthalene-1,3(2H)-dione has been achieved.

Enediynes bearing polyfluoroaryl sulfoxide as new antiproliferative agents with dual targeting of microtubules and DNA.

A novel series of enediynes possessing pentafluorophenylsulfoxide have been developed. The innovative compounds possess antiproliferative activity against a broad panel of human cancer cells originating from breast, blood, lung, kidney, colon, prostate, pancreas or skin with IC50 ranging from 0.6 to 3.4 µM. The antiproliferative activity of enediynes in darkness is associated to their ability to compromise microtubule network. In addition, exposure to UV leads to double-stranded DNA cleavage caused by the newly synthesized molecules reducing further their IC50 in nanomolar range against human tumor cells, including chemo-resistant pancreatic cancer cells. Taken together, the examined data demonstrate that enediynes possessing pentafluorosulfoxide are promising molecules in the cancer therapy.

Chiral Fidelity in the Diastereoselective and Enantiospecific Synthesis of Indenes from Axially Chiral Benzylidene Cyclanes.

Enantioenriched indenes were reached through a chirality conversion strategy using original axially chiral benzylidene cyclanes. Good to high remote diastereocontrol and excellent enantiocontrol were observed in this cascade involving copper-catalyzed homologation of terminal alkynes, in situ allenoate formation and Alder-ene cyclization.

Enantioselective syntheses of indanes: from organocatalysis to C-H functionalization.

The indanyl core is ubiquitous in a large variety of drugs and natural products. Importantly, the ever-increasing demand for chiral catalysts bearing this scaffold calls for state of the art methods allowing for a step-economical enantioselective access to this structural motif. We herein summarize the asymmetric syntheses of indanes with a particular focus on asymmetric catalysis, covering the literature of the last decade until July 2015.

1,n-Hydrogen-atom transfer (HAT) reactions in which n≠5: an updated inventory.

Hydrogen-atom transfer (HAT) counts amongst the most widely investigated routes to carbon-centered radicals. Intramolecular processes involving 1,5-HAT are widespread to promote regioselective radical "CH activation". The aim of this review is to draw up a comprehensive inventory of the less commonly encountered 1,n-radical translocations (n≠5) with the aim to update this topic with the most recent relevant data.

Theoretical study to explain how chirality is stored and evolves throughout the radical cascade rearrangement of enyne-allenes.

This article reports a theoretical study to explain how the intrinsic property of chirality is retained throughout the radical cascade rearrangement of an enantiopure chiral enyne-allene (bearing one stereogenic center) selected as a model for this family of reactions. Calculations at the MRPT2/6-31G(d)//CASSCF(10,10)/6-31G(d) level of theory were used to determine the entire reaction pathway which includes singlet state diradicals and closed-shell species. The cascade process involves three elementary steps, i.e., by chronological order: Myers-Saito cycloaromatization (M-S), intramolecular hydrogen atom transfer (HAT), and recombination of the resulting biradical. The enantiospecificity of the reaction results from a double transmission of the stereochemical information, from the original center to an axis and eventually from this axis to the final center. The first two steps lead to a transient diradical intermediate which retains the chirality via the conversion of the original static chirogenic element into a dynamic one, i.e., a center into an axis. The only available routes to the final closed-shell tetracyclic product imply rotations around two σ bonds (σ(C-C) and σ(C-N), bonds ß and α respectively). The theoretical calculations confirmed that the formation of the enantiomerically pure product proceeds via the nonracemizing rotation around the σ(C-C) pivot. They ruled out any rotation around the second σ(C-N) pivot. The high level of configurational memory in this rearrangement relies on the steric impediment to the rotation around the C-N bond in the chiral native conformation of the diradical intermediate produced from tandem M-S/1,5-HAT.

Double transfer of chirality in organocopper-mediated bis(alkylating) cycloisomerization of enediynes.

An original synthesis of chiral benzofulvenes triggered by organocopper reagents is reported. These enantiopure products are available through a highly chemo-, regio-, diastereo-, and enantioselective bis(alkylating) cycloisomerization process. A double chirality transfer (central-to-axial-to-central) is observed.

Photoactivated cyclization of aryl-containing enediynes coated gold nanoparticles: enhancement of the DNA cleavage ability of enediynes.

Two novel enediynes containing an aromatic ring and substituted by two thiol functions as end-groups were designed and studied as functionalizing agent of gold nanoparticles. Phototriggered cyclization of the capping agent under UV-visible irradiation was investigated. Interestingly, the length of the thiol-substituted chain was shown to influence significantly the cyclization rate. Depending on the length of the spacer, either polymerization or simple cyclization of the coating agent was evidenced. The present study underscores the possibility of finely controlling the fate of the coating agent (polymerization/cyclization). Nanocomposites were characterized by UV-visible absorption spectroscopy, dynamic light scattering (DLS) technique and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) measurements. Finally, the ability of the colloidal solutions to induce photoinitiated damages to PcDNA3 supercoiled DNA was evaluated. Interestingly, an increase as high as 50% of the DNA cleavage could be registered when adding enediynes-capped gold nanoparticles to solutions of enediynes. In particular, the enhancement of DNA scission was observed in both thermal and photochemical activation modes.

