Asymmetric enamine catalysis.

After an initial period of validating asymmetric organocatalysis by using a wide range of important model reactions that constitute the essential tools of organic synthesis, the time has now been reached when organocatalysis can be used to address specific issues and solve pending problems of stereochemical relevance. This Review deals with selected studies reported in 2006 and the first half of 2007, and is intended to highlight four main aspects that may be taken as testimony of the present status and prospective of organocatalysis: a) chemical efficiency; b) discovery of new substrate combinations to give new asymmetric syntheses; c) development of new catalysts for specific purposes by using mechanistic findings; and d) applications of organocatalytic reactions in the asymmetric total synthesis of target natural products and known compounds of biological and pharmaceutical relevance.

Asymmetric Organocatalysis: From Infancy to Adolescence

Catalysis with chiral secondary amines (asymmetric aminocatalysis) has become a well-established and powerful synthetic tool for the chemo- and enantioselective functionalization of carbonyl compounds. In the last eight years alone, this field has grown at such an extraordinary pace that it is now recognized as an independent area of synthetic chemistry, where the goal is the preparation of any chiral molecule in an efficient, rapid, and stereoselective manner. This has been made possible by the impressive level of scientific competition and high quality research generated in this area. This Review describes this "Asymmetric Aminocatalysis Gold Rush" and charts the milestones in its development. As in all areas of science, progress depends on human effort.

Asymmetric aminocatalysis--gold rush in organic chemistry.

The legacy of Gilbert Newton Lewis (1875-1946) pervades the lexicon of chemical bonding and reactivity. The power of his concept of donor-acceptor bonding is evident in the eponymous foundations of electron-pair acceptors (Lewis acids) and donors (Lewis bases). Lewis recognized that acids are not restricted to those substances that contain hydrogen (Bronsted acids), and helped overthrow the "modern cult of the proton". His discovery ushered in the use of Lewis acids as reagents and catalysts for organic reactions. However, in recent years, the recognition that Lewis bases can also serve in this capacity has grown enormously. Most importantly, it has become increasingly apparent that the behavior of Lewis bases as agents for promoting chemical reactions is not merely as an electronic complement of the cognate Lewis acids: in fact Lewis bases are capable of enhancing both the electrophilic and nucleophilic character of molecules to which they are bound. This diversity of behavior leads to a remarkable versatility for the catalysis of reactions by Lewis bases.

Lewis Base Catalysis in Organic Synthesis

Binaphthol-derived phosphoric acid as a versatile catalyst for enantioselective carbon–carbon bond forming reactions

We report the development of direct catalytic, enantioselective, anti-selective Mannich-type reactions between unmodified ketones and α-imino esters under mild conditions. The reactions were performed using 5−10 mol % of (R)-3-pyrrolidinecarboxylic or (R)-β-proline as catalyst in an environmentally benign solvent, 2-PrOH, at room temperature. The anti-Mannich products were obtained in good yields with high diastereo- and enantioselectivities (up to anti/syn >99:1, 99% ee). While (3R,5R)-5-methyl-3-pyrrolidinecarboxylic acid is an excellent catalyst for the anti-Mannich-type reactions of aldehydes, it did not efficiently catalyze the corresponding Mannich-type reactions of ketones; (R)-3-pyrrolidinecarboxylic acid did efficiently catalyze the Mannich-type reactions of ketones. (S)-Proline or (S)-2-pyrrolidinecarboxylic acid has been reported to catalyze the Mannich-type reactions of ketones to afford the syn-products. Thus, the position of the carboxylic acid group on the pyrrolidine ring directs the stere...

https://www.scripps.edu/barbas/pdf/ZhangJACS2006.pdf

3-Pyrrolidinecarboxylic acid for direct catalytic asymmetric anti-Mannich-type reactions of unmodified ketones.

The development of enantioselective anti-selective Mannich-type reactions of aldehydes and ketones with imines catalyzed by 3-pyrrolidinecarboxylic acid and related pyrrolidine derivatives is reported in detail. Both (3R,5R)-5-methyl-3-pyrrolidinecarboxylic acid and (R)-3-pyrrolidinecarboxylic acid efficiently catalyzed the reactions of aldehydes with α-imino esters under mild conditions and afforded anti-Mannich products with high diastereo- and enantioselectivities (anti/syn up to 99:1, up to >99% ee). For the reactions of ketones with α-imino esters, (R)-3-pyrrolidinecarboxylic acid was an efficient catalyst (anti/syn up to >99:1, up to 99% ee). Evaluation of a series of pyrrolidine-based catalysts indicated that the acid group at the β-position of the pyrrolidine ring of the catalyst played an important role in forwarding the carbon−carbon bond formation and in directing anti-selectivity and enantioselectivity.

http://www.scripps.edu/barbas/pdf/ZhangJACS2008.pdf

Catalysis of 3-pyrrolidinecarboxylic acid and related pyrrolidine derivatives in enantioselective anti-Mannich-type reactions: importance of the 3-acid group on pyrrolidine for stereocontrol.

Maria Mifsud

Papers

3-Pyrrolidinecarboxylic acid for direct catalytic asymmetric anti-Mannich-type reactions of unmodified ketones.

Catalysis of 3-pyrrolidinecarboxylic acid and related pyrrolidine derivatives in enantioselective anti-Mannich-type reactions: importance of the 3-acid group on pyrrolidine for stereocontrol.

3-Pyrrolidinecarboxylic Acid for Direct Catalytic Asymmetric anti-Mannich-Type Reactions of Unmodified Ketones.