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Novel bidentate phosphine ligands BABIPhos featuring a biaryl bis-dihydrobenzooxaphosphole core are presented. Their synthesis was achieved via Pd-catalyzed reductive homocoupling of dihydrobenzooxaphosphole aryl triflates. An efficient route toward various analogues was also established, giving access to phosphines with different electronic and steric properties. The newly obtained ligands demonstrated high efficiency and selectivity in Rh-catalyzed asymmetric hydrogenation of di- and trisubstituted enamides. This new class of ligands is complementary to previously described bidentate benzooxaphosphole ligands BIBOP.

Enantioselective synthesis of α-aryl and α-heteroaryl piperidines is reported. The key step is an iridium-catalyzed asymmetric hydrogenation of substituted N-benzylpyridinium salts. High levels of enantioselectivity up to 99.3:0.7 er were obtained for a range of α-heteroaryl piperidines. DFT calculations support an outersphere dissociative mechanism for the pyridinium reduction. Notably, initial protonation of the final enamine intermediate determines the stereochemical outcome of the transformation rather than hydride reduction of the resultant iminium intermediate.

A chromatography-free, asymmetric synthesis of the C2-symmetric P-chiral diphosphine t-Bu-SMS-Phos was developed using a chiral auxiliary-based approach in five steps from the chiral auxiliary in 36% overall yield. Separtion and recovery of the auxiliary were achieved with good yield (97%) to enable recycling of the chiral auxiliary. An air-stable crystalline form of the final ligand was identified to enable isolation of the final ligand by crystallization to avoid chromatography. This synthetic route was applied to prepare up to 4 kg of the final ligand. The utility of this material was demonstrated in the asymmetric hydrogenation of trifluoromethyl vinyl acetate at 0.1 mol % Rh loading to access a surrogate for the pharmaceutically relavent chiral trifluoroisopropanol fragment in excellent yield and enantiomeric excess (98.6%).

The development of enantioselective carbon-carbon bond couplings catalyzed by nonprecious metals is highly desirable in terms of cost efficiency and sustainability. The first nickel-catalyzed enantioselective Mizoroki-Heck coupling is reported. This transformation is accomplished via mild reaction conditions, leveraging on QuinoxP* as a chiral ligand to afford oxindoles containing quaternary stereocenters. Good reactivity and selectivity are observed in the presence of various functional groups. Computational studies suggest that the oxidative addition assembles an atropisomeric intermediate responsible for the facial selectivity of the insertion step.

A general and efficient method for the synthesis of bulky and structurally diverse P-stereogenic chiral secondary phosphine oxides (SPOs) by using readily available chiral amino alcohol templates is described. These chiral SPOs could be used as chiral building blocks for the synthesis of difficult-to-access bulky P-stereogenic phosphine compounds or ligands for organic catalysis.

A concise asymmetric synthesis of an 11β-HSD-1 inhibitor has been achieved using inexpensive starting materials with excellent step-economy at low catalyst loadings. The catalytic enantioselective total synthesis of 1 was accomplished in 7 steps and 38% overall yield aided by the development of an innovative, sequential strategy involving Pd-catalyzed pyridinium C-H arylation and Ir-catalyzed asymmetric hydrogenation of the resulting fused tricyclic indenopyridinium salt highlighted by the use of a unique P,N-ligand (MeO-BoQPhos) with 1000 ppm of [Ir(COD)Cl] 2 .

The direct arylation of pyridine substrates using non-precious catalysts is underdeveloped but highly desirable due to its efficiency to access important motifs while being extremely cost-effective. The first nickel-catalyzed C-3 direct arylation of pyridine derivatives to provide a new approach to valuable 1-azafluorene pharmacophore frameworks was developed. This transformation is accomplished using air-stable nickel catalyst precursors combined with phenanthroline ligands and tolerates a variety of substituents. Computational studies suggest facile oxidative addition via the pyridinium form, deprotonation, and a subsequent carbo-nickelation cyclization. Nickel homolysis/recombination permits isomerization to the stereochemical array needed for the final elimination.

An efficient Negishi cross-coupling was developed for the synthesis of the biaryl axes present in useful P-chiral dihydrobenzooxaphosphole ligands. This approach has allowed for the synthesis of new derivatives of these ligands that were not accessible by the previous route employing Suzuki-Miyaura cross-coupling. The use of Pd2(dba)3/BI-DIME as the catalyst system affords the desired biaryl compounds in good yields with excellent rates and with catalyst loadings as low as 0.25 mol %.

