Low catalyst loading enabled organocatalytic synthesis of chiral bis-heterocyclic frameworks containing pyrazole and isoxazole.

The organocatalytic asymmetric synthesis of enantiopure bis-heterocyclic molecules containing pyrazole and isoxazole under mild reaction conditions has been reported via a low-catalyst loading Michael addition reaction of pyrazolyl nitroalkenes with 1,3-dicarbonyl derivatives. 4-Substituted pyrazole derivatives were obtained in 60-87% yields and with 82-97% ee. These pyrazolyl derivatives are further transformed into chiral bis-heterocyclic derivatives in up to 82% yields and up to 99% ee. The synthesized pyrazole and isoxazole based bis-heterocyclic derivatives are potential bio-active molecules expected to have significant applications. Additionally, the synthesis of these bis-heterocycles can efficiently be carried out in one pot without any loss of enantiopurity, which further adds to its significance.

Recent advances in the catalytic synthesis of 3-aminooxindoles: an update.

3-Substituted-3-aminooxindoles are versatile scaffolds and they are common core structural motifs found in many natural products and biologically active compounds. In the last few years, a variety of synthetic methodologies have been developed for the synthesis of this moiety. In this review, we are presenting the recent advances in the catalytic synthesis of 3-aminooxindole derivatives.

Candida antarctica lipase-B-catalyzed kinetic resolution of 1,3-dialkyl-3-hydroxymethyl oxindoles.

Candida antarctica (CAL-B) lipase-catalyzed resolution of 1,3-dialkyl-3-hydroxymethyl oxindoles has been performed to obtain (R)-1,3-dialkyl-3-acetoxymethyl oxindoles with up to 99% ee and (S)-1,3-dialkyl-3-hydroxymethyl oxindoles with up to 78% ee using vinyl acetate as acylating agent and acetonitrile as solvent transforming (S)-3-allyl-3-hydroxymethyl oxindole to (3S)-1'-benzyl-5-(iodomethyl)-4,5-dihydro-2H-spiro[furan-3,3'-indolin]-2'-one. The optically active 3-substituted-3-hydroxymethyl oxindoles and spiro-oxindoles are among the key synthons in the synthesis of potentially biologically active molecules.

Organocatalytic enantioselective conjugate addition of pyrazolin-5-ones to arylomethylidene malonates.

An efficient asymmetric organocatalytic conjugate addition reaction of pyrazolin-5-ones with arylomethylidene malonates has been successfully developed by employing bifunctional Cinchona derived thiourea organocatalysts. The protocol provides straightforward access to pyrazole substituted scaffolds in good yields with high stereocontrol.

Journey Heading towards Enantioselective Synthesis Assisted by Organocatalysis.

This personal account summarizes the design of various organocatalysts derived from amino acids and Cinchona alkaloids and their applications in enantioselective carbon-carbon and carbon-nitrogen bond formation reactions. This account begins with the short description of the background of asymmetric organocatalysis. Various types of reactions like aldol reaction, Michael reaction, aza-Henry reaction, Morita-Baylis-Hillman reaction are described in this account.

Catalyst-Controlled Structural Divergence: Selective Intramolecular 7-endo-dig and 6-exo-dig Post-Ugi Cyclization for the Synthesis of Benzoxazepinones and Benzoxazinones.

Metal catalyzed post-Ugi cyclization of bis-amides is reported in this study. Exposure of bis-amides to Pd(II) catalyst triggered the formation of seven-membered benzoxazepinones. This investigation established that changing the catalyst to a Echavarren's gold(I) turned off cyclization to seven member ring and turned on 6-exo-dig annulations to afford family of six-membered benzoxazinones. To support the proposed mechanisms, quantum chemical based density functional theory calculations have been performed and validated. This novel method obtained molecular complexity up to four modular inputs and divergence of two different skeletons. 2D NMR spectroscopic techniques and single crystal X-ray diffraction established the proposed structures.

Catalytic synthesis of 3-aminooxindoles via addition to isatin imine: an update.

3-Substituted-3-aminooxindoles have attracted the attention of organic chemists since they have a common core structural motif found in many natural products and biologically active compounds. During the past six years, the new synthetic methodologies for the synthesis of this moiety have shown rapid growth. Thus, an update of our previous review has become necessary and this review includes the literature on this topic, covering the reactions of isatin imine explored in various organic transformations catalyzed by metals and organocatalysts.

Enantioselective 1,4-Michael addition reaction of pyrazolin-5-one derivatives with 2-enoylpyridines catalyzed by Cinchona derived squaramides.

The bifunctional nature of the cinchonidine squaramides has been successfully employed to catalyze the enantioselective 1,4-Michael addition reaction of pyrazolin-5-ones with 2-enoylpyridines under mild reaction conditions. Through this methodology, a broad range of optically active heterocyclic derivatives bearing both pyrazole and pyridine motifs have been synthesized in yields up to 88% and enantiomeric excess up to 96%.

