James R. Frost

The sealutomicins are a family of anthraquinone antibiotics featuring an enediyne (sealutomicin A) or Bergman-cyclized aromatic ring (sealutomicins B-D). Herein we report the development of an enantioselective organocatalytic method for the synthesis of dihydroquinolines and the use of the developed method in the total synthesis of sealutomicin C which features a transannular cyclization of an aryllithium onto a γ-lactone as a second key step.

Cyclopropanes are highly useful motifs that are often incorporated into drug candidates to improve potency, metabolic stability, or pharmacokinetic properties. An expedient method for the α-cyclopropanation of ketones using hydrogen borrowing (HB) catalysis is described. The transformation occurs via HB alkylation of a hindered ketone with subsequent intramolecular displacement of a pendant leaving group affording the cyclopropanated product. The leaving group can be installed in either the ketone or alcohol component of the HB system, giving access to α-cyclopropyl ketones via two complementary approaches. Conversion to the corresponding carboxylic acids can be achieved in a simple two-step sequence to afford synthetically useful 1,1-substituted spirocyclopropyl acid building blocks.

An iridium catalyzed method for the synthesis of functionalized cyclohexanes from methyl ketones and 1,5-diols is described. This process operates by two sequential hydrogen borrowing reactions, providing direct access to multisubstituted cyclic products with high levels of stereocontrol. This methodology represents a novel (5 + 1) strategy for the stereoselective construction of the cyclohexane core.

A hydrogen borrowing reaction employing secondary alcohols and Ph* (Me₅C₆) ketones to give β-branched carbonyl products is described (21 examples). This new C–C bond forming process requires low loadings of [Cp*IrCl₂]₂, relatively low temperatures, and up to 2.0 equiv of the secondary alcohol. Substrate-induced diastereoselectivity was observed, and this represents the first example of a diastereoselective enolate hydrogen borrowing alkylation. By utilizing the Ph* group, the β-branched products could be straightforwardly cleaved to the corresponding esters or amides using a retro-Friedel–Crafts reaction. Finally, this protocol was applied to the synthesis of fragrance compound (±)-3-methyl-5-phenylpentanol.

An iridium-catalyzed hydrogen-borrowing process has been developed whereby 2,6-di-tert-butylphenol can be alkylated at the C4-position by using a range of primary alcohols (11 examples, 40–93% yield). Following this, a selection of the products obtained underwent retro-Friedel–Crafts reactions to provide para-substituted phenols, which could potentially undergo further synthetic manipulations.