Enantioselective Conjugate Addition of Diethylzinc to Chalcones Catalysed by Chiral Ni(II) Aminoalcohol Complexes

Conjugate addition of diethylzinc to chalcones is catalysed by complexes prepared in situ from Ni(acac)2 and cis-exo-N,N-dialkyl-3-aminoisoborneols or (+)-cis-endo-N,N-dimethyl-3-aminoborneol ((+)-DAB) (13b). The products are obtained with enantioselectivities up to 84 %. When scalemic (-)-cis-exo-N,N-dimethyl-3-aminoisoborneol ((-)-DAIB) (3c) was employed in the reaction a positive nonlinear relationship was found. Several factors which govern catalyst activity and enantioselectivity have been investigated

Practical Aspects of Carbon-Carbon Cross-Coupling Reactions Using Heteroarenes

The use of cross-coupling reactions for the preparation of alkylated and arylated heteroaromatic compounds has increased tremendously over the past two decades. This has been driven on the one hand by the increasingly complex structures of new drugs, most of which contain one or more heterocyclic motifs. On the other hand, the development of new catalysts and reaction conditions for these reactions has rendered even the most unreactive of heteroarenes amenable to cross-coupling chemistry. Not only have new bulky electron-donating ligands been created that allow the coupling of aryl chlorides under mild conditions, but also the use of ligand-free palladium, in particular at very low doses, sometimes called homeopathic palladium, has served to bring down the cost of these reactions. More recent and enabling developments are the use of catalysts based on cheap metals such as nickel, copper, and iron. Scale-up issues are availability and cost of starting materials, cost of the catalysts (related to cost of the metal and the ligand, intrinsic activity and stability of the catalyst), solvent choice, and removal of the metal t

Rapid Identification of a Scalable Catalyst for the Asymmetric Hydrogenation of a Sterically Demanding Aryl Enamide

High throughput screening was used to find a cost-effective and scalable catalyst for the asymmetric hydrogenation of a sterically demanding enamide as an intermediate towards a new potent melanocortin receptor agonist useful in the treatment of obesity. Lessons drawn from the testing of a first library of 96 chiral monodentate phosphoramidites led to the design of a second focused library of 16 chiral ligands, allowing the discovery of a new efficient catalyst. This catalyst was based on rhodium and a bulky monodentate phosphite ligand. The catalyst was scaled up and used in the kilogram production of the desired bulky chiral amide