Rhodium(III)-Catalyzed C-H/O2 Dual Activation and Macrocyclization: Synthesis and Evaluation of Pyrido[2,1-a]isoindole Grafted Macrocyclic Inhibitors for Influenza H1N1.

The development of environment-friendly, step economic couplings to generate structurally diverse macrocyclic compounds is highly desirable but poses a marked challenge. Inspired by the C-H oxidation mechanism of cytochromes P450, an unprecedented and practical RhIII -catalyzed acylmethylation macrocyclization via C-H/O2 dual activation has been developed by us. The process of macrocyclization is facilitated by a synergic coordination from pyridine and ester group. Interestingly, the reaction mode derives from a three-component coupling which differs from established olefination and alkylation paths. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations and control experiments revealed the mechanism of this unique C-H/O2 dual activation. The newly achieved acylmethylation macrocyclic products and their derivatives showed a potent anti-H1N1 bioactivity, which may provide an opportunity for the discovery of novel anti-H1N1 macrocyclic leading compounds.

Pd-Catalyzed Decarboxylative Olefination: Stereoselective Synthesis of Polysubstituted Butadienes and Macrocyclic P-glycoprotein Inhibitors.

The efficient and stereoselective synthesis of polysubstituted butadienes, especially the multifunctional butadienes, represents a great challenge in organic synthesis. Herein, we wish to report a distinctive Pd(0) carbene-initiated decarboxylative olefination approach that enables the direct coupling of diazo esters with vinylethylene carbonates (VECs), vinyl oxazolidinones, or vinyl benzoxazinones to afford alcohol-, amine-, or aniline-containing 1,3-dienes in moderate to high yields and with excellent stereoselectivity. This protocol features operational simplicity, mild reaction conditions, a broad substrate scope, and gram-scalability. Notably, a structurally unique allylic Pd(II) intermediate was isolated and characterized. DFT calculation and control experiments demonstrated that a rare Pd(0) carbene intermediate could be involved in this reaction. Moreover, the polysubstituted butadienes as novel building blocks were unprecedentedly assembled into macrocycles, which efficiently inhibited the P-glycoprotein and dramatically reversed multidrug resistance in cancer cells by 190-fold.

Rh-Catalyzed cascade C-H activation/C-C cleavage/cyclization of carboxylic acids with cyclopropanols.

Merging both C-H and C-C activation in a tandem process is a marked challenge. A novel Rh(iii)-catalyzed C-H activation/ring opening C-C cleavage/cyclization of carboxylic acids with cyclopropanols was developed for the synthesis of 3-substituted phthalides and α,ß-butenolides. This reaction displays excellent functional group tolerance with respect to both carboxylic acids and cyclopropanols and features relatively mild conditions. Remarkably, the utility of this method was highlighted by the rapid construction of bioactive compounds bearing a 3-substituted phthalide framework via late-stage functionalization.

Marine furanocembranoids-inspired macrocycles enabled by Pd-catalyzed unactivated C(sp3)-H olefination mediated by donor/donor carbenes.

Biomimetic modularization and function-oriented synthesis of structurally diversified natural product-like macrocycles in a step-economical fashion is highly desirable. Inspired by marine furanocembranoids, herein, we synthesize diverse alkenes substituted furan-embedded macrolactams via a modular biomimetic assembly strategy. The success of this assembly is the development of crucial Pd-catalyzed carbene coupling between ene-yne-ketones as donor/donor carbene precursors and unactivated Csp3‒H bonds which represents a great challenge in organic synthesis. Notably, this method not only obviates the use of unstable, explosive, and toxic diazo compounds, but also can be amenable to allenyl ketones carbene precursors. DFT calculations demonstrate that a formal 1,4-Pd shift could be involved in the mechanism. Moreover, the collected furanocembranoids-like macrolactams show significant anti-inflammatory activities against TNF-α, IL-6, and IL-1ß and the cytotoxicity is comparable to Dexamethasone.