Alkaloids chiral base catalysts

Prostereogenic ketenes and chiral alcohols in the presence of achiral amines yield esters with high diastereoselectivity (see Section 2.1.5.). Extensive studies with achiral alcohols and acylat-ed cinchona alkaloids as base catalysts reveal that high enantioselectivities can also be achieved for example with 1 137,138. 

The development of the first highly enantioselective cyanocarbonation of prochiral ketones promoted by a chiral base catalyst, such as a cinchona alkaloid derivative, was reported by Tian and Deng in 2006. " Importantly, the reaction complemented known enzyme- and transition metal based methods in substrate scope via its unique ability to promote highly enantioselective cyanocarbonation of sterically hindered simple dialkyl ketones. Mechanistic studies provided experimental evidence to shed significant light on the asymmetric induction step in which the modified cinchona alkaloid acted as a chiral nucleophilic catalyst. Moreover, experimental evidence supported the mechanistic proposal that the enantioselectivity determination step in the cyanocarbonation was a DKR of the putative intermediates G and H via asymmetric transfer of the alkoxycarbonyl group (Scheme 2.105). 

Brpnsted) base functionality as the sole catalytically active group as well as those having an alternative H-bond donor like a hydroxy group (e.g., cinchona alkaloids) have found widespread applications in asymmetric catalysis [88]. The potential of these catalysts is due to the fact that a variety of different activation modes are possible, thus facilitating their application for different types of reactions. On the one hand, chiral (Brpnsted) bases can be used to carry out face-selective deprotonations and the formarion of chiral ion pairs, but, on the other hand, chiral (Lewis) bases can also be used as nucle-ophiUc catalysts, which represent a very important application field of chiral base catalysts. 

Chiral Base Catalysts The landmark study by Deng and co-workers presented the modified cinchona alkaloids that were an efficient catalyst in the asymmetric... 

Base-catalyzed Diels-Alder reactions are rare (Section 1.4). A recent example is the reaction of 3-hydroxy-2-pyrone (145) with chiral N-acryloyl oxazolidones 146 that uses cinchona alkaloid as an optically active base catalyst [97] (Table 4.25). Only endo adducts were obtained with the more reactive dienophile 146 (R = H), the best diastereoselectivity and yields being obtained with an i-Pr0H/H20 ratio of 95 5. The reaction of 146 (R = Me) is very slow, and a good adduct yield was only obtained when the reaction was carried out in bulky alcohols such as t-amyl alcohol and t-butanol. 

Catalytic enantioselective nucleophilic addition of nitroalkanes to electron-deficient alke-nes is a challenging area in organic synthesis. The use of cinchona alkaloids as chiral catalysts has been studied for many years. Asymmetric induction in the Michael addition of nitroalkanes to enones has been carried out with various chiral bases. Wynberg and coworkers have used various alkaloids and their derivatives, but the enantiomeric excess (ee) is generally low (up to 20%).199 The Michael addition of methyl vinyl ketone to 2-nitrocycloalkanes catalyzed by the cinchona alkaloid cinchonine affords adducts in high yields in up to 60% ee (Eq. 4.137).200... 

We have studied this reaction in considerable detail (88) and have found that when one uses quinine (eq. [25]) or any one of the chiral bases, a variety of aldehydes react with ketene to form the corresponding p-lactones in excellent chemical and nearly quantitative enantiomeric yields. Equation [25] exemplifies the reaction. Note that mild basic hydrolysis of the lactone furnishes a trichlo-rohydroxy acid that was prepared earlier by McKenzie (89). If one uses quinidine as catalyst, the process furnishes the natural (S)-malic acid. Note that ketene first acylates the free hydroxyl group of quinine, so that the actual catalyst is the alkaloid ester. 

Thiols may be enantioselectiveiy added in a conjugate fashion to a,p-unsaturated carbonyl compounds in the presence of chiral hydroxyamine catalysts e.g. chinchona alkaloids).242,244 249 252-261-269 In some cases ee of up to >80% were achieved e.g. Scheme 77).242-261-262 This methodology was utilized for the kinetic resolution of compound rat-86 Scheme 34) in a multigram scale.94 Related enantioselective 1,4-additions of thioacetates270-271 and selenophenols272 to enones are also known. Epoxidations, based on the asymmetric nucleophilic addition of peroxide anions to enones, are discussed separately.273... 

