New methods for carbon-carbon bond formation and application to organic synthesis:  Metal-catalyzed additions of organoborons to activated alkenes and aryne Diels-Alder reactions with acyclic dienes
Subtitle: y Christopher James Dockendorff.
Published: 2006
Language: eng
Number of pages: 374
ISBN-13: 9780494157473
Description: Tetralins with a desired 1,4-substitution pattern were synthesized via Diels-Alder reactions between arynes and acyclic dienes. We have shown this underutilized reaction to be useful for the stereospecific synthesis of 1,4-dihydronaphthalenes which are not readily accessible via other methods. Preliminary efforts to render this reaction asymmetric are presented; excellent diastereoselectivities were observed using Oppolzer's sultam as a chiral auxiliary on the diene. A short synthesis of racemic sertraline was also carried out using the aryne Diels-Alder reaction as the key step.We have reported the rhodium-catalyzed asymmetric ring-opening reaction of oxabicyclic alkenes with aryl- and alkenylboron nucleophiles. The reactions generally proceed with excellent yield and enantioselectivity under mild conditions, giving only one diastereomer (cis adducts). The Rh(I) catalyst system utilizes the ferrocenyl bisphosphine ligand PPF-P(t-Bu) 2. This ligand is also very efficient for the ring-opening reactions with heteroatom nucleophiles, which proceed via a different mechanism and give trans products. We have recently discovered that other Rh(I) catalysts can promote the highly enantio- and regioselective desymmetrization of meso-diols via allylic substitution reactions with organoborons.Some of the limitations of the rhodium-catalyzed ring-opening reactions were overcome by the development of Pd(II) catalyst systems. These catalysts give excellent yields (albeit currently with decreased enantioselectivities relative to the rhodium reactions) under very mild conditions (undistilled methanol, room temperature, open to the air). The Pd(II) systems also work very well with azabicyclic alkenes and with heteroaryl- and ortho -substituted arylboronic acids, which all were problematic with rhodium catalysts. They also show some promise with alkylboron species. Various metal-catalyzed ring-opening reactions have been utilized to make gram-scale tetralin scaffolds for drug discovery efforts. The scaffolds were subsequently functionalized to yield libraries of amides, amines, and ureas for screening against a variety of biological targets. Several opioid receptor antagonists were subsequently identified by our industrial collaborators.
Notes: Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 67-06, Section: B, page: 3135.

Advisor: Mark Lautens

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Toronto, 2006.

Includes bibliographic references.

Electronic version licensed for access by U. of T. users.