Short stereoselective synthesis of the Phytophthora universal mating hormone α1 using lithiation/borylation reactions.

The universal mating hormone α 1 of the virulent plant pathogen Phytophthora has been synthesized in 12 steps and 28 % overall yield. Key CC bond-forming steps involved the use of two lithiation/borylation reactions to couple together enantioenriched building blocks, one of which also set up the stereochemistry of the tertiary alcohol at C11. Detailed analysis showed that the diastereomeric purity of the target molecule was >91 %, the highest obtained to date.

Easy access to polyhalogenated biaryls: regioselective (di)halogenation of hypervalent bromines and chlorines.

Polyhalogenated biaryls are unique motifs offering untapped potential as versatile building blocks for the expedient synthesis of complex biaryl compounds. Overcoming the limitations of conventional syntheses, we introduce a novel, metal-free, operationally simple and one-pot approach to regioselectively (di)halogenate biaryl compounds under mild conditions using cyclic biaryl hypervalent bromine and chlorine substrates as masked arynes. Through chemoselective post-functionalizations, these valuable products can expand the toolbox for synthesizing biaryl-containing scaffolds, addressing a critical gap in the field.

Enantio- and regioselective epoxidation of olefinic double bonds in quinolones, pyridones, and amides catalyzed by a ruthenium porphyrin catalyst with a hydrogen bonding site.

An array of differently substituted 3-alkenylquinolones was synthesized, and the enantio- and regioselectivity of their Ru-catalyzed epoxidation were studied. A precursor ruthenium(II) complex with a chiral tricyclic γ-lactam skeleton (octahydro-1H-4,7-methanoisoindol-1-one) was available by Sonogashira cross-coupling with a monobromo-substituted ruthenium(II) porphyrin. Enantioselective epoxidation reactions (60-83% yield, 85-98% ee) were achieved with this catalyst, and it was shown that the enantioselectivity depends critically on the presence of a two-point hydrogen bond interaction between the γ-lactam site of the catalyst and the δ-lactam (quinolone) site of the substrate. DFT calculations support the hypothesis that the reaction occurs via a hydrogen-bound transition state, in which the 3-alkenylquinolone adopts an s-trans conformation. The calculations further revealed that this transition state is preferred over a competing s-cis transition state because it exerts less strain in the rigid backbone and because the hydrogen bond interaction is more stable. The catalyst loading required for complete conversion was low (<0.2 mol %), and turnover numbers exceeding 4000 were recorded. It was shown that there is little, if any, inhibition of the catalytic process by other quinolones, which could potentially compete with the binding site. A mechanistic model for the catalytic reaction is presented. In accordance with this model 3-alkenylpyridones reacted with similar enantioselectivities as the respective quinolones. The epoxidation products were unstable, however, and the enantiomeric purity (77-87% ee) of the products could be established only after derivatization. Primary alkenoic acid amides also underwent the epoxidation but gave the respective products in lower enantioselectivities (70% and 45% ee), presumably because the enantioface differentiation is hampered by the increased flexibility of the substrates, which exhibit two or three rotatable single bonds between the binding site and the reactive olefinic double bond.

Hydrogen-bond-mediated enantio- and regioselectivity in a Ru-catalyzed epoxidation reaction.

A chiral epoxidation catalyst based on a tricyclic octahydro-1H-4,7-methanoisoindol-1-one scaffold, in which a hydrogen bonding site and the catalytically active ruthenium center are spatially separated, was synthesized. It was shown that epoxidation reactions in such a supramolecular catalyst occur with high enantio- and regioselectivity because the hydrogen bonds expose the substrate to the ruthenium porphyrin complex with a clear conformational preference. The epoxidation of 3-vinylquinolone proceeded in up to 95% ee (71% yield).