Acyl hydrogen bond activation

Pyrrole-containing thiourea derivatives 52 and 53 were developed and optimized for hydrogen-bonding activation of N-acyliminium ions [76] in the acyl-Pictet-Spengler [202, 205] (Schemes 6.50 and 52) and acyl-Mannich reaction [204] (Scheme 6.51). List et al. extended the applicability of this thiourea type to... 

The effect of a substituent may be substantially modified by fast, concurrent, reversible addition of the nucleophile to an electrophilic center in the substituent. Ortho- and para-CS.0 and pam-CN groups have been found by Miller and co-workers to have a much reduced activating effect on the displacement of halogen in 2-nitrohaloben-zenes with methoxide ion [reversible formation of hemiacetal (143) and imido ester anions (144)] than with azide ion (less interaction) or thiocyanate (little, if any, interaction). Formation of 0-acyl derivatives of 0x0 derivatives or of A-oxides, hydrogen bonding to these moieties, and ionization of substituents are other examples of reversible and often relatively complete modifications under reaction conditions. If the interaction is irreversible, such as hydrolysis of a... 

The acyl-Pictet-Spengler reaction is also catalyzed by chiral thiourea derivative 6 to provide M-acetyl p-carbolines in high enantioselectivities. Notably, thiourea derivatives can activate not only electronically distinct imine derivatives such as N-alkyl and N-Boc imines but also a weakly Lewis basic N-acyhminium ion with high enantioselectivity using a chiral hydrogen bond donor (Scheme 12.4). 

Coimnercially acceptable rates were obtained by using a methoxyacetic acid ester as the acyl donor, which is attributed to hydrogen bond formation with the ether oxygen in the active site of the enzyme [20]. As shown in Scheme 6.6, the process affords an amide of the reacting enantiomer together with the other enan-homer as the free amine. 

Ishihara, K. Kubota, M. Yamamoto, H. First application of hydrogen bonding interactions to the design of asymmetric acylation of meso-diols with optically active acyl halides. Synlett 1994, 611-614. 

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