Maciej Stodulski

Catalysts Based on Amino Acids for Asymmetric Reactions in Water

Asymmetric organometallic and organocatalytic processes in aqueous systems are currently of great interest. A few years ago, only a few practitioners studied the subject; now organic reactions in water have become one of the most exciting research areas. The quest to identify water-compatible catalysts has evoked an intense search for new possibilities. Following natures lead, the application of amino acids as sources of chiral information seems particularly promising for aqueous systems. Herein we provide an overview of very recent advances in the area of asymmetric catalysis in water with amino acids and their derivatives as effective catalysts or essential components of catalysts.

A Formal Synthesis of Ezetimibe via Cycloaddition/Rearrangement Cascade Reaction

A formal synthesis of a powerful cholesterol inhibitor, ezetymibe 1, is described. The crucial step of the synthesis is based on Cu(I)-mediated Kinugasa cycloaddition/rearrangement cascade reaction between terminal acetylene derived from acetonide of L-glyceraldehyde and suitable C,N-diarylnitrone. The adduct with (3R,4S) configuration at the azetidinone ring, obtained with high stereoselectivity, was subsequently subjected to deprotection of the diol side chain followed by glycolic cleavage and base-induced isomerization at the C3 carbon atom to afford the (3S,4S) aldehyde, which has been already transformed into ezetimibe by the Schering-Plough group.