Synthesis of 2-carboxymethyl polyhydroxyazepanes and their evaluation as glycosidase inhibitors.

A series of diastereomeric tetrahydroxylated azepanes featuring a carboxymethyl group at the pseudo-anomeric position have been synthesized from a common unsaturated intermediate. Syn- and anti-dihydroxylation reactions were achieved to yield the target compounds after efficient one-step deprotection of carbamate, ester and acetonide groups simultaneously. Screening of these polyhydroxylated azepanes toward a range of commercially available glycosidases was performed and one of the stereoisomers showed potent and selective inhibition toward ß-galactosidase (IC50=21 µM).

The role of the counterion and of silicon chelation in the selective mono(trifluoromethylation) of tartaric acid derived 1,4-diketones.

The addition of trifluoromethyl(trimethyl)silane (TFMTMS) to tartaric acid derived aromatic 1,4-diketones was reported to be highly stereoselective but also chemoselective towards a monoaddition product. This chemoselectivity remained unexplained. Complementary experiments and monitoring of the reaction by electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (ESI-MS) show that: i) the countercation (tetrabutylammonium (TBA(+)) or Cs(+)) associated to the initiator and the charged intermediates in the chain reaction plays a crucial role and ii) in the case of a tetrabutylammonium salt initiator, the second addition on the preformed monoadduct does occur but the resulting bis(trifluoromethyl)carbinolate is unable to evolve through the chain-transfer process and it exhibits an intramolecular Si-O interaction.

Enantiomerically pure 2-aryl(alkyl)-2-trifluoromethylaziridines: synthesis and ring opening with selected O- and N-nucleophiles.

We report herein the synthesis of enantiomerically pure 2-phenyl- and 2-ethyl-2-trifluoromethylaziridines by Mitsunobu-type cyclisation of the corresponding N-protected amino alcohols, and our results regarding their ring opening with selected nucleophiles. Under basic conditions, N-tosyl aziridines have been regioselectively opened at the less hindered carbon. Under acidic conditions, the regioselectivity of the attack depends on the nature of the substituent at C-2 and on the nitrogen protecting group.

Synthesis of trifluoromethyl cyclohexyl, cyclohexenyl and aryl compounds via stepwise Robinson annulation.

The diketone 2-fluoro-2-(trifluoromethyl)-1-phenylhexane-1,5-dione 3 was synthesized by a Mukaiyama Michael type reaction from the corresponding tetrafluoroenol silyl ether prepared from pentafluoropropiophenone. This diketone was treated under basic conditions and was converted, depending on the stoichiometry of the base, into the surprisingly stable ketol 4-fluoro-4-(trifluoromethyl)-3-hydroxy-3-phenylcyclohexanone 4 as a single diastereomer (catalytic KOH) or to the biphenylol 6-(trifluoromethyl)biphenyl-3-ol (excess KOH, THF) 5. Solvolysis of the trifluoromethyl group (anionic activation) occurred using excess KOH in alcohol. The corresponding cyclohexenone derivative 7, the usual product of Robinson annulation, might be prepared in good yield via mesylation of the ketol. Thus various unprecedented fluorinated cyclohexane and aromatic derivatives were achieved in a few steps from the commercially available pentafluoropropiophenone.

Development of agriculture left-overs: fine organic chemicals from wheat hemicellulose-derived pentoses.

This review is dedicated to wheat hemicelluloses and its main components D-xylose and L-arabinose as raw materials for fine organic chemistry. The context of the wheat agro-industry, its by-products, and extraction and hydrolysis of hemicelluloses to produce the pentoses are considered. The straightforward preparation of pentose-based surfactants, their properties, and their situation in the field of carbohydrate-based surfactants are addressed. Multistep transformations of pentoses are also described, first from a methodology point of view, with the aim of producing multifunctional enantiopure building-blocks, then considering targeted natural and/or bioactive products. Selected reactions of furfural, an important dehydration product of pentoses, are also presented.

Enantiopure quaternary alpha-trifluoromethyl-alpha-alkoxyaldehydes from L-tartaric acid derived ketoamides.

The diastereoselective nucleophilic trifluoromethylation of a range of ketoamides derived from L-tartaric acid has been studied. TMSCF3 in the presence of a catalytic amount of K2CO3 in DMF has been identified as the conditions leading to the highest diastereoselectivities. A sequential one-pot reaction trifluoromethylation-etherification of the trifluoromethylcarbinol has been developed. Only one further one-pot reaction, ketal hydrolysis-oxidative cleavage, led to the final alpha-trifluoromethylated alpha-alkoxyaldehydes. This procedure was applied to the preparation of a series of enantiopure aryl, heteroaryl, and alkyl alpha-trifluoromethyl-alpha-alkoxyaldehydes.

Convenient conversion of wheat hemicelluloses pentoses (D-xylose and L-arabinose) into a common intermediate.

The transformation of D-xylose and L-arabinose, the two major components of wheat straw and bran, into a unique multifunctional, optically pure, five-carbon synthon has been achieved. The synthetic sequence requires three steps: suitable protection of the hydroxyl groups of the pentoses, introduction of an iodide at the C-5 position and zinc-mediated opening of the furanose ring leading to the formation of a common substituted pent-4-enal.

New three-step domino reaction, "thiophilic addition-beta-elimination of fluoride-[3,3] sigmatropic rearrangement": Synthesis of alpha-allylic and alpha,alpha-bis(allylic) alpha-trifluoromethyl dithioesters.

