Rhodium-Catalyzed Allylic Addition as an Atom-Efficient Approach in Total Synthesis

Pd(II)-catalyzed regioselective hydroarylation of allenyl-containing α-amino acid derivatives with aryl boronic acids

A convenient pathway to a new family of α,α-disubstituted α-amino acid derivatives bearing an aryl alkene moiety at the side chain has been developed. This method is based on hydroarylation of functional allenes with aryl boronic acids under Pd(II)/dppf catalysis. The studied reactions represent the first example of the metal-catalyzed arylation of allenyl-containing α-amino acid derivatives and allow for the efficient assembly of biologically valuable molecules under mild conditions in good yields and high regio- and stereoselectivity.

Enantioselective Vinylogous Addition of Enones to Allenes Enabled by Synergistic Borane/Palladium Catalysis

Herein, we report a method for enantioselective vinylogous addition of enones to alkoxyallenes enabled by synergistic borane/palladium catalysis. The inductive effect provided by borane coordination to the ketone was essential for closing the gap between the conditions needed for the generation of a dienolate and those needed for initiation of the palladium catalytic cycle by protonation of the metal catalyst. Furthermore, we accomplished the first example of stereodivergent synthesis with chiral borane/transition-metal catalysts.

Substrate NOBINAc ligand affinity for PdII-catalyzed enantioselective C-H activation over reactive β-C-H bonds in ferrocenyl amines

Ferrocenyl amines as directing groups for C-H activation have limitations as they are prone to undergo oxidation, allylic deamination, and β-hydride elimination. The fundamental challenge observed here is the competition between the desired C-H activation versus the vulnerable β-C-H bond activation of amines and fine-tuning of a suitable oxidant which avoids the oxidation of the β-C-H bond and ferrocene. Herein, the potential of an axially chiral NOBINAc ligand is revealed to implement the enantioselective PdII-catalyzed C-H activation process of ferrocenyl amines. Mechanistically, the affinity between the NOBINAc ligand and sulfonate group of amine facilitated by the Cs+ cation plays an impressive role in the desired reaction outcome via an enhanced substrate ligand affinity. This approach resulted in a Pd-catalyzed enantioselective C-H activation, the first intermolecular annulation, and alkenylation of ferrocenyl amines with allenes and olefins, leading to ferrocene fused tetrahydropyridines and alkenylated ferrocenyl amines with up to 70% yields and 99 : 1 er.

Molybdenum Complex-Catalyzed N-Alkylation of Bulky Primary and Secondary Amines

Aliphatic allylic amines are present in a large number of complex and pharmaceutically relevant molecules. The direct amination of allylic electrophiles serves as the most common method toward the preparation of these motifs. However, the use of feedstock reaction components (allyl alcohol and aliphatic amine) in these transformations remains a great challenge. Such a challenge primarily stems from the high Lewis basicity and large steric hindrance of aliphatic amines, in addition to the low reactivity of allylic alcohols. Herein, we report a general solution to these challenges. The developed protocol allows an efficient allylic amination of allyl alcohols with sterically bulky aliphatic amines in the presence of an inexpensive earth-abundant molybdenum complex. This simple and economic protocol also enables regioselective branched amination; the practicality of the reaction was shown in an efficient, scaled-up synthesis of several drugs.

Rhodium-Catalyzed Enantioselective Intramolecular Hydroalkoxylation of Allenes and Application in the Total Synthesis of (R,R,R)-α-Tocopherol

We report herein of a novel, enantioselective and rhodium- catalyzed cyclisation of allenyl alcohols towards chiral α-vinylic, cyclic ethers employing a rhodium/(R,R)-Me-ferrocelane catalyst. The corresponding chiral cyclic products were obtained in general high yields and enantioselectivities. The synthetic value of our obtained products was further exemplified by transformations of the allylic ether function. Furthermore, applying our newly developed method in our previously reported route towards the total synthesis of (R,R,R)-α-tocopherol, we accomplished a significantly improved 2nd generation synthesis of the chromane building providing a total number of 13 steps and an overall total yield of 27 %.

Nickel-Catalyzed Regioselective Hydrothiolation of Allenes Enabled by Visible-Light Photoredox Catalysis

Hydrothiolation presents an attractive way to transform allenes into allylic thioethers. Herein, we described an efficient visible-light photoredox-promoted nickel-catalyzed hydrothiolation of allenes with functionalized aromatic and aliphatic thiols. This synergistic catalytic system exhibits unprecedentedly high reactivities and regiocontrol for the construction of allylic thioethers, representing the unique synthetic utility of the earth-abundant Ni-catalyzed method compared with the related noble-metal-catalyzed allylation reactions.

Transition-Metal-Catalyzed Transformations for the Synthesis of Marine Drugs

Transition metal catalysis has contributed to the discovery of novel methodologies and the preparation of natural products, as well as new chances to increase the chemical space in drug discovery programs. In the case of marine drugs, this strategy has been used to achieve selective, sustainable and efficient transformations, which cannot be obtained otherwise. In this perspective, we aim to showcase how a variety of transition metals have provided fruitful couplings in a wide variety of marine drug-like scaffolds over the past few years, by accelerating the production of these valuable molecules.

Rhodium-Catalyzed Asymmetric Macrocyclization towards Crown Ethers Using Hydroamination of Bis(allenes)

Enantiomerically enriched crown ethers (CE) exhibit strong asymmetric induction in phase transfer catalysis, supramolecular catalysis and molecular recognition processes. Traditional methods have often been used to access these valuable compounds, which limit their diversity and consequently their applicability. Herein, a practical catalytic method is described for the gram scale synthesis of a class of chiral CEs (aza-crown ethers; ACEs) using Rh-catalyzed hydroamination of bis(allenes) with diamines. Using this approach, a wide range of chiral vinyl functionalized CEs with ring sizes ranging from 12 to 36 have been successfully prepared in high yields of up to 92 %, dr of up to >20 : 1 and er of up to >99 : 1. These vinyl substituted CEs allow for further diversification giving facile access to various CE derivatives as well as to their three-dimensional analogues using ring-closing metathesis. Some of these chiral CEs themselves display high potential for use in asymmetric catalysis.

Rhodium-Catalyzed Enantioselective Cyclization of 2-Allenylbenzoxazoles

The enantioselective rhodium-catalyzed cyclization of 2-allenylbenzoxazoles to the corresponding vinyl-functionalized, fused heterocyclic structures is reported. The presented method offers several advantages, including the use of low catalyst loadings, commercially available catalyst precursors, and mild reaction conditions. Due to its broad scope, scalability, and valuable products, we consider this methodology to be a useful tool for the construction of benzoxazole-containing building blocks.