Chiral Alkyl Amine Synthesis via Catalytic Enantioselective Hydroalkylation of Enecarbamates

Chiral alkyl amines are omnipresent as bioactive molecules and synthetic intermediates. The catalytic and enantioselective synthesis of alkyl amines from readily accessible precursors is challenging. Here we develop a nickel-catalyzed hydroalkylation method to assemble a wide range of chiral alkyl amines from enecarbamates (N-Cbz-protected enamines) and alkyl halides with high regio- and enantioselectivity. The method works for both nonactivated and activated alkyl halides and is able to produce enantiomerically enriched amines with two minimally differentiated alpha-alkyl substituents. The mild conditions lead to high functional group tolerance, which is demonstrated in the postproduct functionalization of many natural products and drug molecules, as well as the synthesis of chiral building blocks and key intermediates to bioactive compounds.

Stereoselective synthesis of alkenes via base-metal-catalyzed addition reactions to alkynes and activation of hydrogen peroxide and carbon dioxide by iron complexes

Fedor Zhurkin

Alkene functionality can be found in the majority of natural products, drugs, catalysts and organic materials. Therefore, methods of C-C double bond formation constitute a cornerstone of organic synthesis. Selective formation of either (Z)- or (E)-isomer is especially desirable. 1,2-Addition to alkynes unites a large arsenal of methods of C-C double bond formation, among which the addition of carbon-centered species is the most interesting, since it offers a possibility of construction of the carbon skeleton. The first part of the present dissertation is devoted to the development of methods of selective addition of carbon reagents to alkynes. Chapter 1 reviews the existing methods of addition of carbon-centered species, generated from organometallic reagents, organic halides or carbonyl compounds to C-C triple bond with the accent on their stereoselectivity. Carbometalative mechanisms lay in the background of the majority of the reactions in this chemistry. The Z/E selectivity of 1,2-addition to triple bond can be controlled via predominance of either syn- or anti-addition or via Z/E isomerization of the addition intermediates. In Chapter 2 a novel method of disubstituted alkene synthesis via reductive addition of alkyl halides to terminal arylalkynes is described. The remarkable feature of this method is highly selective formation of (Z)-alkenes (generally Z/E > 10:1). Minor modifications of the reducing agent allowed the extension of the substrate scope to the primary alkyl iodides. Mechanistic studies revealed that this reaction proceeds as a formal anti-carbozincation. The resulting organozinc species form disubstituted (Z)-alkenes upon aqueous work-up. On the other hand, it would be interesting to utilize these species in cross-coupling reactions to allow the selective synthesis of trisubstituted alkenes. In Chapter 3 a catalytic system for highly regioselective copper-catalyzed allylation of these reagents is described. In Chapter 4 the results on stereoselective intermolecular addition of aldehydes and ketones to alkynes in the presence of zinc and trimethylchlorosilane are summarized. This reaction gives 1-chloro-1,3-dienes as products. The activation of small molecules has become an increasingly attractive area of research over the last years. In Chapter 5 an outline is given of the literature examples of small-molecule activation, namely activation of carbon dioxide and hydrogen peroxide, by iron complexes. In Chapter 6 the studies on small-molecule activation by iron-sulfur cubane clusters are presented. Electrochemical reduction of carbon dioxide and hydrogenation of alkenes were studied. As an additional result, synthesis and characterization of an unprecedented organic iron(I) ate-complex is reported. Structural modification of a non-heme iron complex with hydrogen-bond-donating substituents is described in Chapter 7. The deep impact of these modifications on the structure and reactivity of the resulting complex is discussed.

EPFL2017

Palladium Catalysed Intramolecular Carbo-oxygenation of Propargylic Amines to Access 1,2-Amino Alcohols and alpha-Amino Ketones via in situ Tether Formation

