A novel metal-free approach to construct the tetrasubstituted furans from Morita-Baylis-Hillman (MBH)-carbonates of acetylenic aldehydes has been developed. This strategy involves the cascade nucleophilic substitution/5-exo-dig-cycloisomerization of MBH-carbonates with 1,3-dicarbonyl compounds to give uniquely substituted 2-furan-3-yl acrylates. Additionally, the obtained furan adducts open a n...

A highly efficient asymmetric formal [4+2] annulation for the synthesis of dihydrocoumarins has been developed via an in situ activated NHC catalysis. Both electrophilic and nucleophilic species are generated in situ simultaneously whereby acyl imidazoles facilitated rapid formation of an NHC-enolate intermediate to afford the [4+2] dihydrocoumarin adducts.

Relatively mild and highly efficient CuI-catalyzed N-arylation procedures for nitrogen-containing heterocycles (e.g., imidazoles, benzimidazoles, pyrroles, pyrazoles, indoles, triazoles, etc.) with aryl and heteroaryl halides have been developed. The protocols can be performed easily and tolerate a number of functional groups, such as ester, nitrile, nitro, ketone, free hydroxyl, and free prima...

An efficient synthesis of tetrasubstituted furans was achieved from the corresponding α,β-unsaturated ketone derivatives, acid chlorides, and Bu3P in the presence of Et3N via a chemoselective intramolecular Wittig reaction as the key step. The presence of an additional electron-withdrawing group in the α-position of Michael acceptors controlled the chemoselectivities of presumable phosphorus yl...

A versatile method for the rapid synthesis of diverse enantiomerically enriched lactones has been developed based on Cu-catalyzed enantioselective radical oxyfunctionalization of alkenes. The scope of this strategy encompasses a series of enantioselective difunctionalization reactions: oxyazidation, oxysulfonylation, oxyarylation, diacyloxylation, and oxyalkylation. These reactions provide stra...

Oxindoles with adjacent tetrasubstituted stereocenters were obtained in high yields and stereoselectivities by organocatalyzed conjugate addition reactions of monothiomalonates (MTMs) to isatin-derived N-Cbz ketimines. The method requires only a low catalyst loading (2 mol %) and proceeds under mild reaction conditions. Both enantiomers are accessible in good yields and excellent stereoselectiv...

We have designed a new sequential carbocupration and sulfur-lithium exchange that leads stereo- and regioselectively to trisubstituted alkenyllithiums. Subsequent trapping with various electrophiles yields tetrasubstituted olefins with good control of the double-bond geometry (E/Z ratio up to 99:1). The novel sulfur-lithium exchange could be extended to the stereoselective preparation of Z-styr...

A new and general method is described for the synthesis, in three steps and in good overall yields, of tetrasubstituted xanthines from an easily prepared imidazole precursor. The method is especially useful for the preparation in standardized conditions of series of xanthines combining a broad variety of primary or secondary alkyl, benzyl or aryl groups at N1 and of alkyl or arylmethyl groups a...

Optically pure hinckdentine A was synthesized on a 300 mg scale via an asymmetric catalysis-based strategy. The key steps to the first asymmetric synthesis involved (i) enantioselective dearomative cyclization of an achiral N-acyl indole that allowed for the efficient construction of the key polycyclic indoline intermediate with a crucial tetrasubstituted stereogenic carbon center, (ii) Beckman...