Asymmetric aldol reactions are a powerful method for the construction of carbon–carbon bonds in an enantioselective fashion. Historically this reaction has been performed in a stoichiometric fashion to control the various aspects of chemo-, diastereo-, regio- and enantioselectivity, however, a more atom economical approach would unite high selectivity with the use of only a catalytic amount of a chiral promoter. This critical review documents the development of direct catalytic asymmetric aldol methodologies, including organocatalytic and metal-based strategies. New methods have improved the reactivity, selectivity and substrate scope of the direct aldol reaction and enabled the synthesis of complex molecular targets (357 references).

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The Direct Catalytic Asymmetric Aldol Reaction

Organocatalysis has captured the imagination of a significant group of synthetic chemists. Much of the mechanistic understanding of these reactions has come from computational investigations or studies involving both experimental and complementary computational explorations. As much as any other area of chemistry, organocatalysis has advanced because of both empirical discoveries and computational insights. Quantum mechanical calculations, particularly with density functional theory (DFT), can now be applied to real chemical systems that are studied by experimentalists; this review describes the quantum mechanical studies of organocatalysis.

The dramatic growth of computational investigations on organocatalysis in the last decade reflects the great attention focused on this area of chemistry since the discoveries of List, Lerner, and Barbas of the proline-catalyzed intermolecular aldol reaction, and by MacMillan in the area of catalysis by chiral amino-acid derived amines. The number of reports on the successful applications of organocatalysts and related mechanistic investigations for understanding the origins of catalysis and selectivities keep growing at a breathtaking pace. Literature coverage in this review is until October 2009, except for very recent discoveries that alter significantly the conclusions based on older literature.

1.1 Computational methods for organocatalysis
Over the last two decades, DFT has become a method of choice for the cost-effective treatment of large chemical systems with high accuracy.1 Most of the studies reported in this review were carried out using the B3LYP functional with the 6-31G(d) basis set, which is a standard in quantum mechanical calculations. Nevertheless, DFT is experiencing continuing developments of new functionals and further improvements. The availability of many new functionals and, in particular, the rapidly evolving performance issues of B3LYP have stimulated extra efforts on benchmarking DFT methods for the prediction of key classes of organic reactions.2 The well-documented deficiencies of B3LYP include the failure to adequately describe medium-range correlation and photobranching effects,3,4 delocalization errors causing significant deviations in π→σ transformations,2b,5 and incorrect description of non-bonding and long-range interactions,6 which are likely to be key factors in determining stereoselectivities. Benchmark results also show that newer functionals considerably improve some of the underlying issues.2–7 Recent advances, especially in the treatment of dispersion effects, now offer more reliable models of the reaction profiles and stereoselectivities.

Most benchmarks focus on energetics rather than stereoselectivities. Systematic benchmarking for stereoselectivities requires more sophisticated techniques and averaging over conformations. To date, such benchmarking based upon stereoselectivity is available for only three reactions,8 and even there only various basis sets with B3LYP, as well as comparisons of results predicted using enthalpies and free energies. It is not possible to assign error bars for stereoselectivities for the majority of reports discussed in this review. Because stereoisomeric transition structures are very similar species, their relative energies are likely to be calculated accurately, as shown by the good agreement between calculated and experimental values.

More recently Harvey (Harvey, 2010, faraday discussions) has studied two typical organic reactions of polar species (Wittig and Morita-Baylis-Hillman reactions) at different levels of theory.2i He showed that many standard computational methods, involving B3LYP, are qualitatively useful, but the energetics may be misleading for larger reactive partners; the quantitative prediction of rate constants remains difficult. These studies suggest that although B3LYP provides valuable qualitative insight into the reaction mechanisms and selectivities, the energetics may require testing with higher accuracy methods for complex organic systems. On the other hand, Simon and Goodman found B3LYP to be “only slightly less accurate” than newer methods, and recommended its use for organic reaction mechanisms.9

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Quantum Mechanical Investigations of Organocatalysis: Mechanisms, Reactivities, and Selectivities

In this review, we summarize the origin and advancements of iridium-catalyzed asymmetric allylic substitution reactions during the past two decades. Since the first report in 1997, Ir-catalyzed asymmetric allylic substitution reactions have attracted intense attention due to their exceptionally high regio- and enantioselectivities. Ir-catalyzed asymmetric allylic substitution reactions have been significantly developed in recent years in many respects, including ligand development, mechanistic understanding, substrate scope, and application in the synthesis of complex functional molecules. In this review, an explicit outline of ligands, mechanism, scope of nucleophiles, and applications is presented.

