Toward improving synthetic efficiency, organic chemists have turned to bioinspired organocascade or domino processes that generate multiple bonds and stereocenters in a single operation. However, despite the great importance of substituted cyclopentanes, given their prevalence in complex natural products and pharmaceutical agents, the rapid, enantioselective assembly of these carbocycles lags behind cyclohexanes. Herein, we describe a novel Michael-aldol-β-lactonization organocascade process for the synthesis of complex cyclopentanes utilizing chiral α,β-unsaturated acylammonium intermediates, readily generated by activation of commodity unsaturated acid chlorides with chiral isothiourea catalysts. This efficient methodology enables the construction of two C-C bonds, one C-O bond, two rings, and three contiguous stereogenic centers delivering complex cyclopentanes with high levels of relative and absolute stereocontrol. Our results suggest that unsaturated acyl ammonium intermediates have broad utility for the design of organocascade and multicomponent processes with the latter demonstrated by a Michael-Michael-aldol-β-lactonization.

Taming the beast, asymmetrically: Modulation of the reactivity of acid chlorides, using cinchona alkaloid catalysts, results in chiral α,β-unsaturated acylammoniums, which react with nucleophiles enantioselectively to give pyrrolidinones, piperid-2-ones, and dihydropyridinones. This nucleophile-catalyzed Michael/proton transfer/lactamization or lactonization organocascade leads to chiral intermediates previously employed for the synthesis of bioactive pharmaceuticals.

A Pharmacophore-Directed Retrosynthesis (PDR) strategy applied to rameswaralide provided simplified precursors bearing the common 5,5,6 (red) and 5,5,7 (blue) skeleton present in several cembranoid and norcembranoids from Sinularia soft corals. Key steps include a Diels-Alder lactonization organocascade delivering the common 5,5,6 core and a subsequent ring expansion affording a 5,5,7 core serviceable for the synthesis of rameswaralide. Initial structure-activity relationships of intermediates en route to the natural product has revealed interesting differential and selective cytotoxicity.

No abstract

Please cite this article as: Vellalath, S., Van, K.N., Romo, D., Utility and NMR studies of α,β-unsaturated acylammonium salts: Synthesis of polycyclic dihydropyranones and a dihydropyridone, Tetrahedron Letters (2015), doi: http://dx.