Asymmetric synthesis of pyrrolo[2,1-a]isoquinoline derivatives by 1,3-dipolar cycloadditions of stabilized isoquinolinium N-ylides with sulfinyl dipolarophiles.

Enantiomerically pure pyrrolo[2,1-a]isoquinoline derivatives are obtained by 1,3-dipolar reactions of isoquinolinium azomethine ylides with enantiopure 3-p-tolylsulfinylacrylonitriles, tert-butyl (2E)-4,4-diethoxy-2-p-tolylsulfinylbut-2-enoate, and 5-ethoxy-3-p-tolylsulfinylfuran-2(5H)-ones. Reactions evolve through the anti conformation of the ylide with complete regioselectivity. The facial selectivity is completely controlled by the configuration of the sulfinyl sulfur for acyclic dipolarophiles, whereas it is high (dr 83/17 or 89/11) but controlled by the C-5 configuration for sulfinylfuranones. Complete endo selectivity is observed with cyclic dipolarophiles and substituted acrylonitriles, but it is low with butenoate. The sulfinyl group also exerts a positive influence on the dipolarophilic reactivity toward these ylides.

Abnormal behaviour of allenylsulfones under Lu's reaction conditions: synthesis of enantiopure polyfunctionalised cyclopentenes.

Formal [3+2] cycloadditions of 5-alkoxyfuran-2(5H)-ones 1 and 2 with allenylsulfones 3-5, promoted by different nucleophiles, afford 3-alkoxy-5-arylsulfonyl-3,3 a,6,6 a-tetrahydro-1H-cyclopenta[c]furan-1-ones in good yields with complete control of both regio- and pi-facial selectivity. The incorporation of a sulfinyl group on the furanone ring enhances the reactivity of the furanones and allows the synthesis of optically pure, bicyclic adducts in good yields. Allenylsulfones evolve through a different mechanism to that proposed for allenoates (Lu's reaction) and afford bicyclic adducts in which the sulfonyl group is joined to C-5. This has advantages on the stereochemical control of further reactions leading to enantiomerically pure polyfunctionalised cyclopentenes and cyclopentanes.

1,3-dipolar cycloaddition of diazoalkanes to (S)-(+)-3-[(4-methylphenyl)sulfinyl]-5,6-dihydropyran-2-one. Synthesis of optically pure cyclopropanes by denitrogenation of sulfinyl and sulfonyl pyrazolines.

The addition of diazomethane and diazoethane to enantiopure (S)-(+)-3-[(4-methylphenyl)sulfinyl]-5,6-dihydropyran-2-one (3) afforded the corresponding pyrazolines 4 and 6-exo in good yields and with almost complete pi-facial selectivity. When the reaction is effected in the presence of Yb(OTf)(3), the facial selectivity is inverted to give the pyrazolines 5 and 7-exo. The denitrogenation of optically pure sulfinyl pyrazolines 4-7-exo into the corresponding cyclopropanes with Yb(OTf)(3) occurred with complete retention of configuration but moderate chemoselectivity and yields. These results were significantly improved starting from sulfonyl pyrazolines, which afforded optically pure 3-oxabicyclo[4.1.0]heptan-2-ones with yields ranging between 65% (17 and ent-17) and > or = 95% (16 and ent-16).

Pyrrolo[2,1-b]thiazole derivatives by asymmetric 1,3-dipolar reactions of thiazolium azomethine ylides to activated vinyl sulfoxides.

1,3-Dipolar reactions of thiazolium azomethine ylides to enantiopure cyclic and acyclic vinyl sulfoxides provide an efficient access to polyfunctionalized pyrrolo[2,1-b][1,3]thiazoles in a highly regio- and stereoselective manner. Regioselectivity can be inverted by modifying the position of the sulfinyl group at the double bond of the sulfinylfuranones. The sulfoxide is the main controller of the endo selectivity of these processes as well as of the pi-facial selectivity in reactions of (Z)-3-p-tolylsulfinylacrylonitriles. In contrast, the pi-facial selectivity in reactions of 5-alkoxy-3-p-tolylsulfinyl furan-2(5H)-ones is mainly controlled by the configuration at C-5, affording the anti adducts with respect to the alkoxy group as the major or exclusive adducts.

Totally regio- and stereoselective behavior of mono- and diactivated cyclic alkenes in the Lu reaction: synthesis of enantiopure functionalized cyclopentanes.

5-Alkoxyfuran-2(5H)-ones and their optically pure 3-p-tolylsulfinyl derivatives, synthetic equivalents of the acyclic esters, react with dipoles generated from allenoates and PPh(3) (Lu reaction), in a completely regioselective, pi-facial selective and endo-selective manner, yielding bicyclic adducts, which are easily converted into optically pure highly substituted cyclopentane derivatives.

A new entry to enantiopure polysubstituted cyclopropanes: stereoselective denitrogenation of sulfinylpyrazolines under Yb(OTf)3 catalysis.

[Structure: see text] Chemoselective and completely stereoselective denitrogenation of optically pure pyrazolines, derived from 3-sulfinylfuran-2(5H)-ones, into cyclopropanes can be achieved under substoichiometric Yb(OTf)3 catalysis. Reactions evolve in almost quantitative yields with complete retention of the configuration at both carbons flanking the nitrogen atoms. The resulting enantiomerically pure polysubstituted cyclopropanes, containing up to five substituens, can be desulfinylated with Ra-Ni providing polysubstituted cyclopropanecarboxylic acid derivatives.

Efficient synthesis of enantiomerically pure alpha-alkyl cyclopropanecarbonitrile derivatives from pyrazolines.

