Grignard Reagent-Catalyzed Hydroboration of Esters, Nitriles, and Imines.

The reduction in esters, nitriles, and imines requires harsh conditions (highly reactive reagents, high temperatures, and pressures) or complex metal-ligand catalytic systems. Catalysts comprising earth-abundant and less toxic elements are desirable from the perspective of green chemistry. In this study, we developed a green hydroboration protocol for the reduction in esters, nitriles, and imines at room temperature (25 °C) using pinacolborane as the reducing agent and a commercially available Grignard reagent as the catalyst. Screening of various alkyl magnesium halides revealed MeMgCl as the optimal catalyst for the reduction. The hydroboration and subsequent hydrolysis of various esters yielded corresponding alcohols over a short reaction time (~0.5 h). The hydroboration of nitriles and imines produced various primary and secondary amines in excellent yields. Chemoselective reduction and density functional theory calculations are also performed. The proposed green hydroboration protocol eliminates the requirements for complex ligand systems and elevated temperatures, providing an effective method for the reduction in esters, nitriles, and imines at room temperature.

DIBALH: from known fundamental to an unusual reaction; chemoselective partial reduction of tertiary amides in the presence of esters.

This study presents a quick and reliable approach to the chemoselective partial reduction of tertiary amides to aldehydes in the presence of readily reducible ester groups using commercial DIBALH reagent. Moreover, the developed method was also extended to multi-functional molecules bearing ester moieties, which were successfully chemoselectively reduced to the corresponding aldehydes.

Catalytic Hydroboration of Aldehydes, Ketones, and Alkenes Using Potassium Carbonate: A Small Key to Big Transformation.

An efficient transition-metal-free protocol for the hydroboration of aldehydes and ketones (reduction) was developed. The hydroboration of a wide range of aldehydes and ketones with pinacolborane (HBpin) under the K2CO3 catalyst has been studied. The reaction system is practical and reliable and proceeds under extremely mild and operationally simple conditions. No prior preparation of the complex metal catalyst was required, and hydroboration occurred stoichiometrically. Further, the chemoselective reduction of aldehydes over ketones was carried out. Moreover, we demonstrated the use of K2CO3 as an efficient catalyst for the hydroboration of alkenes. The operational simplicity, inexpensive and transition-metal-free catalyst, and the applicability to gram-scale synthesis strengthen its potential applications for hydroboration (reduction) at an industrial scale.

Discovery of Novel Pyruvate Dehydrogenase Kinase 4 Inhibitors for Potential Oral Treatment of Metabolic Diseases.

Pyruvate dehydrogenase kinase 4 (PDK4) activation is associated with metabolic diseases including hyperglycemia, insulin resistance, allergies, and cancer. Structural modifications of hit anthraquinone led to the identification of a new series of allosteric PDK4 inhibitors. Among this series, compound 8c showed promising in vitro activity with an IC50 value of 84 nM. Good metabolic stability, pharmacokinetic profiles, and possible metabolites were suggested. Compound 8c improved glucose tolerance in diet-induced obese mice and ameliorated allergic reactions in a passive cutaneous anaphylaxis mouse model. Additionally, compound 8c exhibited anticancer activity by controlling cell proliferation, transformation, and apoptosis. From the molecular docking studies, compound 8c displayed optimal fitting in the lipoamide binding site (allosteric) with a full fitness, providing a new scaffold for drug development toward PDK4 inhibitors.

Alkene hydroboration with pinacolborane catalysed by lithium diisobutyl-tert-butoxyaluminum hydride.

Here we developed a highly efficient alkene hydroboration protocol, showing that various alkyl boronates can be smoothly obtained in good yields by reacting alkenes with pinacolborane (HBpin) in the presence of 5 mol% lithium diisobutyl-tert-butoxyaluminum hydride. The coordination of aluminate ions with lithium cations allowed for effective hydride transfer during hydroboration, and the obtained boronate ester was further used for C-C coupling, trifluoroboronate salt formation, and oxidation to alcohol.