Ming-Yu Ngai

Enantioselective Iridium Catalyzed Carbonyl Allylation from the Alcohol or Aldehyde Oxidation Level via Transfer Hydrogenative Coupling of Allyl Acetate: Departure from Chirally Modified Allyl Metal Reagents in Carbonyl Addition

Under the conditions of transfer hydrogenation employing an iridium catalyst generated in situ from [Ir(cod)Cl]2, chiral phosphine ligand (R)-BINAP or (R)-Cl,MeO-BIPHEP, and m-nitrobenzoic acid, allyl acetate couples to allylic alcohols 1a-c, aliphatic alcohols 1d-l, and benzylic alcohols 1m-u to furnish products of carbonyl allylation 3a-u with exceptional levels of asymmetric induction. The very same set of optically enriched carbonyl allylation products 3a-u are accessible from enals 2a-c, aliphatic aldehydes 2d-l, and aryl aldehydes 2m-u, using iridium catalysts ligated by (-)-TMBTP or (R)-Cl,MeO-BIPHEP under identical conditions, but employing isopropanol as a hydrogen donor. A catalytically active cyclometallated complex V, which arises upon ortho-C-H insertion of iridium onto m-nitrobenzoic acid, was characterized by single-crystal X-ray diffraction. The results of isotopic labeling are consistent with intervention of symmetric iridium pi-allyl intermediates or rapid interconversion of sigma-allyl haptomers through the agency of a symmetric pi-allyl. Competition experiments demonstrate rapid and reversible hydrogenation-dehydrogenation of the carbonyl partner in advance of C-C coupling. However, the coupling products, which are homoallylic alcohols, experience very little erosion of optical purity by way of redox equilibration under the coupling conditions, although isopropanol, a secondary alcohol, may serve as terminal reductant. A plausible catalytic mechanism accounting for these observations is proposed, along with a stereochemical model that accounts for the observed sense of absolute stereoinduction. This protocol for asymmetric carbonyl allylation transcends the barriers imposed by oxidation level and the use of preformed allyl metal reagents.

Enantioselective Iridium-Catalyzed Carbonyl Allylation from the Alcohol or Aldehyde Oxidation Level Using Allyl Acetate as an Allyl Metal Surrogate

Protocols for highly enantioselective carbonyl allylation from the alcohol or aldehyde oxidation level are described based upon transfer hydrogenative C-C coupling. Exposure of allyl acetate to benzylic alcohols 1a-i in the presence of an iridium catalyst derived from [IrCl(cod)]2 and (R)-BINAP delivers products of C-allylation 2a-i. Employing isopropanol as terminal reductant, exposure of allyl acetate to aryl aldehydes 3a-i in the presence of an iridium catalyst derived from [IrCl(cod)]2 and (-)-TMBTP delivers identical products of C-allylation 2a-i. In all cases examined, exception levels of enantioselectivity are observed. Thus, enantioselective carbonyl allylation is achieved from the alcohol or aldehyde oxidation level in the absence of any preformed allylmetal reagents. These studies define a departure from preformed organometallic reagents in carbonyl additions that transcend the boundaries of oxidation level.

Pd-Catalyzed Aryl C–H Imidation with Arene as the Limiting Reagent

An amine-N-oxide-ligated palladium complex, in conjunction with a silver cocatalyst, catalyzes imidation of arenes by the reagent N-fluorobenzenesulfonimide. The reaction enables imidation of a variety of arenes at or below room temperature, requires no coordinating directing group on the substrate, and gives synthetically useful yields with only 1 equiv of arene. Mechanistic data implicate an unusual mechanism devoid of commonly invoked organometallic intermediates: oxidation of the Pd catalyst occurs as the turnover-limiting step, while C-H bond functionalization occurs subsequently at a high oxidation state of the catalyst.

Trifluoromethoxylation of Arenes: Synthesis of ortho‐Trifluoromethoxylated Aniline Derivatives by OCF3 Migration

Aryl trifluoromethoxylation by a two-step sequence of O-trifluoromethylation of N-aryl-N-hydroxylamine derivatives and intramolecular OCF3  migration is presented. This protocol allows easy access to a wide range of synthetically useful ortho-OCF3 aniline derivatives. In addition, it utilizes bench-stable reagents, is operationally simple, shows high functional-group tolerance, and is amenable to gram-scale as well as one-pot synthesis. A reaction mechanism of a heterolytic cleavage of the NOCF3 bond followed by recombination of the resulting nitrenium ion and trifluoromethoxide is proposed for the OCF3 -migration reaction.

Ruthenium catalyzed C-C bond formation via transfer hydrogenation: branch-selective reductive coupling of allenes to paraformaldehyde and higher aldehydes.

