Enantioselective Synthesis of 6,6-Disubstituted Pentafulvenes Containing a Chiral Pendant Hydroxy Group

Concept-Driven Chemoselective O/N-Derivatization of Prolinol: A Bee-Line Approach to Access Organocatalysts

An investigation into the sensitivity of reaction conditions to a highly utilized protocol has been reported, wherein the mono-Boc functionalization of prolinol could be controlled for the exclusive synthesis of either N-Boc, O-Boc, or oxazolidinone derivatives. Mechanistic investigation revealed that the elementary steps could possibly be controlled by (a) a requisite base to recognize the differently acidic sites (NH and OH) for the formation of the conjugate base, which reacts with the electrophile, and (b) the difference in nucleophilicity of the conjugate basic sites. Herein, a successful chemoselective functionalization of the nucleophilic sites of prolinol by employing a suitable base is reported. This has been achieved by exploiting the relative acidity difference of NH and OH along with the reversed nucleophilicity of the corresponding conjugate bases N^- and O^-. This protocol has also been used for the synthesis of several O-functionalized prolinol derived organocatalysts, few of which have been newly reported.

A substrate-dependent reaction of 1-aryl-2-alkyl-1,2-diketones with 2-aroyl-1-chlorocyclopropanecarboxylates: selective access to 2',5'-dicyclopropoxy-1,1':4',1''-teraryls and pentafulvenes

An interesting substrate-controlled one-pot approach to highly substituted 2',5'-dicyclopropoxy-1,1':4',1''-teraryls and 6-hydroxypentafulvenes involving various 1,2-diketones and 2-aroyl-1-chlorocyclopropanecarboxylates as 3C Michael acceptors triggered by Cs₂CO₃ has been developed. We noticed that 1,2-diketones play a decisive role in this reaction to determine the product's selectivity. For example, aryl rings having electron-poor functionalities at the para and meta-positions of 1,2-diketones led to 2,5-diarylhydroquinones selectively via a cyclodimerization/double oxa-Michael process with highly strained cyclopropenes. However, when 1-naphthyl/electron-donating aryl/ortho-aryl-substituted 1,2-diketones were chosen, the Michael-initiated ring expansion reaction (C-C and CC bonds) took place under the same conditions that gave the corresponding pentafulvenes predominately. Moreover, this reaction has several imperative features such as good to high diastereoselectivities, wide substrate scope, good functional group tolerance, transition metal-free process, etc.

De-Novo Design of Cereblon (CRBN) Effectors Guided by Natural Hydrolysis Products of Thalidomide Derivatives

Targeted protein degradation via cereblon (CRBN), a substrate receptor of an E3 ubiquitin ligase complex, is an increasingly important strategy in various clinical settings, in which the substrate specificity of CRBN is altered via the binding of small-molecule effectors. To date, such effectors are derived from thalidomide and confer a broad substrate spectrum that is far from being fully characterized. Here, we employed a rational and modular approach to design novel and minimalistic CRBN effectors. In this approach, we took advantage of the binding modes of hydrolyzed metabolites of several thalidomide-derived effectors, which we elucidated via crystallography. These yielded key insights for the optimization of the minimal core binding moiety and its linkage to a chemical moiety that imparts substrate specificity. Based on this scaffold, we present a first active de-novo CRBN effector that is able to degrade the neo-substrate IKZF3 in the cell culture.

Kinetics and Mechanism of Pyrrolidine Buffer-Catalyzed Fulvene Formation

Rapid synthesis of fulvenes is achieved using pyrrolidinium/pyrrolidine buffers in anhydrous acetonitrile. Time-dependent UV-vis absorption and NMR spectroscopy reveal that the rate and yield of fulvene formation depend strongly on both the presence of acid in the medium and the choice of solvent, and they are negatively affected by water. Kinetic data have been collected for various substrates, and the synthetic benefits of the adjusted reaction conditions are showcased. Enhancements of reaction rates are found in comparison to literature procedures. α-Unsaturated fulvenes that were previously difficult to access can now be obtained in good yields.