An Enantioselective Total Synthesis of (+)-Duocarmycin SA

Nms-Amides: An Amine Protecting Group with Unique Stability and Selectivity

p-Toluenesulfonyl (Tosyl) and nitrobenzenesulfonyl (Nosyl) are two of the most common sulfonyl protecting groups for amines in contemporary organic synthesis. While p-toluenesulfonamides are known for their high stability/robustness, their use in multistep synthesis is plagued by difficult removal. Nitrobenzenesulfonamides, on the other hand, are easily cleaved but display limited stability to various reaction conditions. In an effort to resolve this predicament, we herein present a new sulfonamide protecting group, which we term Nms. Initially developed through in silico studies, Nms-amides overcome these previous limitations and leave no room for compromise. We have investigated the incorporation, robustness and cleavability of this group and found it to be superior to traditional sulfonamide protecting groups in a broad range of case studies.

Base-Promoted Intramolecular Addition of Vinyl Cyclopropanecarboxamides to Access Conformationally Restricted Aza[3.1.0]bicycles

3-Azabicyclo[3.1.0]hexanes are common structural components in natural products and bioactive compounds. Traditionally, the metal-mediated cyclopropanation domino reaction of chain enzymes is the most commonly used strategy for the construction of this type of aza[3.1.0]bicycle derivative. In this study, a base-promoted intramolecular addition of alkenes used to deliver conformationally restricted highly substituted aza[3.1.0]bicycles is reported. This reaction was tailor-made for saturated aza[3.1.0] bicycle-containing fused bicyclic compounds that may be applied in the development of concise and divergent total syntheses of bioactive compounds.

Efforts toward the Total Synthesis of Elisabethin A

We describe our efforts toward the total synthesis of the natural product elisabethin A. The first route was guided by the proposed biosynthesis, assembling the 6,6-ring system before forming the five-membered ring including the quaternary carbon. The second approach includes a high yielding cyclization under Mitsunobu conditions as a key step. It allowed the preparation of an unusual and highly functionalized bicyclic 6,5-spiro compound. Both routes share a common advanced precursor obtained from an "underdeveloped" Claisen rearrangement of an aryl dienyl ether.

nTZDpa (non-thiazolidinedione PPARγ partial agonist) derivatives retain antimicrobial activity without improving renal toxicity

nTZDpa kills both growing and persister Staphylococcus aureus. However, due to toxicity liabilities, our lab conducted two structure-activity relationship (SAR) studies focusing on the core scaffold and obtained a new lead compound that was more potent and less hemolytic. Despite these favorable changes, the new lead displayed toxicity to renal cells. In this SAR study, we sought to improve this renal toxicity by derivatization via changes to sp³ character, the acid moiety, and halogenation of the aryl rings. Presented herein are our efforts that produced potent compounds albeit with no improvement to renal cell toxicity.

Recent Advances in the Enantioselective Synthesis of Chiral Amines via Transition Metal-Catalyzed Asymmetric Hydrogenation

Chiral amines are key structural motifs present in a wide variety of natural products, drugs, and other biologically active compounds. During the past decade, significant advances have been made with respect to the enantioselective synthesis of chiral amines, many of them based on catalytic asymmetric hydrogenation (AH). The present review covers the use of AH in the synthesis of chiral amines bearing a stereogenic center either in the α, β, or γ position with respect to the nitrogen atom, reported from 2010 to 2020. Therefore, we provide an overview of the recent advances in the AH of imines, enamides, enamines, allyl amines, and N-heteroaromatic compounds.

Introduction of Carbon Substituents into Nitroarenes via Nucleophilic Substitution of Hydrogen: New Developments

Nucleophilic substitution of hydrogen in nitroarenes has become a powerful synthetic tool for functionalization of these important organic substrates, complementary to other modern methods. In this review we present new developments in the area of introduction of alkyl and functionalized alkyl substituents into nitroarene rings via nucleo­philic substitution of hydrogen, followed by application of these processes in the construction of carbo- and heterocyclic rings. Finally, new developments in the investigation of the mechanism of SNArH are summarized.

1 Introduction

2 Alkylation and Haloalkylation

3 Functionalized Carbon Substituents

4 Formation of Carbo- and Heterocyclic Rings

5 Mechanistic Aspects of SNArH

6 Conclusion

Ortho/Ipso Alkylborylation of Aryl Iodides

This work describes a method for the difunctionalization of aryl iodides to generate polysubstituted arenes via Pd catalysis. The reaction hinges on the unique interplay between norbornene and the metal catalyst to impart a guided ortho C-H alkylation event followed by a programmatic ipso borylation to provide a diverse array of substituted arene products. The utility of this transformation is demonstrated through the functionalization of the boronic ester to a variety of valuable functionalities.

Total Synthesis of (+)-CC-1065 Utilizing Ring Expansion Reaction of Benzocyclobutenone Oxime Sulfonate

An indole synthesis via ring expansion of benzocyclobutenone oxime sulfonate was developed. Utility of the indole synthesis was demonstrated by the total synthesis of (+)-CC-1065. The middle and right segments were constructed by a sequential ring expansion of the symmetrical benzo-bis-cyclobutenone. The left segment was also constructed via ring expansion of the methyl-substituted benzocyclobutenone oxime sulfonates. After condensation of these three segments, the dienone cyclopropane structure was formed to complete the total synthesis.

Asymmetric synthesis of hetero-1,2,3,4,5-pentasubstituted ferrocenes

The first synthesis of enantioenriched ferrocenes bearing five different substituents on the same cyclopentadienyl ring is described through an unprecedented asymmetric halogen 'dance' reaction. This work not only extends the chemistry of fluoroferrocene derivatives and constitutes the very first entry into the world of enantioenriched hetero-pentasubstituted ferrocenes, it also lays the foundation for research in other metallocene families.