A chemo- and enantioselective cross-aza-benzoin reaction between enals and isatin-derived ketimines is disclosed. The high chemoselectivity (of the acyl anion reaction over enal α- and β-carbon reactions) is enabled by the electronic and steric properties of the N-heterocyclic carbene organocatalyst.

An unprecedented N-heterocyclic carbene (NHC) catalyzed Morita-Baylis-Hillman (MBH) reaction of β-substituted nitroalkenes and azodicarboxylates has been developed. Both β-aryl and β-alkyl nitroalkenes worked well for the reaction using 5 mol% of NHC catalyst, giving the desired α-hydrazino-α,β-unsaturated nitroalkenes in good to excellent yields.

The N-heterocyclic carbene (NHC)-organocatalyzed enantioselective annulation reaction of pyrazolones with α,β-unsaturated aldehydes proceeding via the chiral α,β-unsaturated acyl azolium intermediates under oxidative conditions is presented. The reaction afforded dihydropyranone-fused pyrazoles in moderate to good yields and good er values under operationally simple and base-free conditions.

Previous studies of the inter—relationships between isocyanide, imine, and carbene ligands on platinum(II), and of the stereochemistries of the latter two ligands will be briefly reviewed. Attempts to use these relationships to prepare platinum—olefin—carbene complexes have been unsuccessful but have led to an interesting ortho—metallated carbene derivative. The insertion of isocyanide into the...

The reaction of cyclic di(amido)- and (alkyl)(amino)-carbenes with white phosphorus in benzene afford P8 clusters supported by four carbenes, or a novel type of carbene-P4 adduct.

Cascade reaction sequences incorporating N-heterocyclic carbene-based organocatalysis have been developed that allow the direct preparation of a range of (+/-)-4-phenoxycarbonylazlactones in good isolated yields (66-84%) from the corresponding N-p-anisoyl amino acids.

The possibility of carbon atom tunneling at cryogenic temperatures for carbene-based ring expansion of adamantane analogues calls for a delicate balance of reactivity to experimentally detect the transpiring reaction. An overly reactive carbene will precipitously decay; an excessively stable carbene will not tunnel. Nevertheless, the factors that affect the quantum-mechanical tunneling (QMT) re...

A facile method for the intermolecular Stetter reaction of various Michael acceptors with acetaldehyde as a biomimetic acylanion source was realized using N-heterocyclic carbene catalysis. This catalytic system has also been applied to the enantioselective Stetter reaction and resulted in moderate to good enantioselectivities for the corresponding Stetter products.

Photolysis of ethyl diazomalonyl trypsin and of ethyl diazomalonyl chymotrypsin, followed by hydrolysis, yields several products. One of the major products has now been identified as S-carboxymethylcysteine. Since neither trypsin nor chymotrypsin contains an -SH bond, the reaction must involve cleavage of a disulfide bond by the carbene generated on photolysis. The products so far identzed from...

Transition metal-catalyzed transfers of carbenes, nitrenes, and oxenes are powerful methods for functionalizing C=C and C-H bonds. Nature has evolved a diverse toolbox for oxene transfers, as exemplified by the myriad monooxygenation reactions catalyzed by cytochrome P450 enzymes. The isoelectronic carbene transfer to olefins, a widely used C-C bond-forming reaction in organic synthesis, has no...