MiPNO, a new chiral cyclic nitrone for enantioselective amino acid synthesis: the cycloaddition approach.

The resolution of chiral nitrones via derivatization of hydroxylamines was applied to MiPNO, a new, stable, easily prepared chiral cyclic nitrone. The application of MiPNO in totally regio- and diastereo-selective 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition reactions provides an expeditious enantioselective access to unusual gamma-hydroxy alpha-amino acids.

A direct and versatile access to alpha,alpha-disubstituted 2-pyrrolidinylmethanols by SmI2-mediated reductive coupling.

Various alpha,alpha-disubstituted 2-pyrrolidinylmethanols are efficiently prepared in a single step from ketones using a SmI2-mediated cross-coupling with 1-pyrroline N-oxide. The N-hydroxy-alpha,alpha-diphenylprolinol is also easily prepared and resolved.

Methylpentanediolborane: easy access to new air- and chromatography-stable, highly functionalized vinylboronates.

Methylpentanediolborane (MPBH) 1 can be prepared easily by reaction of hexyleneglycol with BH3/DMS or B2H6 generated from NaBH4 and I2. MPBH hydroborates stereo- and regioselectively highly functionalized alkynes, including propargyl bromide and propionaldehyde acetal. MPBH compares favorably with pinacolborane in terms of reactivity.

Dialkylzinc-assisted alkynylation of nitrones.

[reaction: see text]. Reaction of nitrones with terminal alkynes takes place readily in the presence of a substoichiometric amount of diethylzinc in toluene, affording N-propargyl-hydroxylamines in excellent yields and purity.

Preparation of Functionalized Dialkylzincs via a Boron-Zinc Exchange. Reactivity and Catalytic Asymmetric Addition to Aldehydes.

The hydroboration of olefins with Et(2)BH provides diethyl(alkyl)boranes 2 which readily undergo a boron-zinc exchange with Et(2)Zn providing a range of polyfunctional primary, secondary, and benzylic diorganozincs. The resulting diorganozincs 3 have been reacted with various electrophiles (allylic halides, acid chlorides, alkylidenemalonates, ethyl propiolate, nitroolefins) in the presence of CuCN.2LiCl with excellent yields.