Axial-to-central chirality transfer in cyclization processes.

Substrates, bearing axial chirality, can cyclize intra- or inter-molecularly with concomitant transfer of axial-to-central chirality to produce at least one stereocenter. In order to satisfy a strict definition of axial-to-central chirality transfer, the initial axial chirality must be lost during the cyclization process. Highly functionalized enantiopure carbocycles and heterocycles were prepared using this strategy. The transformations of configurationally stable substrates take place with high regio- and stereo-selectivity. Selected examples involving allenes, biaryls, arylamides and transient axially chiral short-lived species are discussed. Special attention is focused on the mechanistic rationale of the chirality transfer.

Cooperative use of VCD and XRD for the determination of tetrahydrobenzoisoquinolines absolute configuration: a reliable proof of memory of chirality and retention of configuration in enediyne rearrangements.

The absolute configurations (AC) of azaheterocylic compounds resulting from the cascade rearrangement of enediynes involving only light atoms were unambiguously assigned by the joint use of vibrational circular dichroism (VCD) and copper radiation single crystal X-ray diffraction (XRD). These AC determinations proved that the rearrangements of enediynes proceeded with memory of chirality and retention of configuration.

Synthesis of Enantiopure tertiary skipped diynes via one-pot desymmetrizing TMS-cleavage.

Enantiopure tetrasubstituted skipped diynes were readily synthesized from N-protected amino esters upon addition of lithium TMS-acetylide which was found to be desymmetrizing through one-pot selective TMS-cleavage. The deprotection of the TMS group was realized through a one-pot silicon atom attack by the liberated methoxide, which was diastereoselective due to a conformational favorable chelate.

Mechanistic investigation of enediyne-connected amino ester rearrangement. Theoretical rationale for the exclusive preference for 1,6- or 1,5-hydrogen atom transfer depending on the substrate. A potential route to chiral naphthoazepines.

Memory of chirality (MOC) and deuterium-labeling studies were used to demonstrate that the cascade rearrangement of enediyne-connected amino esters 1a and 1b evolved through exclusive 1,5- or 1,6-hydrogen atom transfer, subsequent to 1,3-proton shift and Saito-Myers cyclization, depending on the structure of the starting material. These results were independently confirmed by DFT theoretical calculations performed on model monoradicals. These calculations clearly demonstrate that in the alanine series, 1,5-hydrogen shift is kinetically favored over 1,6-hydrogen shift because of its greater exergonicity. In the valine series, the bulk of the substituent at the nitrogen atom has a major influence on the fate of the reaction. N-Tosylation increases the barrier to 1,5-hydrogen shift to the benefit of 1,6-hydrogen shift. The ready availability of 1,6-hydrogen atom transfer was explored as a potential route for the enantioselective synthesis of naphthoazepines.

One-pot Crabbé homologation-radical cascade cyclisation with memory of chirality.

The tandem Crabbé homologation-radical rearrangement of terminal enediynes leads, in a one-pot procedure, to the enantioselective synthesis of six- and seven-membered ring α-aminoesters bearing a quaternary stereocenter based on the phenomenon of memory of chirality.

An efficient and recyclable hybrid nanocatalyst to promote enantioselective radical cascade rearrangements of enediynes.

Mesoporous silica grafted with a tertiary amine was used as a basic nanocatalyst to promote in confined medium the enantioselective cascade rearrangement of enediynes based on the phenomenon of memory of chirality; the multi-substrates recyclable catalytic reagent could easily be recovered by simple filtration, and reused without any decrease in activity even when changing the solvent.

Memory of chirality in cascade rearrangements of enediynes.

The cascade rearrangement of chiral enediynes 1c-e, involving successively 1,3-proton shift, Saito-Myers cyclization, 1,5-hydrogen atom transfer, and intramolecular coupling of the resulting biradical, proceeded at 80 °C to form tri- and tetracyclic heterocycles possessing a quaternary stereogenic center with a very high level of memory of chirality.

En route to (S)-selective chemoenzymatic dynamic kinetic resolution of aliphatic amines. One-pot KR/racemization/KR sequence leading to (S)-amides.

A one-pot sequential process, involving a radical racemization and an enzymatic resolution, provides access to (S)-amides, from racemic amines, with ee and yields ranging from 78 to 94% and 58 to 80%, respectively.

N-acyl glycinates as acyl donors in serine protease-catalyzed kinetic resolution of amines. Improvement of selectivity and reaction rate.

Enzymatic kinetic resolution of aliphatic and benzylic amines leading to (S)-amides was achieved by using alkaline protease as the catalyst and N-octanoyl glycine trifluoroethyl ester as the acyl donor; enantioselectivity ranged between 4 to 244, while reaction times were dramatically shortened and ranged between 15 min to 6 h.