Uxue Uria

Organocatalytic enantioselective aza-Michael reaction of nitrogen heterocycles and α,β-unsaturated aldehydes

The asymmetric organocatalytic aza-Michael reaction of several nitrogen heterocycles and α,β-unsaturated aldehydes has been studied in detail; under the optimised conditions, the conjugate addition products have been obtained in high to excellent enantioselectivities.

Organocatalytic Enantioselective Synthesis of Highly Functionalized Polysubstituted Pyrrolidines

The organocatalytic conjugate addition of different aldehydes to beta-nitroacrolein dimethyl acetal, generating the corresponding highly functionalized nitroaldehydes in high yields and with high stereoselectivities, has been studied in detail. These transformations have been achieved by using both readily available starting materials in a 1:1 ratio as well as commercially available catalysts at a 10 mol % catalyst loading. Furthermore, a very short and efficient protocol has been devised for the preparation of highly enantioenriched pyrrolidines containing two or three contiguous stereocenters starting from the obtained Michael adducts. 3,4-Disubstituted pyrrolidines have been obtained in a single step by Zn-mediated chemoselective reduction of the nitro group followed by intramolecular reductive amination, and trisubstituted homoproline derivatives have been prepared by means of an olefination reaction and a cascade process involving chemoselective reduction of the nitro group followed by a fully diastereoselective intramolecular aza- Michael reaction.

Enantio- and Diastereoselective Synthesis of Substituted Tetrahydro-1H-isochromanes through a Dynamic Kinetic Resolution Proceeding under Dienamine Catalysis

Racemic 5-acyloxydihydropyranones react with enolizable α,β-unsaturated aldehydes in the presence of a chiral secondary amine catalyst furnishing a wide range of differently substituted tetrahydro-1H-isochromanes with excellent results. The reaction relies on the activation of the enal by the catalyst through the formation of a dienamine intermediate, which undergoes a Diels-Alder/elimination cascade reaction. Moreover, the overall transformation also results in a highly efficient dynamic kinetic resolution process, furnishing the final adducts in high yields and excellent diastereo- and enantioselectivities.

Enantioselective Conjugate Addition of Donor–Acceptor Hydrazones to α,β-Unsaturated Aldehydes through Formal Diaza–Ene Reaction: Access to 1,4-Dicarbonyl Compounds

Donor-acceptor monosubstituted hydrazones participate as suitable reagents able to undergo an enantioselective formal diaza-ene reaction with α,β-unsaturated aldehydes under chiral secondary amine catalysis. This constitutes a new approach for the enantioselective conjugate addition of hydrazones to enals under metal-free conditions and leads to the formation of γ-hydrazono carboxylic acids after oxidation/[1,3]-H shift. The methodology is also useful for the synthesis of enantioenriched β-substituted α-keto-1,5-diesters by using the hydrazone moiety as a masked carbonyl group.

Catalytic Enantioselective [5+2] Cycloaddition between Oxidopyrylium Ylides and Enals under Dienamine Activation

Benzopyrylium ylides generated in situ from 1-acetoxyisochroman-4-ones reacted with α,β-unsaturated aldehydes in the presence of a bifunctional secondary-amine/squaramide catalyst to furnish [5+2] cycloaddition products in good yield with high diastereo- and enantioselectivity. The reaction proceeds by dienamine activation and involves β,γ-functionalization of the enal. The dienamine intermediates showed exclusive β,γ-reactivity and provided direct access to compounds with the 8-oxabicyclo[3.2.1]octane framework. The ability of the bifunctional secondary-amine/squaramide catalyst to engage in hydrogen-bonding interactions with the ylide made it particularly effective in terms of both the yield and the stereoselectivity of the transformation.

Favoring Trienamine Activation through Unconjugated Dienals: Organocatalytic Enantioselective Remote Functionalization of Alkenes

Unconjugated 2,5-dienals are more reactive substrates than the corresponding fully conjugated α,β,γ,δ-unsaturated aldehydes towards organocatalytic activation through trienamine intermediates. This difference in reactivity has been demonstrated in the Diels-Alder reaction with nitroalkenes, a reaction that proceeds with clean β,ε-selectivity to afford the final products in high yields and stereoselectivities, the related polyconjugated 2,4-dienals being completely unreactive.

5-Mercaptotetrazoles as Synthetic Equivalents of Nitrogen-Contaning Functional Groups. The Case of the Organocatalytic Enantioselective aza-Michael Reaction

5-Mercaptotetrazoles have been identified as useful and versatile Michael donors in enantioselective amine-catalyzed aza-Michael reactions with α,β-unsaturated aldehydes, showing excellent behavior as N-nucleophiles instead of their usual trend to react as S-nucleophiles. In addition several unprecedented chemical modifications on the tetrazolothione moiety have been carried out leading to the enantioselective preparation of different compounds incorporating nitrogen-containing functionalities such as oxazinimines, formamidines, ureas and isoureas.

Organocatalytically Generated Donor–Acceptor Cyclopropanes in Domino Reactions. One-Step Enantioselective Synthesis of Pyrrolo[1,2-a]quinolines

An easy and straightforward procedure has been developed for the synthesis of highly enantioenriched pyrrolo[1,2-a]quinolines through a one-pot process that comprises a domino cyclopropane ring opening/aza-Michael/aldol reaction followed by acid-promoted lactamization. The key feature of the synthetic approach relies on the ability of conveniently functionalized cyclopropaneacetaldehydes to undergo organocatalytic activation by a chiral secondary amine that enables the catalytic generation of a donor-acceptor cyclopropane. This intermediate has the potential to undergo a ring opening that generates an electrophilic α,β-unsaturated iminium ion that subsequently reacts through the already mentioned domino sequence and in which stereochemical information is very efficiently transferred from the amine catalyst to the final products. Moreover, one of the alkoxycarbonyl moieties can be easily removed by standard hydrolysis/decarboxylation, providing access to the target adducts as single stereoisomers.

Ethyl glyoxylate N-tosylhydrazone as sulfonyl-transfer reagent in base-catalyzed sulfa-Michael reactions.

Ethyl glyoxylate N-tosylhydrazone has been identified as an excellent sulfonyl anion surrogate in the DBU-catalyzed conjugate addition reaction with enones and enals for the synthesis of functionalized sulfones. The reaction proceeds under base-catalyzed conditions and provides a direct access to γ-keto- and γ-hydroxy sulfones in a simple and reliable way through a sulfa-Michael reaction that proceeds with high yield and chemoselectivity.

Enantioselective Synthesis of Tertiary Propargylic Alcohols under N‐Heterocyclic Carbene Catalysis

A straightforward procedure to carry out the enantioselective benzoin reaction between aldehydes and ynones by employing a chiral N-heterocyclic carbene (NHC) as catalyst was developed. Under the optimized reaction conditions, these ynones undergo a clean and selective 1,2-addition with the catalytically generated Breslow intermediate, not observing any byproduct arising from competitive Stetter-type reactivity. This procedure allows the preparation of tertiary alkynyl carbinols as highly enantioenriched materials, which have the remarkable potential to be used as chiral building blocks in organic synthesis.