Hydroaminoalkylation for the Catalytic Addition of Amines to Alkenes or Alkynes: Diverse Mechanisms Enable Diverse Substrate Scope.

Hydroaminoalkylation is a powerful, atom-economic catalytic reaction for the reaction of amines with alkenes and alkynes. This C-H functionalization reaction allows for the atom-economic alkylation of amines using simple alkenes or alkynes as the alkylating agents. This transformation has significant potential for transformative approaches in the pharmaceutical, agrochemical, and fine chemical industries in the preparation of selectively substituted amines and N-heterocycles and shows promise in materials science for the synthesis of functional and responsive aminated materials. Different early transition-metal, late transition-metal, and photoredox catalysts mediate hydroaminoalkylation by distinct mechanistic pathways. These mechanistic insights have resulted in the development of new catalysts and reaction conditions to realize hydroaminoalkylation with a broad range of substrates: activated and unactivated, terminal and internal, C-C double and triple bonds with aryl or alkyl primary, secondary, or tertiary amines, including N-heterocyclic amines. By deploying select catalysts with specific substrate combinations, control over regioselectivity, diastereoselectivity, and enantioselectivity has been realized. Key barriers to widespread adoption of this reaction include air and moisture sensitivity for early transition-metal catalysts as well as a heavy dependence on amine protecting or directing groups for late transition-metal or photocatalytic routes. Advances in improved catalyst robustness, substrate scope, and regio-/stereoselective reactions with early- and late transition-metal catalysts, as well as photoredox catalysis, are highlighted, and opportunities for further catalyst and reaction development are included. This perspective shows that hydroaminoalkylation has the potential to be a disruptive and transformative strategy for the synthesis of selectively substituted amines and N-heterocycles from simple amines and alkenes.

Cyclic Ureate Tantalum Catalyst for Preferential Hydroaminoalkylation with Aliphatic Amines: Mechanistic Insights into Substrate Controlled Reactivity.

The efficient and catalytic amination of unactivated alkenes with simple secondary alkyl amines is preferentially achieved. A sterically accessible, N,O-chelated cyclic ureate tantalum catalyst was prepared and characterized by X-ray crystallography. This optimized catalyst can be used for the hydroaminoalkylation of 1-octene with a variety of aryl and alkyl amines, but notably enhanced catalytic activity can be realized with challenging N-alkyl secondary amine substrates. This catalyst offers turnover frequencies of up to 60 h-1, affording full conversion at 5 mol% catalyst loading in approximately 20 min with these nucleophilic amines. Mechanistic investigations, including kinetic isotope effect (KIE) studies, reveal that catalytic turnover is limited by protonolysis of the intermediate 5-membered azametallacycle. A Hammett kinetic analysis shows that catalytic turnover is promoted by electron rich amine substrates that enable catalytic turnover. This more active catalyst is shown to be effective for late stage drug modification.

Catalytic and Atom-Economic Csp3 -Csp3 Bond Formation: Alkyl Tantalum Ureates for Hydroaminoalkylation.

Atom-economic and regioselective Csp3 -Csp3 bond formation has been achieved by rapid C-H alkylation of unprotected secondary arylamines with unactivated alkenes. The combination of Ta(CH2 SiMe3 )3 Cl2 , and a ureate N,O-chelating-ligand salt gives catalytic systems prepared in situ that can realize high yields of ß-alkylated aniline derivatives from either terminal or internal alkene substrates. These new catalyst systems realize C-H alkylation in as little as one hour and for the first time a 1:1 stoichiometry of alkene and amine substrates results in high yielding syntheses of isolated amine products by simple filtration and concentration.

Alkaline Earth-Olefin Complexes with Secondary Interactions.

Strontium and calcium (alkaline earth: Ae) olefin complexes stabilised by secondary Ae⋅⋅⋅F-C and ß-agostic Ae⋅⋅⋅H-Si interactions are presented. Olefin coordination onto the alkaline earths is plain in the solid state, and it is thermodynamically favoured over the coordination of THF. The existence of the Ae⋅⋅⋅olefin interactions is corroborated by solution NMR data and DFT computations. The coordination mode of the olefin varies with steric effects and, if enforced, olefin dissociation can be compensated by the other non-covalent interactions, as supported by DFT computations.

Highly fluorinated tris(indazolyl)borate silylamido complexes of the heavier alkaline earth metals: synthesis, characterization, and efficient catalytic intramolecular hydroamination.

