Troy E. Reynolds

Highly Diastereo- and Enantioselective Additions of Homoenolates to Nitrones Catalyzed by N-Heterocyclic Carbenes

The diastereo- and enantioselective addition of N-heterocyclic carbene-generated homoenolates to nitrones is reported. This formal [3 + 3] addition of α,β-unsaturated aldehydes and nitrones generates unusual morpholinone heterocycles which are converted into γ-hydroxy amino esters by addition of methanol to the reaction. The use of a chiral N-heterocyclic carbene (NHC) as the catalyst provides the amino esters in high diastereoselectivity (up to 20:1 dr) and enantioselectivity (up to 94%). The process accommodates α,β-unsaturated aldehydes with β-alkyl and β-aryl substituents. The γ-hydroxy amino esters can be converted to optically enriched γ-lactams by a two-step procedure involving mild reduction of the N−O bond and acid-catalyzed amide formation.

Lewis Acid-Catalyzed Conjugate Additions of Silyloxyallenes: A Selective Solution to the Intermolecular Rauhut−Currier Problem

Silyloxyallenes serve as highly useful alpha-acylvinyl anion equivalents. These latent allenolates undergo conjugate additions to alkylidene malonates in the presence of 10 mol % Sc(OTf) 3. The reaction delivers intermolecular Rauhut-Currier products in excellent yields and regioselectivities for a wide scope of substrates. Notably, the formal cross-coupling of two different alpha,beta-unsaturated carbonyl compounds (a cross Rauhut-Currier reaction) is achieved. Preliminary investigations have demonstrated good levels of enantioselectivity for the addition of a racemic silyloxyallene with a chiral Lewis acid.

Enantioselective synthesis of substituted indanones from silyloxyallenes.

A new approach for the synthesis of enantioenriched indanones by asymmetric carbonyl-ene/intramolecular Heck cyclization from racemic silyloxyallenes has been developed. The modular procedure affords highly substituted indenes and indanones with excellent chirality transfer from the optically active carbinols. Full transfer of stereochemical information is achieved in the presence of 1,2,2,6,6-pentamethylpiperidine and PdCl(2)(PPh(3))(2) (1 mol %) in DMF under microwave heating. Short reaction times and high yields have been demonstrated on a variety of substrates.

Highly Selective α-Acylvinyl Anion Additions to Imines

alpha-Hydroxypropargylsilanes undergo rearrangement to form reactive lithium allenolates. The resulting alpha-acylvinyl anion equivalents undergo highly selective additions to N-tert-butanesulfinyl imines generating beta-substituted aza-MBH-type products. High yields are achieved for a wide range of alpha-hydroxypropargylsilanes as well as for a diverse selection of imines. The reactions proceed with good to excellent diastereoselectivity and regioselectivity (8-20:1 major/ Sigma minor) favoring the Z-isomer of the alkene.