Bifunctional chiral

Following work on Michael addition of triazoles to nitro-olefins (discussed in Sect. 2.5), bifunctional chiral thiourea catalysts were used in the addition of triazoles to chalcones [83]. The catalytic system was applicable to enones bearing aromatic groups of varying electronic natures to provide good yields and moderate selectivity. a-Cyanoacetates [84] were also applied in Michael addition to chalcones under similar catalytic conditions (Scheme 33). 

Nagao has disclosed bifunctional chiral sulfonamide 69 as being effective for the thiolytic ASD of meso-cyclic anhydrides in up to 98% ee when employed at the 5 mol% level for 20 h at room temperature in ether [228], Catalyst 69 is a 1,2-diamine derivative in which one of the nitrogens presents as an acidic NH group (part of an electron deficient aryl sulfonamide) and the other as a nucleophihc/basic teri-amine group with the intention to act synergistically in activation of the substrate carbonyl function and thiol nucleophile respectively (Fig. 16) [228],... 

The asymmetric alcoholytic ring opening of 4-substituted-2-phenyl-4,5-dihydro-l,3-oxazin-6-ones proved to be a efficient method for the preparation of enatiomerically pure /3-amino acid derivatives <2005AGE7466>. Treatment of 2,4-diphenyl-4,5-dihydro-l,3-oxazin-6-one 208 in the presence of the bifunctional chiral thiourea catalyst 211 resulted in formation of an enantiomerically enriched mixture of the unchanged oxazinone (iJ)-208 and allyl (4)-3-benzoyl-amino-3-phenylpropanoate 209. The resolved material (iJ)-208 and the product 209 could easily be separated by a selective hydrolytic procedure that converted oxazinone (iJ)-208 quantitatively into the insoluble iV-benzoyl /3-amino acid 210 (Scheme 37). 

According to another NMR study, the mechanism of bifunctional activation in the asymmetric aza-Morita-Baylis-Hillman reaction (Scheme 7) involves rate-limiting proton transfer (116) in the absence of added protic species155 (in consonance with the report summarized in Scheme 5144), but exhibits no autocatalysis. Addition of Brpnsted acids led to substantial rate enhancements through acceleration of the elimination step. Furthermore, it was found that phosphine catalysts, either alone or in combination with protic additives, can cause racemization of the reaction product by proton exchange at the stereogenic centre. This behaviour indicates that the spatial arrangement of a bifunctional chiral catalyst for the asymmetric aza-Morita-Baylis-Hillman reaction is crucial not only for the stereodifferentiation within the catalytic cycle but also for the prevention of subsequent racemization.155... 

QM Gu, CS Chen, CJ Sih. Bifunctional chiral synthons via biochemical methods VIII. Optically active 3-aroyl-thio-2-methylpropionic acid. Tetrahedron Lett 27 1763-1766, 1986. 

For the use of bifunctional chiral imino peptide titanium catalysts identified by screening of parallel libraries, see a) C. A. Krueger, K. W. Kuntz, C. D. Dzierba,... 

Scheme 5.24 Bifunctional chiral phosphines as catalysts in the aza-MBH reaction with imines and MVK.

Asymmetric organocatalytic Morita-Baylis-Hillman reactions offer synthetically viable alternatives to metal-complex-mediated reactions. The reaction is best mediated with a combination of nucleophilic tertiary amine/phosphine catalysts, and mild Bronsted acid co-catalysts usually, bifunctional chiral catalysts having both nucleophilic Lewis base and Bronsted acid site were seen to be the most efficient. Although many important factors governing the reactions were identified, our present understanding of the basic factors, and the control of reactivity and selectivity remains incomplete. Whilst substrate dependency is still considered to be an important issue, an increasing number of transformations are reaching the standards of current asymmetric reactions. 

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]. 

With the exception of the diol 9, that was obtained from the corresponding aldehyde in up to 35% yield, most of the chiral diols mentioned above were isolated in yields of only 20-25%. The formation of the acyloin-type condensation products is in competition with the much more efficient reduction of the carbonyl carbon and saturation of the double bond of the unsaturated aldehydes that were used as substrates. We became interested in the mode of reduction of particular aldehydes such as 54-56 (Scheme 8) in a study of the total synthesis of natural a-tocopherol (vitamin E) (23). We expected to obtain chiral alcohols that would be useful for conversion into natural isoprenoids from the reduction of the a-double bond of the above aldehydes. Indeed, 54-56 afforded up to 75% yield of the saturated carbinols 57-59 by treatment with yeast. Whereas the ee of 57 and 58 was ca 85%-90%, that of 59 is 99%, as shown by NMR experiments on the (-)-MTPA derivative (24). The synthetic significance of carbinol 59 was based on the structural unit present in natural isoprenoids (see brackets in structural formulas). This protected synthon can be unmasked by ozonolysis, as indicated by the high yield conversion of 59 into (S)-(-) -3-methyl-y-butyrolactone 60 (Scheme 9). Product 59 is a bifunctional chiral intermediate which does not need protective manipulation in that... 

