Transition-metal-catalyzed addition of heteroatom-hydrogen bonds to alkynes.

The demand for new chemicals spanning the fields of health care to materials science combined with the pressure to produce these substances in an environmentally benign fashion pose great challenges to the synthetic chemical community. The maximization of synthetic efficiency by the conversion of simple building blocks into complex targets remains a fundamental goal. In this context, ruthenium complexes catalyze a number of non-metathesis conversions and allow the rapid assembly of complex molecules with high selectivity and atom economy. These complexes often exhibit unusual reactivity. Careful consideration of the mechanistic underpinnings of the transformations can lead to the design of new reactions and the discovery of new reactivity.

Ruthenium-catalyzed reactions--a treasure trove of atom-economic transformations.

The involvement of a catalytic metal vinylidene species was proposed for the first time in 1986 to explain the regioselective formation of vinyl carbamates directly from terminal alkynes, carbon dioxide, and amines. Since this initial report, various metal vinylidenes and allenylidenes, which are key activation intermediates, have proved extremely useful for many alkyne transformations. They have contributed to the rational design of new catalytic reactions. This 20th anniversary is a suitable occasion to present the advancement of organometallic vinylidenes and allenylidenes in catalysis.

Metal vinylidenes and allenylidenes in catalysis: applications in anti-Markovnikov additions to terminal alkynes and alkene metathesis.

The formal combination of a carbene and an organometallic fragment yields carbene complexes. They are commonly classified as Fischerand Schrock-type complexes. While Schrock-type compounds (first described in the early 1970s) play an important role in olefin metathesis (acknowledged by the Nobel Prize 20051), Fischer carbene complexes, which were first reported in 19642a and 1965,2b have been developed into powerful reagents for organic synthesis.3 This review concentrates on group 6 metal carbene complexes with a special focus on chromium complexes since, because of their balance of reactivity and stability combined with easy accessibility (see below), they are the most prominent members of the Fischer carbenes and have found the broadest application. While most of the recent chemistry of Fischer carbene complexes has been periodically summarized during the last 5-10 years,4 this review, apart from the basic characteristics of Fischer carbene complexes in the introductory part, will focus on the developments since the mid1990s. The literature is covered up to April 2009.

Fischer Carbene Complexes in Organic Synthesis: Metal-Assisted and Metal-Templated Reactions

Synthesis of six-membered oxygenated heterocycles through carbon-oxygen bond-forming reactions

Photolysis of 0.25 equiv of W(CO)6 in the presence of tertiary amines (triethylamine or DABCO) and highly functionalized terminal alkynyl alcohols catalyzes single-step, high-yield cycloisomerization to endocyclic enol ethers. This transformation is general for each diastereomeric 3,4-bissilyl ether of 5-hydroxy-1-hexyne, leading to enantio- and diastereoselective syntheses of each isomer of 6-deoxy-1,2-glycals. Stereoselective glycosylations have also been demonstrated for each glycal diastereomer, and have been applied in the preparation of d-digitoxose-β-4-d-digitoxose glycal.

Stereoselective Glycosylations of a Family of 6-Deoxy-1,2-glycals Generated by Catalytic Alkynol Cycloisomerization

Chagas disease is derived from the infection by the protozoan Trypanosoma cruzi. In many countries, benznidazole is the only drug approved for clinical use despite several side effects and the emergence of resistant parasite strains. In this context, our group has previously pointed out that two novel aminopyridine derivatives complexed with Cu2+, namely, cis-aquadichloro(N-[4-(hydroxyphenyl)methyl]-2-pyridinemethamino)copper (3a) and its glycosylated ligand cis-dichloro (N-{[4-(2,3,4,6-tetra-O-acetyl-β-D-glucopyranosyloxy)pheny]lmethyl}-2-pyridinemethamino)copper (3b), are effective against T. cruzi trypomastigote forms. With this result in mind, the present work aimed to investigate the effects of both compounds on trypomastigotes physiology and on the interaction process with host cells. Apart from loss of plasma membrane integrity, an increased generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and decreased mitochondrial metabolism were observed. Pretreatment of trypomastigotes with these metallodrugs inhibited the association index with LLC-MK2 cells in a typical dose-dependent manner. Both compounds showed low toxicity on mammalian cells (CC50 > 100 µM), and the IC50 values calculated for intracellular amastigotes were determined as 14.4 µM for 3a and 27.1 µM for 3b. This set of results demonstrates the potential of these aminopyridines complexed with Cu2+ as promising candidates for further antitrypanosomal drug development.

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and K. Subba Reddy

Papers

Stereoselective Glycosylations of a Family of 6-Deoxy-1,2-glycals Generated by Catalytic Alkynol Cycloisomerization

In Vitro Effects of Aminopyridyl Ligands Complexed to Copper(II) on the Physiology and Interaction Process of Trypanosoma cruzi