Under the conditions of ruthenium-catalyzed transfer hydrogenation employing 2-propanol as the terminal reductant, 1,1-disubstituted allenes 1a- h engage in reductive coupling to paraformaldehyde to furnish homoallylic alcohols 2a- h. Under identical transfer hydrogenation conditions, 1,1-disubstituted allenes engage in reductive coupling to aldehydes 3a- f to furnish homoallylic alcohols 4a- n. In all cases, reductive coupling occurs with branched regioselectivity to deliver homoallylic alcohols bearing all-carbon quaternary centers.

β-Selective Reductive Coupling of Alkenylpyridines with Aldehydes and Imines via Synergistic Lewis Acid/Photoredox Catalysis

Umpolung (polarity reversal) strategies of aldehydes and imines have dramatically expanded the scope of carbonyl and iminyl chemistry by facilitating reactions with non-nucleophilic reagents. Herein, we report the first visible light photoredox-catalyzed β-selective reductive coupling of alkenylpyridines with carbonyl or iminyl derivatives with the aid of a Lewis acid co-catalyst. Our process tolerates complex molecular scaffolds (e.g., sugar, natural product, and peptide derivatives) and is applicable to the preparation of compounds containing a broad range of heterocyclic moieties. Mechanistic investigations indicate that the key step involves single-electron-transfer reduction of aldehydes or imines followed by the addition of resulting ketyl or α-aminoalkyl radicals to Lewis acid-activated alkenylpyridines.

Ligand-accelerated Enantioselective Propargylation of Aldehydes via Allenylzinc Reagents

An enantioselective propargylation of aldehydes using an allenylzinc reagent generated in situ via a zinc-iodine exchange reaction is described. The enantioselectivity is controlled by addition of a catalytic amount of readily accessible and highly tunable amino alcohol ligand L13. A wide range of aldehydes can be propargylated to afford valuable and versatile homopropargyl alcohols in good to excellent yields with high levels of enantiopurity.

A Highly Convergent Total Synthesis of Leustroducsin B

Leustroducsin B exhibits a large variety of biological activities and unique structural features. An efficient and highly convergent total synthesis of Leustroducsin B was achieved in 17 longest linear and 39 total steps by disconnecting the molecule into three fragments having similar levels of complexity. These pieces were connected via a highly efficient chelate-controlled addition of a vinyl zincate to an α-hydroxy ketone and a silicon-mediated cross-coupling. The stereochemistry of the central and western fragments was set catalytically in high yields and excellent de by a zinc-ProPhenol-catalyzed aldol reaction and a palladium-catalyzed asymmetric allylic alkylation.

Catalytic C−H Trifluoromethoxylation of Arenes and Heteroarenes

The intermolecular C-H trifluoromethoxylation of arenes remains a long-standing and unsolved problem in organic synthesis. Herein, we report the first catalytic protocol employing a novel trifluoromethoxylating reagent and redox-active catalysts for the direct (hetero)aryl C-H trifluoromethoxylation. Our approach is operationally simple, proceeds at room temperature, uses easy-to-handle reagents, requires only 0.03 mol % of redox-active catalysts, does not need specialized reaction apparatus, and tolerates a wide variety of functional groups and complex structures such as sugars and natural product derivatives. Importantly, both ground-state and photoexcited redox-active catalysts are effective. Detailed computational and experimental studies suggest a unique reaction pathway where photoexcitation of the trifluoromethoxylating reagent releases the OCF3 radical that is trapped by (hetero)arenes. The resulting cyclohexadienyl radicals are oxidized by redox-active catalysts and deprotonated to form the desired products of trifluoromethoxylation.

Development of [18F]Maleimide-Based Glycogen Synthase Kinase-3β Ligands for Positron Emission Tomography Imaging

Dysregulation of glycogen synthase kinase-3β (GSK-3β) is implicated in the pathogenesis of neurodegenerative and psychiatric disorders. Thus, development of GSK-3β radiotracers for positron emission tomography (PET) imaging is of paramount importance, because such a noninvasive imaging technique would allow better understanding of the link between the activity of GSK-3β and central nervous system disorders in living organisms, and it would enable early detection of the enzymes aberrant activity. Herein, we report the synthesis and biological evaluation of a series of fluorine-substituted maleimide derivatives that are high-affinity GSK-3β inhibitors. Radiosynthesis of a potential GSK-3β tracer [18F]10a is achieved. Preliminary in vivo PET imaging studies in rodents show moderate brain uptake, although no saturable binding was observed in the brain. Further refinement of the lead scaffold to develop potent [18F]-labeled GSK-3 radiotracers for PET imaging of the central nervous system is warranted.