Chiral bifunctional sulfide-catalyzed enantioselective bromolactonizations of α- and ß-substituted 5-hexenoic acids.

Enantioselective halolactonizations of sterically less hindered alkenoic acid substrates without substituents on the carbon-carbon double bond have remained a formidable challenge. To address this limitation, we report herein the asymmetric bromolactonization of 5-hexenoic acid derivatives catalyzed by a BINOL-derived chiral bifunctional sulfide.

Chiral sulfide and selenide catalysts for asymmetric halocyclizations and related reactions.

Asymmetric organocatalysis using well-designed artificial chiral molecular catalysts is one of the most reliable methods to create important chiral compounds in a highly enantioenriched form. A wide variety of efficient asymmetric transformations have been developed by utilizing well-designed chiral organocatalysts. Among the wide variety of organocatalysts, chiral amine and phosphine catalysts that utilize the characteristics of group 15 elements are the most extensively employed for asymmetric transformations. In comparison with chiral amine and phosphine catalysts, the use of chiral sulfide catalysts has remained limited and under-developed. The catalytic abilities of chiral sulfide organocatalysts were initially investigated using Corey-Chaykovsky-type asymmetric epoxidations and related reactions via the formation of sulfonium ylide intermediates. Unfortunately, the types of asymmetric reactions with chiral sulfide catalysts are limited in comparison with chiral amine-catalyzed asymmetric reactions, and the development of other catalytic reactions using chiral sulfides is highly desired. Several research groups have recently discovered that newly designed chiral sulfide catalysts are quite effective for asymmetric halocyclizations. This review summarizes recent achievements in chiral sulfide-catalyzed enantioselective halocyclizations and halogenations. The asymmetric catalyses with related chiral selenides, which are used in enantioselective halogenations, are also introduced.

Chiral Bifunctional Selenide Catalysts for Asymmetric Iodolactonizations.

1,1'-Bi-2-naphthol (BINOL)-derived chiral bifunctional sulfide and selenide catalysts that possess a hydroxy group are known to be effective catalysts for enantioselective bromolactonizations. When applied to asymmetric iodolactonizations of 4-pentenoic acids, these catalysts yield chiral γ-butyrolactone products that are important compounds in medicinal chemistry. Although chiral bifunctional selenides have shown good catalytic performances in enantioselective iodolactonizations, reactions with BINOL-derived chiral sulfide catalysts unexpectedly gave iodolactonization products in nearly racemic forms. The roles of chalcogenide moieties and hydroxy groups on bifunctional catalysts were investigated, and the importance of both a selenide moiety and a hydroxy group on chiral bifunctional selenide catalysts to achieve enantioselective iodolactonizations was clarified. An optimized chiral bifunctional selenide catalyst was applied to the asymmetric synthesis of chiral γ-butyrolactones and phthalides. Furthermore, the utility of chiral bifunctional selenides was also demonstrated in the catalytic enantioselective desymmetrizing iodolactonization of α,α-diallyl carboxylic acids.

Efficient methods for the synthesis of chiral 2-oxazolidinones as pharmaceutical building blocks.

Although the wide variety of heterocyclic compounds is common knowledge, chiral 2-oxazolidinones are recognized as some of the most important heterocycles in medicinal chemistry. Many important pharmaceutical molecules have been constructed based on the chiral 2-oxazolidinone backbone. Therefore, the development of even more efficient catalytic methods for the synthesis of chiral 2-oxazolidinones remains a very important pursuit in the field of synthetic organic chemistry. This review summarizes the coupling reactions of epoxides and isocyanates for the preparation of 2-oxazolidinones. Both metal catalysts and organocatalysts promote these reactions. Optically pure 2-oxazolidinones are prepared from optically pure epoxide substrates via these catalytic methods. A synthetic example of a commercially available pharmaceutical compound utilizing this method is also introduced.

Efficient asymmetric syntheses of α-quaternary lactones and esters through chiral bifunctional sulfide-catalyzed desymmetrizing bromolactonization of α,α-diallyl carboxylic acids.

Asymmetric halolactonizations are powerful methods for the syntheses of chiral lactones. Catalytic and highly enantioselective halolactonizations of α-allyl carboxylic acids, however, continue to present a formidable challenge. Herein, we report the chiral bifunctional sulfide-catalyzed desymmetrizing bromolactonizations of α,α-diallyl carboxylic acids. These reactions efficiently produced chiral α-quaternary lactones and esters.

Chiral bifunctional sulfide-catalyzed asymmetric bromoaminocyclizations.

A BINOL-derived chiral bifunctional sulfide catalyst bearing a phenylurea moiety was applied to enantioselective bromoaminocyclization reactions of 2-allylaniline derivatives, which provide optically active 2-substituted indoline products as important motifs for biologically active compounds. A protecting group on the nitrogen of the 2-allylaniline substrate was carefully optimized, and highly enantioselective reactions were achieved by employing the p-biphenylsulfonyl-protected substrates. The origin of the good level of enantioselectivity for the present bromoaminocyclization was also investigated on the basis of DFT calculations. The resultant optically active 2-(bromomethyl)indoline products could be transformed to various 2-substituted indolines with no loss of the optical purity.

Hydrogen-Bonding Catalysis of Alkyl-Onium Salts.

The synthetic utility of alkyl-onium salt compounds is widely recognized in the field of organic chemistry. Among the wide variety of onium salts, quaternary ammonium, phosphonium, and tertiary sulfonium salts have been the most useful compounds in organic syntheses. These compounds have been very useful reagents in the construction of organic building blocks. In addition, onium salts are known as reliable catalysts, which are used to promote important organic transformations by serving as phase-transfer and ion-pair catalysts through the activation of nucleophiles. Although phase-transfer catalysis is a major direction for onium salt catalysis, hydrogen-bonding catalysis of alkyl-onium salts, which is promoted via the activation of electrophiles, has recently become a relevant topic in the field of onium salt chemistry. This Minireview introduces new possibilities and future directions for alkyl-onium salt chemistry based on its use in hydrogen-bonding catalysis and on its overall utility.