Bioresolution of racemic phenyl glycidyl ether by a putative recombinant epoxide hydrolase from Streptomyces griseus NBRC 13350.

In order to produce enantiomerically pure epoxides for the synthesis of value-added chemicals, a novel putative epoxide hydrolase (EH) sgeh was cloned and overexpressed in pET28a/Escherichia coli BL21(DE3). The 1047 bp sgeh gene was mined from Streptomyces griseus NBRC 13350 genome sequence. The recombinant hexahistidyl-tagged SGEH was purified (16.6-fold) by immobilized metal-affinity chromatography, with 90% yield as a homodimer of 100 kDa. The recombinant E. coli whole cells overexpressing SGEH could kinetically resolve racemic phenyl glycidyl ether (PGE) into (R)-PGE with 98% ee, 40% yield, and enantiomeric ratio (E) of 20. This was achieved under the optimized reaction conditions i.e. cell/substrate ratio of 20:1 (w/w) at pH 7.5 and 20 °C in 10% (v/v) dimethylformamide (DMF) in a 10 h reaction. 99% enantiopure (R)-PGE was obtained when the reaction time was prolonged to 12 h with a yield of 34%. In conclusion, an economically viable and environment friendly green process for the production of enantiopure (R)-PGE was developed by using wet cells of E. coli expressing recombinant SGEH.

α,α-Dicyanoolefins: versatile substrates in organocatalytic asymmetric transformations.

α,α-Dicyanoolefins have emerged as versatile reactants, finding use as vinylogous nucleophiles, Michael acceptors and dienophiles in a variety of organic reactions. In the last few years, the reactivity of α,α-dicyanoolefins has been explored in various asymmetric transformations catalyzed by organocatalysts. In this review, we are presenting the recent advances in asymmetric organocatalytic transformations involving α,α-dicyanoolefins.

Maleimide as an efficient nucleophilic partner in the aza-Morita-Baylis-Hillman reaction: synthesis of chiral 3-substituted-3-aminooxindoles.

A highly enantioselective Morita-Baylis-Hillman reaction of maleimides with isatin derived ketimines has been developed to obtain enantiomerically enriched 3-substituted-3-aminooxindoles using ß-isocupreidine as an organocatalyst. Maleimide acting as a nucleophile provides products with up to 99% ee.

Trigger factor assisted folding of the recombinant epoxide hydrolases identified from C. pelagibacter and S. nassauensis.

Epoxide hydrolases (EHs), are enantioselective enzymes as they catalyze the kinetic resolution of racemic epoxides into the corresponding enantiopure vicinal diols, which are useful precursors in the synthesis of chiral pharmaceutical compounds. Here, we have identified and cloned two putative epoxide hydrolase genes (cpeh and sneh) from marine bacteria, Candidatus pelagibacter ubique and terrestrial bacteria, Stackebrandtia nassauensis, respectively and overexpressed them in pET28a vector in Escherichia coli BL21(DE3). The CPEH protein (42kDa) was found to be overexpressed as inactive inclusion bodies while SNEH protein (40kDa) was found to form soluble aggregates. In this study, the recombinant CPEH was successfully transformed from insoluble aggregates to the soluble and functionally active form, using pCold TF vector, though with low EH activity. To prevent the soluble aggregate formation of SNEH, it was co-expressed with GroEL/ES chaperone and was also fused with trigger factor (TF) chaperone at its N-terminus. The TF chaperone-assisted correct folding of SNEH led to a purified active EH with a specific activity of 3.85µmol/min/mg. The pure enzyme was further used to biocatalyze the hydrolysis of 10mM benzyl glycidyl ether (BGE) and α-methyl styrene oxide (MSO) with an enantiomeric excess of the product (eep) of 86% and 73% in 30 and 15min, respectively. In conclusion, this is the first report about the heterologous expression of epoxide hydrolases using TF as a molecular chaperone in pCold TF expression vector, resulting in remarkable increase in the solubility and activity of the otherwise improperly folded recombinant epoxide hydrolases.

Primary-tertiary diamine-catalyzed Michael addition of ketones to isatylidenemalononitrile derivatives.

Simple primary-tertiary diamines easily derived from natural primary amino acids were used to catalyze the Michael addition of ketones with isatylidenemalononitrile derivatives. Diamine 1a in combination with D-CSA as an additive provided Michael adducts in high yield (up to 94%) and excellent enantioselectivity (up to 99%). The catalyst 1a was successfully used to catalyze the three-component version of the reaction by a domino Knoevenagel-Michael sequence. The Michael adduct 4a was transformed into spirooxindole 6 by a reduction with sodium borohydride in a highly enantioselective manner.

