Raghunath Chowdhury

Highly Regio- and Enantioselective Organocatalytic Conjugate Addition of Alkyl Methyl Ketones to a β-Silylmethylene Malonate

(S)-N-(2-pyrrolidinylmethyl)pyrrolidine/trifluoroacetic acid (3:1) combination catalyzed the direct addition of alkyl methyl ketones to beta-dimethyl(phenyl)silylmethylene malonate at the methyl terminal with high yield and excellent regio- and enantioselectivity. The silyl group played crucial roles in regioselection and substrate reactivity.

Organocatalyzed enantioselective Michael addition/cyclization cascade reaction of 3-isothiocyanato oxindoles with arylidene malonates

An organocatalyzed Michael addition-cyclization reaction between 3-isothiocyanatooxindoles and arylidene malonates has been developed for the synthesis of highly functionalized 3,2-pyrrolidinyl spirooxindole derivatives. The reaction was catalyzed by a quinine derived tertiary amino-thiourea based bifunctional catalyst or its pseudo-enantiomeric quinidine derived catalyst providing both the enantiomers of the desired product. The products were obtained in high yields and with excellent diastereo- (up to 99u2009:u20091 dr) and enantioselectivities (up to >99% ee).

On Water Organocatalyzed [4 + 2] Cycloaddition of Enones and Nitro Dienes for the Enantioselective Synthesis of Densely Substituted Cyclohexanones.

An on water hydroquinine-based primary amine-benzoic acid organocatalyst system was found to be best suited to produce 3,4,5-trisubstituted cyclohexanones with a nitro group in the 4-position from enones and nitro dienes under ambient conditions in good yield, with good diastereoselectivity, and with excellent enantioselectivity. An appreciable rate enhancement by water was observed compared to organic solvents. Mechanistic analysis of the reaction suggests that it followed an endo [4 + 2] cycloaddition with enamine of enone as diene and nitro diene as dienophile.

A facile synthesis of 5,5-dideutero-4-dimethyl(phenyl)silyl-6-undecyl-tetrahydropyran-2-one as a deuterium labeled synthon for (-)-tetrahydrolipstatin and (+)-δ-hexadecanolide.

Deuterium-labeled biologically active compounds are gaining importance because they can be utilized as tracers or surrogate compounds to understand the mechanism of action, absorption, distribution, metabolism, and excretion. Deuterated drug molecules (heavy drugs) become novel as well as popular because of better stability and bioavailability compared with their hydrogen analogs. Labeling of organic molecules with deuterium at specific positions is thus gaining popularity. In this work, we have exploited a highly regioselective and enantioselective direct Michael addition of methyl-d3 alkyl ketones to dimethyl(phenyl)silylmethylene malonate that was catalyzed by (S)-N-(2-pyrrolidinylmethyl)pyrrolidine/trifluoroacetic acid/ D2 O combination with high yield and isotopic purity. The 5,5-dideutero-4-dimethyl(phenyl)silyl-6-undecyl-tetrahydropyran-2-one was obtained from the adduct of methyl-d3 undecanyl ketone and dimethyl(phenyl)silylmethylene malonate by a silicon controlled diastereoselective ketone reduction, lactonization, and deethoxycarbonylation. The dideuterated silylated tetrahydropyran-2-one is the precursor for geminal (2) H2 -labeled (+)-4-hydroxy-6-undecyl-tetrahydropyran-2-one, an advanced intermediate for gem-dideutero (-)-tetrahydrolipstatin and (+)-δ-hexadecanolide syntheses.