Redox-neutral synthesis of beta-amino aldehydes from imines by an alkynylation/hydration sequence.

N-Protected beta-amino aldehydes have been prepared starting from imines through a sequence involving a Zn-mediated direct alkynylation followed by a Ru-catalyzed anti-Markovnikov alkyne hydration. The rate and the efficiency of the latter reaction are enhanced by the use of microwave irradiation. The possibility to carry out a one-pot Ru-catalyzed hydration/oxidation process from a terminal alkyne to a carboxylic acid was demonstrated, which provided direct access to a N-protected beta-amino acid from the corresponding terminal alkyne.

Synthesis of N-(1H)-tetrazole sulfoximines.

N-(1H)-Tetrazole sulfoximines are readily available by addition of sodium azide to the corresponding N-cyano derivatives in the presence of ZnBr2. The use of these N-(1H)-tetrazoles as intermediates in the synthesis of other N-heterocyclic sulfoximines is demonstrated.

Comparative study of metal-catalyzed iminations of sulfoxides and sulfides.

A comparative study of the imination of sulfur compounds with various metal catalysts in combination with isolated or in situ generated iminoiodinanes (PhI==NR) as nitrogen sources is presented. The influence of the metal catalyst towards the imination of a variety of substituted sulfoxides has been evaluated. Moreover, the effect of the different oxidation states of sulfur on the reactivity and selectivity of the nitrogen transfer redox process in the formation of sulfilimines and sulfoximines was studied.

A highly efficient asymmetric organocatalytic aldol reaction in a ball mill.

Anti-aldol products with up to >99 % enantiomeric excess (ee) have been obtained by proline catalysis in excellent yields under experimentally simple solvent-free conditions. Efficient mixing of all the components is accomplished by applying a mechanochemical technique (ball milling). The catalysis is air and moisture tolerant and can be performed with non-purified starting materials.

Regio- and stereoselective copper-catalyzed carbozincation reactions of alkynyl sulfoximines and sulfones.

[structure: see text]. Stereochemically pure polysubstituted vinyl sulfoximines and sulfones are easily prepared by a copper-catalyzed syn carbozincation reaction of the corresponding alkynyl derivatives.

Dimethylzinc-mediated, enantioselective synthesis of propargylic amines.

A one-pot, enantioselective synthesis of N-aryl propargylic amines, using alkynylation reagents obtained from dimethylzinc and terminal acetylenes in combination with various aldehydes and o-methoxyaniline as starting materials, has been developed. Enantiopure beta-amino alcohols derived from norephedrine were used as non-covalent chiral auxiliaries, both in stoichiometric or substoichiometric amount. After optimization, propargylic amines were obtained in good to high yields (up to 93%) and with moderate to high enantiomeric excesses (up to 97% ee).

Ring closing enyne metathesis: a powerful tool for the synthesis of heterocycles.

The ring closing metathesis (RCM) is a powerful method in organic synthesis for the preparation of cyclic compounds by formation of new carbon-carbon bonds. In the past years a particular subclass of the RCM, the ring closing enyne metathesis (RCEYM), has attracted attention due to its synthetic potential in the generation of ring structures with 1,3-diene moieties, which can subsequently be further functionalised. In this tutorial review mechanistic considerations will be described and the synthetic power of this useful and attractive carbon-carbon bond forming reaction will be illustrated by recent examples of RCEYM applications in the preparation of heterocyclic compounds.

Mechanistic insights into stereoselective catalysis-the effects of counterions in a CuII-bissulfoximine-catalyzed Diels-Alder reaction.

