Enantioselective synthesis of spiro cyclopentane-1,3'-indoles and 2,3,4,9-tetrahydro-1H-carbazoles by iridium-catalyzed allylic dearomatization and stereospecific migration

Direct asymmetric dearomatization of 2-naphthols by scandium-catalyzed electrophilic amination

Catalytic asymmetric aminative dearomatization of 1-substituted 2-naphthols was successfully implemented with electrophilic azodicarboxylates under the catalysis of chiral Sc(III)/pybox complexes. This intermolecular reaction represents a hitherto unknown enantioselective C-N bond-forming process through direct dearomatization of phenolic compounds to generate chiral nitrogen-containing quaternary carbon stereocenters.

The asymmetric synthesis of polycyclic 3-spirooxindole alkaloids via the cascade reaction of 2-isocyanoethylindoles

A highly enantioselective dearomative cascade between 2-isocyanoethylindole and 3-alkenyl-oxindoles was realized by chiral N,N′-dioxide-Mg(ii) complexes. Various spiroindolines with spiro-oxindoles were obtained in excellent results.

Palladium-catalyzed dearomative cyclization by a norbornene-mediated sequence: a route to spiroindolenine derivatives

Spiroindolenine derivatives bearing an all-carbon quaternary spirocenter are synthesizedviaa Pd-catalyzed norbornene-mediated tandemortho-alkylation dearomative cyclization reaction.

Transition-metal-catalyzed asymmetric allylic dearomatization reactions

Dearomatization reactions serve as powerful methods for the synthesis of highly functionalized, three-dimensional structures starting with simple planar aromatic compounds. Among processes of this type, catalytic asymmetric dearomatization (CADA) reactions are attractive owing to the large number of aromatic compounds that are readily available and the fact that they enable direct access to enantiopure polycycles and spirocycles, which frequently are key structural motifs in biologically active natural products and pharmaceuticals. However, as a consequence of their high stabilities, arenes only difficultly participate in dearomatization reactions that take place with high levels of enantioselectivity. Transition-metal-catalyzed asymmetric allylic substitution reactions have been demonstrated to be powerful methods for enantioselective formation of C-C and C-X (X = O, N, S, etc.) bonds. However, the scope of these processes has been explored mainly using soft carbon nucleophiles, some hard carbon nucleophiles such as enolates and preformed organometallic reagents, and heteroatom nucleophiles. Readily accessible aromatic compounds have been only rarely used directly as nucleophiles in these reactions. In this Account, we present the results of studies we have conducted aimed at the development of transition-metal-catalyzed asymmetric allylic dearomatization reactions. By utilizing this general process, we have devised methods for direct dearomatization of indoles, pyrroles, phenols, naphthols, pyridines, and pyrazines, which produce various highly functionalized structural motifs bearing all-carbon quaternary stereogenic centers in a straightforward manner. In mechanistic investigations of the dearomatization process, we found that the five-membered spiroindolenines serve as intermediates, which readily undergo stereospecific allylic migration to form corresponding tetrahydro-1H-carbazoles upon treatment with a catalytic amount of TsOH. It is worth noting that no notable loss of the enantiomeric excess of the spiroindolenine derivatives takes place during the rearrangement process as a consequence of the intervention of a "three-center-two-electron"-type transition state, a proposal that has gained support from the results of DFT calculations. Equally intriguing, upon tuning of the electronic nature of the tethers, pyrroles or indoles undergo unprecedented Ir or Ru catalyzed intramolecular allylic alkylation promoted dearomatization/migration reactions. The operation of this novel reaction pathway provides additional information leading to a greater mechanistic understanding of the transition-metal-catalyzed enantioselective intramolecular functionalizations of pyrroles and indoles. The combined results of this effort provide not only methods for the efficient synthesis of highly enantioenriched fused and spiro polycycles but also novel strategies in the field of asymmetric catalysis.

Taming gold(I)-counterion interplay in the de-aromatization of indoles with allenamides

A careful interplay between the π electrophilicity of a cationic Au(I) center and the basicity of the corresponding counterion allowed for the chemo- and regioselective inter- as well as intramolecular de-aromatization of 2,3-disubstituted indoles with allenamides. The silver-free bifunctional Lewis acid/Brønsted base complex [{2,4-(tBu)2C6H3O}3PAuTFA] assisted the formation of a range of densely functionalized indolenines under mild conditions.

The asymmetric Cu(ii)–indolinylmethanol complex catalyzed Diels–Alder reaction of 2-vinylindoles with β,γ-unsaturated α-ketoesters: an efficient route to functionalized tetrahydrocarbazoles

An efficient asymmetric Diels–Alder reaction of 2-vinylindoles with β,γ-unsaturated α-ketoesters for the synthesis of functionalized tetrahydrocarbazoles.

Enantio-, diastereo-, and regioselective iridium-catalyzed asymmetric allylic alkylation of acyclic β-ketoesters

The first regio-, diastereo-, and enantioselective allylic alkylation of acyclic β-ketoesters to form vicinal tertiary and all-carbon quaternary stereocenters is reported. Critical to the successful development of this method was the employment of iridium catalysis in concert with N-aryl-phosphoramidite ligands. Broad functional group tolerance is observed at the keto-, ester-, and α-positions of the nucleophile. Various transformations demonstrating the utility of this method for rapidly accessing complex enantioenriched compounds are reported.

Construction of vicinal tertiary and all-carbon quaternary stereocenters via Ir-catalyzed regio-, diastereo-, and enantioselective allylic alkylation and applications in sequential Pd catalysis

Highly congested vicinal stereocenters comprised of tertiary and all-carbon quaternary centers were generated via Ir-catalyzed asymmetric allylic alkylation of β-ketoesters. These catalytic reactions proceed in excellent yields with a broad scope on either reaction partner and with outstanding regio-, diastereo-, and enantiocontrol. Implementation of a subsequent Pd-catalyzed alkylation affords dialkylated products with pinpoint stereochemical control of both chiral centers.

Enantioselective functionalization of indoles and pyrroles via an in situ-formed spiro intermediate

Herein we report a highly enantioselective synthesis of polycyclic indoles and pyrroles with up to 99% ee by an iridium catalyst system consisting of a commercially available iridium precursor and a readily accessible ligand. Investigation of the reaction mechanism led to the discovery of an unprecedented dearomatized spiro intermediate and its in situ migration phenomenon. The new reaction mode features switching of the substituent from the indole C-3 position to the C-2 position (from the C-2 position to the C-3 position in the case of pyrrole) without loss of the enantiomeric purity, providing a novel concept in designing the asymmetric construction of enantiopure polycyclic indoles and pyrroles.