Synthesis of δ-oxo-1,1-bis(triflyl)alkanes and their acidities.

The reaction of 1,1-bis(triflyl)ethylene generated in situ with enolizable carbonyls yielded δ-oxo-1,1-bis(triflyl)alkane derivatives. Their acidities in both the gas and solution phases were determined.

Organic acid induced olefination reaction of lactones.

(Z)-Selective olefination of several lactones with ketene silyl acetals was achieved by the catalysis of carbon acids (C-H acids) having a bis(triflyl)methyl group as an acidic functionality; in particular, the triple carbon acid having three bis(triflyl)methyl groups in phloroglucinol shows an excellent catalytic performance.

A regioselective synthesis of poly-substituted aryl triflones through self-promoting three component reaction.

In the absence of any additional catalysts, the reactions of (CF(3)SO)(2)CH(2), aldehydes, and 1,3-dienes gave gem-bis(triflyl)cyclohexenes in excellent yields with high regioselectivity. gem-Bis(triflyl)cyclohexene products can be easily converted to the corresponding aryl trifluoromethyl sulfones.

1,4-Addition of silicon dienoates to α,β-unsaturated aldehydes catalyzed by in situ-generated silicon Lewis acid.

In situ-generated silyl methide species (R(3)Si-CTf(2)R') effectively catalyzed the reaction of β-substituted α,β-unsaturated aldehydes with silicon dienoates such as 3-bromo-2-TESO-furan to give the corresponding γ-adducts with excellent 1,4-selectivity and good anti selectivity.

Carbon acid induced Mukaiyama aldol type reaction of sterically hindered ketones.

1,1,3,3-Tetrakis(trifluoromethanesulfonyl)propane (Tf(2)CHCH(2)CHTf(2)) is one of the most effective Brønsted acid precatalysts for the Mukaiyama aldol type reactions of sterically hindered ketones. By using Tf(2)CHCH(2)CHTf(2) in a range from 0.5 to 2.

Highly effective vinylogous Mukaiyama-Michael reaction catalyzed by silyl methide species generated from 1,1,3,3-tetrakis(trifluoromethanesulfonyl)propane.

Silyl methide species in situ generated from 1,1,3,3-tetrakis(trifluoromethanesulfonyl)propane (Tf(2)CHCH(2)CHTf(2)) performed as an excellent acid catalyst for the vinylogous Mukaiyama-Michael reaction of alpha,beta-unsaturated ketones with 2-silyloxyfurans. Notably, the required loading of Tf(2)CHCH(2)CHTf(2) to obtain the 1,4-adducts in reasonable yield was significantly low (from 0.05 to 1.

Remarkable rate acceleration of intramolecular Diels-Alder reaction in ionic liquids.

The intramolecular Diels-Alder reaction of an ester-tethered 1,3,9-decatriene system was significantly accelerated in ionic liquids such as [emim]BF(4), [bmim]BF(4) and [bdmim]BF(4). Under the present conditions, the IMDA reaction proceeded smoothly without the use of Lewis acid catalysts to give cis-fused bicyclic lactones in good yield with high diastereoselectivity.

Direct alkylative Passerini reaction of aldehydes, isocyanides, and free aliphatic alcohols catalyzed by indium(III) triflate.

In(OTf)(3) was found to be a useful Lewis acid catalyst for direct alkylative Passerini reaction of aldehydes, isocyanides, and free aliphatic alcohols. In the present reaction, aromatic and alpha,beta-unsaturated aldehydes performed as nice substrates to give the corresponding alpha-alkoxy amide products in good yield.

Novel defluorinative alkylation of trifluoroacetaldehyde N,O-acetal derivatives and its application to multi-component reaction.

The reaction of trifluoroacetaldehyde N,O-acetal derivatives with 2 molar equivalents of alkyllithium reagents proceeded viabeta-elimination of fluoride followed by alkyl transfer from excess alkyllithium to the generated ketene N,O-acetal intermediate at the beta-carbon of fluorine groups.

An efficient synthesis of triazolo-carbohydrate mimetics and their conformational analysis.

A chemical library of 1,2,3-triazole fused carbohydrate mimetics was constructed. To synthesize enantiomerically pure mimetics, we developed a stereo- or diastereodivergent synthetic route from D-glucose, D-mannose and D-galactose as chiral sources. In this synthesis, an In(OTf)(3)-catalyzed tandem azidation-1,3-dipolar cycloaddition reaction of 1,1-dimethoxyhex-5-yne derivatives with TMSN(3) was used as the key step to construct the 4,5,6,7-tetrahydro[1,2,3]triazolo[1,5-a]pyridine framework.

