Synthesis of large [2]rotaxanes. The relationship between the size of the blocking group and the stability of the rotaxane.

[2]Rotaxanes with large macrocyclic phenanthrolines were prepared by the template method, and the stability of the rotaxanes was examined. Compared to the tris(biphenyl)methyl group, the tris(4-cyclohexylbiphenyl)methyl group was a larger blocking group, and the rate of the dissociation of the components decreased significantly when the thermal stability of a rotaxane with a 41-memebered ring was examined. We also succeeded in the synthesis of larger rotaxanes by the oxidative dimerization of alkynes with these bulky blocking groups, utilizing the catalytic activity of the macrocyclic phenanthroline-Cu complex.

An expeditious synthesis of tamoxifen, a representative SERM (selective estrogen receptor modulator), via the three-component coupling reaction among aromatic aldehyde, cinnamyltrimethylsilane, and beta-chlorophenetole.

Two new synthetic pathways to the anti-cancer agent tamoxifen and its derivatives were developed. The first route involved the aldol reaction of benzyl phenyl ketone with acetaldehyde followed by Friedel-Crafts substitution with anisole in the presence of Cl(2)Si(OTf)(2) to produce 1,1,2-triaryl-3-acetoxybutane, a precursor of the tamoxifen derivatives. The second one utilized the novel three-component coupling reaction among aromatic aldehydes, cinnamyltrimethylsilane, and aromatic nucleophiles using HfCl(4) as a Lewis acid catalyst to produce 3,4,4-triarylbutene, that is also a valuable intermediate of the tamoxifen derivatives.