Tsuyoshi Mita

A catalytic enantioselective conjugate addition of cyanide to alpha,beta-unsaturated N-acylpyrroles was developed using the chiral gadolinium catalyst generated from Gd(OiPr)3 and d-glucose-derived ligand 2. Generally high enantioselectivity was obtained from a wide range of substrates; substrates with beta-aryl and beta-vinyl substituents and alpha,beta-disubstituted substrates can now be used. Using this reaction as a key step, short-step syntheses of several pharmaceuticals and their lead com

The dearomative dicarboxylation of stable heteroaromatics using CO₂ is highly challenging but represents a very powerful method for producing synthetically useful dicarboxylic acids, which can potentially be employed as intermediates of biologically active molecules such as natural products and drug leads. However, these types of transformations are still underdeveloped, and concise methodologies with high efficiency (e.g., high yield and high selectivity for dicarboxylations) have no

One of the most challenging transformations in current organic chemistry is the catalytic carboxylation of a C(sp(3))-H bond using CO(2) gas, an inexpensive and ubiquitous C1 source. A sequential protocol for C(sp(3))-H carboxylation by employing a nitrogen-directed, metal-assisted, C-H activation/catalytic silylation reaction in conjunction with fluoride-mediated carboxylation with CO(2) was established. The carboxylation proceeded only at the benzylic C(sp(3))-Si bond, not at the aromatic C(sp

A catalytic enantioselective desymmetrization of meso-N-p-nitrobenzoylaziridines with TMSCN was developed using a chiral gadolinium catalyst generated from Gd(OiPr)3 and d-glucose-derived ligand 1. In this reaction, the addition of a catalytic amount of trifluoroacetic acid (TFA) improved enantioselectivity. High enantioselectivity was obtained from a range of meso-aziridines at 0-60 degrees C. The product could be easily transformed into beta-amino acids. Thus, the developed catalytic enantiose

A catalytic enantioselective silylation of N-tert-butylsulfonylimines using a Cu-secondary diamine complex was demonstrated. The resulting optically active α-amino silanes could be carboxylated under a CO2 atmosphere (1 atm) to afford the corresponding α-amino acids in a stereoretentive manner. This two-step sequence provides a new synthetic protocol for optically active α-amino acids from gaseous CO2 and imines in the presence of a catalytic amount of a chiral source.

Catalytic asymmetric synthesis of Tamiflu, an important antiinfluenza drug, was achieved. After the catalytic enantioselective desymmetrization of meso-aziridine 3 with TMSN3, using a Y catalyst (1 mol %) derived from ligand 2, an allylic oxygen function and C1 unit on the C=C double bond were introduced through cyanophosphorylation of enone and allylic substitution with an oxygen nucleophile. This second generation route of Tamiflu is more practical than our previously reported route. [reaction

[reaction: see text] The optically active beta-ketoiminato cationic cobalt(III) complexes were employed as efficient Lewis acid catalysts for the enantioselective 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition reaction of alpha,beta-unsaturated aldehydes with nitrones. Excellent endo selectivities and high enantioselectivities were achieved in the cycloaddition reaction of 1-cyclopentene-1-carbaldehyde and the nitrones derived from 2-halobenzaldehyde.

The radical anion of CO2 (CO2•–) is a strongly nucleophilic radical species with rapidly emerging applications in contemporary organic chemistry. This radical species exhibits high reactivity in single-electron reduction reactions due to the concomitant release of stable CO2, or Giese-type reactions, especially for electron-deficient alkenes and styrene derivatives. In contrast to previous reports, we herein disclose the development of a robust method for the introduction of CO2•–, which can be

Incorporation reactions of carbon dioxide (CO(2)) with N-Boc-α-amido and α-acetoxy stannanes were developed using CsF as a mild tin activator. Monoprotected α-amido stannanes could be used, and the corresponding arylglycine derivatives were obtained in moderate-to-high yields under 1 MPa (10 atm) of CO(2) pressure. α-Acetoxy stannanes also underwent carboxylation to afford mandelic acid derivatives in excellent yields under ambient CO(2) pressure. Both transformations enabled the synthesis of α-

In the presence of 1.1 equiv of PhMe(2)Si-Bpin, 5 equiv of CsF, and 20 mol % of TsOH·H(2)O, precursors of N-Boc-imines can be converted into the corresponding α-aryl or α-alkenyl glycine derivatives under gaseous CO(2) in moderate-to-high yields with a single operation. α-Isobutenyl glycine thus obtained can be further derivatized into various types of α-amino acids including N-Boc-leucine, serine, and glycine derivatives in short steps.

The incorporation of CO₂ into organic compounds is currently one of the most active research topics in organic chemistry, because CO₂ is an abundant, inexpensive, nontoxic, and renewable C1 source. However, CO₂ is also a thermodynamically stable and kinetically inert gaseous compound, and as such, special strategies are required to activate CO₂ and incorporate it into organic compounds. In particular, because the carbon atom adjacent to the nitrogen at

The systematic exploration of synthetic pathways to afford a desired product through quantum chemical calculations remains a considerable challenge. In 2013, Maeda <i>et al.</i> introduced 'quantum chemistry aided retrosynthetic analysis' (QCaRA), which uses quantum chemical calculations to search systematically for the decomposition paths of a target product and proposes a synthesis method. However, until now, no new reactions suggested by QCaRA have been reported to lead to experimental discov

By using Co(acac)₂/Xantphos with AlMe₃, the C(sp³)-H bonds of allylarene derivatives were cleaved for reaction with various ketones, affording the homoallylic alcohols in moderate to good yields. The branch/linear selectivity depended on the steric and electronic factors of the ketone electrophiles. The intermediate in this reaction is thought to be a low-valent allylcobalt(I) species, which exhibits high nucleophilicity toward ketones.

In the presence of CsF, a wide range of α-substituted α-siloxy silanes were carboxylated under a CO2 atmosphere (1 atm) via Brook rearrangement. A variety of α-substituents including aryl, alkenyl, and alkyl groups were tolerated to afford α-hydroxy acids in moderate-to-high yields. One-pot synthesis from aldehydes using PhMe2SiLi and CO2 was also possible, providing α-hydroxy acids without the isolation of an α-hydroxy silane.

α-Amino acids are essential resources for human life and are highly useful as building blocks for organic synthesis. The core framework of an α-amino acid can be divided into three basic components: an aldehyde, an amine, and carbon dioxide (CO(2)). We report herein that a one-step synthesis of α-amino acids has been successfully achieved from these three basic and inexpensive chemicals with a single operation, in which the mixture of an aldehyde, a sulfonamide, and gaseous CO(2) was heated at 1