Enantioselective Sulfonimidamide Acylation via a Cinchona Alkaloid-Catalyzed Desymmetrization: Scope, Data Science, and Mechanistic Investigation.

Methods to access chiral sulfur(VI) pharmacophores are of interest in medicinal and synthetic chemistry. We report the desymmetrization of unprotected sulfonimidamides via asymmetric acylation with a cinchona-phosphinate catalyst. The desired products are formed in excellent yield and enantioselectivity with no observed bis-acylation. A data-science-driven approach to substrate scope evaluation was coupled to high throughput experimentation (HTE) to facilitate statistical modeling in order to inform mechanistic studies. Reaction kinetics, catalyst structural studies, and density functional theory (DFT) transition state analysis elucidated the turnover-limiting step to be the collapse of the tetrahedral intermediate and provided key insights into the catalyst-substrate structure-activity relationships responsible for the origin of the enantioselectivity. This study offers a reliable method for accessing enantioenriched sulfonimidamides to propel their application as pharmacophores and serves as an example of the mechanistic insight that can be gleaned from integrating data science and traditional physical organic techniques.

A reliable external calibration method for reaction monitoring with benchtop NMR.

Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy is a powerful analytical technique with the ability to acquire both quantitative and structurally insightful data for multiple components in a test sample. This makes NMR spectroscopy a desirable tool to understand, monitor, and optimize chemical transformations. While quantitative NMR (qNMR) approaches relying on internal standards are well-established, using an absolute external calibration scheme is beneficial for reaction monitoring as resonance overlap complications from an added reference material to the sample can be avoided. Particularly, this type of qNMR technique is of interest with benchtop NMR spectrometers as the likelihood of resonance overlap is only enhanced with the lower magnetic field strengths of the used permanent magnets. The included study describes a simple yet robust methodology to determine concentration conversion factors for NMR systems using single- and multi-analyte linear regression models. This approach is leveraged to investigate a pharmaceutically relevant amide coupling batch reaction. An on-line stopped-flow (i.e., interrupted-flow or paused-flow) benchtop NMR system was used to monitor both the 1,1'-carbonyldiimidazole (CDI) promoted acid activation and the amide coupling. The results highlight how quantitative measurements in benchtop NMR systems can provide valuable information and enable analysts to make decisions in real time.

Mechanistic Investigation of Castagnoli-Cushman Multicomponent Reactions Leading to a Three-Component Synthesis of Dihydroisoquinolones.

The mechanisms for the three- and four-component variants of the Castagnoli-Cushman reaction (CCR) have been investigated. A series of crossover experiments were conducted to probe the structure and reactivity of known amide-acid intermediates for the three- and four-component variants of the CCR (3CR and 4CR, respectively). Control experiments paired with in situ reaction monitoring with infrared spectroscopy for the 4CR align with a mechanism in which amide-acids derived from maleic anhydride can reversibly form free amine and cyclic anhydride. Although this equilibrium is unfavorable, the aldehyde present can trap the primary amine through imine formation and react with the enol form of the anhydride through a Mannich-like mechanism. This detailed mechanistic investigation coupled with additional crossover experiments supports an analogous mechanism for the 3CR and has led to the elucidation of new 3CR conditions with homophthalic anhydride, amines, and aldehydes for the formation of dihydroisoquinolones in good yields and excellent diastereoselectivity. This work represents the culmination of more than a decade of mechanistic speculation for the 3- and 4CR, enabling the design of new multicomponent reactions that exploit this novel mechanism.

A Revised Mechanism for the Kinugasa Reaction.

