Access to ß2-Amino Acids via Enantioselective 1,4-Arylation of ß-Nitroacrylates Catalyzed by Chiral Rhodium Catalysts.

The highly enantioselective conjugate addition of a variety of arylboronic acids to ß-nitroacrylates is reported to provide optically active α-aryl ß-nitropropionates in up to 70% yields and >99.5% ee's, which are useful building blocks for preparing chiral ß2-amino acids. The applicability of this transformation is demonstrated by converting 3aa into the ß2-amino acid 5 and transforming 3ap to ß-amino ester 7 via reduction and reductive N-alkylation. The latter compound is a precursor for preparing ent-ipatasertib.

Planar-Chiral Phosphine-Olefin Ligands Exploiting a (Cyclopentadienyl)manganese(I) Scaffold To Achieve High Robustness and High Enantioselectivity.

A series of 2-methyl-1,3-propenylene-bridged (η5-diarylphosphinocyclopentadienyl)(phosphine)manganese(I) dicarbonyl complexes 2 have been developed as a new class of phosphine-olefin ligands based on a planar-chiral transition-metal scaffold, which show better robustness as well as higher enantioselectivity over phosphine-olefin ligands 1 with a planar-chiral (η6-arene)chromium(0) framework. The practical enantiospecific and scalable synthesis of 2 has been established. Phosphine-olefin ligands 2 enable construction of an effective chiral environment around a transition-metal center upon coordination, and thus their rhodium(I) complexes exhibit excellent catalytic performance in the various asymmetric addition reactions of arylboron nucleophiles. Complex 2b, which has a bis(3,5-dimethylphenyl)phosphino group on the cyclopentadienyl ring, is found to be a superior chiral ligand in the rhodium-catalyzed asymmetric 1,4-addition reactions of arylboronic acids to various cyclic/acyclic enones giving the corresponding arylation products in over 99% ee. On the other hand, 2c and 2d, which have bis[3,5-bis(trifluoromethyl)phenyl]phosphino and bis(3,5-di-tert-buthyl-4-methoxyphenyl)phosphino groups, respectively, are highly efficient chiral ligands in the rhodium-catalyzed asymmetric 1,2-addition reactions of the arylboron nucleophiles to imines or aldehydes showing up to 99.9% ee. The X-ray crystallographic studies of (R)-2b and [RhCl((S*)-2b)]2 reveal the absolute configuration of 2b and its phosphine-olefin bidentate coordination to a rhodium(I) cation. Structural comparison with [RhCl((R*)-1b)]2 postulates the origins of the higher enantioselectivity of newly developed phosphine-olefin ligands 2.

Synthesis of Quaternary-Carbon-Containing ß2,2 -Amino Acids by the RhI -Catalyzed Enantioselective Arylation of α-Substituted ß-Nitroacrylates.

An enantioselective RhI -catalyzed conjugate addition reaction of α-substituted ß-nitroacrylates with various arylboronic acids by using chiral RhI diene catalysts is described for the first time. The addition reaction proceeds under mild conditions in a range of common organic solvents and additives, and it affords the corresponding quaternary-carbon-containing α,α-disubstituted ß-nitropropionate products in up to 63 % yield and 99 % ee. Reaction of either (E)- or (Z)-ß-nitroacrylates provided the same enantiomer of the product, and a range of esters and aryl groups were tolerated. To demonstrate the utility of the method, ethyl (R)-1,1-methyl-1-phenyl-3-nitropropionate, prepared herein, was converted to the non-proteinogenic ß2,2 -amino acid, (R)-2-(aminomethyl)-2-phenylpropanoic acid, and to the ß2,2 -lactam, (R)-3-methyl-3-phenylazetidin-2-one. In addition, a tripeptide, which comprised l-phenylalanine, l-alanine, and ß2,2 -amino acid 7, was also synthesized.

Asymmetric Synthesis of Functionalized Phenylalanine Derivatives via Rh-Catalyzed Conjugate Addition and Enantioselective Protonation Cascade.

The asymmetric conjugate addition of arylboronic acids to N-phthalimidodehydroalanine 1i catalyzed by Rh(I)/L1a enables the facile preparation of chiral functionalized phenylalanines. The reaction proceeds by a conjugate addition and enantioselective protonation cascade, affording a rhodium enolate that undergoes re-face protonation. The reaction tolerates various arylboronic acids and can be used in the gram-scale synthesis of (S)-phenylalanine hydrochloride, demonstrating the reaction scope and the synthetic feasibility of the process.

Asymmetric Synthesis of ß-Aryl ß-Imido Sulfones Using Rhodium Catalysts with Chiral Diene Ligands: Synthesis of Apremilast.

A chiral rhodium(I)-diene catalyst enabled the one-step synthesis of ß-aryl ß-imido sulfones under mild reaction conditions. By selection of the chiral diene ligand L1a or L2, each enantiomer of the chiral ß-aryl ß-imido sulfone target can be accessed with high stereoselectivity. Demonstration of the scope of the reaction, which includes the synthesis of an N-protected chiral ß-amino ß-phenyl sulfone, culminated with the efficient synthesis of the heteroatom-rich active pharmaceutical ingredient apremilast.

Rh-Catalyzed Enantioselective Allylation of N-Tosyl- and N-Nosylaldimines: Total Synthesis of (-)-Crispine A.

The unprecedented development of asymmetric Rh-catalyzed 1,2-allylation of N-Ts- and N-Ns-aldimines is achieved. This protocol utilizes potassium allyltrifluoroborates and various aldimines to generate enantioenriched homoallylic amines in the presence of 3.0 mol % of Rh(I)/L1b catalyst with up to 90% yield, 98% ee (R = H), and 10:1 diastereoselectivity (R = Me or Ph), yielding the same major diastereomer when using potassium (E)- and (Z)-crotyltrifluoroborate. Its synthetic utility is also illustrated in the total synthesis of (-)-crispine A.