The initial steps of an enantioselective Diels-Alder reaction catalyzed by a CuII-bissulfoximine complex were followed by EXAFS (EXAFS=extended X-ray absorption fine structure), EPR (EPR=electron paramagnetic resonance) spectroscopy (CW-EPR, FID-detected EPR, pulse ENDOR, HYSCORE; CW=continuous wave; ENDOR=electron nuclear double resonance; HYSCORE=hyperfine sublevel correlation; FID=free induction decay), and UV-visible spectroscopy. The complexes formed between the parent CuX2 (X=Cl-, Br-, TfO-, SbF6-) salts, the chiral bissulfoximine ligand (S,S)-1, and N-(1-oxoprop-2-en-1-yl)oxazolidin-2-one (2) as the substrate in CH2Cl2 were investigated in frozen and fluid solution. In all cases, penta- or hexacoordinated CuII centers were established.

Direct addition of alkynes to imines and related C=N electrophiles: A convenient access to propargylamines.

Propargylic amines are highly useful building blocks in organic synthesis, and the corresponding structural motif has been found in various natural products and compounds of pharmaceutical relevance. This article provides an overview of the most significant advances in the preparation of propargylic amines via the direct addition of alkynes to imines and related carbon-nitrogen electrophiles in the presence of metal catalysts or promoters.

Synthesis of pseudo-geminal-, pseudo-ortho-, and ortho-phosphinyl-oxazolinyl-[2.2]paracyclophanes for use as ligands in asymmetric catalysis.

Syntheses of three regioisomers of aromatic-substituted phosphinyl-oxazolinyl-[2.2]paracyclophanes, pseudo-geminal, pseudo-ortho, and ortho, have been carried out or, in the latter two cases, newly developed. It has, therefore, been demonstrated that all aromatic-substituted isomers relevant for use as chelating ligands for asymmetric catalysis are accessible.

Iron-catalyzed imination of sulfoxides and sulfides.

[reaction: see text] The Fe(III)-catalyzed imination of sulfoxides and sulfides with sulfonylamides in the presence of iodinanes has been investigated. The best results were obtained when Fe(acac)(3) was used as a catalyst in combination with iodosylbenzene, providing an effective alternative (stereospecific) access to sulfoximines and sulfilimines.

Catalytic asymmetric approaches towards enantiomerically enriched diarylmethanols and diarylmethylamines.

Enantiopure diarylmethanols and diarylmethylamines are important intermediates for the synthesis of pharmaceutically relevant products with antihistaminic, antiarrhythmic, diuretic, antidepressive, laxative, local-anesthetic and anticholinergic properties. Furthermore, they have been used as precursors for 1,1-diarylalkyl moieties, which occur in other antidepressants as well as in antimuscarinics and endothelin antagonists. In this critical review catalytic strategies towards enantioenriched diarylmethanols and diarylmethylamines are discussed, including methods for asymmetric carbon-carbon bond formations by aryl transfer reactions to aldehydes and arylimines, respectively, and enantioselective reductions of diarylketones.

Thermal effects in the organocatalytic asymmetric Mannich reaction.

The proline-catalyzed direct asymmetric Mannich reaction between cyclohexanone, formaldehyde, and various anilines is thermally accelerated. With only 0.5 mol % of catalyst, Mannich products with up to 98% ee have been obtained after a short period of time in reactions performed under microwave irradiation.

Resolution of racemic 2-aminocyclohexanol derivatives and their application as ligands in asymmetric catalysis.

A preparatively easy and efficient protocol for the resolution of racemic 2-aminocyclohexanol derivatives is described, delivering both enantiomers with >99% enantiomeric excess (ee) by sequential use of (R)- and (S)-mandelic acid. A simple aqueous workup procedure permits the isolation of the amino alcohols in analytically pure form and the almost quantitative recovery of mandelic acid. Debenzylation of enantiopure trans-2-(N-benzyl)amino-1-cyclohexanol by hydrogenation and subsequent derivatization give access to a broad variety of diversely substituted derivatives.

Sulfoximines as ligands in copper-catalyzed asymmetric vinylogous Mukaiyama-type aldol reactions.

[reaction: see text] gamma,delta-Unsaturated alpha-hydroxy diesters with quaternary centers have been obtained with up to 99% ee in high yields using catalysts prepared from copper(II) triflate and C(1)-symmetric aminosulfoximines.

