Guangbin Dong

Total synthesis of bryostatin 16 using atom-economical and chemoselective approaches

Of the concepts used to improve the efficiency of organic syntheses, two have been especially effective: atom economy (the use of routes in which most of the atoms present in the reactants also end up in the product) and chemoselectivity (the use of reactions that take place only at desired positions in a molecule). Synthesis of complex natural products is the most demanding arena in which to explore such principles. The bryostatin family of compounds are especially interesting targets, because they combine structural complexity with promising biological activity. Furthermore, synthetic routes to some bryostatins have already been reported, providing a benchmark against which new syntheses can be measured. Here we report a concise total synthesis of bryostatin 16 (1), a parent structure from which almost all other bryostatins could in principle be accessed. Application of atom-economical and chemoselective reactions currently under development provides ready access to polyhydropyran motifs in the molecule, which are common structural features of many other natural products. The most notable transformations are two transition-metal-catalysed reactions. The first is a palladium-catalysed reaction of two different alkynes to form a large ring. The product of this step is then converted into a dihydropyran (the ‘C ring’ of bryostatins) in the second key reaction, which is catalysed by a gold compound. Analogues of bryostatin that do not exist in nature could be readily made by following this route, which might allow the biological activity of bryostatins to be fine-tuned.

Ortho vs Ipso: Site-Selective Pd and Norbornene-Catalyzed Arene C–H Amination Using Aryl Halides

A Pd and norbornene-catalyzed ortho-arene amination via Catellani-type C-H functionalization is reported. Aryl halides are used as substrates; N-benzoyloxyamines and isopropanol are employed as the amine source (oxidant) and reductant respectively. Examples are provided in 50-99% yields with high functional group tolerance. This method gives complementary site selectivity at the ortho- instead of ipso-position of aryl halides.

Catalytic Functionalization of Unactivated sp3 C–H Bonds via exo-Directing Groups: Synthesis of Chemically Differentiated 1,2-Diols

We describe a Pd-catalyzed site-selective functionalization of unactivated aliphatic C-H bonds, providing chemically differentiated 1,2-diols from monoalcohol derivatives. The oxime was employed as both a directing group (DG) and an alcohol surrogate for this transformation. As demonstrated in a range of substrates, the C-H bonds β to the oxime group are selectively oxidized. Besides activation of the methyl groups, methylene groups (CH(2)) in cyclic substrates and methine groups (CH) at bridge-head positions can also be functionalized. In addition, an intriguing oxidative skeleton rearrangement was observed using the menthol-derived substrate. The use of exo-directing groups in C-H activation, as illustrated in this work, would potentially open doors for the discovery of new transformations and new cleavable DGs.

Synthesis of ortho-Acylphenols through the Palladium-Catalyzed Ketone-Directed Hydroxylation of Arenes†

Ketone in charge: a formal ketone-directed palladium-catalyzed ortho-hydroxylation of arenes has been developed as an effective approach to access o-acylphenols from simple arylketones. A Pd-catalyzed oxidative ortho-carbonylation reaction using ketone directing groups to access a ketal-lactone motif is also demonstrated. The ubiquity and versatile nature of ketones make these methods attractive. BTI=PhI(TFA)(2); DCE=1,2-dichloroethane.

Palladium-Catalyzed Dynamic Kinetic Asymmetric Transformations of Vinyl Aziridines with Nitrogen Heterocycles: Rapid Access to Biologically Active Pyrroles and Indoles

We report that nitrogen heterocycles can serve as competent nucleophiles in the palladium-catalyzed dynamic kinetic asymmetric alkylation of vinyl aziridines. The resulting alkylated products were obtained with high regio-, chemo-, and enantioselectivity. Both substituted 1H-pyrroles and 1H-indoles were successfully employed to give exclusively the branched N-alkylated products. The synthetic utility of this process was demonstrated by applying this method to the preparation of several medicinal chemistry lead compounds and bromopyrrole alkaloids including longamide B, longamide B methyl ester, hanishin, agesamides A and B, and cyclooroidin.

