A rotationally hindered and thus stereogenic biaryl axis is the structurally and stereochemically decisive element of a steadily growing number of natural products, chiral auxiliaries, and catalysts. Thus, it is not surprising that significant advances have been made in the asymmetric synthesis of axially chiral biaryl compounds over the past decade. In addition to the classic approach (direct stereoselective aryl-aryl coupling), innovative concepts have been developed in which the asymmetric information is introduced into a preformed, but achiral-that is, symmetric or configurationally labile-biaryl compound, or in which an aryl--C single bond is stereoselectively transformed into an axis. This Review classifies these strategies according to their underlying concepts and critically evaluates their scope and limitations with reference to selected model reactions and applications. Furthermore, the preconditions required for the existence of axial chirality in biaryl compounds are discussed.

Atroposelective Synthesis of Axially Chiral Biaryl Compounds

Intellectual curiosity has always been one of the major driving forces leading to new advances in chemistry. At the onset of the 20th century, the fact that biaryls could be optically active even if lacking asymmetrically substituted carbon atoms arose interest, hinting at a novel type of stereomerism. It took quite a while (and some bizarre explanations)1 until in 1922 Christie and Kenner2 first correctly recognized that the phenomenon was the consequence of a hindered rotation about the aryl-aryl single bondshence termed atropisomerism by Kuhn. Still, no particular attention was initially paid to this class of stereoisomers until enantiomerically pure biaryls, such as BINAP (1),3 were found to be excellent ligands in asymmetric catalysis and until the chiral biaryl unit was recognized as the decisive structural element of many natural products (Figure 1).4,5 With the modern screening techniques and the bioassayguided search for novel compounds, the number of isolated axially chiral natural biaryls is steadily increasing.4 This class of secondary metabolites is characterized by a broad structural diversity, reaching from relatively simple molecules like the C2-symmetric biphenyl 2, which solely contains the element of axial chirality,6 to more complex compounds, like, e.g., the dimeric naphthylisoquinoline alkaloids michellamine A [(P,P)-3] and its axial epimer (i.e., its atropodiastereomer), michellamine B [(P,M)-3],7,8 which possess even three biaryl axes, of which the two outer ones are stereogenic, while * To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: bringmann@ chemie.uni-wuerzburg.de; breuning@chemie.uni-wuerzburg.de. † These authors contributed equally to this work. ‡ Present address: Institute of Organic Chemistry, RWTH Aachen, Landoltweg 1, 52074 Aachen, Germany. § Present address: Kekulé Institute of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Bonn, Gerhard-Domagk Str. 1, 53121 Bonn, Germany. Gerhard Bringmann was born in 1951 and studied chemistry in Gie en and Münster, Germany. After his Ph.D. with Prof. B. Franck in 1978 and postdoctoral studies with Prof. Sir D. H. R. Barton in Gif-sur-Yvette (France), he passed his habilitation at the University of Münster in 1984. In 1986, he received offers for full professorships of Organic Chemistry at the Universities of Vienna and Würzburg, of which he accepted the latter in 1987. In 1998, he was offered the position of director at the Leibniz Institute of Plant Biochemistry in Halle, which he declined. His research interests focus on the field of analytical, synthetic, and computational natural product chemistry, i.e., on axially chiral biaryls. He received several prizes and awards, among them the Otto-Klung Award in chemistry (1988), the Prize for Good Teaching of the Free State of Bavaria (1999), the Adolf-Windaus Medal (2006), the Honorary Doctorate of the University of Kinshasa (2006), the Paul-J.-Scheuer Award (2007), and the Honorary Guest Professorship of Peking University (2008). Chem. Rev. 2011, 111, 563–639 563

Atroposelective total synthesis of axially chiral biaryl natural products.

Current knowledge of the biochemistry of Trypanosoma cruzi has led to the development of new drugs and the understanding of their mode of action. Some trypanocidal drugs such as nifurtimox and benznidazole act through free radical generation during their metabolism. T. cruzi is very susceptible to the cell damage induced by these metabolites because enzymes scavenging free radicals are absent or have very low activities in the parasite. Another potential target is the biosynthetic pathway of glutathione and trypanothione, the low molecular weight thiol found exclusively in trypanosomatids. These thiols scavenge free radicals and participate in the conjugation and detoxication of numerous drugs. Inhibition of this key pathway could render the parasite much more susceptible to the toxic action of drugs such as nifurtimox and benznidazole without affecting the host significantly. Other drugs such as allopurinol and purine analogs inhibit purine transport in T. cruzi, which cannot synthesize purines de novo. Nitroimidazole derivatives such as itraconazole inhibit sterol metabolism. The parasite's respiratory chain is another potential therapeutic target because of its many differences with the host enzyme complexes. The pharmacological modulation of the host's immune response against T. cruzi infection as a possible chemotherapeutic target is discussed. A large set of chemicals of plant origin and a few animal metabolites active against T. cruzi are enumerated and their likely modes of action are briefly discussed.