Iridium-Catalyzed Asymmetric Allylic Substitution Reactions

Rephrasing Fuson's original formulation, the principle of
vinylogy explains how the influence of a functional group may be relayed to a distant point in the molecule when these two sites are connected to by conjugated unsaturated linkages, such as double and triple bonds or aromatic moieties.
This principle has been applied, over the years, to the majority of polar carbon-carbon bond-forming reactions of various repute, including the venerable Michael addition reaction, where the electrophilic -CdX site (1,2-addition) is “usurped” by a remote conjugated -RCdCR-CdX position (1,4-addition). The aldol addition reaction and the related
Mannich process, both fundamental pillars of organic synthesis, have not escaped this fate, and both of their
vinylogous extensions have emerged as extremely valuable
synthetic methodologies.

The Vinylogous Aldol and Related Addition Reactions: Ten Years of Progress†

Asymmetric catalysis with chiral primary amine-based organocatalysts

Sirtuin 3 (SIRT3) is one of the most prominent deacetylases that can regulate acetylation levels in mitochondria, which are essential for eukaryotic life and inextricably linked to the metabolism of multiple organs. Hitherto, SIRT3 has been substantiated to be involved in almost all aspects of mitochondrial metabolism and homeostasis, protecting mitochondria from a variety of damage. Accumulating evidence has recently documented that SIRT3 is associated with many types of human diseases, including age-related diseases, cancer, heart disease and metabolic diseases, indicating that SIRT3 can be a potential therapeutic target. Here we focus on summarizing the intricate mechanisms of SIRT3 in human diseases, and recent notable advances in the field of small-molecule activators or inhibitors targeting SIRT3 as well as their potential therapeutic applications for future drug discovery.

Mitochondrial Sirtuin 3: New emerging biological function and therapeutic target.

Organocatalysts containing primary−secondary amine based on bispidine and amino acid have been designed to catalyze the asymmetric direct aldol reaction of functionalized ketones including α-keto phosphonates, α-keto esters, as well as α,α-dialkoxy ketones as aldol reaction acceptors. The corresponding products with chiral tertiary alcohols were obtained in moderate to high yields (up to 97%) and high enantioselectivities (up to 98% ee). A theoretical study of transition structures demonstrated that protonated piperidine was important for the reactivity and enantioselectivity of this reaction.

Asymmetric direct aldol reaction of functionalized ketones catalyzed by amine organocatalysts based on bispidine.

Here we report an iridium-catalyzed asymmetric umpolung allylation of imines as a general approach to prepare 1,4-disubstituted homoallylic amines, a fundamental class of compounds that are hitherto not straightforward to obtain. This transformation proceeds by a cascade involving an intermolecular regioselective allylation of 2-azaallyl anions and a following 2-aza-Cope rearrangement, utilizes easily available reagents and catalysts, tolerates a substantial scope of substrates, and readily leads to various enantioenriched, 1,4-disubstituted homoallylic primary amines.

Catalytic Asymmetric Umpolung Allylation of Imines.

Described here is an enantioselective approach of making chiral, β-substituted homoallylic organoboronic esters. In the presence of LiOtBu and a catalytic amount of silver salt, commercial bis[(pinacolato)boryl]methane participated in the iridium-catalyzed asymmetric allylation reactions, delivered a “CH2B(pin)” group, and yielded the title compounds from allylic carbonates. The synthetic utility of the prepared chiral organoboronates was demonstrated by their conversion to other important classes of compounds.

Silver-Assisted, Iridium-Catalyzed Allylation of Bis[(pinacolato)boryl]methane Allows the Synthesis of Enantioenriched Homoallylic Organoboronic Esters

A copper/borinic acid dual catalytic reaction enabled the enantioselective propargylation of aliphatic polyols Readily available reagents and catalysts were used in this transformation, which displayed good to excellent chemo- and stereoselectivity for a broad array of substrates The method was also applicable to the desymmetrization of meso 1,2-diols to furnish products with three stereogenic centers and a terminal alkyne group in one operation

Jie Liu

Papers

Mitochondrial Sirtuin 3: New emerging biological function and therapeutic target.

Asymmetric direct aldol reaction of functionalized ketones catalyzed by amine organocatalysts based on bispidine.

Catalytic Asymmetric Umpolung Allylation of Imines.

Silver-Assisted, Iridium-Catalyzed Allylation of Bis[(pinacolato)boryl]methane Allows the Synthesis of Enantioenriched Homoallylic Organoboronic Esters

Enantioselective Propargylation of Polyols and Desymmetrization of meso 1,2-Diols by Copper/Borinic Acid Dual Catalysis.