Dearomatization Reactions Using Phthaloyl Peroxide.

A new oxidative dearomatization reaction has been developed using phthaloyl peroxide to chemoselectively install two oxygen-carbon bonds into aromatic precursors. The oxidation reaction proceeds only once; addition of superstoichiometric equivalents of phthaloyl peroxide does not react further with the newly generated 1,3-cyclohexadiene. The reaction has been challenged by the addition of different functional groups and shown to maintain chemoselectivity.

Synthesis of oxygenated oleanolic and ursolic acid derivatives with anti-inflammatory properties.

The scalable syntheses of four oxygenated triterpenes have been implemented to access substantial quantities of maslinic acid, 3-epi-maslinic acid, corosolic acid, and 3-epi-corosolic acid. Semi-syntheses proceed starting from the natural products oleanolic acid and ursolic acid. Proceeding over five steps, each of the four compounds can be synthesized on the gram scale.

A protocol to generate phthaloyl peroxide in flow for the hydroxylation of arenes.

A flow protocol for the generation of phthaloyl peroxide has been developed. This process directly yields phthaloyl peroxide in high purity (>95%) and can be used to bypass the need to isolate and recrystallize phthaloyl peroxide, improving upon earlier batch procedures. The flow protocol for the formation of phthaloyl peroxide can be combined with arene hydroxylation reactions and provides a method for the consumption of peroxide as it is generated to minimize the accumulation of large quantities of peroxide.