Phillip Gulliver Dominic Greenwood

a-Amino ketones and 1,2-amino alcohols are important structural motifs in organic chemistry, that can be observed in natural products, pharmaceutically and bioactive compounds. For these reasons, they constitute privileged targets for the development of new and effective synthetic methods. The dual-functionalisation of unsaturated carbon-carbon bonds is a powerful approach to access these crucial motifs. In this context, Pd catalysis has been comprehensively investigated and has consistently demonstrated its capability. Methods enabling the concomitant formation of a carbonâ heteroatom and a carbonâcarbon bond are highly valuable, but the challenges of intermolecular reactions have led to the development of tether systems that require additional steps for their introduction and removal. In situ tethering strategies have previously been explored within the Waser group to circumvent these limitations. This approach relies on a one-pot, three component, Pd catalysed carboetherification or amination reaction, leading to rapidly increase in complexity of simple substrates. So far, the in situ methodologies developed by the Waser group have focused on the functionalisation of alkenes from allylic amines and alcohols. In this regard, the goal of my PhD was to expand the in situ tethering methodologies established within the Waser group, to the synthesis of a-amino ketones and 1,2-amino alcohols. Specifically, my focus was on the formation a trifluoromethyl hemiaminal with a propargylic amine and using the resulting aminal to direct the oxyalkynylation and oxyarylation of the alkyne substrate via a Pd catalysed transformation. Upon optimisation, the reaction of a protected terminal propargylamine, trifluoroacetaldehyde ethyl hemiacetal and silylbromoacetylene using a Pd0 complex with DPEPhos as the catalytic system and Cs2CO3 as the base gave the desired oxazolidine alkenes in high yields and E:Z selectivity. Substrates with substitution on the terminal position and at the propargylic required a change of ligand and base. The transformation was broadly tolerant towards substitution on the nitrogen and the alkyne. An oxyarylative variant was also developed, using Ruphos as ligand, and worked well with a range of iodoarene partners. The obtained oxazolidines could be conveniently orthogonally deprotected to access the a-amino ketone and terminal alkyne; the hydrogenation of the unsaturated oxazolidines has allowed access to 1,2-amino alcohol scaffolds and the application of gold catalysis converted the enyne-oxazolidine system into trisubstituted silyl furans. The identification of a sideproduct of the oxyalkynylation process led to the development of a carboxy-alkynylation reaction using a "CO2" unit derived from the carbonate base. Optimisation established CsHCO3 to the best base/"CO2" source, using DPEPhos as ligand. This transformation gave convenient access to diverse library of cyclic carbamates. Work is ongoing to achieve an enantioselective oxyarylation using chiral phosphine ligands. The asymmetric synthesis of oxazolidines, followed by the diastereoselective alkene hydrogenation and subsequent tether removal would allow the stereodivergent access to interesting diarylalkyl-1,2- amino alcohols. Most recently, the product was synthesised in 66% yield, with 66%ee using commercially available Trost ligand.

EPFL2020

Total Synthesis of Alstilobanine C, Undulifoline and Alstilobanine B

Nicolas David Gaeng

The total synthesis of pentacyclic monoterpene indole alkaloids is the focus of this thesis. Total syntheses of (±)-alstilobanine C, (±)-undulifoline and (±)-alstilobanine B, three natural products from the Ulean family of alkaloids, were accomplished. The characteristic features of our synthesis included: a) a domino sequence involving a highly diastereoselective Michael addition followed by chemoselective C-acylation of the resulting enolate by Mander¿s ester; b) an unprecedented Lewis acid mediated intramolecular addition of enolate to oxonium, generated in situ from MOM protective group; c) a sequence of chemoselective reduction/indolization/intramolecular aza-Michael addition. This domino process afforded directly the (±)-alstilobanine C, a pentacyclic monoterpene indole alkaloid in 87% yield. Reductive N-methylation of (±)-alstilobanine C provided (±)-undulifoline which, upon N-oxidation, was further converted to (±)-alstilobanine B. Enantioselective total synthesis of the same natural products through a different synthetic route is presented. After exploring different unsuccessful strategies, an enzymatic desymmetrization of a meso compound was adopted for the synthesis of enantioenriched cyclopentenone intermediate. Applying the two domino sequence developed previously, namely, Michael addition/C-acylation and oxepane formation, an efficient synthesis of the oxobicyclo[4.2.1]nonane was realized. A palladium-catalyzed decarboxylative cross-coupling, a methodology developed in our group, afforded an advanced bicyclic intermediate with all the carbon and functional groups needed to accomplish the total synthesis. However, conversion of the vinyl group to alkylazide or its synthetic equivalent proved to be difficult in spite of the efforts dedicated to this seemingly trivial transformation.