Enantioselective Formation of Quaternary Centers by Allylic Alkylation with First-Row Transition-Metal Catalysts.

Asymmetric allylic alkylation mediated by transition metals provides an efficient strategy to form quaternary stereogenic centers. While this transformation is dominated by the use of second- and third-row transition metals (e.g., Pd, Rh, and Ir), recent developments have revealed the potential of first-row transition metals, which provide not only a less expensive and potentially equally efficient alternative but also new mechanistic possibilities. This review summarizes examples for the assembly of quaternary stereocenters using prochiral allylic substrates and hard, achiral nucleophiles in the presence of copper complexes and highlights the complementary approaches with soft, prochiral nucleophiles catalyzed by chiral cobalt and nickel complexes.

Progress toward the synthesis of the basiliolides and transtaganolides: an intramolecular pyrone Diels-Alder entry into a novel class of natural products.

Efforts directed toward the synthesis of a basiliolide/transtaganolide model system are disclosed. A highly endo-selective intramolecular pyrone Diels-Alder (IMPDA) cycloaddition rapidly constructs the tricyclic core of the basiliolides and transtaganolides.

Progress toward the Synthesis of garsubellin A and related phloroglucins: the direct diastereoselective synthesis of the bicyclo[3.3.1]nonane core.

[reaction: see text] A highly diastereoselective single-step cyclization reaction provides access to the bicyclo[3.3.1]nonane core of the polyprenylated phloroglucin natural product garsubellin A. Further elaboration to a more functionalized analogue involves a sequential Claisen rearrangement/Grubbs olefin cross-metathesis strategy. Additionally, this strategy was extended to the preparation of the bis-quaternary carbon array found at the bridgehead positions of the phloroglucin natural products.