The design and synthesis of gem-difluorinated sugar nucleosides were described. The key intermediate, 3-deoxy-3,3-difluoro-d-arabinofuranose 9, was first stereoselectively prepared from the chiral gem-difluorohomoallyl alcohol 12. The kinetic formation of single anti-14 in the benzylation of 12 could be accomplished by controlling the amount of sodium hydride used. The dihydroxylation of 14 (a mixture of anti and syn isomers) followed by deprotection and oxidation stereoselectively afforded furanose 9 with the arabino configuration at the C2 position. N(1)-(3-Deoxy-3,3-difluoro-beta-D-arabinofuranosyl)cytosine 6 was prepared from 9 by the glycosylation reaction. 4'-Thiofuranose 25 was easily synthesized from 9. The oxidation of 25 followed by the condensation with silylated N(4)-benzoylcytosine (Pummerer reaction) failed to give our desired protected nucleoside l-3'-deoxy-3',3'-difluoro- 4'-thiocytidine 27', but the regioisomer 27 was obtained. The regiochemistry of the Pummerer reaction was determined by the kinetic acidity of the alpha-proton of 4'-thiofuranose 25.

A series of novel planar chiral diphosphine-oxazoline ferrocenyl ligands were synthesized and used efficiently in the palladium-catalyzed asymmetric intermolecular Heck reaction of 2,3-dihydrofuran with aryl triflate and cyclohexenyl triflate. The tuning of the regioselectivity was realized by means of different palladium precursors and by changing the electronic factor of the ligands. A plausible rationale based on the existed mechanism is provided.

A series of planar chiral P,S-, P,(CdN)-, and S,(CdN)-bidentate ferrocenyl ligands 4, 5, 8, and 9 with the same central and planar chiralities were prepared from the commercially available starting material N,N-dimethyl-(S)-R-ferrocenylethylamine. A Pd-catalyzed asymmetric allylic alkylation reaction was used as a model reaction to study the trans effect of the coordination atoms by these ligands. On the basis of the reaction results and the study of X-ray diffraction as well as 1 H and 13 C NMR spectra of the complexes (12-15), the sequence of the trans effect was established as CdN > P > S, which was supported by molecular modeling at the PM3 level.