Aprotic conjugate addition of allyllithium reagents bearing polar groups to cyclic enones. 2. 2-Alkyl-, 2,3-dialkyl- and 1,3-dialkylallyl systems

Selective synthesis of thioethers in the presence of a transition-metal-free solid Lewis acid

The synthesis of thioethers starting from alcohols and thiols in the presence of amorphous solid acid catalysts is reported. A silica alumina catalyst with a very low content in alumina gave excellent results in terms of both activity and selectivity also under solvent-free conditions. The reaction rate follows the electron density of the carbinol atom in the substrate alcohol and yields up to 99% and can be obtained for a wide range of substrates under mild reaction conditions.

The first enantioselective synthesis of palinurin

The first enantioselective synthesis of palinurin has been accomplished starting from commercially available furaldehyde and (R)-methyl-3-hydroxy-2-methylpropionate; the key steps of the synthesis include the use of a chiral pyrrolidine to create the chiral tetronic moiety, and Horner-Wadsworth-Emmons, Wittig and Wittig-Horner reactions to construct the alkene units.

Ru-catalyzed alkene-alkyne coupling. Total synthesis of amphidinolide P

A coordinatively unsaturated ruthenium complex catalyzed the formation of a carbon-carbon bond between two judiciously chosen alkene and alkyne partners in good yield, and in a chemo- and regioselective fashion, despite the significant degree of unsaturation of the substrates. The resulting 1,4-diene forms the backbone of the cytotoxic marine natural product amphidinolide P. The alkene partner was rapidly assembled from (R)-glycidyl tosylate, which served as a linchpin in a one-flask, sequential three-components coupling process using vinyllithium and a vinyl cyanocuprate. The synthesis of the alkyne partner made use of an unusual anti-selective addition under chelation-control conditions of an allyltin reagent derived from tiglic acid. In addition, a remarkably E-selective E2 process using the azodicarboxylate-triphenylphosphine system is featured. Also featured is the first example of the use of a beta-lactone as a thermodynamic spring to effect macrolactonization. The oxetanone ring was thus used as a productive protecting group that increased the overall efficiency of this total synthesis. This work was also an opportunity to further probe the scope of the ruthenium-catalyzed alkene-alkyne coupling, in particular using enynes, and studies using various functionalized substrates are described.