Heteroleptic silylamido complexes of the heavier alkaline earth elements calcium and strontium containing the highly fluorinated 3-phenyl hydrotris(indazolyl)borate {F12-Tp(4Bo, 3Ph)}(-) ligand have been synthesized by using salt metathesis reactions. The homoleptic precursors [Ae{N(SiMe3)2}2] (Ae = Ca, Sr) were treated with [Tl(F12-Tp(4Bo, 3Ph))] in pentane to form the corresponding heteroleptic complexes [(F12-Tp(4Bo, 3Ph))Ae{N(SiMe3)2}] (Ae = Ca (1); Sr (3)). Compounds 1 and 3 are inert towards intermolecular redistribution. The molecular structures of 1 and 3 have been determined by using X-ray diffraction. Compound 3 exhibits a Sr⋅⋅⋅MeSi agostic distortion. The synthesis of the homoleptic THF-free compound [Ca{N(SiMe2H)2}2] (4) by transamination reaction between [Ca{N(SiMe3)2}2] and HN(SiMe2H)2 is also reported. This precursor constitutes a convenient starting material for the subsequent preparation of the THF-free complex [(F12-Tp(4Bo, 3Ph))Ca{N(SiMe2H)2}] (5). Compound 5 is stabilized in the solid state by a Ca⋅⋅⋅ß-Si-H agostic interaction. Complexes 1 and 3 have been used as precatalysts for the intramolecular hydroamination of 2,2-dimethylpent-4-en-1-amine. Compound 1 is highly active, converting completely 200 equivalents of aminoalkene in 16 min with 0.50 mol % catalyst loading at 25 °C.

Divalent heteroleptic ytterbium complexes--effective catalysts for intermolecular styrene hydrophosphination and hydroamination.

New heteroleptic Yb(II)-amide species supported by amidinate and 1,3,6,8-tetra-tert-butylcarbazol-9-yl ligands [2-MeOC6H4NC(tBu)N(C6H3-iPr2-2,6)]YbN(SiMe3)2(THF) (6) and [1,3,6,8-tBu4C12H4N]Yb[N(SiMe3)2](THF)n (n = 1 (7), 2 (8)) were synthesized using the amine elimination approach. Complex 6 features an unusual κ(1)-N,κ(2)-O,η(6)-arene coordination mode of the amidinate ligand onto Yb(II). Complexes 7 and 8 represent the first examples of lanthanide complexes with π-coordination of carbazol-9-yl ligands. Complexes 6 and 7, as well as the amidinate-Yb(II)-amide [tBuC(NC6H3-iPr2-2,6)2]YbN(SiMe3)2(THF) (5), are efficient precatalysts for the intermolecular hydrophosphination and hydroamination of styrene with diphenylphosphine, phenylphosphine, and pyrrolidine to give exclusively the anti-Markovnikov monoaddition product. For both types of reaction, the best performances were observed with carbazol-9-yl complex 7 (TONs up to 92 and 48 mol/mol at 60 °C, respectively).

(2,4,6-Trimethyl-phen-yl)boronic acid-triphenyl-phosphine oxide (1/1).

In the crystal structure of the title compound, C(9)H(13)BO(2)·C(18)H(15)OP, there are O-H⋯O hydrogen bonds between the O atom of triphenyl-phosphine oxide and one hy-droxy group of the boronic acid. Boronic acid mol-ecules form inversion-related hydrogen-bonded dimers in an R(2) (2)(8) motif. The structure is consolidated by inter-molecular C-H⋯O bonds and C-H⋯π inter-actions.

Commodity Polymers to Functional Aminated Materials: Single-Step and Atom-Economic Synthesis by Hydroaminoalkylation.

Hydroaminoalkylation (HAA) is demonstrated to be a promising postpolymerization route to catalytically prepare amine-functionalized atactic polypropylene. Using a recently reported tantalum catalyst supported by a N,O-chelating cyclic ureate ligand, vinyl-terminated polypropylene (VTPP) is transformed into both aryl and alkyl secondary amine-terminated polyolefins. Early transition-metal-catalyzed hydroaminoalkylation avoids protection/deprotection protocols typically required for secondary amine synthesis. This single-step reaction can be performed at multigram scale with minimal solvent and is atom economic, thereby allowing for optimized product isolation. Materials are characterized by multinuclear NMR spectroscopy, IR spectroscopy, DSC, and TGA. The utility of the reactive and unprotected amine terminus is highlighted by the installation of a fluorescent end group and the assembly of a graft copolymer by condensation of the secondary amine terminus with carboxylic acid moieties.

2'-Iodo-2,2'',3,3'',4,4'',5,5'',6,6''-deca-methyl-1,1':3',1''-terphenyl chloro-form monosolvate.

The title compound, C(28)H(33)I·CHCl(3), forms dimers through C-I⋯π inter-actions. The crystal structure is consolidated by the presence of C-H⋯π inter-actions between the chloro-form solvent and the main mol-ecule.

3,5-Dibromo-2',3',4',5',6'-penta-methyl-1,1'-biphen-yl.

In the crystal structure of the title compound, C(17)H(18)Br(2), the benzene rings are almost perpendicular [dihedral angle = 84.0 (3)°]. The crystal structure is consolidated by the presence of C-Br⋯π inter-actions.

