Synthesis of Unnatural Amino Acids via Ni/Ag Electrocatalytic Cross-Coupling.

A simple protocol is outlined herein for rapid access to enantiopure unnatural amino acids (UAAs) from trivial glutamate and aspartate precursors. The method relies on Ag/Ni-electrocatalytic decarboxylative coupling and can be rapidly conducted in parallel (24 reactions at a time) to ascertain coupling viability followed by scale-up for the generation of useful quantities of UAAs for exploratory studies.

Bismuth(iii)-catalyzed regioselective alkylation of tetrahydroquinolines and indolines towards the synthesis of bioactive core-biaryl oxindoles and CYP19 inhibitors.

Bismuth(iii)-catalyzed regioselective functionalization at the C-6 position of tetrahydroquinolines and the C-5 position of indolines has been demonstrated. For the first time, one pot symmetrical and unsymmetrical arylation of isatins with tetrahydroquinolines was accomplished giving a completely new product skeleton in good to excellent yields. Most importantly, this protocol leads to the formation of a highly strained quaternary carbon stereogenic center, which is a challenging task. Benzhydryl and 1-phenylethyl trichloroacetimidates have been used as the alkylating partners to functionalize the C-6 and C-5 positions of tetrahydroquinolines and indolines, respectively. The scope of the developed methodology has been extended for the synthesis of the bioactive CYP19-inhibitor and its analogue.

Regio- and Stereoselective Synthesis of the Core Structure of Hexahydrobenzo[c]phenanthridine Alkaloids via Redox-Neutral Cp*Rh(III)-Catalyzed C-H/N-H Annulation of Cyclic Alkenes with Benzamides.

A highly stereo- and regioselective synthesis of the core skeleton of hexahydrobenzo[c]phenanthridine-type alkaloids is reported herein for the first time. A wide range of substrate scope, excellent functional group tolerance, and good to excellent yields were observed. This protocol gives very concise and efficient access to the core skeleton of chelidonine alkaloids as compared to the earlier approaches.

Cobalt Catalyzed Hydroarylation of Michael Acceptors with Indolines Directed by a Weakly Coordinating Functional Group.

A cobalt(III) catalyzed hydroarylation of Michael acceptors using indolines, selectively at the C-7 position, has been reported. For the selective C-7 functionalization of indoline, we have used a weakly coordinating amide carbonyl group. During the process of optimization, we have also discovered the unusual cocatalytic activity of zinc triflate in the C-H functionalization reaction. Hydroarylation of unprotected maleimide using indolines was a challenging substrate and never accomplished before, we were able to achieve this with our methodology in good yields.

An unusual chemoselective oxidation strategy by an unprecedented exploration of an electrophilic center of DMSO: a new facet to classical DMSO oxidation.

A conceptually new dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) based oxidation process without the use of any activator has been demonstrated for the oxidation of active methylenes and benzhydrols. The developed protocol utilizes the electrophilic center of DMSO for oxidation, which was unexplored before. Mechanistic investigation has confirmed that the source of oxygen is DMSO.

Hydrogen-bond-driven electrophilic activation for selectivity control: scope and limitations of fluorous alcohol-promoted selective formation of 1,2-disubstituted benzimidazoles and mechanistic insight for rationale of selectivity.

Hydrogen-bond-driven electrophilic activation for selectivity control during competitive formation of 1,2-disubstituted and 2-substituted benzimidazoles from o-phenylenediamine and aldehydes is reported. The fluorous alcohols trifluoroethanol and hexafluoro-2-propanol efficiently promote the cyclocondensation of o-phenylenediamine with aldehydes to afford selectively the 1,2-disubstituted benzimidazoles at rt in short times. A mechanistic insight is invoked by NMR, mass spectrometry, and chemical studies to rationalize the selectivity. The ability of the fluorous alcohols in promoting the reaction and controlling the selectivity can be envisaged from their better hydrogen bond donor (HBD) abilities compared to that of the other organic solvents as well as of water. Due to the better HBD values, the fluorous alcohols efficiently promote the initial bisimine formation by electrophilic activation of the aldehyde carbonyl. Subsequently the hydrogen-bond-mediated activation of the in situ-formed bisimine triggers the rearrangement via 1,3-hydride shift to form the 1,2-disubstituted benzimidazoles.

Organocatalytic methods for chemoselective O-tert-butoxycarbonylation of phenols and their regeneration from the O-t-Boc derivatives.

Carbon tetrabromide (CBr4) catalyzes O-tert-butoxycarbonylation of functionalized phenols without any side reactions (bromination, addition of CBr3 to a double bond, and formation of symmetrical diaryl carbonates, cyclic carbonates, or carbonic-carbonic anhydrides). The parent phenols are regenerated from the O-t-Boc derivatives by the catalyst system CBr4-PPh3 without affecting other protecting groups (aryl alkyl ether, alkyl ester, and thioacetal) or competitive side reaction such as bromination, nitrene (from NO2) and alpha,alpha-dibromoolefine (with CHO/COMe) formation, and transesterification (with CO2Me/Et) taking place.