RESUMEN

Atropisomers are fascinating objects of study by themselves for chemists but also find applications in various sub-fields of applied chemistry. Obtaining them in enantiopure form is far from being a solved challenge, and the past decades has seen a surge of methodological developments in that direction. Among these strategies, oxidative aromatization with central-to-axial conversion of chirality has gained increasing popularity. It consists of the oxidation of a cyclic non-aromatic precursors into the corresponding aromatic atropisomers. This review proposes a critical analysis of this research field by delineating it and discussing its historical background and its present state of the art to draw potential future development directions.

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A reinvestigation of a chiral phosphoric-acid-catalyzed four-component Hantzsch enantioselective synthesis of polyhydroquinolines reported in 2009 is presented. In our hands, when the reaction was performed with fidelity to the original report using a chiral enantiopure phosphoric acid catalyst, no enantioselectivity was observed. Unlike in the original report, enantioselectivity results are backed by baseline separation of the enantiomers by HPLC analyses on chiral stationary phase with UV and chiroptical detection.

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For the first time, enantiomerically enriched atropoisomeric furans have been accessed using a central-to-axial chirality conversion strategy. Hence, oxidation of the enantioenriched dihydrofuran precursors gave rise to axially chiral furans with high enantiopurities accounting from excellent conversion percentages (cp) in most cases.

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This article summarizes our recent developments in allylic alcohol functionalization by the interconnection of two catalytic cycles. By combining an iron-catalyzed borrowing hydrogen with an organocatalytic enantioselective nucleophilic addition, allylic alcohols can be converted to enantioenriched chiral aliphatic alcohols in up to 92% ee. This eco-compatible one-operation multi-catalytic process allows the classical oxidation-addition-reduction steps usually required for this transformation to be bypassed. Synthetic applications in the synthesis of different fragments of some important natural products have highlighted the great potential of this transformation.

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A general evaluation of silylated nucleophiles to intercept transient α-oxoketenes generated by microwave-assisted Wolff rearrangement of 2-diazo-1,3-dicarbonyl compounds is presented. Original scaffolds and synthetic intermediates are accessed in a rapid, efficient and easy-to-handle way. Mechanistic studies by DFT calculations and some post-functionalizations are discussed.

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Suitably substituted enantioenriched 4-aryl-1,4-dihydro-pyridines prepared by an organocatalytic enantioselective Michael addition were oxidized with MnO2 into axially chiral 4-arylpyridines with central-to-axial chirality conversion. Moderate to complete percentages (cp) were observed, and a model for the conversion of chirality is discussed.

RESUMEN

We have developed the first multicomponent synthesis of enantioenriched polycyclic 1,2,3,4-tetrahydropyridines bearing three contiguous stereogenic centers under iminium activation. The key to the success of this reaction was the use of polyfunctional substrates including 2-aminophenols and scarcely used ß-ketoamides triggering a thermodynamically controlled regio- and diastereoselective sequence.

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The organocatalytic enantioselective conjugate addition of secondary ß-ketoamides to α,ß-unsaturated carbonyl compounds is reported. Use of bifunctional Takemoto's thiourea catalyst allows enantiocontrol of the reaction leading either to simple Michael adducts or spirocyclic aminals in up to 99 % ee. The origin of the enantioselectivity has been rationalised based on combined DFT calculations and kinetic analysis. This study provides a deeper understanding of the reaction mechanism, which involves a predominant role of the secondary amide proton, and clarifies the complex interactions occurring between substrates and the catalyst.

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We report the first enantioselective organocatalyzed domino synthesis of azepane moieties. This temporary-bridge strategy is based on a conceptually original annulation of ambident electrophilic and 1,4-bis-nucleophilic α-ketoamides with 1,3-bis-electrophilic enals. The obtained oxygen-bridged azepanes can be selectively transformed into optically active azepanone, azepanol or azepanedione derivatives of high synthetic value.

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Our findings on the bifunctional squaramide-catalyzed enantioselective conjugate addition of ß-ketoamides to nitroolefins are disclosed. It appears that simple acyclic methylene ß-ketoamides, unlike the extensively studied ß-ketoesters, afford the products in excellent diastereoselectivities, and maintain high yields and enantioselectivities. Moreover, competition and kinetic studies were conducted to rationalize the observed reactivity and selectivity. The high level of diastereocontrol, along with the amenability of the amide group to postfunctionalization, dramatically increase the synthetic usefulness of the transformation.

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An unprecedented cascade reaction combining dual iron-amine-catalyzed enantioselective functionalization of allylic alcohols and chemoselective acyl transfer is presented. It allows, from diketones and allylic alcohols, preparation of efficiently functionalized γ-chiral alcohols in up to 96% yield and 96:4 er. The interest of this redox-, atom-, and step-economomical approach was further demonstrated in the short synthesis of several key fragments of biologically active natural products or odorant molecules.

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α,ß-Unsaturated acyl cyanides are key bis-electrophile substrates for successful domino enantioselective organocatalyzed Michael-intramolecular acylation domino sequences. This new reactivity has been applied to the synthesis of enantioenriched azaspiro[4,5]decanone ring systems by a formal [3+3]spiroannulation, constituting a rare example of synthesis of glutarimides in an optically active form.

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Three is a lucky number: An enantioselective transformation of allylic alcohols into ß-chiral saturated alcohols has been developed by combining two distinct metal- and organocatalyzed catalytic cycles. This waste-free triple cascade process merges an iron-catalyzed borrowing-hydrogen step with an aminocatalyzed nucleophilic addition reaction.

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Although long known, 1,2- and 1,3-dicarbonyl compounds have recently come more and more to prevalence as ideal substrates for the invention of new stereoselective multiple bond-forming transformations (MBFTs). Herein, a critical appraisal is presented of some of the most spectacular of these MBFTs, which allow the formation from three up to six bonds in highly step- and atom-economical processes.

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In the vast and expanding world of enantioselective organocascades, the ones in which two C-heteroatom bonds are created from two distinct heteroatoms are rare. These fascinating domino processes constitutes real synthetic challenges and allow very convenient syntheses of diverse optically active heterocycles and also highly functionalised acyclic derivatives.

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The secondary amido group of α-substituted ß-ketoamides plays a crucial role in the control of the reactivity and spatial arrangement (selectivity) in the organocatalyzed Michael addition to unsaturated carbonyls. This results in an unprecedented activation mode of substrates through H-bonding interactions allowing the construction of enantiomerically enriched functionalized all-carbon quaternary centers and spiroaminals of high synthetic potential.

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The efficiency of a chemical synthesis can be nowadays measured, not only by parameters like selectivity and overall yield, but also by its raw material, time, human resources and energy requirements, as well as the toxicity and hazard of the chemicals and the protocols involved. The development of multicomponent reactions (MCRs) in the presence of task-specific ionic liquids (ILs), used not only as environmentally benign reaction media, but also as catalysts, is a new approach that meet with the requirements of sustainable chemistry. The aim of this tutorial review is to highlight the synergistic effect of the combined use of MCRs and ILs for the development of new eco-compatible methodologies for heterocyclic chemistry.

RESUMEN

The first organocatalytic enantio- and diastereoselective conjugate addition of α-ketoamides to nitroalkenes has been achieved using a bifunctional amino thiourea catalyst. In this new approach, the substrate amide proton plays a critical role in the formation of the Michael anti-adducts in high yields and high stereoselectivities. To illustrate the high synthetic potential of this methodology, the diastereo- and enantioselective synthesis of a hexasubstituted cyclohexane via a Michael-Michael-Henry cascade reaction is described.