A practical sequence involving a noncryogenic stereospecific boronate rearrangement followed by a robust formylation with an in situ generated DCM anion has been developed for the asymmetric construction of an all-carbon quaternary stereogenic center of a FLAP inhibitor. The key boronate rearrangement was rendered noncryogenic and robust by using LDA as the base and instituting an in situ trapping of the unstable lithiated benzylic carbamate with the boronic ester. A similar strategy was implemented for the DCM formylation reaction. It was found that the 1,2-boronate rearrangement for the formylation reaction could be temperature-controlled, thus preventing overaddition of the DCM anion and rendering the process reproducible. The robust stereospecific boronate rearrangement and formylation were utilized for the practical asymmetric synthesis of a chiral quaternary FLAP inhibitor.

An enantioselective copper-catalyzed asymmetric conjugate addition of Me2Zn to (Z)-nitroalkenes led to the formation of all-carbon quaternary stereogenic centers with high stereoselectivity. The key features of the new method are the unprecedented use of [(MeCN)4Cu]PF6 in conjunction with the Hoveyda ligand L1 and the use of (Z)-nitroalkene substrates so that undesired nitroalkene isomerization is minimized and enantioselectivity is enhanced dramatically. We also describe a novel, practical, and highly (Z)-selective nitroalkene synthesis., (© 2014 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.)

Sodium-proton exchangers, NHEs are plasma membrane proteins that are essential in the regulation of intracellular pH of the myocardium. There are nine known variously expressed isoforms of NHEs with NHE-1 being the predominant isoform in the heart. N-[4-(1-acetyl-piperidin-4-yl)-3-trifluoromethyl-benzoyl]-guanidine (1) is a potent NHE 1-inhibitor with good pharmacokinetics. It was prepared labeled with deuterium and carbon-14 to aid in drug metabolism, pharmacokinetics, and other studies. The combination of Comins' reaction and reduction under deuterium gas was used to access deuterium labeled (1) starting from deuterium labeled pyridine. Carbon-14 labeled zinc cyanide was used to prepare [(14)C]-(1) in three steps, with a specific activity of 55.6 mCi/mmol.

The utility of allenyl and propargyl boronates for the propargylation of aldehydes and ketones mediated by zinc is presented. The reaction is catalytic in zinc with allenyl or propargyl borolanes. The propargylation with crystalline and air-stable propargyl diethanolamine boronates was also achieved. A catalytic cycle is proposed, and preliminary mechanistic studies are discussed.

A novel two-step synthesis of substituted 2-formylpyrroles is described. Aldol adducts of ketones and 4-formyloxazole undergo a dehydration/oxazole hydrolysis/cyclization cascade on sequential treatment with MsCl/Et3N and aqueous NaOH to yield 5-substituted and 4,5-disubstituted 2-formylpyrroles. The methodology was extended to an N-benzyl thiazolium salt.

N-Heterocyclic carbenes were shown to be highly effective catalysts to promote Mukaiyama aldol reactions. In the presence of only 0.5 mol % of N-heterocyclic carbene (5), various aldehydes and 2,2,2-trifluoroacetophenone underwent Mukaiyama aldol reactions in THF with trimethylsilyl ketene acetal (2) at 23 degrees C as well as with trimethylsilyl enol ether (7) at 0 degrees C to afford aldol adducts in good yields. These conditions are extremely mild and operationally simple and tolerate various functional groups. [reaction: see text]

N-Heterocyclic carbenes were found to be highly effective organocatalysts in activating TMSCN for facile cyanosilylation of carbonyl compounds. Cyano transfer from TMSCN to aldehydes and ketones proceeds at room temperature in the presence of only 0.01-0.5 mol % of N-heterocyclic carbene (1), leading to a range of trimethylsilylated cyanohydrins in very good to excellent yields. These conditions are extremely mild and simple and tolerate various functional groups.

[reaction: see text]. A novel N-heterocyclic carbene (NHC) catalyzed trifluoromethylation reaction of carbonyl compounds was discovered. Both enolizable and nonenolizable aldehydes and alpha-keto esters undergo facile trifluoromethylation with TMSCF3 at room temperature in the presence of only 0.5-1 mol % of the commercially available NHC (1), providing CF3-substituted alcohols in good yields. Selective trifluoromethylation of aldehydes over ketones can be achieved under NHC catalysis. These conditions are mild and simple and tolerate a variety of functional groups.