Search

We describe a new strategy for enantio- and diastereoselective syntheses of all possible stereoisomers of 1,3-polyol arrays. This strategy relies on a highly catalyst-controlled epoxidation of alpha,beta-unsaturated morpholinyl amides promoted by the Sm-BINOL-Ph(3)As[double bond]O (1:1:1) complex, followed by a conversion of morpholinyl amides into ketones and diastereoselective ketone reduction. Highly enantio- (up to99 % ee) or diastereoselective (up to99.5:0.5) epoxidation was achieved using 5-10 mol % of the Sm complex to afford synthetically very useful, nearly optically pure alpha,beta-epoxy morpholinyl amides. Stereoselectivity of the epoxidation was controlled by the chirality of BINOL with overwhelming inherent diastereofacial preference for the substrate. Combination with the syn- and anti-selective ketone reduction with the highly catalyst-controlled epoxidation allowed for an iterative strategy for the syntheses of all possible stereoisomers of 1,3-polyol arrays. Eight possible stereoisomers of 1,3,5,7-tetraol arrays were synthesized with high to excellent stereoselectivity. Moreover, the efficiency of the present strategy was successfully demonstrated by enantioselective syntheses of several 1,3-polyol/alpha-pyrone natural products, for example, cryptocaryolone diacetate.

The development of a direct catalytic asymmetric aldol-Tishchenko reaction and the nature of its catalyst are described. An aldol-Tishchenko reaction of various propiophenone derivatives with aromatic aldehydes was promoted by [LaLi 3 (binol) 3 ] (LLB), and reactivity and enantioselectivity were dramatically enhanced by the addition of lithium trifluoromethanesulfonate (LiOTf). First, we observed a dynamic structural change of LLB by the addition of LiOTf using 1 3 C NMR spectroscopy, electronspray ionization mass spectrometry (ESI-MS), and cold-spray ionization mass spectrometry (CSI-MS). X-ray crystallography revealed that the structure of the newly generated self-assembled complex was a binuclear [La 2 Li 4 (binaphthoxide) 5 ] complex 6. A reverse structural change of complex 6 to LLB by the addition of one equivalent of Li 2 (binol) was also confirmed by ESI-MS and experimental results. The drastic concentration effects on the direct catalytic asymmetric aldol-Tishchenko reaction suggested that the addition of LiOTf to LLB generated an active oligomeric catalyst species.

A direct catalytic asymmetric aldol reaction of propionate equivalent was achieved via the aldol-Tishchenko reaction. Coupling an irreversible Tishchenko reaction to a reversible aldol reaction overcame the retro-aldol reaction problem and thereby afforded the products in high enantio and diastereoselectivity using 10 mol % of the asymmetric catalyst. A variety of ketones and aldehydes, including propyl and butyl ketones, were coupled efficiently, yielding the corresponding aldol-Tishchenko products in up to 96% yield and 95% ee. Diastereoselectivity was generally below the detection limit of 1H NMR (>98:2). Preliminary studies performed to clarify the mechanism revealed that the aldol products were racemic with no diastereoselectivity. On the other hand, the Tishchenko products were obtained in a highly enantiocontrolled manner.