Chiral amine catalysts aldol reactions

Enders described a fascinating organocatalytic one-pot asymmetric synthesis of tricyclic compounds using a triple-cascade/Diels-Alder reaction sequence. Combination of dieneal 110 with enal 111 and nitro alkene 112 in the presence of a chiral amine catalyst results in a Michael/Michael/aldol condensation sequence to yield cycloaddition precursor 113. Cooling the reaction mixture and addition of a Lewis acid promotes the desired intramolecular Diels-Alder reaction to selectively afford the highly functionalized tricyclic target 114. ... 

Cascade reactions triggered by the combination of chiral amines and achiral Brpnsted acid were well documented on the basis of enamine and iminium ion formation, while examples with the combination of a chiral amine catalyst and a chiral Brpnsted acid were rare, hi 2(X)7, Zhou and List reported an elegant cascade intramolecular aldol-reduction process to prepare chiral 3-substituted cyclohexyl-amines by combining achiral enamine catalysis and chiral phosphoric acid catalysis [38]. Unusually, achiral aryl primary amine was exploited as an amino catalyst to generate a transient enamine intermediate to facilitate an intramolecular aldolization-dehydration process, while chiral phosphoric acid was harnessed to accelerate the following conjugate reduction-reductive amination cascade. Starting from readily available 2,6-diketones and aryl amines, pharmaceutically relevant 3-substituted cyclohexyamine derivatives were readily produced in satisfactory yield and excellent enantioselectivity (Scheme 9.42). 

Organic-Base Catalyzed. Asymmetric direct aldol reactions have received considerable attention recently (Eq. 8.98).251 Direct asymmetric catalytic aldol reactions have been successfully performed using aldehydes and unmodified ketones together with chiral cyclic secondary amines as catalysts.252 L-proline and 5,5-dimethylthiazolidinium-4-carboxylate (DMTC) were found to be the most powerful amino acid catalysts for the reaction of both acyclic and cyclic ketones as aldol donors with aromatic and aliphatic aldehydes to afford the corresponding... 

Sn(OTf)2 can function as a catalyst for aldol reactions, allylations, and cyanations asymmetric versions of these reactions have also been reported. Diastereoselective and enantioselective aldol reactions of aldehydes with silyl enol ethers using Sn(OTf)2 and a chiral amine have been reported (Scheme SO) 338 33 5 A proposed active complex is shown in the scheme. Catalytic asymmetric aldol reactions using Sn(OTf)2, a chiral diamine, and tin(II) oxide have been developed.340 Tin(II) oxide is assumed to prevent achiral reaction pathway by weakening the Lewis acidity of Me3SiOTf, which is formed during the reaction. 

This same picture unfolds when we examine the use of chiral amines in base-catalyzed reactions. Although in several individual cases (91,92) such as epox-idations (84), one Michael reaction (36), and an intramolecular aldol reaction (93), amino acids (11) or polypeptides (84) are better catalysts than quinine, the range of usefulness of quinine appears to warrant the term miracle catalyst. ... 

Their previous screening of catalysts for of aldol reactions and Robinson annu-lations suggested the possibility that chiral amines might also be able to catalyze the Mannich reaction [30, 31]. Thus, screening of catalysts for Mannich-type reactions between N-OMP-protected aldimines and acetone revealed that chiral diamine salt 10, L-proline 11, and 5,5-dimethylthiazolidine-4-carboxylic acid (DMTC) 12 are catalysts of Mannich-type reactions affording Mannich adducts in moderate yields with 60-88 % ee. To extend the Mannich-type reactions to aliphatic imines, the DMTC 12-catalyzed reactions are performed as one-pot three-component procedures. The o-anisidine component has to be exchanged with p-anisidine for the one-pot reactions to occur. The DMTC 12-catalyzed one-pot three-component direct asymmetric Mannich reactions provide Mannich adducts in moderate yield with 50-86 % ee. 

Chiral amines (both primary and secondary amines) and amino acids have been used as catalysts for aldol reactions, Mannich-type reactions, and other reactions that proceed through enamine intermediates. An enamine-based catalytic cycle is shown in Scheme 2.1. The catalytic cycle includes formation of an iminium intermediate between a donor carbonyl compound and the amine-containing catalyst, the formation of an enamine intermediate from the iminium, C-C bond forma-... 

Chiral phosphoramides, particularly C2-symmetric examples, are widely used in asymmetric synthesis (see section 3.2). One example is the asymmetric catalysis of Aldol reactions, where the phosphoramide catalyst is used in combination with a Lewis base. A solid state and solution study of the structure of chiral phosphoramide-tin complexes used in such reactions has now been reported. A number of chiral, non-racemic cyclic phosphoramide receptors (387) have been synthesised and their interactions with homochiral amines studied using electrospray ionisation MS. Although (387) bind the amines strongly, no evidence of chiral selectivity was found. Evidence from a combination of its X-ray structure, NMR, and ab initio calculations suggests that the cyclen phosphorus oxide (388) has an N-P transannular interaction in the solid state. A series of isomers of l,3,2-oxazaphosphorino[4,3-a]isoquinolines(389), containing a novel ring-system, have been prepared and their stereochemistry and conformation studied by H, C, and P NMR spectroscopy and X-ray crystallography... 

In 2001, Yamamoto prepared various chiral diamines (pyrrolidine based secondary and tertiary amines) " and screened a range of protic acids to catalyse the aldol reaction. Catalyst la TfOH, had no catalytic activity alone. However, the combination of diamine la and la TfOH catalysed the aldol reaction of ketones with p-nitrobenzaldehyde. The aldol products were obtained with high chemical yields and reasonable to high enantio- and diastereoselectivities (Scheme 9.1). ... 

With respect to the covalent activation in conjugate additions, the catalyst, usually a primary or a secondary amine, can reversibly form a chiral enamine [ 11 ] to activate the nucleophile (D, Fig. 2.2) or a chiral iminium ion [12] to activate the acceptor (E, Fig. 2.2). The detection of enamine intermediates in asymmetric oiganocatalysis has been for a long time the missing piece of evidence for the commonly accepted mechanism of enamine catalysis. This gap has been recently solved with the first detection and structnral characterization of enamine intermediates in proUne-cata-lyzed aldol reactions by real-time NMR spectroscopy [13] and the direct observation of an enamine intermediate in the crystal strnctnre of an aldolase antibody [14]. 

---