Tetrakis(trifluoromethanesulfonyl)propane: highly effective Brønsted acid catalyst for vinylogous Mukaiyama-Michael reaction of alpha,beta-enones with silyloxyfurans.

1,1,3,3-Tetrakis(trifluoromethanesulfonyl)propane was found as an excellent Brønsted acid catalyst for the Mukaiyama-Michael reaction of alpha,beta-enones with 2-silyloxyfurans; using beta,beta-disubstituted enones as a Michael acceptor, an excellent yield construction of quaternary carbon centers could be achieved; in addition, very low catalyst loading of Brønsted acid was used in a range from 0.05 to 1.0 mol%.

Synthesis, in vitro pharmacology, and pharmacokinetic profiles of 2-[1-amino-1-carboxy-2-(9H-xanthen-9-yl)-ethyl]-1-fluorocyclopropanecarboxylic acid and its 6-heptyl ester, a potent mGluR2 antagonist.

In this paper, we describe the synthesis of (+)-(1R( *),2R( *))-2-[(1S( *))-1-amino-1-carboxy-2-(9H-xanthen-9-yl)-ethyl]-1-fluorocyclopropanecarboxylic acid (+)-16a, a compound, that is, fluorinated at the alpha position of the carboxylic acid in the cyclopropane ring of a group II mGluRs antagonist, 1 (LY341495), using a previously reported stereoselective cyclopropanation reaction. The fluorinated compound (+)-16a exhibited almost the same affinity (IC(50)=3.49 nM) for mGluR2 as 1 but had a superior pharmacokinetic profile.

Development of efficient Lewis acid catalysts for intramolecular cycloaddition reactions of ester-tethered substrates.

We have developed novel bidentate Lewis acids that efficiently promote the intramolecular cycloaddition reactions of ester-tethered substrates. Bis-aluminated triflic amide derivatives [TfN(AlR(1)R(2))2], which are generated by simply mixing triflic amide and 2 equiv of methyl aluminum or aluminum hydride, catalyzed intramolecular Diels-Alder (DA) reactions of ester-tethered 1,7,9-trienes and intermolecular DA reactions of alpha,beta-unsaturated lactones. We also found that bimetallic Lewis acid derived from 1,1'-biphenyl-2,2'-di(triflyl)amide and dimethylaluminum chloride promoted the intramolecular [3 + 2] cycloaddition reaction of acrylate derivatives having an allylsilane part.

Scalable synthesis of (+)-2-amino-3-fluorobicyclo[3.1.0]hexane-2,6-dicarboxylic acid as a potent and selective group II metabotropic glutamate receptor agonist.

We successfully synthesized the potent and selective group II mGluR agonist (+)-1 (MGS0008) via a process incorporating the key step of efficient fluorination of epoxide (+/-)-5c. This method would be adaptable to large-scale synthesis to produce (+)-1 in multi-gram quantities.

Highly enantioselective synthesis of atropisomeric anilide derivatives through catalytic asymmetric N-arylation: conformational analysis and application to asymmetric enolate chemistry.

In the presence of (R)-DTBM-SEGPHOS-Pd(OAc)(2) catalyst, N-arylation (aromatic amination) of various o-tert-butylanilides with p-iodonitrobenzene proceeds with high enantioselectivity (88-96% ee) to give atropisomeric N-(p-nitrophenyl)anilides having an N-C chiral axis in good yields. Atropisomeric anilide products highly prefer to exist as the E-rotamer which has trans-disposed o-tert-butylphenyl group and carbonyl oxygen. The application of the present catalytic enantioselective N-arylation to an intramolecular version gives atropisomeric lactam derivatives with high optical purity (92-98% ee).

Catalytic asymmetric desymmetrization of meso-diamide derivatives through enantioselective N-allylation with a chiral pi-allyl Pd catalyst: improvement and reversal of the enantioselectivity.

In the presence of the Trost ligands-Pd catalysts, N-monoallylation of bis(2,4,6-triisopropylbenzne)sulfonylamides derived from meso-1,2-diamines proceeds with good to excellent enantioselectivity (85-96% ee) to give asymmetric desymmetrization products. Under the same conditions, in the reaction with meso-bistolunesulfonylamide derivatives, reversal of the enantioselectivity is observed.

