title: Organocatalytic asymmetric synthesis of alpha,alpha-disubstituted alpha-amino acids and derivatives.
abstract: It is shown that racemic oxazolones are excellent reagents for the synthesis of chiral quaternary amino acids and its derivatives by the diastereo- and enantioselective nucleophilic addition to alpha,beta-unsaturated aldehydes catalyzed by diarylprolinol silyl ethers. The scope of this new organocatalytic reaction is demonstrated for different oxazolones having aromatic and alkyl groups at the reactive carbon atom and different aromatic and aliphatic substituted alpha,beta-unsaturated aldehydes, for which the stereoselective reaction proceeds with good yield, moderate to good to very high diastereoselectivity, and very high enantioselectivity. The potential of the reaction is shown for the synthesis of optically active alpha,alpha-disubstituted alpha-amino acids, alpha-quaternary proline derivatives, amino alcohols, lactams, and tetrahydropyranes. Furthermore, we have calculated by DFT-methods the transition-state structures that account for both the diastereo- and enantioselectivity observed for the addition of oxazolones to the alpha,beta-unsaturated aldehydes. For one class of compounds, the stereoselectivity is controlled by a hydrogen-bonding interaction of the enolate-form of the oxazolone with an ortho-hydroxy-phenyl substituent of the alpha,beta-unsaturated aldehyde, whereas the benzhydryl-protecting group in the oxazolone determines the diastereo- and enantioselectivity in a more general manner for both aromatic and aliphatic alpha,beta-unsaturated aldehydes.
authors.affiliation: Danish National Research Foundation: Center for Catalysis, Department of Chemistry, Aarhus University, DK-8000 Aarhus C, Denmark.
authors.forename: Silvia
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Cabrera
authors.forename: Efraim
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Reyes
authors.forename: José
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Alemán
authors.forename: Andrea
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Milelli
authors.forename: Sara
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kobbelgaard
authors.forename: Karl Anker
authors.initials: KA
authors.lastname: Jørgensen
mesh_terms: D000447:Aldehydes / Q000737:chemistry*; D000596:Amino Acids / Q000138:chemical synthesis* / Q000737:chemistry; D000605:Amino Alcohols / Q000138:chemical synthesis; D002384:Catalysis; D018360:Crystallography, X-Ray; D006860:Hydrogen Bonding; D007769:Lactams / Q000138:chemical synthesis; D008958:Models, Molecular; D010081:Oxazolone / Q000737:chemistry*; D011392:Proline / Q000031:analogs & derivatives / Q000138:chemical synthesis; D011714:Pyrans / Q000138:chemical synthesis; D013237:Stereoisomerism
chemical_list: D000447:Aldehydes; D000596:Amino Acids; D000605:Amino Alcohols; D007769:Lactams; D011714:Pyrans; D010081:Oxazolone; D011392:Proline