Based on the observation that the best ee is obtained with bifunctional chiral agents (ephedrine, pseudoephedrine, norephedrine, and valinol see Scheme 43), we tentatively conclude that a multipoint interaction between the reactant molecule, the chiral inductor, and the zeolite interior is necessary to induce preferential adsorption of tropolone alkyl ether from a single enantiotopic face. The dependence of chiral induction (% ee) on the nature of cations (Scheme 45) suggests a crucial role of the cation present in the supercages in the chiral induction process. This is further strengthened by the results observed with wet and dry zeolites. The presence of water decreases chiral selectivity (Scheme 45). Water molecules... 

Although several bifunctional chiral Lewis acids have been described in the literature and binding studies have been performed as outlined in Section 7.2, relatively little is known about their use as Lewis acid catalysts. Most notably, l,8-bis(dichloroboryl)naphthalene was treated with various chiral organic amines, alcohols, and acids. The resulting products were found to be efficient catalysts for asymmetric Diels-Alder reactions. The simultaneous coordination of the substrate by both Lewis acid centers is believed to play a significant role (see also Scheme 25). 

Davies, S. G., Mortlock, A. A. Bifunctional chiral auxiliaries. 1. The aldol reaction between dialkylboron enolates of 1,3-dipropionyl-trans-4,5-tetramethyleneimidazolidin-2-one and aldehydes. Tetrahedron Lett. 1991, 32,4787-4790. 

On the basis of the achievements described above, the opening of the oxaza-phospholidine ring would lead to the formation of a new bifunctional chiral catalyst possessing Lewis acid and Lewis base moieties [39]. This catalyst could activate both electrophiles and nucleophiles at defined positions. 

Despite the obvious potential of cinchona alkaloids as bifunctional chiral catalysts of the nucleophilic addition/enantioselective protonation on prochiral ketenes, no further contribution has appeared to date and only a few papers described this asymmetric reaction with other catalysts [13], When the reaction is carried out with soft nucleophiles, the catalyst, often a chiral tertiary amine, adding first on ketene, is covalently linked to the enolate during the protonation. Thus, we can expect an optimal control of the stereochemical outcome of the protonation. This seems perfectly well suited for cinchona analogues and we can therefore anticipate successful applications of these compounds for this reaction in the near future. 

Figure 2.7 Bifunctional chiral phosphine amides for use as catalysts.

Using the bifunctional chiral primary amine thiourea catalyst 41 (20 mol%) in CH Clj and in the presence of five equivalents of H O as additive, a highly enanti-oselective direct conjugate addition of a wide range of a,a-unsymmetrically dis-ubstituted aldehydes (only a twofold excess of aldehyde relative to nitroaUcene) to nitroolefins is obtained (see Table 2.1, entry 15, for a representative example) [61], The beneficial role of water is proposed to lie in increasing turnover by eliminating potential catalyst deactivation pathways, and accelerating the final imine hydrolysis. 

Proline derivatives possess a prominent position among the aminocatalysts utilised for carbonyl activation. In combination with the readily tunable properties of the (thio)urea functionality for electrophile activation, the development of bifunctional chiral pyrrolidine-based (thio)ureas was a rational extension. In 2006, Tang and coworkers reported thiourea 55 that can catalyse the conjugate addition reaction between cyclohexanone and nitroalkenes (Scheme 19.63). In the presence of 20 mol% of chiral thiourea 55 and butyric acid as the cocatalyst, the q -products were delivered in high yields (up to 98%) and in excellent diastereo- (up to >99 1 dr) and enan-tioselectivities (up to 98% enantiomeric excess). In addition to aromatic nitroalkenes, aliphatic nitroalkenes were also tolerated, but required a long reaction time (6 days). 

Scheme 22.3 Asymmetric aza-Morita-Baylis-Hillman reaction catalysed by Sasai s bifunctional chiral pyridine catalyst.

An unsymmetrical salen ligand bearing a Lewis base catalyses Ti(OPr-i)4-promoted addition of TMSCN to benzaldehyde with as little as 0.05 mol% loading, quantitative conversion is achieved in 10 min at ambient temperature. Another salen catalyst - a bifunctional salen-phosphine oxide-Ti(IV) combination - promotes enantioselective cyanosilylation of aldehydes. Fine tweaking of the structure of another series of bifunctional chiral salen-Ti(IV) complexes allows the enantioselectivity to be reversed. Biaryl-bridged salen-titanium complexes are also highly efficient catalysts, one example giving 87% ee at room temperature. ... 

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