Mode of action of natural and synthetic drugs against Trypanosoma cruzi and their interaction with the mammalian host.

Eine rotationsgehinderte und dadurch stereogene Biarylachse ist das strukturell und stereochemisch entscheidende Element einer standig wachsenden Zahl von Naturstoffen, chiralen Auxiliaren und Katalysatoren. Daher ist es nicht uberraschend, dass im letzten Jahrzehnt bedeutende Fortschritte in der asymmetrischen Synthese axial-chiraler Biaryle erzielt worden sind. Neben dem klassischen Zugangsweg, der direkten Aryl-Aryl-Kupplung, sind innovative Konzepte entwickelt worden, in denen die asymmetrische Information in ein schon vorhandenes, aber nicht optisch aktives – symmetrisches oder konfigurativ labiles – Biaryl eingefuhrt oder eine Aryl-C-Einfachbindung stereoselektiv in eine Achse umgewandelt wird. In diesem Aufsatz werden die Strategien nach den zugrunde liegenden Konzepten klassifiziert, und ihre Anwendungsbreite und ihre Beschrankungen werden anhand ausgewahlter Beispiele kritisch beurteilt. Ferner werden die Voraussetzungen fur das Auftreten von Axialchiralitat diskutiert.

Atropselektive Synthese axial‐chiraler Biaryle

Three new naphthylisoquinoline alkaloids, the 7,3'-coupled ancistrotanzanine C (6), the 5,1'-coupled O-methylancistrocladinine (7), and the likewise 5,1'-coupled O,N-dimethylancistrocladine (8, previously known only as a partial-synthetic compound), have been isolated from the highland liana Ancistrocladus tanzaniensis, along with the two known 7,3'-coupled naphthylisoquinoline alkaloids ancistrocladidine (4) and ancistrotectorine (5). All of the compounds are S-configured at C-3 and bear an oxygen at C-6, and thus belong to the so-called Ancistrocladaceae type, similar to 1-3 previously isolated from this newly discovered plant species. The structural elucidation was achieved by chemical, spectroscopic, and chiroptical methods. The biological activities of the alkaloids against the pathogens causing malaria tropica, leishmaniasis, Chagas' disease, and African sleeping sickness were evaluated.

Ancistrotanzanine C and related 5,1'- and 7,3'-coupled naphthylisoquinoline alkaloids from Ancistrocladus tanzaniensis.

Dioncophylline E from Dioncophyllum thollonii, the first 7,3'-coupled dioncophyllaceous naphthylisoquinoline alkaloid.

Cis- and trans-isoshinanolone from Dioncophyllum thollonii : absolute configuration of two 'known', wide-spread natural products

Acetogenic isoquinoline alkaloids: CXXI. Use of on-line high-performance liquid chromatography–nuclear magnetic resonance spectrometry coupling in phytochemical screening studies: rapid identification of metabolites in Dioncophyllum thollonii

Acetogenic Isoquinoline Alkaloids. Part 150. Dioncophylline E from Dioncophyllum thollonii, the First 7,3′‐Coupled Dioncophyllaceous Naphthylisoquinoline Alkaloid.

Adriaan M. Louis

Papers

Dioncophylline E from Dioncophyllum thollonii, the first 7,3'-coupled dioncophyllaceous naphthylisoquinoline alkaloid.

Cis- and trans-isoshinanolone from Dioncophyllum thollonii : absolute configuration of two 'known', wide-spread natural products

Acetogenic isoquinoline alkaloids: CXXI. Use of on-line high-performance liquid chromatography–nuclear magnetic resonance spectrometry coupling in phytochemical screening studies: rapid identification of metabolites in Dioncophyllum thollonii

Acetogenic Isoquinoline Alkaloids. Part 150. Dioncophylline E from Dioncophyllum thollonii, the First 7,3′‐Coupled Dioncophyllaceous Naphthylisoquinoline Alkaloid.