Yukihiro Arakawa

Enamine Catalysis in Flow with an Immobilized Peptidic Catalyst

Pep talk: An immobilized peptidic catalyst achieves more than 600 turnovers in a continuous-flow system, allowing the production of chiral γ-nitroaldehydes with excellent stereoselectivities on a scale of >450 mmol (>100 g). Such a high efficiency opens the way for more practical applications of enamine catalysis.

Organocatalytic stereoselective synthesis of acyclic γ-nitrothioesters with all-carbon quaternary stereogenic centers.

A method for the stereoselective synthesis of acyclic thioesters bearing adjacent quaternary and tertiary stereogenic centers under mild organocatalytic conditions was developed. α-Substituted monothiomalonates (MTMs) were used as thioester enolate equivalents. They reacted cleanly with nitroolefins in the presence of 1-6 mol % of cinchona alkaloid urea derivatives, and provided access to γ-nitrothioesters with quaternary stereocenters in high yields and diastereo- and enantioselectivities. Mechanistic investigations provided insight into the parameters that determine the stereoselectivity and showed that the diastereoselectivity can be controlled by the nature of the MTM substrate. The different reactivities of the three functional groups (oxoester, thioester, nitro moieties) within the conjugate addition products allowed for straightforward access to other compounds with quaternary stereogenic centers, such as γ-nitroaldehydes and γ-butyrolactams.

Synthesis of polymers containing chiral 1,2-diamine derivatives and their application to asymmetric reactions*

Polymer-supported chiral 1,2-diamine derivatives have been prepared. The polymers containing free 1,2-diamine moiety were applied to enantioselective hydrogenation catalyst by combination with RuCl2-BINAP complex. Asymmetric hydrogenation of aromatic ketones was performed by means of the polymeric catalyst derived from these polymers to give the chiral secondary alcohols with high ee in quantitative conversion. The polymers containing 1,2-diamine monosulfonamide were applied to enantioselective transfer hydrogenation catalyst by combination with RuCl2-p-cymene complex. Asymmetric transfer hydrogenation of aromatic ketones was performed by means of the polymeric catalyst to afford the chiral secondary alcohols. A high level of enantioselectivities up to 99 % ee was attained in neat water by using the polymeric catalyst prepared from quaternary ammonium salt-type polymer support.

Facile Preparation of Flavinium Organocatalysts

We developed a safe, simple, inexpensive, and environmentally benign method for preparing N(5)-ethylated flavinium organocatalysts without using hazardous reagents or inert conditions as previously required. 5-Ethyl-3-methyllumiflavinium cation was prepared from its reduced form by NaNO2 -free aerobic oxidation, which was subsequently extracted onto commercial cation-exchange resins under NaClO4 -free conditions. The resulting resin-immobilized flavinium salts were found to be effective organocatalysts for aerobic oxidation reactions.

Advanced flavin catalysts elaborated with polymers

AbstractA variety of biological redox reactions are mediated by flavoenzymes due to the unique redox activity of isoalloxazine ring systems, which are found in flavin cofactors. In the field of synthetic organic chemistry, the term “flavin” is generally used for not only isoalloxazines but also related molecules including their isomers and some analogs, and those having catalytic activity are called flavin catalyst. Flavin catalysts are typically metal-free, and their catalytic activity can be readily accessed using mild terminal oxidants such as H2O2 and O2; therefore, redox reactions with these compounds have great promise as alternatives to reactions with conventional metal catalysts for the sustainable production of important chemicals. We recently became interested in using polymers for the development of flavin catalysts, especially to improve their practicality and advance the field of catalysis. Here, we summarize our recent research on such flavin–polymer collaborations including the development of facile preparation methods for flavin catalysts using polymers, readily reusable polymer-supported flavin catalysts, and flavin–peptide–polymer hybrids that can catalyze the first flavoenzyme-mimetic aerobic oxygenation reactions.Flavin catalysts are typically metal-free, and their catalytic activity can be readily accessed using mild terminal oxidants such as H2O2 and O2; therefore, redox reactions with these compounds have great promise as alternatives to reactions with conventional metal catalysts for the sustainable production of important chemicals. Herein, our recent research on flavin catalysts including the development of facile preparation methods for flavin catalysts using polymers, readily reusable polymer-supported flavin catalysts, and flavin-peptide-polymer hybrids that can catalyze the first flavoenzyme-mimetic aerobic oxygenation reactions is summarized.