Sebastian Stecko

Direct, Catalytic Synthesis of Carbapenams via Cycloaddition/Rearrangement Cascade Reaction: Unexpected Acetylenes’ Structure Effect

Reactions of acetylenes derived from glyceraldehyde and propargyl aldehyde show remarkable reactivity in Kinugasa cycloaddition/rearrangement cascade process catalyzed by Cu(I) ion. Reactions proceed by formation of a rigid dinuclear copper(I) complex in which each copper ion is coordinated to one or both oxygen atoms in the acetylene molecule and to both triple bonds. It has been demonstrated that one oxygen atom can be replaced by the phenyl ring, which is able to coordinate the copper ion by the aromatic sextet. Kinugasa reactions that proceed in a high yield can also be performed in the presence of a catalytic amount of the copper salt to provide products in an acceptable yield without a decrease of diastereoselectivity.

Asymmetric Kinugasa Reaction of Cyclic Nitrones and Nonracemic Acetylenes

Kinugasa reactions between chiral acetylenes and five-membered nitrones, achiral and bearing a stereogenic center in both enantiomeric forms, proceed in moderate to good yield with high diastereoselectivity affording mostly one dominant product. The first step of the reaction is controlled by the configuration of the nitrone, whereas the protonation of intermediate enolate in the second step depends mainly on the configuration of the bridgehead carbon atom formed in the first step. In the case of the mismatched pair, the configuration at the C-6 center of the carbapenam skeleton may also be affected by the configuration of the stereogenic center in the acetylene portion.

Diastereoselective synthesis of carbapenams via Kinugasa reaction.

A facile approach to carbapenams via Kinugasa reaction between terminal copper acetylides and nonracemic cyclic nitrones derived from malic and tartaric acid is reported. The stereochemical preferences observed in these reactions are explained. The reaction provides an entry to the carbapenams basic skeleton.

Synthesis of pyrrolizidine alkaloids via 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition involving cyclic nitrones and unsaturated lactones

The 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition of cyclic nitrone derived from tartaric acid and (S)-5-hydroxymethyl-2(5H)-furanone leads to a single adduct which was transformed into 2,6-dihydroxyhastanecine via reaction sequence involving reduction of the lactone moiety, glycolic cleavage of the terminal diol, and the N-O hydrogenolysis followed by the intramolecular alkylation of the nitrogen atom.

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.

Synthesis of Polyhydroxylated Piperidine and Pyrrolidine Peptidomimetics via One-Pot Sequential Lactam Reduction/Joullié–Ugi Reaction

A direct approach to the synthesis of polyhydroxylated piperidine and pyrrolidine peptidomimetics is described. The presented strategy is based on one-pot reduction of sugar-derived lactams with Schwartzs reagent followed by a multicomponent Ugi-Joullié reaction.

Synthesis of casuarine-related derivatives via 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition between a cyclic nitrone and an unsaturated γ-lactone

The 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition of the cyclic nitrone derived from tartaric acid and (S)-5-hydroxymethyl-2(5H)-furanone leads to the single adduct 7 which can be transformed into the 3-epi-1-homo-casuarine via a reaction sequence involving reduction of the lactone moiety and N-O bond hydrogenolysis, followed by intramolecular alkylation of the nitrogen atom. The adduct 7 can also be used in the synthesis of 1-methyl- or 3-methyl analogues of 3-epi-casuarine.

Total Synthesis of Ezetimibe, a Cholesterol Absorption Inhibitor

Ezetimibe (1), a strong β-lactamic cholesterol absorption inhibitor, was synthesized from (R)-6-(4-fluorophenyl)-5,6-dihydro-2H-pyran-2-one 7. Independent pathways were analyzed in order to select the optimal one, which involved 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition with C-(4-benzyloxyphenyl)-N-(4-fluorophenyl)-nitrone (8), intramolecular nucleophilic displacement at the benzylic position of the lactone, cleavage of the N-O bond, elimination of a water molecule, hydrogenation of the double bond, rearrangement of the six-membered lactone ring into a β-lactam moiety, and final deprotection of the phenolic hydroxyl group. Highly stereoselective Sc(OTf)3-catalyzed 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition was the most crucial step of the synthesis. Owing to the rigid transition state of the cycloaddition, the absolute configuration of the starting lactone controlled the formation of other stereogenic centers of the final molecule 1.

Total Synthesis of Lacosamide

Total synthesis of anticonvulsant amino acid, lacosamide, is reported. The key step is stereospecific allyl cyanate-to-isocyanate rearrangement, which proceeds with chirality transfer. The enantiopure starting material for the rearrangement step was accessed from ethyl L-lactate.

Synthesis of β- and γ-Hydroxy α-Amino Acids via Enzymatic Kinetic Resolution and Cyanate-to-Isocyanate Rearrangement

A new strategy for stereoselective preparation of all four isomers of β- and γ-hydroxy α-amino acids is presented. The developed procedure is based on enzymatic kinetic resolution and cyanate-to-isocyanate rearrangement as key steps. Stereocontrol is achieved by proper choice of the starting hydroxyacid, the course of kinetic resolution, and the stereospecific sigmatropic rearrangement step, which proceeds with full chirality transfer.