Several cyclic imines were reduced with phenylsilane as a reducing agent in the presence of the chiral titanocene catalyst 11 followed by a workup process to give the corresponding cyclic amines in excellent ee [26]. The hydrosilylation of 2-propyl-3,4,5,6-tetrahydropyridine with (R)-ll (substrate Ti=100 l) in THF at room temperature was completed in about 6 h (Scheme 14) [29]. The reaction mixture was treated with an acid and then with an aqueous base to afford (S)-coniine, the poisonous hemlock alkaloid, in 99% ee. 

A different mechanism operates in the direct a-heteroatom functionalization of carbonyl compounds when chiral bases such as cinchona alkaloids are used as the catalysts. The mechanism is outlined in Scheme 2.26 for quinine as the chiral catalyst quinine can deprotonate the substrate when the substituents have strong electron-withdrawing groups. This reaction generates a nucleophile in a chiral pocket (see Fig. 2.6), and the electrophile can thus approach only one of the enantiotopic faces. 

Surprisingly few studies have been directed towards the development of noncinchona alkaloid-based catalysts for the alcoholative ASD of meso-anhydrides, or indeed any of the enantioselective alcoholysis processes. Uozumi has reported a series of (2S, 4R)-4-hydroxyproline-derived 2-aryl-6-hydroxyhexahydro-lfi-pyr-rolo[l,2-c] imidazolones which mediate the methanolytic ASD of ds-hexa-hydrophthalic anhydride in up to 89% ee when employed at the 10 mol% level for 20 h at —25 °C in toluene [186]. Additionally, Nagao has described the use of a bifunctional chiral sulfonamide for the thiolytic ASD of meso-cyclic anhydrides in up to 98% ee when employed at the 5 mol% level for 20 h at rt in ether [187]. 

Asymmetric Diels-Alder Reactions. Chiral bases, including quinine, have been used as catalysts in Diels-Alder reactions (eq 1). The reactions take place at room temperature or below and require 1-10% equiv of the alkaloid. The asymmetric induction that is observed can be attributed to complex formation between the achiral dienolate and the chiral amine. ... 

In the previons section, secondary chiral amines were employed that give rise to enamine formation npon reaction with ketones or aldehydes. Chiral tertiary amines, unable to form enamines, are nevertheless capable of inducing enantioselectivity in case substrates are used that contain sufficiently acidic protons such as aldehydes, ketones or active methylene compounds [33]. The cinchona alkaloids, by far the most versatile source of Brpnsted base catalysts, have played a prominent role in various types of asymmetric organocatalytic reactions [34], which is also true for the Mannich reaction. 

Schans and co-workers envisioned the apphcation of cinchona alkaloids 47a-d as chiral Brpnsted base catalysts in the asymmetric Mannich reaction of acetoacetates 45 with iV-acylimines 23a, 46a-c (Schane 5.25) [35]. Promising results were reported when the chiral base cinchonine (47a) was employed, while the cinchona alkaloid quinine (47b) gave considerably lower selectivities. Opposite selectivities were observed when the pseudo-ematiamers cinchoitidine (47c) and qniitidine (47d) were used. 

Scheme 5.25 Cinchona alkaloids as chiral Br0nsted-base catalysts...

Phase-transfer catalysis is one of the most practical synthetic methodologies because of its operational simplicity and mild reaction conditions, which enable applications in industrial syntheses as a sustainable green chemical process. As reviewed in this chapter, diverse Cinchona alkaloid-derived quaternaiy ammonium salts have been developed via the modification of Cinchona alkaloids based on steric or electronic factors as highly efficient chiral PTC catalysts and successfully applied in various asymmetric organic reactions. Despite the successful development and application of these catalysts, some problems remain to be addressed. Although Cinchona alkaloids have unique structural features, resulting in the availability of four... 

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