Zirconocene-mediated and/or catalyzed unprecedented coupling reactions of alkoxymethyl-substituted styrene derivatives.

Reactions of o-(alkoxymethyl)styrene derivatives with a stoichiometric amount of zirconocene-butene complex (zirconocene equivalent, "Cp(2)Zr") brought about an insertion of the zirconocene species into a benzylic carbon-oxygen bond. The oxidative insertion of Cp(2)Zr to the benzylic carbon-oxygen bond is a result of sequential reactions: (i) formation of zirconacyclopropane by the ligand exchange with o-(alkoxymethyl)styrene, (ii) elimination of the alkoxy group through an aromatic conjugate system giving metalated o-quinodimethane species, and (iii) transfer of zirconium metal to the benzylic position. Through use of a catalytic amount of "Cp(2)Zr", however, unprecedented homo-coupling reactions (dimerization) of o-(alkoxymethyl)styrene derivatives occurred to give a tetracyclic compound.

Efficient synthesis of optically active atropisomeric anilides through catalytic asymmetric N-arylation reaction.

In the presence of (R)-DTBM-SEGPHOS-Pd(OAc)2 catalyst, N-arylation of ortho-tert-butyl-NH-anilides with 4-nitroiodobenzene proceeds with high enantioselectivity (89-95% ee) to give optically active atropisomeric anilides possessing N-C chiral axis. Furthermore, the intramolecular version of the present catalytic asymmetric N-arylation gave atropisomeric lactams with high optical purity (94-96% ee).

Copper-catalyzed allylations of zirconocene intermediates generated from o-alkenyl or o-alkynylbenzyl ether derivatives and zirconocene-butene complex.

o-Alkenyl or alkynyl benzylzirconocene intermediate, which was readily generated by the reaction of 2-alkoxymethylstyrene or 2-alkoxymethyl-1-(trimethylsilylethynyl)-benzene derivative with zirconocene-butene complex (Negishi reagent, "Cp2Zr"), reacted with allyl or propargyl halides in the presence of a catalytic amount of CuCl to give allylation or allenylation products. Conversion to Dane's diene, which is a key intermediate for estrone synthesis, was efficiently carried out by enyne olefin metathesis of the allylation products.

Highly regioselective coupling reactions of allylic and propargylic alcohol derivatives with gamma,gamma-dialkoxyallylic zirconium species via Zr-to-Cu transmetalation.

In the presence of CuCN, reaction of gamma,gamma-dialkoxyallylic zirconium species 4, generated in situ by treating triethyl orthoacrylate with zirconocene-butene complex, with allylic and propargylic phosphates proceeded at the alpha-position of 4 in a highly SN2'-selective manner to give the corresponding 5-alkenoates and 4,5-alkadienoates, respectively. In the present Cu(I)-mediated coupling reaction, the gamma,gamma-dialkoxyallylic zirconium species 4 serves as a synthetically useful homoenolate anion equivalent of propionate.

Catalytic asymmetric synthesis of vicinal diamine derivatives through enantioselective N-allylation using chiral pi-allyl Pd-catalyst.

[reaction: see text] N-monoallylation of meso-vicinal diamine bistrisylamides using a chiral pi-allyl-Pd catalyst proceeded in an enantioselective manner (up to 90% ee) to give desymmetrization products in good yields. The product was converted to the known sigma-receptor agonist in short steps. In addition, the present catalytic asymmetric N-allylation was applied to kinetic resolution of racemic-diamide.

Stereoselective iodine atom transfer [3 + 2] cycloaddition reaction with alkenes using unsymmetrical allylated active methine radicals.

Treatment of 1-diethylphosphonyl- or 1-phenylsulfonyl-2-(iodomethyl)cyclopropane-1-carboxylate with Et(3)B leads to an unsymmetrical allylated active methine radical species that gives functionalized cyclopentane derivatives with high stereoselectivity through iodine atom transfer [3 + 2] cycloaddition reaction with alkenes.

Synthesis of optically active atropisomeric anilide derivatives through diastereoselective N-allylation with a chiral Pd-pi-allyl catalyst.

N-Allylation of o-tert-butyl anilides derived from o-tert-butyl aniline and (S)-lactic acid or (S)-mandelic acid proceeded with high diastereoselectivity in the presence of a (BINAP)Pd-pi-allyl catalyst to give atropisomeric N-allyl o-tert-butyl anilide derivatives.