Ruthenium-catalysed synthesis of fluorinated bicyclic amino esters through tandem carbene addition/cyclopropanation of enynes.

International audienceThe reaction of fluorinated 1,6- and 1,7-enynes, containing the moiety N(PG)C(CF(3))(CO(2)R), with diazo compounds in the presence of [RuCl(cod)(Cp*)] (cod=cycloocta-1,5-diene, Cp*=C(5)Me(5) , PG=protecting group) as the catalyst precursor leads to the formation of fluorinated 3-azabicyclo[3.1.0]hexane-2-carboxylates and 4-azabicyclo-[4.1.0]heptane-3-carboxylates. This catalytic transformation was applied to various protecting groups and has proved to be a selective and a general synthetic tool to form constrained proline or homoproline derivatives in good yields. Z stereoselectivity of the created alkenyl group is obtained with N(2)CHSiMe(3), whereas N(2)CHCO(2)Et favours selectively the E configuration for the same double bond. The diastereoselectivity exo/endo depends on the size of the created ring. The X-ray structures of two products have been determined, showing the stereochemistry of the compounds. The reaction can be understood by initial [2+2] addition of the Ru=CHY bond, generated from diazoalkane, with the C≡CH bond of the enyne leading to a key bicyclic ruthenacyclobutane, which promotes the cyclopropanation, rather than metathesis. This selective formation of bicyclic [n.1.0] compounds results from the ruthenium-catalysed creation of three carbon-carbon bonds in a single step under mild conditions

Tandem Catalytic Carbene Addition/Bicyclization of Enynes. One-Step Synthesis of Fluorinated Bicyclic Amino Esters by Ruthenium Catalysis

International audienceThe reaction of diazo compounds with enynes, containing a fluorinated amino acid moiety, in the presence of the precatalyst Cp*(Cl)Ru(COD) leads to fluorinated alkenyl bicyclo[3.1.0]hexane and [4.1.0]heptane amino acid derivatives. It is remarkable that the catalyst, in situ generated from ruthenium complex and diazo compound, completely inhibits the ring closing metathesis of enyne to the profit of tandem alkenylation/cyclopropanation with high stereoselectivity. The study shows that the Cp*(Cl)Ru moiety in ruthenacyclobutane favors reductive elimination versus expected alkene metathesis