Dimethylzinc-mediated alkynylation of imines.

The treatment of various aromatic and aliphatic aldimines with a mixture of a terminal alkyne and a commercially available dimethylzinc solution in toluene yields the corresponding protected propargylic amines in moderate to excellent yields. The reaction proceeds in the absence of any activator. These observations led to the development of a three-component synthesis of propargylic amines in which the product was obtained upon mixing an aldehyde with ortho-methoxyaniline and phenylacetylene in the presence of dimethylzinc, through in situ formation of the corresponding imine.

Planar-chiral cyrhetrenes for the rhodium-catalyzed asymmetric 1,4-addition and the hydrogenation of enamides.

[reaction: see text] The syntheses of novel cyrhetrenes 7a-c and 8a,b are described. These planar-chiral, mono- and diphosphines have been applied as ligands in the Rh-catalyzed 1,4-addition reaction to activated olefins and in the Rh-catalyzed hydrogenation of enamide 12, giving the corresponding products with up to 97 and 93% ee, respectively.

Silver-catalyzed imination of sulfoxides and sulfides.

[reaction: see text] Silver salts in the presence of a chelating ligand efficiently catalyze the stereospecific imination of sulfoxides and sulfides with sulfonylamides and PhI(OAc)(2) to afford sulfoximines and sulfilimines, respectively, in good yields.

Efficient copper-catalyzed N-arylation of sulfoximines with aryl iodides and aryl bromides.

Two simple and inexpensive systems for copper-catalyzed N-arylations of sulfoximines with aryl bromides and aryl iodides have been developed. Using 10 mol % of a copper(I) salt in combination with 20 mol % of a 1,2-diamine and Cs2CO3 provides N-arylated sulfoximines in high yields. Various functional groups and heteroatoms are tolerated.

Highly modular synthesis of C1-symmetric aminosulfoximines and their use as ligands in copper-catalyzed asymmetric Mukaiyama-aldol reactions.

The development of C1-symmetric aminosulfoximines, their highly modular synthesis, and their application in enantioselective copper-catalyzed Mukaiyama-type aldol reactions between pyruvates and enolsilanes is described. In this context, the influence of the ligand architecture as well as the optimization of the reaction conditions are discussed. In detail, the dependence of the catalyst efficiency on the solvent, the metal source and the temperature are reported, and an interesting additive effect is highlighted.

Me2Zn-mediated addition of acetylenes to aldehydes and ketones.

[reaction: see text] Contrary to expectations, commercially available 2 M Me2Zn in toluene is able to promote the addition of phenylacetylene to aldehydes and ketones. This reactivity is determined by a new, unprecedented mechanism, which involves activation of the zinc reagent via coordination with carbonyl substrates that behave "ligand like". Broad scope, high tolerance to functional groups, and a simple procedure make this new method highly interesting for the synthetic chemist.

Cu(OAc)2-catalyzed N-arylations of sulfoximines with aryl boronic acids.

[reaction: see text] A simple and mild copper salt-catalyzed N-arylation of sulfoximines in high yields is reported. Cu(OAc)(2) activates aryl boronic acids for the reaction with NH-sulfoximines without additional base or heating. Furthermore, this new method allows the preparation of N-arylated sulfoximines, which have previously been more difficult to access.

Organosilanols as catalysts in asymmetric aryl transfer reactions.

[reaction: see text] Various ferrocene-based organosilanols have been synthesized in four steps starting from achiral ferrocene carboxylic acid. Applying these novel planar-chiral ferrocenes as catalysts in asymmetric phenyl transfer reactions to substituted benzaldehydes afforded products with high enantiomeric excesses. The best result (91% ee) was achieved in the addition to p-chlorobenzaldehyde with organosilanol 2b, which has a tert-butyl substituent on the oxazoline ring and an isopropyl group on the silanol fragment.