Rhodium-Catalyzed Regioselective Carboacylation of Olefins: A CC Bond Activation Approach for Accessing Fused-Ring Systems†

Efficiency in the synthesis of a complex molecular target is greatly dictated by the strategy used for building the key skeletal structure. In particular, fused rings are extremely common structural motifs in natural products and drug molecules, and thus access to these motifs through selective and atom-economic methods is of significant importance. Despite the existence of various elegant stepwise cycloaddition methods for building fused-ring systems, we were particularly intrigued by a catalytic “cut-and-sew” reaction, which involves the oxidative addition of a transition metal to a C C bond (Scheme 1). In this type of reaction, a key intermediate, for example, metallocycle B, is formed when

Highly Enantioselective Rh-Catalyzed Carboacylation of Olefins: Efficient Syntheses of Chiral Poly-Fused Rings

Here we report the first highly enantioselective Rh-catalyzed carboacylation of olefins via C-C bond activation of benzocyclobutenones. Good yields and excellent enantioselectivities (92-99% ee, 14 examples) were obtained for substrates with various steric and electronic properties. In addition, fully saturated poly-fused rings were prepared from the carboacylation products through a challenging catalytic reductive dearomatization approach. These investigations provide a distinct way to prepare chiral carbon frameworks that are nontrivial to access with conventional methods.

Regioselective ketone α-alkylation with simple olefins via dual activation

Carbon-carbon bonds without byproducts Environmental and cost concerns are spurring development of chemical methods that minimize byproduct formation. In this vein, Mo and Dong present a catalyst that inserts olefins such as ethylene directly into the C-H bonds of ketones. Traditional methods to form such products rely on the preliminary reaction of the ketone with a base, followed by subsequent reaction with an alkyl halide. The authors used a ligand that simultaneously activates the ketone and guides the catalytic rhodium to the right location. This approach removes the need for the other reagents and eliminates the associated halide salt byproducts. Science, this issue p. 68 A rhodium catalyst alkylates ketones by the insertion of olefins into their C-H bonds, eliminating the formation of by-products. Alkylation of carbonyl compounds is a commonly used carbon-carbon bond–forming reaction. However, the conventional enolate alkylation approach remains problematic due to lack of regioselectivity, risk of overalkylation, and the need for strongly basic conditions and expensive alkyl halide reagents. Here, we describe development of a ketone-alkylation strategy using simple olefins as the alkylating agents. This strategy employs a bifunctional catalyst comprising a secondary amine and a low-valent rhodium complex capable of activating ketones and olefins simultaneously. Both cyclic and acyclic ketones can be mono-α-alkylated with simple terminal olefins, such as ethylene, propylene, 1-hexene, and styrene, selectively at the less hindered site; a large number of functional groups are tolerated. The pH/redox neutral and byproduct-free nature of this dual-activation approach shows promise for large-scale syntheses.

Sustainable Electrical Energy Storage through the Ferrocene/Ferrocenium Redox Reaction in Aprotic Electrolyte

The large-scale, cost-effective storage of electrical energy obtained from the growing deployment of wind and solar power is critically needed for the integration into the grid of these renewable energy sources. Rechargeable batteries having a redox-flow cathode represent a viable solution for either a Li-ion or a Na-ion battery provided a suitable low-cost redox molecule soluble in an aprotic electrolyte can be identified that is stable for repeated cycling and does not cross the separator membrane to the anode. Here we demonstrate an environmentally friendly, low-cost ferrocene/ferrocenium molecular redox couple that shows about 95% energy efficiency and about 90% capacity retention after 250 full charge/discharge cycles.

Catalytic C(sp3)−H Arylation of Free Primary Amines with an exo Directing Group Generated In Situ

Herein, we report the palladium-catalyzed direct arylation of unactivated aliphatic C-H bonds in free primary amines. This method takes advantage of an exo-imine-type directing group (DG) that can be generated and removed in situ. A range of unprotected aliphatic amines are suitable substrates, undergoing site-selective arylation at the γ-position. Methyl as well as cyclic and acyclic methylene groups can be activated. Furthermore, when aniline-derived substrates were used, preliminary success with δ-C-H arylation was achieved. The feasibility of using the DG component in a catalytic fashion was also demonstrated.