Rishikesh Narayan

Catalytic enantioselective 1,3-dipolar cycloadditions of azomethine ylides for biology-oriented synthesis

Conspectus Cycloaddition reactions are among the most powerful methods for the synthesis of complex compounds. In particular, the development and application of the 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition, an important member of this reaction class, has grown immensely due to its powerful ability to efficiently build various five-membered heterocycles. Azomethine ylides are commonly used as dipoles for the synthesis of the pyrrolidine scaffold, which is an important motif in natural products, pharmaceuticals, and biological probes. The reaction between azomethine ylides and cyclic dipolarophiles allows access to polycyclic products with considerable complexity. The extensive application of the 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition is based on the fact that the desired products can be obtained with high yield in a regio- and stereocontrolled manner. The most attractive feature of the 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition of azomethine ylides is the possibility to generate pyrrolidines with multiple stereocenters in a single step. The development of enantioselective cycloadditions became a subject of intensive and impressive studies in recent years. Among many modes of stereoinduction, the application of chiral metal–ligand complexes has emerged as the most viable option for control of enantioselectivity. In chemical biology research based on the principle of biology-oriented synthesis (BIOS), compound collections are prepared inspired by natural product scaffolds. In BIOS, biological relevance is employed as the key criterion to generate hypotheses for the design and synthesis of focused compound libraries. In particular, the underlying scaffolds of natural product classes provide inspiration for BIOS because they define the areas of chemical space explored by nature, and therefore, they can be regarded as “privileged”. The scaffolds of natural products are frequently complex and rich in stereocenters, which necessitates the development of efficient enantioselective methodologies. This Account highlights examples, mostly from our work, of the application of 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition reactions of azomethine ylides for the catalytic enantioselective synthesis of complex products. We successfully applied the 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition in the synthesis of spiro-compounds such as spirooxindoles, for kinetic resolution of racemic compounds in the synthesis of an iridoid inspired compound collection and in the synthesis of a nitrogen-bridged bicyclic tropane scaffold by application of 1,3-fused azomethine ylides. Furthermore, we performed the synthesis of complex molecules with eight stereocenters using tandem cycloadditions. In a programmable sequential double cycloaddition, we demonstrated the synthesis of both enantiomers of complex products by simple changes in the order of addition of chemicals. Complex products were obtained using enantioselective higher order [6 + 3] cycloaddition of azomethine ylides with fulvenes followed by Diels–Alder reaction. The bioactivity of these compound collections is also discussed.

Metal-Free Oxidative C-C Bond Formation through C-H Bond Functionalization.

The formation of C-C bonds embodies the core of organic chemistry because of its fundamental application in generation of molecular diversity and complexity. C-C bond-forming reactions are well-known challenges. To achieve this goal through direct functionalization of C-H bonds in both of the coupling partners represents the state-of-the-art in organic synthesis. Oxidative C-C bond formation obviates the need for prefunctionalization of both substrates. This Minireview is dedicated to the field of C-C bond-forming reactions through direct C-H bond functionalization under completely metal-free oxidative conditions. Selected important developments in this area have been summarized with representative examples and discussions on their reaction mechanisms.

Catalytic enantioselective synthesis of functionalized tropanes reveals novel inhibitors of hedgehog signaling.

Dipolar cycloaddition: A highly efficient copper(I)-catalyzed enantioselective [3+2] cycloaddition reaction of 1,3-fused cyclic azomethine ylides and nitroalkenes has been developed. This method provides access to functionalized tropane scaffolds with several quaternary and tertiary stereocenters in a single step under mild reaction conditions.

Rhodium(III)-Catalyzed Direct Oxidative Cross Coupling at the C5 Position of Chromones with Alkenes

An atom-economical, Rh(III)-catalyzed, direct oxidative cross-coupling at the C5 position of chromones and flavones with a broad range of alkenes was developed. The products were formed in a highly regioselective manner in good to excellent yields. The developed method was applied in the cross-coupling of natural products for the synthesis of hybrid molecules.

Oxidative regioselective amination of chromones exposes potent inhibitors of the hedgehog signaling pathway

A transition metal-free, oxidative, regioselective cross-coupling between non-functionalized azoles and chromones at C2-position was developed. A broad reaction scope and further transformation of products were demonstrated. The biological evaluation of products revealed a novel class of hedgehog signaling pathway inhibitors.