Detailed kinetic analysis for the Cu(I)-catalyzed Kinugasa reaction forming ß-lactams has revealed an anomalous overall zero-order reaction profile, due to opposing positive and negative orders in nitrone and alkyne, respectively. Furthermore, the reaction displays a second-order dependence on the catalyst, confirming the critical involvement of a postulated bis-Cu complex. Finally, reaction progress analysis of multiple byproducts has allowed a new mechanism, involving a common ketene intermediate to be delineated. Our results demonstrate that ß-lactam synthesis through the Kinugasa reaction proceeds via a cascade involving (3 + 2) cycloaddition, (3 + 2) cycloreversion, and finally (2 + 2) cycloaddition. Our new mechanistic understanding has resulted in optimized reaction conditions to dramatically improve the yield of the target ß-lactams and provides the first consistent mechanistic model to account for the formation of all common byproducts of the Kinugasa reaction.

Ring walking as a regioselectivity control element in Pd-catalyzed C-N cross-coupling.

Ring walking is an important mechanistic phenomenon leveraged in many catalytic C-C bond forming reactions. However, ring walking has been scarcely studied under Buchwald-Hartwig amination conditions despite the importance of such transformations. An in-depth mechanistic study of the Buchwald-Hartwig amination is presented focussing on ligand effects on ring walking behavior. The ability of palladium catalysts to promote or inhibit ring walking is strongly influenced by the chelating nature of the ligand. In stark contrast, the resting state of the catalyst had no impact on ring walking behavior. Furthermore, the complexity of the targeted system enabled the differentiation between catalysts which undergo ring walking versus diffusion-controlled coupling. The insights gained in this study were leveraged to achieve desymmetrization of a tetrabrominated precursor. A small library of asymmetric 2,2',7,7'-tetrakis[N,N-di(4-methoxyphenyl)amino]-9,9'spirobifluorene (SpiroOMeTAD) derivatives were successfully synthesized using this strategy highlighting the ease with which libraries of these compounds can be accessed for screening.

Halide-Accelerated Acyl Fluoride Formation Using Sulfuryl Fluoride.

Herein, we report a new one-pot sequential method for SO2F2-mediated nucleophilic acyl substitution reactions starting from carboxylic acids. A mechanistic study revealed that SO2F2-mediated acid activation proceeds via the anhydride, which is then converted to the corresponding acyl fluoride. Tetrabutylammonium chloride or bromide accelerate the formation of acyl fluoride. Optimized halide-accelerated conditions were used to synthesize acyl fluorides in 30-80% yields, and esters, amides, and thioesters in 72-96% yields without reoptimization for each nucleophile.

Comparison of free-radical inhibiting antioxidant properties of carvedilol and its phenolic metabolites.

Carvedilol is a widely prescribed drug for the treatment of heart failure and the prevention of associated ventricular arrhythmias. It has also been reported to function as a biological antioxidant via hydrogen atom transfer from its carbazole N-H moiety to chain-propagating radicals. Metabolites of the drug include phenolic derivatives, such as 3-hydroxy-, 4'-hydroxy- and 5'-hydroxycarvedilol, which are also potential antioxidants. A comparison of the radical-inhibiting activities of the parent drug and the three metabolites was carried out in two separate assays. In the first, hydrogen atom transfer from these four compounds to the stable radical DPPH was measured by the decrease in the UV-visible absorption at 515 nm of the latter. The known radical inhibitors BHT, 4-hydroxycarbazole and α-tocopherol were employed as benchmarks in parallel experiments. In the second assay, inhibition of the photoinduced free-radical 1,2-addition of Se-phenyl p-tolueneselenosulfonate to cyclopropylacetylene, along with competing ring-opening of the cyclopropane ring, was monitored by 1H NMR spectroscopy in the presence of the carvedilol-based and benchmark antioxidants. In both assays, carvedilol displayed negligible antioxidant activity, while the three metabolites all proved superior radical inhibitors to BHT, with radical-quenching abilities in the order 3-hydroxy- > 5'-hydroxy > 4'-hydroxycarvedilol. Among the metabolites, 3-hydroxycarvedilol displayed even stronger activity in both assays than α-tocopherol, the best of the benchmark antioxidants. These results suggest that the radical-inhibiting antioxidant properties that have been attributed to carvedilol are largely or exclusively due to its metabolites and not to the parent drug itself.