Enantiogroup-differentiating biocatalytic reductions of prochiral Cs -symmetrical dicarbonyl compounds to meso compounds.

The stereoselective reduction of symmetrical prochiral dicarbonyl compounds bearing enantiotopic carbonyl groups yields several stereogenic centers in one step. In a proof-of-concept study, a new approach is described for the enzymatic desymmetrization of 5-nitrononane-2,8-dione via sequential biocatalytic reduction steps utilizing ketoreductases to yield all possible diastereomers of 5-nitrononane-2,8-diol.

Synthesis and reactivity of furoquinolines bearing an external methylene-bond: access to reduced and spirocyclic structures.

A family of furoquinolines were efficiently obtained through a tandem acetalization/cycloisomerization process catalyzed by (5 mol%) silver imidazolate polymer and triphenylphosphine, and diversity was brought by the use of 7 different alcohol groups. From these furoquinolines, 3 examples of reduced derivatives could be obtained (d.r.

Transforming terpene feedstock into polyketide architecture.

The Cu-catalyzed synthesis of skipped 1,4-dienes from allylic acetates and vinyl-Grignard reagents is key to bidirectional modifications of acyclic terpene acetates. As a result, trisubstituted double bond containing subunits can be readily transferred into complex polyketides from inexpensive bulk terpenes.

Silver versus gold catalysis in tandem reactions of carbonyl functions onto alkynes: a versatile access to furoquinoline and pyranoquinoline cores.

An efficient and versatile tandem process of acetalization and cycloisomerization reactions has been developed for the reactions of 1-alkynyl-2-carbonylquinoline substrates. The reaction occurs thanks to Au(I) and Ag(I) catalysis. Silver(I) catalysis has been extensively studied (11 different silver species) on a broad range of quinoline derivatives (variation of alkyne substituent, of carbonyl function and of nucleophiles), leading to a variety of furoquinoline and pyranoquinoline moieties.