A streamlined strategy for aglycone assembly and glycosylation

Multipurpose sugars: Carbohydrate-derived silane reagents are utilized as the reductant for nickel-catalyzed aldehyde-alkyne reductive coupling reactions and as the glycosyl donor for subsequent intramolecular glycosylation. The approach enables the assembly of the carbon-carbon framework and stereochemical features of an aglycone while simultaneously establishing the site of glycosylation.

Chemoselective hydrosilylation of hydroxyketones

A chemoselective method for the hydrosilylation of ketones has been developed, using the combination of triphenylsilane and a catalyst prepared from Ni(COD)₂ and the simple N-heterocyclic carbene IMes. The most notable feature of this method is that free hydroxyls are largely unaffected, thus providing a simple one-step procedure for the conversion of hydroxyketones to mono-protected diols, wherein the protecting group is exclusively installed on the ketone-derived hydroxyl. The process is typically high yielding with both simple ketones and more complex hydroxyketone substrates.

Ketone hydrosilylation with sugar silanes followed by intramolecular aglycone delivery: an orthogonal glycosylation strategy

Gettin' a little sugar-no alcohol required: A procedure for the direct glycosylation of ketones without a hydroxy intermediate enables the site-selective glycosylation of hydroxyketones at the ketone or the alcohol functionality without the use of protecting groups on the aglycone (see scheme). Site selectivity is controlled by the catalyst structure in hydrosilylation and dehydrogenative silylation reactions with sugar silanes. Bn=benzyl.

Solvent-controlled intramolecular [2 + 2] photocycloadditions of alpha-substituted enones

The regio- and stereoselectivity of intramolecular [2 + 2] photocycloadditions of 2'-hydroxyenones are shown to be solvent-dependent. In the presence of aprotic solvents, 2'-hydroxyenones undergo photocycloadditions in a manner consistent with the presence of an intramolecular hydrogen bond between the carbonyl group and the tether's hydroxy functionality. In protic solvents, intermolecular interactions appear to disrupt the intramolecular hydrogen bond, providing products with complementary diastereoselectivity. If the facial accessibility of the alpha-tethered olefin is limited, the cycloadditions proceed to give head-to-tail or head-to-head regioisomers, depending on the nature of the solvent employed.

Intramolecular [2 + 2] Photocycloaddition/Thermal Fragmentation: Formally “Allowed” and “Forbidden” Pathways toward 5−8−5 Ring Systems

The thermal fragmentation of highly functionalized, linear polycyclobutanes with a cis,syn,cis-relative stereochemistry is shown to offer a rapid entry into the dicyclopenta[a,d]cyclooctenyl (5-8-5) ring system. The thermolysis of polyfused cyclobutanes with a cis,syn,cis- or a cis,anti,cis-relationship proceeds in a formally "symmetry-allowed" manner through the intermediacy of a cis,trans-cyclooctadiene. When a bridging tether used to establish the cis,syn,cis-stereochemistry in the intramolecular [2 + 2] photocyclization is present in the thermolysis step, however, the result of a formally "symmetry-forbidden" fragmentation is observed yielding cis,cis-cyclooctadiene-containing 5-8-5 products. In general, the stereochemical observations noted in these fragmentations offer new opportunities for accessing a variety of stereochemical relationships in these 5-8-5 ring systems.