Biphasic Enantioselective Fluorescent Recognition of Amino Acids by a Fluorophilic Probe.

A fluorophilic fluorescent probe based on a perfluoroalkyl-substituted bis(binaphthyl) compound was designed and synthesized. It displayed a highly enantioselective fluorescence response toward structurally diverse amino acids in a biphasic fluorous/aqueous system with enantiomeric fluorescent enhancement ratio (ef; ΔI /ΔI ) values up to 45.2 (histidine).

Free Amino Acid Recognition: A Bisbinaphthyl-Based Fluorescent Probe with High Enantioselectivity.

A novel fluorescent probe based on a bisbinaphthyl structure has been designed and synthesized. This compound in combination with Zn(II) has exhibited highly enantioselective fluorescence enhancement with 13 common free amino acids. For example, its enantiomeric fluorescent enhancement ratios ( ef or Δ I/Δ I) in the presence of the following amino acids are extremely high: 177 for valine, 199 for methionine, 186 for phenylalanine, 118 for leucine, and 89 for alanine.

Catalytic Asymmetric Addition of Alkyl and Aryl Alkynes to N-(Diphenylphosphinoyl)imines.

A 3,3'-di(1-diphenylmethylpiperazinyl)methyl HBINOL compound, (S)-11, was prepared from the Mannich-type reaction of (S)-HBINOL with paraformaldehyde and 1-(diphenylmethyl)piperazine. This compound can catalyze the asymmetric reaction of alkyl and aryl alkynes with N-(diphenylphosphinoyl)imines in the presence of EtZn and Ti(OPr). It exhibits unprecedented high enantioselectivity (up to 85% ee) for a simple alkyl alkyne addition to the N-(diphenylphosphinoyl)imines.

Enantioselective Alkyne Addition to Aliphatic, Aromatic, and Vinyl Aldehydes Using Zn, (i)PrI, H8BINOL, and Ti(O(i)Pr)4.

A new catalytic system based on the readily available Zn, (i)PrI, H8BINOL, and Ti(O(i)Pr)4 has been developed which avoids the use of pyrophoric ZnEt2. It can effectively catalyze the reaction of various terminal alkynes with aromatic, aliphatic, and vinyl aldehydes to generate chiral propargylic alcohols at room temperature with up to 98% yield and 98% enantiomeric excess. This new system signifciantly expands the substrate scope of the previously reported system using Zn, EtI, BINOL, and Ti(O(i)Pr)4.