Chloridobis{2-[(dimethyl-amino)-meth-yl]phen-yl}anti-mony(III).

In the title compound, [Sb(C(9)H(12)N)(2)Cl], the Sb atom adopts a Ψ-trigonal-bipyramidal geometry. The two 2-[(dimethyl-amino)-methyl]-phenyl ligands are coordinated asymmetrically to the Sb atom. The carbon atoms of one of the ligands are disordered over sets of sites with equal occupancy, resulting in two conformational isomers in the crystal. The Sb-C and Sb-N distances in the ordered ligand are: 2.153 (4) and 3.326 (5) Å, respectively. The corresponding distances in the disordered ligand are: 2.103 (5)/2.188 (5) and 2.454 (3) Å, respectively. The structure displays intra-molecular C-H⋯Cl hydrogen bonding.

Tethered cationic alkaline earth - olefin complexes.

The aminofluoroalcohol N,N,N-(CH2[double bond, length as m-dash]CHCH2CH2-),(CH3OCH2CH2-),(HOC(CF3)2CH2-)N ({ROF}H) possessing both a methoxy and an olefin dangling side arms enables the preparation of the heteroleptic charge neutral alkaline earth complexes [{µ2-ROF}AeN(SiMe2H)2]2 (Ae = Ca, 1; Sr, 2). These O-bridged dinuclear complexes were characterised by NMR spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction crystallography. XRD analysis of 1 and 2 showed that both complexes are stabilised by intramolecular AeF-C and ß-agostic AeH-Si secondary interactions, and that the olefin does not bind to the alkaline earths while the methoxy side-arm does. The discrete ion pairs [({µ2-ROF}Ae·(Et2O)2)2]2+·2[H2N{B(C6F5)3}2]- (Ae = Ca, 3a; Sr, 4a) were synthesised upon treatment of the parent complexes 1 and 2 by [H·(Et2O)2]+.[H2N{B(C6F5)3}2]-. NMR spectroscopy showed the presence of two coordinated Et2O molecules on each metal in these complexes. The water adduct [({µ2-ROF}Sr·(H2O))2]2+·2[H2N{B(C6F5)3}2]- (4b), presumably derived from 4a upon adventitious introduction of moisture during recrystallisation, was characterised by crystallographic methods. The dication [({µ2-ROF}Sr·(H2O))2]2+ exists as an O-bridged dinuclear species featuring very strong intramolecular SrF-C interactions in the range 2.788(5)-2.997(6) Å, and no interaction with the weakly coordinating anion. Perhaps more importantly, the tethered olefins are coordinated onto the metal cations, with short SrCπ interactions in the range 3.066(10)-3.092(10) Å; this represents the first example of a Sr-olefin cationic complex. Hence, cationisation of the charge neutral precursor to generate the discrete ion pair increases electron deficiency at the metal centre, resulting in the first observation of the binding of an olefin onto a well-defined cationic heavy alkaline earth. On the other hand, our attempts to produce Ae-olefin cations devoid of coordinated Lewis base with this strategy have met no success so far.

Stable divalent germanium, tin and lead amino(ether)-phenolate monomeric complexes: structural features, inclusion heterobimetallic complexes, and ROP catalysis.

Stable germanium(II) and lead(II) amido complexes {LO(i)}M(N(SiMe3)2) (M = Ge(II), Pb(II)) bearing amino(ether)phenolate ligands are readily available using the proteo-ligands {LO(i)}H of general formula 2-CH2NR2-4,6-tBu2-C6H2OH (i = 1, NR2 = N((CH2)2OCH3)2; i = 2, NR2 = NEt2; i = 3, NR2 = aza-15-crown-5) and M(N(SiMe3)2)2 precursors. The molecular structures of these germylenes and plumbylenes, as well as those of {LO(3)}GeCl, {LO(3)}SnCl and of the congeneric {LO(4)}Sn(II)(N(SiMe3)2) where NR2 = aza-12-crown-4, have been determined crystallographically. All complexes are monomeric, with 3-coordinate metal centres. The phenolate systematically acts as a N^O(phenolate) bidentate ligand, with no interactions between the metal and the O(side-arm) atoms in these cases (for {LO(1)}(-), {LO(3)}(-) and {LO(4)}(-)) where they could potentially arise. For each family, the lone pair of electrons essentially features ns(2) character, and there is little, if any, hybridization of the valence orbitals. Heterobimetallic complexes {LO(3)}M(N(SiMe3)2)·LiOTf, where the Li(+) cation sits inside the tethered crown-ether, were prepared by reaction of {LO(3)}M(N(SiMe3)2) and LiOTf (M = Ge(II), Sn(II)). The inclusion of Li(+) (featuring a close contact with the triflate anion) in the macrocycle bears no influence on the coordination sphere of the divalent tetrel element. In association with iPrOH, the amido germylenes, stannylenes and plumbylenes catalyse the controlled polymerisation of L- and racemic lactide. The activity increases linearly according to Ge(II) ≪ Sn(II) ≪ Pb(II). The simple germylenes generate very sluggish catalysts, but the activity is significantly boosted if the heterobimetallic complex {LO(3)}Ge(N(SiMe3)2)·LiOTf is used instead. On the other hand, with 10-25 equiv. of iPrOH, the plumbylenes afford highly active binary catalysts, converting 1000 or 5000 equiv. of monomer at 60 °C within 3 or 45 min, respectively, in a controlled fashion.

