Asymmetric Nazarov Cyclizations of Unactivated Dienones by Hydrogen-Bond-Donor/Lewis Acid Co-Catalyzed, Enantioselective Proton-Transfer.

We report an enantioselective Nazarov cyclization catalyzed by chiral hydrogen-bond-donors in concert with silyl Lewis acids. The developed transformation provides access to tri-substituted cyclopentenones in high levels of enantioselectivity (up to 95% e.e.

Stereospecific Furanosylations Catalyzed by Bis-thiourea Hydrogen-Bond Donors.

We report a new method for stereoselective -furanosylation reactions promoted by a precisely tailored bis-thiourea hydrogen-bond-donor catalyst. Furanosyl donors outfitted with an anomeric dialkylphosphate leaving group undergo substitution with high anomeric selectivity, providing access to the challenging 1,2- substitution pattern with a range of alcohol acceptors. A variety of stereochemically distinct, benzyl-protected glycosyl donors were engaged successfully as substrates.

Vitamin Catalysis: Direct, Photocatalytic Synthesis of Benzocoumarins via (-)-Riboflavin-Mediated Electron Transfer.

An operationally simple protocol is disclosed to facilitate entry to benzo-3,4-coumarins directly from biaryl carboxylic acids without the need for substrate prefunctionalization. Complementary to classic lactonization strategies, this disconnection relies on the oxidation competence of photoactivated (-)-riboflavin (vitamin B) to generate the heterocyclic core via photoinduced single electron transfer. Collectively, the inexpensive nature of the catalyst, ease of execution, and absence of external metal additives are a convincing endorsement for the incorporation of simple vitamins in contemporary catalysis.

Covalent Immobilization of (-)-Riboflavin on Polymer Functionalized Silica Particles: Application in the Photocatalytic E→Z Isomerization of Polarized Alkenes.

The covalent immobilization of the biomimetic, photo-organocatalyst (-)-riboflavin on silica micro- and nanoparticles via atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) is disclosed. Given the effectiveness of (-)-riboflavin as a versatile, environmentally benign photocatalyst, an immobilization strategy based on acrylate-linker modification of the catalyst core and controlled polymerization on initiator pre-functionalized silica particles has been developed. Validation of this approach is demonstrated in the E→Z isomerization of a benchmark cinnamonitrile (Z/E up to 88:12) with 0.

Contra-Thermodynamic, Photocatalytic E→Z Isomerization of Styrenyl Boron Species: Vectors to Facilitate Exploration of Two-Dimensional Chemical Space.

Designing strategies to access stereodefined olefinic organoboron species is an important synthetic challenge. Despite significant advances, there is a striking paucity of routes to Z-α-substituted styrenyl organoborons. Herein, this strategic imbalance is redressed by exploiting the polarity of the C(sp )-B bond to activate the neighboring π system, thus enabling a mild, traceless photocatalytic isomerization of readily accessible E-α-substituted styrenyl BPins to generate the corresponding Z-isomers with high fidelity.

Spatiotemporal Control of Pre-existing Alkene Geometry: A Bio-Inspired Route to 4-Trifluoromethyl-2H-chromenes.

Routes to prepare C4-trifluoromethyl analogues of the 2H-chromene scaffold are scarce: this is particularly striking given the importance of fluorine in pharmaceutical development. To address this limitation, a facile strategy has been developed that is reliant on catalytic, geometric isomerization of easily accessible allylic alcohols (up to >95:5) followed by intramolecular cyclization via Pd catalysis (up to 96%). This concise biomimetic approach emulates the photoisomerization/cyclization cascade inherent to phenylpropanoid biosynthesis.

Photocatalytic E → Z Isomerization of Polarized Alkenes Inspired by the Visual Cycle: Mechanistic Dichotomy and Origin of Selectivity.

Iteratively executed with exquisite spatial and temporal control, the selective isomerization of polarized alkenes underpins a plethora of complex biological processes ranging from natural product biosynthesis through to the mammalian visual cycle. However, nature's proficiency conceals the inherent difficulties in replicating this contra-thermodynamic transformation in the laboratory. Recently, we disclosed the first highly Z-selective isomerization of polarized alkenes, employing the cinnamoyl chromophore as a retinal surrogate under UV-irradiation (402 nm) with (-)-riboflavin (vitamin B) as an inexpensive, organic photocatalyst (J.

One Photocatalyst, n Activation Modes Strategy for Cascade Catalysis: Emulating Coumarin Biosynthesis with (-)-Riboflavin.

Generating molecular complexity using a single catalyst, where the requisite activation modes are sequentially exploited as the reaction proceeds, is an attractive guiding principle in synthesis. This requires that each substrate transposition exposes a catalyst activation mode (AM) to which all preceding or future intermediates are resistant. While this concept is exemplified by MacMillan's beautiful merger of enamine and iminium ion activation, examples in other fields of contemporary catalysis remain elusive.

A Bio-Inspired, Catalytic E → Z Isomerization of Activated Olefins.

Herein, Nature's flavin-mediated activation of complex (poly)enes has been translated to a small molecule paradigm culminating in a highly (Z)-selective, catalytic isomerization of activated olefins using (-)-riboflavin (up to 99:1 Z/E). In contrast to the prominent Z → E isomerization of the natural system, it was possible to invert the directionality of the isomerization (E → Z) by simultaneously truncating the retinal scaffold, and introducing a third olefin substituent to augment A1,3-strain upon isomerization. Consequently, conjugation is reduced in the product chromophore leading to a substrate/product combination with discrete photophysical signatures.

Aromatic Interactions in Organocatalyst Design: Augmenting Selectivity Reversal in Iminium Ion Activation.

Substituting N-methylpyrrole for N-methyindole in secondary-amine-catalysed Friedel-Crafts reactions leads to a curious erosion of enantioselectivity. In extreme cases, this substrate dependence can lead to an inversion in the sense of enantioinduction. Indeed, these closely similar transformations require two structurally distinct catalysts to obtain comparable selectivities.

Aromatic Interactions in Organocatalyst Design: Augmenting Selectivity Reversal in Iminium Ion Activation.

Invited for the cover of this issue is the group of Ryan Gilmour at the Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität Münster. The image depicts how the modes of stereoinduction differ for- N-methylpyrrole to- N-methylindole. Read the full text of the article at 10.

Continuous flow chemistry: a discovery tool for new chemical reactivity patterns.

Continuous flow chemistry as a process intensification tool is well known. However, its ability to enable chemists to perform reactions which are not possible in batch is less well studied or understood. Here we present an example, where a new reactivity pattern and extended reaction scope has been achieved by transferring a reaction from batch mode to flow.