Passerini Reactions on Biocatalytically Derived Chiral Azetidines.

The purpose of this study was to explore a series of Passerini reactions on a biocatalytically derived enantiopure azetidine-2-carboxyaldehyde in order to obtain, in a diastereoselective manner, polyfunctionalised derivatives having the potential to be cyclized to chiral bridged bicyclic nitrogen heterocycles. While diastereoselectivity was poor under classical Passerini conditions, a significant increase of diastereoselectivity (up to 76:24) was gained by the use of zinc bromide as promoter. The methodology has a broad scope and yields are always good.

Enantio- and diastereoselective synthesis of highly substituted benzazepines by a multicomponent strategy coupled with organocatalytic and enzymatic procedures.

Enantiomerically pure 4,5-dihydro-1H-benzo[c]azepines with three contiguous stereogenic centers have been assembled by convergent strategy with a good control of diastereoselectivity. The two steps are as follows: an asymmetric organocatalytic Mannich reaction performed on Boc-imines of o-(azidomethyl)benzaldehydes, followed by a one-pot Staudinger/aza-Wittig/Ugi-Joullié sequence. The latter reaction represents one of the first examples of diastereoselective Ugi three-component reaction on a seven-membered cyclic imine. The o-azidomethylbenzaldehydes have been synthesized employing a simple and efficient chemoenzymatic strategy from commercially available building blocks.

Synthesis of Vinyl Isocyanides and Development of a Convertible Isonitrile.

The reaction of isocyanomethylenetriphenylphosphorane, generated in situ from the corresponding phosphonium salt, with a diverse set of aldehydes afforded vinyl isocyanides in good to high yields. Excellent E-selectivity was observed for aliphatic aldehydes and 2,6-disubstituted aromatic aldehydes, whereas Z-olefins were formed predominantly with ortho-substituted aryl aldehydes. (Z)-1-Bromo-2-(2-isocyanovinyl)benzene (5l) was found to be a truly universal isonitrile since, after Ugi reaction, the resulting secondary amide unit (RNHCO-) is convertible under both acidic and basic conditions. The application of 5l in the synthesis of polyheterocycles is also illustrated.