An efficient cascade reaction of 2,3-allenoic acids with dialkyl azodicarboxylate in the presence of PPh3 affording 1,2-bis(alkoxycarbonyl)pyrazol-3-ones in moderate yields has been developed. The reaction may proceed via the intramolecular Michael addition of the expected 2,3-allenoyl hydrazines.

One-pot synthesis of heterocycles having a nitromethyl group was achieved by sequential steps that involved chloronitration of alkenes using iron(III) nitrate nonahydrate followed by elimination and intramolecular Michael addition. This reaction provides an efficient method for the synthesis of heterocycles due to the simple experimental procedure and the use of inexpensive reagents of low toxi...

[reaction--see text] The core structure of phomactins C and D was assembled by an efficient strategy starting from 3,4-dimethylcyclohexen-2-one. Key reactions include (1) a high yielding and highly diastereoselective Michael addition of a mixed cuprate, (2) a carbonylative alkyne-enoltriflate coupling or an intramolecular addition of an acetylide onto an aldehyde to form the macrocycle, (3) che...

We report the development of a multicatalytic, one-pot, asymmetric Michael/Stetter reaction between salicylaldehydes and electron-deficient alkynes. The cascade proceeds via amine-mediated Michael addition followed by an N-heterocyclic carbene-promoted intramolecular Stetter reaction. A variety of salicylaldehydes, doubly activated alkynes, and terminal, electrophilic allenes participate in a o...

A ruthenium-catalyzed hydrative cyclization of enynes has been developed. The reaction converts a range of 1,5-enynes bearing terminal alkyne and Michael acceptor moieties into cyclopentanone derivatives. From extensive catalyst screening experiments, a trinuclear ruthenium complex, [Ru3(dppm)3Cl5]PF6, has been identified to be an effective catalyst in mediating the 1,1-difunctionalization of a...

We report here the ribosomal synthesis of methyllanthionine-containing cyclic peptides involving a site-specific incorporation of vinylglycine under the reprogrammed genetic code, followed by the isomerization of the vinylglycine to dehydrobutyrine, and the subsequent intramolecular Michael addition of a cysteine residue placed at a downstream position of the vinylglycine.

Total syntheses of the potent neurotoxins, environmental hazards, and biochemical probes anatoxin-a and homoanatoxin have been achieved from a common intermediate using a combined two-directional synthesis-tandem reaction strategy which includes key advances in oxidative desymmetrisation, tandem Michael-intramolecular Mannich cyclisations and a new method for deprotection of N-tosyl anatoxin-a.

An efficient base catalysed approach to the synthesis of thiochromans/chromenes from allenylphosphonates (and an allenoate) and substrates having SH/OH and CHO groups at appropriate positions has been developed. Several azo-linked chromenes that are bright red pigments are also synthesized. This methodology involves the domino reactions of Michael addition and subsequent cyclisation by intramol...

A stereoselective methodology was developed for the construction of C-spiro-glycosides in two steps involving bromonium ion activated solvolytic ring opening of sugar derived 1,2-cyclopropanecarboxylates followed by a one-pot dehydrohalogenation, intramolecular hetero-Michael addition (IHMA) and ester hydrolysis. The obtained spirocyclic lactols were further converted to enantiomerically pure s...

A novel method of enantioselective 1,3-dioxane construction via a hemiacetalization/intramolecular oxy-Michael addition cascade by a chiral phosphoric acid catalyst was developed. The product was successfully transformed into an optically active 1,3-polyol motif, indicating that the proposed reaction can provide useful chiral building blocks for the de novo synthesis of polyketides.