Rhamnogalacturonan II: Chemical Synthesis of a Substructure Including α-2,3-Linked Kdo*.

The synthesis of a fully deprotected Kdo-containing rhamnogalacturonan II pentasaccharide is described. The strategy relies on the preparation of a suitably protected homogalacturonan tetrasaccharide backbone, through a post-glycosylation oxidation approach, and its stereoselective glycosylation with a Kdo fluoride donor.

Copper-Catalyzed [4+2] Cycloaddition of 9 H-Cyclohepta[ b]pyridine-9-one and Electron-Rich Alkenes.

9 H-Cyclohepta[ b]pyridin-9-one was used as a diene cycloaddition partner to construct [3.2.2] bicycles in a copper-catalyzed [4+2] cycloaddition. Oxygen- and nitrogen-substituted terminal, disubstituted, trisubstituted, and cyclic alkenes reacted to afford the cycloadducts as single constitutional isomers in 48-80% yields and diastereomeric ratios up to 5.6:1.

Synthesis of a Pentasaccharide Fragment Related to the Inner Core Region of Rhizobial and Agrobacterial Lipopolysaccharides.

The pentasaccharide fragment α-d-Man-(1 → 5)-[α-d-Kdo-(2 → 4)-]α-d-Kdo-(2 → 6)-ß-d-GlcNAc-(1 → 6)-α-d-GlcNAc equipped with a 3-aminopropyl spacer moiety was prepared by a sequential assembly of monosaccharide building blocks. The glucosamine disaccharide-as a backbone surrogate of the bacterial lipid A region-was synthesized using an 1,3-oxazoline donor, which was followed by coupling with an isopropylidene-protected Kdo-fluoride donor to afford a protected tetrasaccharide intermediate. Eventually, an orthogonally protected manno-configured trichloroacetimidate donor was used to achieve the sterically demanding glycosylation of the 5-OH group of Kdo in good yield. The resulting pentasaccharide is suitably protected for further chain elongation at positions 3, 4, and 6 of the terminal mannose. Global deprotection afforded the target pentasaccharide to be used for the conversion into neoglycoconjugates and "clickable" ligands.

The Witkop cyclization: a photoinduced C-H activation of the indole system.

Investigations of excited-state redox processes have an exceptional impact on the field of organic photochemistry and its application to the synthesis of complex target molecules. In such a photochemical process a single-electron transfer takes place to produce ion-radical intermediates, if the reduction and oxidation potentials, as well as excited-state energies of electron donors and acceptors are chosen appropriately. The Witkop cyclization constitutes an intramolecular variant of such a process, typically with an indole heterocycle as an electron donor. The specific synthetic value of this reaction lies in a CC bond formation without requiring any prefunctionalization of the indole system. Although this photoreaction has been applied to the total synthesis of natural products, it has still not been used to its full capacity. The following review details synthetic efforts using the Witkop cyclization, and aims to incite further applications of reaction in the synthesis of complex molecular architectures.

Enantioselective synthesis of cyclohepta[b]indoles: gram-scale synthesis of (S)-SIRT1-inhibitor IV.

An enantioselective gram-scale synthesis of one of the most potent SIRT1-inhibitors has been accomplished by an unprecedented domino reaction sequence establishing the cyclohepta[b]indole core. This method was developed for application in natural product synthesis of a variety of indole alkaloids.

Stereoselective Rh2(S-IBAZ)4-catalyzed cyclopropanation of alkenes, alkynes, and allenes: asymmetric synthesis of diacceptor cyclopropylphosphonates and alkylidenecyclopropanes.

A mild and highly stereoselective rhodium(II)-catalyzed cyclopropanation of alkenes, alkynes, and allenes with diacceptor diazo compounds is reported. Using the phosphonate moiety as an efficient trans-directing group, the first catalytic asymmetric route to diacceptor cycloprop(en)ylphosphonates was developed by employing an α-cyano diazophosphonate and Rh(2)(S-IBAZ)(4) as chiral catalyst. The isosteric character of phosphonic and carboxylic acid derivatives allowed the alternative use of an α-cyano diazo ester in the process, leading to α-cyano cycloprop(en)ylcarboxylates in high yields and stereoselectivities. Taking advantage of the particular reactivity of the cyanocarbene intermediates involved in this system, the scope of compatible substrates could be extended to substituted allenes, leading to the development of the first catalytic enantioselective method for the synthesis of diacceptor alkylidenecyclopropanes.

Micellar catalysis in aqueous-ionic liquid systems.

We present the application of ionic liquid-aqueous micellar solutions as reaction media for Diels-Alder reaction and found that reaction rates could be significantly increased compared to the reaction in water.

Synthesis of enantioenriched allenes from 1,1-cyclopropanediesters.

Highly substituted allenes were obtained by the S(N)2' addition of organocuprate reagents on 2-propargyl-1,1-cyclopropanediesters. This new methodology permits the synthesis of highly enantioenriched allenes as the reaction proceeds with retention of the enantiomeric purity of the starting cyclopropane. The use of higher order cuprates was instrumental in obtaining the reported results.