The three-step domino reaction, "thiophilic addition of an organomagnesium reagent onto dithioester-beta-elimination of fluoride-[3,3] sigmatropic rearrangement", provides the product of formal regiospecific substitution of a fluorine atom by an allyl group. This mild and versatile methodology was applied to the synthesis of various alpha-allylic and alpha,alpha-bis(allylic) alpha-trifluoromethyl dithioesters.

Thermodynamic and spectroscopic studies of copper (II) complexes with three bis(amide) ligands derived from L-tartaric acid.

The interactions of three bis(amide) ligands derived from tartaric acid with copper (II) were investigated in aqueous solution by a combination of potentiometry, UV-vis spectrophotometry, electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR), and mass spectrometry. The formation constants of the complexes were measured and their relative structures were reported. The sites of complexation of these ligands are investigated based mostly on their electronic and EPR spectra and on the comparison with the behaviour of some analog compounds.

New 6-oxa-2-silabicyclo[2.2.0]hexanes by photochemical conversion of acyl(allyl)(dimethyl)silanes.

Under UV irradiation in acetonitrile, acyl(allyl)silanes undergo an intramolecular (2+2) cycloaddition (Paternò-Büchi type reaction) to give unprecedented 1-alkyl-6-oxa-2-silabicyclo[2.2.0] hexanes.

Umpolung reactivity of difluoroenol silyl ethers with amines and amino alcohols. application to the synthesis of enantiopure alpha-difluoromethyl amines and amino acids.

Difluoroenol silyl ethers, produced in situ from acylsilanes and CF3TMS, react as electrophiles with amines to give difluoroimines, via the corresponding hemiaminal adduct, as evidenced by 19F NMR spectroscopy. Reaction with (R)-phenylglycinol led to 2-difluoromethyloxazolidines. After separation of the diastereomers, reduction with LAH and Strecker-type synthesis gave enantiopure alpha-difluoromethylamines and alpha-difluoromethyl-alpha-amino acids, respectively.

Compared behavior of 5-deoxy-5-iodo-D-xylo- and L-arabinofuranosides in the reductive elimination reaction: a strong dependence on structural parameters and on the presence of Zn2+. A combined experimental and theoretical investigation.

In the framework of a project devoted to the chemical transformation of monosaccharides from hemicelluloses into higher added value materials, the zinc-induced reductive elimination from 5-deoxy-5-iodo derivatives of D-xylose and L-arabinose was carried out. This study gave us the opportunity to observe surprising behaviors. In particular, the reaction strongly depends on structural parameters (protecting group pattern, configuration at C-4) and on the presence of Zn2+ ions. Collaterally with the experimental work, water solvent PCM HF-DFT (MPW1K/LANL2DZ) computations were performed to obtain insight into the mechanism for the reductive part of the reaction sequence. Without Zn2+, the zinc insertion reaction was found to proceed through a concerted but non-synchronous process involving a relatively large energy barrier (32 kcal mol-1) that directly leads to the presumed organozinc intermediate. In the presence of Zn2+, a three-step mechanism was identified in which the cation coordinates the anomeric and ring oxygen atoms and also the sugar iodine atom, causing an activating effect on the zinc insertion process by facilitating the homolytic rupture of the C-I bond. Complexes between zinc and Zn2+ bound carbohydrates were characterized with large stabilization energies, suggesting that Zn2+ might enhance the affinity of the organic compound with the zinc metal surface.

Synthesis of enantiopure trifluoromethyl building blocks via a highly chemo- and diastereoselective nucleophilic trifluoromethylation of tartaric acid-derived diketones.

A highly diastereoselective nucleophilic mono(trifluoromethylation) of a tartaric acid-based diketone, using trifluoromethyl(trimethyl)silane, afforded the corresponding gamma-keto trifluoromethylcarbinol. The scope and limitation of this reaction was studied. The acidic removal of the acetonide moiety protecting the two hydroxyl groups of the adducts was unsuccessful. Bis(O-methylation) of the aromatic derivatives under basic conditions, followed by acidic hydrolysis and oxidative cleavage, led to two different enantiopure products: an alpha-aryl-alpha-methoxy-alpha-trifluoromethyl ethanal and an alpha-aryl-alpha-methoxycarboxylic acid. The overall process is eventually an interesting way to convert one natural chiral raw material into two functionalized enantiopure building blocks including a trifluoromethyl one.

Synthesis of a new polyfluorinated vinylogue of tetrathiafulvalene through 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition of ethyl beta-bromoperfluorodithiocrotonate with dimethyl acetylenedicarboxylate.

The ethyl ester of beta-bromoperfluorodithiocrotonic acid reacts with dimethyl acetylenedicarboxylate to give 1,4-difluoro-2,3-bis(trifluoromethyl)-but-2-ene-1,4-diylidene-2,2'-bis(4',5'-dicarbomethoxy-1',3'-dithiole) (4), a new type of vinylogue of tetrathiafulvalene. The thermal transformations of this compound lead, depending on the temperature, to the formation of the cyclization products: 11,14-difluoro-2,3,8,9-tetra(carbomethoxy)-12,13-bis(trifluoromethyl)-1,4,7,10-tetrathiadispiro[4.0.4.4]tetradeca-2,8,11,13-tetraene (8) or 5,8-difluoro-6,7-bis(trifluoromethyl)-2,3-bis(carboxymethyl)-1,4-benzodithiine (11).