Alkali aminoether-phenolate complexes: synthesis, structural characterization and evidence for an activated monomer ROP mechanism.

Several monometallic {LO(i)}M complexes of lithium (M = Li; i = 1 (1), 2 (2), 3 (3)) or potassium (M = K, i = 3 (4)) and the heteroleptic bimetallic lithium complex {LO(3)}Li·LiN(SiMe2H)2 (5), all supported by monoanionic aminoether-phenolate {LO(i)}(-) (i = 1-3) ligands, have been synthesized and structurally characterized. A large range of coordination motifs is represented in the solid state, depending on the chelating ability of the ligand, the size of the metal and the number of metallic centres found in the complex. Pulse-gradient spin-echo NMR showed that 1-4 are monomeric in solution, irrespective of their (mono- or di)nuclearity in the solid-state. VT (7)Li and DOSY NMR measurements conducted for 5 indicated that the two Li atoms in the complex do not exchange positions even at 80 °C. Upon addition of 1-10 equiv. of BnOH, the electron-rich and sterically congested {LO(3)}Li complex (3) promotes the controlled living and immortal ring-opening polymerisation of L-lactide. The combination of polymer end-group analyses and stoichiometric model reactions unambiguously provided evidence that ROP reactions catalyzed by these two-component {LO(i)}Li/BnOH catalyst systems operate according to an activated monomer mechanism, and not via the coordination-insertion scenario frequently assumed for similar alkali phenolate-alcohol systems.

The compositional characterisation of Romanian grape seed oils using spectroscopic methods.

In the present study, we developed a method for the grape seed oil compositional characterisation using (1)H NMR spectroscopy directly applied on oils without sample derivatisation (as triglycerides). Using (1)H NMR spectroscopy data and systems of chemometric equations, we established the composition of grape seed oils on four classes of fatty acids. Spectral information from (1)H NMR and FT-IR spectroscopy was used to make the differences between grape seed oils and genuine common oils. Applying the PCA (Principal Component Analysis) method to the spectral information, it was evaluated the application potential in authenticity control of grape seed oils from common genuine oils (sunflower, soybean, linseed and rapeseed).

Synthesis of chromeno[3,4-b]indoles as Lamellarin D analogues: a novel DYRK1A inhibitor class.

A library of substituted chromeno[3,4-b]indoles was developed as Lamellarin isosters. Synthesis was achieved from indoles after a four-step pathway sequence involving C-3 iodination, a Suzuki cross-coupling reaction, and a one pot deprotection/lactonisation step. Twenty final compounds were tested in order to determine their activity against topoisomerase I and kinases, the two major biological activities of Lamellarins. One newly synthesized derivative exhibited a strong topoisomerase activity comparable to reference compounds such as campthotecin and Lamellarin with only a weak kinase inhibition. Two other lead compounds were identified as new nanomolar DYRK1A inhibitors and several other drugs affected the kinases in the sub-micromolar range. These results will enable us to use the chromeno[3,4-b]indole as a pharmacophore to develop potent treatments for neurological or oncological disorders in which DYRK1A is fully involved.

Synthesis and biological activities of new furo[3,4-b]carbazoles: potential topoisomerase II inhibitors.

New 1,5-dihydro-4-(substituted phenyl)-3H-furo[3,4-b]carbazol-3-ones were synthesised via a key step Diels-Alder reaction under microwave irradiation. 3-Formylindole was successfully used in a 6-step synthesis to obtain those complex heterocycles. The Diels-Alder reaction generating the carbazole ring was optimised under thermal conditions or microwave irradiation. After cleavage of functional groups, DNA binding, topoisomerase inhibition and cytotoxic properties of the new-formed furocarbazoles were investigated. These carbazoles do not present a strong interaction with the DNA, and do not modify the relaxation of the DNA in the presence of topoisomerase I or II except for one promising compound. This compound is a potent topoisomerase II inhibitor, and its cellular activity is not moderated compared to etoposide. The synthesis of these molecules allowed the generalisation of the method using indole and 5-OBn indole and several benzaldehydes. The synthesis of these molecules produced chemical structures endowed with promising cytotoxic and topoisomerase II inhibition activities.