[reaction: see text] Thermolysis of enantiopure sulfonyl pyrazolines 4 and 5, easily obtained from (Z)-3-p-tolylsulfinylacrylonitriles (1), afforded sulfonyl cyclopropanes (6, 7) in a completely stereoselective manner in almost quantitative yields. Both cyclopropanes and alkylidenecyclopropanes, containing one or two chiral carbon atoms, one of them being quaternary, were obtained by hydrogenolysis of the C-S bonding and under the conditions reported by Julia, respectively. The highly stereoselective extrusion of nitrogen suggests a concerted mechanism.

First asymmetric cycloaddition of carbonyl ylides to vinyl sulfoxides and furan-2(5H)-ones.

The Rh2(OAc)4-catalyzed reactions of o-(methoxycarbonyl)-alpha-diazoacetophenone with enantiomerically pure 5-ethoxy-3-p-tolylsulfinylfuran-2(5H)-ones 1a and 1b afford 4,10-epoxybenzo[4,5]cyclohepta[1,2-c]furan-3,9-diones 6a and 6b, in good or moderate yields and in a completely regioselective way. The pi-facial selectivity is complete for 1a, which only yields anti-6a adducts, and very high for 1b. The endo stereoisomers are favored with respect to the exo ones in both reactions. The sulfinyl group significantly increases the reactivity of the dipolarophile as it has been demonstrated by studying the behavior of 5-methoxyfuran-2(5H)-one (3).

m-CPBA/KOH: an efficient reagent for nucleophilic epoxidation of gem-deactivated olefins.

The m-chloroperoxybenzoate anion (generated from m-CPBA and bases such as K(2)CO(3) or KOH) is a highly efficient nucleophilic epoxidating reagent for strongly deactivated olefins containing two electron-withdrawing groups at the same carbon, under mild conditions which affect neither other double bonds nor electrophilic oxidizable centers such as sulfoxides.

The role of the sulfinyl group on the course of the reactions of 3-p-tolylsulfinylfuran-2(5H)-ones with nitrones. synthetic uses of cycloreversion processes.

[reaction: see text] The reaction of enantiopure 3-p-tolylsulfinylfuran-2(5H)-ones (2a and 2b) with cyclic (4) and acyclic (6) nitrones afforded furoisoxazolidines (5 and 7) in high yields under mild conditions. The reactivity of the dipolarophile was dramatically enhanced by the sulfinyl group, which modulated the pi-facial selectivity (it was complete for reactions from 2b, yielding only the anti adducts) and was the main controller of the endo/exo selectivity. Cycloreversion processes from the resulting sulfinyl furoisoxazolidines proceeded readily and were to be considered to account for an improvement in the selectivity (facial and endo/exo) and even for an inversion of it when the composition of the reaction mixtures obtained under kinetic and thermodynamic conditions were quite different.

1,3-dipolar cycloadditions of diazoalkanes to activated sulfoxides: influence of Lewis acids.

[reaction: see text] The reactions of diazomethane and diazoethane with (S)-3-p-tolylsulfinylfuran-2(5H)-one (3) and its 4-methyl derivative (4) have been studied. The sulfinyl group was able to completely control the pi-facial selectivity of all these reactions, which decreased when the polarity of the solvent increased and could be inverted in the presence of Lewis acids, Yb(OTf)(3) being the most efficient catalyst. This behavior made possible the stereodivergent synthesis of diastereoisomeric pyrazolines in almost quantitative yields and de's higher than 98%. The endo/exo selectivity was also complete in reactions of 3 with diazoethane, whereas 4 afforded an easily separable 1:1 mixture of diastereoisomers. Steric factors accounts for the endo/exo selectivity, whereas electrostatic interactions must also be considered to explain the facial selectivity.

The role of steric and electronic interactions in the stereocontrol of the asymmetric 1,3-dipolar reactions of 5-ethoxy-3-p-(S)-tolylsulfinylfuran-2(5H)-ones with diazoalkanes: theoretical calculations and experimental evidences.

The addition of diazomethane and diazoethane to (5S,SS)- and (5R,SS)-5-ethoxy-3-p-tolylsulfinylfuran-2(5H)-ones (1a and 1b) and their 4-methylderivatives (2a and 2b) proceeded in almost quantitative yields and complete regioselectivity. The observed pi-facial selectivity is determined by the configurations at both C-5 and the sulfinyl group, the later being the most important. The syn adducts were almost exclusively obtained from 1a and 2a in apolar solvents but the pi-facial selectivity was strongly decreased in more polar solvents. On the other hand, the major adducts from 1b and 2b were the anti ones and such predominance was slightly increased with solvent polarity. The exo-selectivity was complete in all the cases except for the anti approach to compounds 2a (in polar solvents) and 2b. The role of the sulfinyl group in this behavior was inferred by comparison of these results with those obtained in reactions of diazoalkanes with 5-methoxyfuran-2(5H)-one (3). Steric interactions seem to be the main ones responsible for the observed exo selectivity of reactions with diazoethane, but electronic factors, which can be modulated by the solvent, are also significant in the pi-facial selectivity control. DFT computational methods are able to correctly predict the reactivity, regioselectivity, and pi-facial selectivity exhibited by 5-alkoxyfuranones as well as their changes with the solvent polarity. A C-H.O hydrogen bond, involving the oxygen atom of the 5-alkoxy group at dipolarophiles and the endo-hydrogen atom at dipoles, seems to play a key role in the electronic interactions influencing the stereochemical course of these reactions.