No abstract

The increasingly needed synthesis of both enantiomers of a chiral compound usually requires the use of both enantiomers of a chiral catalyst. Several of the usually employed chiral ligands are naturally available in only one enantiomeric form, the antipode often being of labor-intensive preparation. Enantiodivergent asymmetric catalysis has accrued in importance in this regard, in that it allows expeditious access to both enantiomers of a product without any direct modification on the chemical structure of the chiral promoter. Various promising examples will be discussed throughout the review. If available or envisageable, a mechanistic rationale for the observed enantioinversion will be outlined.

5H-Alkyl-2-phenyl-oxazol-4-ones, a little-known heterocyclic ring system, are readily available via a microwave-assisted, sodium fluoride catalyst cyclization of mono-alpha-haloimides, which in turn are accessed by N-acylation of benzamides with alpha-bromo acid halides. Terminally substituted allyl systems serve as excellent substrates for Mo-catalyzed asymmetric allylic alkylation. The resultant products are formed with excellent ees involving a catalyst derived from N,N'-bis-picolinamide of trans-1,2-diaminocyclohexane and cycloheptatriene molybdenum tris(carbonyl). In addition to benzenoid, nonbenzenoid aromatic and vinyl substituents on the allyl carbonate moiety provide good to excellent regio- and diastereoselectivity as well as excellent enantioselectivity. Substituents on the heterocycle include methyl, n-butyl, allyl, isobutyl, isopropyl, and cyclohexyl. The presence of a double bond in the product allows them to be further modified via the chemistry of the double-bond, including metathesis. The products are hydrolyzed under basic conditions to provide alpha-hydroxyamides.

No abstract

Regioconvergent synthesis of the key lactone 1 from an equimolar mixture of the two olefins 4 and 5 was achieved by unique Pd(II) chemistry. The synthetic versatility of lactone 1 has been demonstrated in the synthesis of iridoids and of the endo-Corey lactone 2, which is a key intermediate for the F(2)-isoprostane synthesis. Upon exposure of the sodium salts of 4 and 5 to a catalytic amount of Pd(OAc)(2) under oxygen, in the presence of AcOH, an isomeric lactone 12 was obtained in addition to the title compound 1. The Pd(II) lactonization was optimized by fine-tuning all the factors participating in the catalytic cycle: solvent, oxidant, co-oxidant, and Pd(II) source. The Hosokawa's heterobimetallic couple emerged as the catalyst of choice. With a Cu(II)-Pd(II) couple, the redox process was transferred to copper, and the formal oxidation state of palladium remained constant during the reaction. By virtue of this new methodology, lactone 1 was obtained in a rewarding 60% yield, along with isomeric lactone 12 in 30% yield. A detailed mechanistic study was carried out in order to elucidate the formation of lactones 1 and 12. Lactone 1 was formed from either olefin 8 or olefin 10; on the other hand, lactone 12 was formed exclusively from olefin 10. An intramolecular 1,2-acyloxypalladiation was invoked for the transformation of 8 into 1, whereas the pi-allyl complexes 13 and 11 were involved in the transformation of olefin 10 into 12 and 1, respectively.