Borane-mediated asymmetric reduction of acetophenone by enantiopure aminonaphthols and aminoalcohols as catalytic source.

Practical, cheap, and stereoselective synthetic methods were applied to the preparation of novel 1-(aminoalkyl)naphthol and gamma-aminoalcohol tridentate ligands. The ligands obtained were conveniently applied with good results as catalytic sources in the borane-mediated enantioselective reduction of acetophenone with borane dimethylsulfide. Conformational analysis through molecular modeling allows the rationalization of observed stereochemical outcomes.

Synthesis of enantiopure 2-(aminoalkyl)phenol derivatives and their application as catalysts in stereoselective reactions.

Enantiopure 2-(aminoalkyl)phenol derivatives are an interesting class of compounds widely used in homogeneous ligand accelerated catalysis. A series of practical and convenient methods available for their preparation are revised, together with the methodologies for the determination of their configuration. The uses of these compounds in metal catalysed asymmetric reactions in the addition of dialkyl zinc reagents to aldehydes and in the reduction of ketones with borane are described. Moreover 2-(aminoalkyl)phenol derivatives have found use also as chiral shift reagents for carboxylic acids.

Highly diastereoselective addition of nitromethane anion to chiral alpha-amidoalkylphenyl sulfones. Synthesis of optically active alpha-amino acid derivatives.

Optically active syn-alpha-amidoalkylphenyl sulfones can be prepared from chiral aldehydes in anhydrous conditions using benzenesulfinic acid. These sulfones in basic conditions give N-acylimines that react with sodium methanenitronate to afford the corresponding nitro adducts with high anti diastereoselectivity. PM3 semiempirical calculations provide a rationale for the observed opposite stereoselectivity. The obtained nitro derivatives undergo a Nef reaction followed by a methylation giving optically active beta-hydroxy-alpha-amino acid and alpha,beta-diamino acid esters in good yield. These amino acid derivatives are important building blocks for the preparation of biologically active compounds.

Stereoselective alkylation of chiral 2-imidoylphenols with organolithium reagents: synthesis of enantiopure 2-aminoalkylphenols.

In this paper the addition of organolithium reagents to chiral imidoylphenols to prepare enantiopure phenolic Mannich-type bases is described. The experimental data show that this kind of imine is surprisingly reactive toward organolithium reagents, differently from classical imines, and does not need any Lewis acid or base activation. Moreover, interesting results have been obtained with aldimines but more unusually with ketimines. This reaction results in high yields and diastereoselectivities and allows the preparation of aminophenols quaternary at the C-1 carbon atom, which cannot be prepared with the methods available till now. The sense of asymmetric induction has been explained and confirmed in agreement with the results previously obtained by hydride reduction of the same substrates. In some cases this procedure is complementary to the reductive one, allowing the preparation of the diastereomers less abundant in the reduction. The reaction allows the synthesis of one or the other of the two diastereomers, choosing the opportune starting imidoylphenol and the organolithium reagent.