Cobalt-Catalyzed Asymmetric Reductive Alkenylation and Arylation of Heterobiaryl Tosylates: Kinetic Resolution or Dynamic Kinetic Resolution?

Herein, we report a cobalt-catalyzed atroposelective reductive cross-coupling of racemic heterobiaryl tosylates with a C(sp2)–X type electrophile. Both aryl and alkenyl halides are competent precursors for this reaction, providing a variety of heterobiaryls as the products in a highly enantioselective manner with high functionality tolerance. The related asymmetric arylation and alkenylation are discovered to proceed with divergent mechanisms. The reaction pathway changes from kinetic resolution (KR) when alkenyl bromides and aryl iodides bearing strong electron-withdrawing substitution on the para-position are employed as the starting materials to an enantioconvergent transformation via dynamic KR of configurationally labile cobaltacycles when relatively electron-rich aryl iodides are used. The change of the reaction mechanisms turns out to arise from the relative rates of two competing elementary steps, which are the epimerization of the cyclic Co(I) intermediates and their trapping by the coupling electrophiles of the C(sp2)-type via oxidative addition

Molybdenum-Catalyzed Diastereoselective <i>anti</i>-Dihydroxylation of Secondary Allylic Alcohols

In this protocol, we report a Mo-catalyzed anti-dihydroxylation of secondary allylic alcohols, providing a general method for the preparation of 1,2,3-triols bearing up to three continuous stereocenters with excellent diastereocontrol. The mechanistic studies reveal that this dihydroxylation reaction consists of two steps and up to excellent diastereomeric ratios of the final triol products can be achieved due to the high level of both diastereocontrol in the initial epoxidation and regiocontrol in the following hydrolysis in situ

Nickel-Catalyzed Reductive Electrophilic Ring Opening of Cycloketone Oxime Esters with Aroyl Chlorides

By merging cross-electrophile coupling and C–C bond cleavage, we developed a Ni-catalyzed electrophilic ring opening of cycloketone oxime esters with aromatic acid chlorides in assistance of Mn as reductant. Notably, complete regioselectivity can be achieved in this C–C bond cleavage reaction, providing an efficient access to a variety of cyanoketones under cyanide-free conditions. A radical reaction pathway was proposed on the basis of the results of the mechanistic probing experiments

Tungsten‑, Molybdenum‑, and Cerium-Promoted Regioselective and Stereospecific Halogenation of 2,3-Epoxy Alcohols and 2,3-Epoxy Sulfonamides

The first catalytic regioselective and stereospecific halogenation of 2,3-epoxy alcohols and 2,3-epoxy sulfonamides has been developed. Under the catalysis of commercially available W- or Mo-salts, complemented by the method using cerium halides, the C-3 selective ring opening of structurally diverse epoxides with Cl-, Br-, and I-nucleophiles afforded various halohydrins in good yields and high regioselectivities

Nickel-Catalyzed Regio- and Enantioselective Aminolysis of 3,4-Epoxy Alcohols

The first catalytic regio- and enantioselective aminolysis of 3,4-epoxy alcohols has been accomplished. Under the catalysis of Ni­(ClO₄)₂·6H₂O, the C4 selective ring opening of various 3,4-epoxy alcohols proceeded in a stereospecific manner with high regioselectivities. Furthermore, with the Ni-BINAM catalytic system the enantioselective ring opening of 3,4-epoxy alcohols furnished various γ-hydroxy-δ-amino alcohols as products with complete regiocontrol and high enantioselectivities (up to 94% ee)

Tungsten-Catalyzed Asymmetric Epoxidation of Allylic and Homoallylic Alcohols with Hydrogen Peroxide

A simple, efficient, and environmentally friendly asymmetric epoxidation of primary, secondary, tertiary allylic, and homoallylic alcohols has been accomplished. This process was promoted by a tungsten–bishydroxamic acid complex at room temperature with the use of aqueous 30% H₂O₂ as oxidant, yielding the products in 84–98% ee

Nickel-Catalyzed Directed Cross-Electrophile Coupling of Phenolic Esters with Arylmethyl Trimethylammonium Triflates

In this context, we successfully utilize polycyclic aryl-activated alkyl ammonium triflates as the electrophilic aryl-activated alkylating agent in the nickel-catalyzed hydroxyl- or sulfonamide-directed cross-electrophile coupling reaction with an array of phenyl benzoates, allowing for the synthesis of various aryl ketones under mild conditions

Tungsten-Catalyzed Regioselective and Stereospecific Ring Opening of 2,3-Epoxy Alcohols and 2,3-Epoxy Sulfonamides

The first catalytic, highly C3-selective, stereosepecific ring-opening reaction of 2,3-epoxy alcohols and 2,3-epoxy sulfonamides has been accomplished. This process was efficiently promoted by W-salts, and the developed method was applicable to various epoxides with diverse N- and O-nucleophiles affording the products in good to excellent yields (up to 95%) and generally with high regioselectivities (C3:C2 up to >99:1)

The Fanconi Anemia Protein, FANCG, Binds to the ERCC1-XPF Endonuclease via Its Tetratricopeptide Repeats and the Central Domain of ERCC1

There is evidence that Fanconi anemia (FA) proteins play an important role in the repair of DNA interstrand cross-links (ICLs), but the precise mechanism by which this occurs is not clear. One of the critical steps in the ICL repair process involves unhooking of the cross-link from DNA by incisions on one strand on either side of the ICL and its subsequent removal. The ERCC1-XPF endonuclease is involved in this unhooking step and in the removal of the cross-link. We have previously shown that several of the FA proteins are needed to produce incisions created by ERCC1-XPF at sites of ICLs. To more clearly establish a link between FA proteins and the incision step(s) mediated by ERCC1-XPF, we undertook yeast two-hybrid analysis to determine whether FANCA, FANCC, FANCF, and FANCG directly interact with ERCC1 and XPF and, if so, to determine the sites of interaction. One of these FA proteins, FANCG, was found to have a strong affinity for ERCC1 and a moderate affinity for XPF. FANCG has been shown to contain seven tetratricopeptide repeat (TPR) motifs, which are motifs that mediate protein−protein interactions. Mapping the sites of interaction of FANCG with ERCC1, using site-directed mutagenesis, demonstrated that TPRs 1, 3, 5, and 6 are needed for binding of FANCG to ERCC1. ERCC1, in turn, was shown to interact with FANCG via its central domain, which is different from the region of ERCC1 that binds to XPF. This binding between FANCG and the ERCC1-XPF endonuclease, combined with our previous studies which show that FANCG is involved in the incision step mediated by ERCC1-XPF, establishes a link between an FA protein and the critical unhooking step of the ICL repair process