Bioresolution of benzyl glycidyl ether using whole cells of Bacillus alcalophilus.

The incubation of whole Bacillus alcalophilus cells grown on a mineral supplemented medium (MSM) containing 1% (w/v) sucrose as carbon source, 1.2% (w/v) tryptone as nitrogen source at pH 6.5 and temperature 30 °C in 24 h kinetically resolved benzyl glycidyl ether (1 mg/ml) to provide (S)-benzyl glycidyl ether with 30% ee and (R)-3-benzyloxypropane-1,2-diol with 40% ee.

Mechanochemistry assisted asymmetric organocatalysis: A sustainable approach.

Ball-milling and pestle and mortar grinding have emerged as powerful methods for the development of environmentally benign chemical transformations. Recently, the use of these mechanochemical techniques in asymmetric organocatalysis has increased. This review highlights the progress in asymmetric organocatalytic reactions assisted by mechanochemical techniques.

Asymmetric syn-selective direct aldol reaction of protected hydroxyacetone catalyzed by primary amino acid derived bifunctional organocatalyst in the presence of water.

A new series of water compatible primary-tertiary diamine catalysts derived from natural primary amino acids bearing a hydrophobic side chain have been synthesized. These new primary-tertiary diamine-Brønsted acid conjugates bifunctional organocatalysts efficiently catalyzes the asymmetric direct syn selective cross-aldol reaction of different protected hydroxyacetone with various aldehydes in high yield (94%) and high enantioselectivity (up to 97% ee of syn) and dr of 91 : 9 (syn/anti) under mild reaction conditions.

Arenesulfonyl indole: new precursor for diversification of C-3 functionalized indoles.

Arenesulfonyl indoles, bearing a good leaving group, are effective precursors for vinylogous imine intermediates which are generated in situ under basic conditions. This intermediate can readily react with other nucleophilic reagents to obtain C-3 substituted indole derivatives. In the last few years, a plethora of exciting synthetic applications of this substrate have been exploited. The stability of arylsulfonyl-containing substrates, mild reaction conditions, and the large variety of nucleophiles involved in these procedures are the key to their success in organic synthesis.

Toxic effects of purified phenolic compounds from Acacia nilotica against common cutworm.

Phenolics are the most abundant secondary metabolites of plants that are widely distributed in the plant kingdom. In the last few years, the development and identification of phenolic compounds from various plants have become a major area of the environment and health-related research. In the present study, different phenolic compounds were purified from the bark of the medicinally important plant Acacia nilotica which is rich in polyphenols and were evaluated for their insecticidal potential against a polyphagous pest, Spodoptera litura (Fab.). The compounds viz. Catechin, Chlorogenic acid, and Umbelliferone were purified from ethyl acetate-acetone (E-AE) fraction using Semi-preparative HPLC and were identified using melting point determination, Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR), and Mass Spectroscopy (MS). These phenolic compounds recorded detrimental effects on the growth and development of second instar larvae (6 days old) of S. litura. The larval growth, survival, adult emergence, pupal weight, and different nutritional indices were adversely affected by the various concentrations of these purified compounds. The findings revealed the insecticidal potential of polyphenols obtained from the bark of A. nilotica, which can provide an alternative for resistance management, as these plant phytochemicals are highly effective against insecticide-resistant insect pests.

Phenanthridine-Fused Tetracyclic Ring System: Metal-Free Diastereoselective Modular Construction of Highly Constrained Polyheterocycles via Post-Ugi Tandem Modifications.

A metal-free diastereo-/regioselective modular synthetic approach for the synthesis of highly constrained tetrahydroquinoline-fused tetracyclic heterocycles from easily available substrates has been developed. This two-step strategy utilizes an Ugi four-component reaction, followed by the intramolecular spirocarbocyclization and iodination reactions in a single operation. The transformation is mild and operationally simple, which provides architecturally complex polycyclic heterocycles with high diastereoselectivity. Furthermore, the preliminary cytotoxicity screening of selected compounds displayed promising anticancer activity against human cancer cell lines.

Enantiocomplementary reduction of 3-phenylthiopropan-2-one by Bacillus sp.: effect of medium components.

The enantioselectivity of the enzymes responsible for reduction of prochiral compound 3-phenylthiopropan-2-one was dependent on the concentration of yeast extract and glucose in the growth medium. Low concentrations of yeast extract (0.1-0.9% w/v) favored the formation of S-enantiomer (62% ee at 0.1% w/v yeast extract) of 3-phenylthiopropan-2-ol. However, R-enantiomer of the reduced product was formed when MSM was supplemented with yeast extract at a concentration of 1% (w/v) or more with a maximum ee of 85% at 2.0% (w/v) yeast extract supplement in the growth medium.