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An intermolecular Stetter reaction of aromatic aldehydes with maleimides has been developed using thiazolylidene salt derived Isa‒NHC as an efficient organocatalyst. The synthesized Stetter products “3‒aroylsuccinimides” are important building blocks for the synthesis of natural products and bioactive compounds. The reaction conditions are mild, and various substituents on aromatic aldehyde and maleimide nitrogen were tolerated.

The Stetter reaction, a conjugate umpolung reaction, is well known for cyanide-catalyzed transformations of mostly aromatic aldehydes. Enzymatic Stetter reactions, however, have been largely unexplored, especially with respect to preparative transformations. We have investigated the kinetics of the MenD-catalyzed 1,4-addition of α-ketoglutaric acid to acrylonitrile which has shown that acrylonitrile, while an interesting candidate, is a poor substrate for MenD due to low affinity of the enzyme for this substrate. The kinetic model of the reaction was simplified to double substrate Michaelis–Menten kinetics where the reaction rate linearly depends on acrylonitrile concentration. Experiments at different initial concentrations of acrylonitrile under batch, repetitive batch, and fed-batch reactor conditions were carried out to validate the developed mathematical model. Thiamine diphosphate dependent MenD proved to be quite a robust enzyme; nevertheless, enzyme operational stability decay occurs in the reactor. The spontaneous reactivity of acrylonitrile towards polymerization was also taken into account during mathematical modeling. Almost quantitative conversion of acrylonitrile was achieved in all batch reactor experiments, while the yield of the desired product was dependent on initial acrylonitrile concentration (i.e., the concentration of the stabilizer additive). Using the optimized reactor parameters, it was possible to synthesize the product, 6-cyano-4-oxohexanoic acid, in a concentration of 250 mM. The highest concentration of product was achieved in a repetitive batch reactor experiment. A fed-batch reactor experiment also delivered promising results, especially regarding the short reaction time needed to achieve a 200 mM concentration of product. Hence, the enzymatic Stetter reaction with a highly reactive acceptor substrate can be performed on a preparative scale, which should enable similar transformations with acrylate, methacrylate, and methyl vinyl ketone.

A short and concise formal synthesis of enantiopure dihydroartemisinic acid from (R)-citronellal is described in this article. Intramolecular version of asymmetric Stetter reaction using Rovis aminoindane based NHC catalyst was explored to access the core substituted cyclohexanone framework which on functional group manipulation and late stage ring closing metathesis (RCM) reaction afforded an advanced intermediate for dihydroartemisinic acid.

Intermolecular Stetter reaction of aromatic aldehydes with (E)-(2-nitrovinyl)cyclohexane catalyzed by thiazolium A has been developed. The reaction rate and efficiency are profoundly impacted by the presence of thiourea B. The reaction affords moderate to good yields of the Stetter product. Some factors influencing yield were discussed.

The regioselectivity of hydroacylation mediated by transition metal and organocatalyst has been and continues to be one of the most challenging questions in the synthesis field. To explore the possible mechanisms and origin of the regio-/enantioselectivity, the density functional theory (DFT) calculations were performed for studying intramolecular hydroacylation-Stetter reaction of alkynyl bisbenzaldehyde catalyzed by N-heterocyclic carbene (NHC). Computational results show that the hydroacylation process was the rate-determining step and irreversible. Four different stereoisomers (RR, RS, SR, and SS) were considered and the lowest energy mode agreed with the reported enantioselectivity in experiment. Global reaction index (GRI) analysis showed that NHC catalyst can convert alkynyl bisbenzaldehyde electrophilic carbonyl carbon into nucleophilicity to initiate the reaction. Moreover, electron localization function (ELF) and intrinsic reaction coordinate (IRC) analyses were performed to characterize the manner difference between the process of hydroacylation and Stetter reaction.

The tail-to-tail oligomerization of N,N-dimethylacrylamide catalyzed by N-heterocyclic carbenes (NHCs) was investigated, giving the dimerization and trimerization products in a moderate combined yield. Reaction intermediates involved in the new oligomerization have been observed by NMR and ESI-MS. We showed the first NHC-catalyzed cross coupling of methyl methacrylate and N,N-dimethylacrylamide, and the reaction of benzaldehyde/benzoin with N,N-dimethylacrylamide.

The intermolecular asymmetric Stetter reaction is a rarely found biocatalysts transformation. MenD, the second enzyme of the menaquinone biosynthetic pathway, catalyzes as a physiological reaction a Stetter-like addition of α-ketoglutarate to isochorismate. The substrate range of MenD for similar 1,4-additions is highly restricted. All other thiamine diphosphate dependent enzymes known to act as stetterases are members of the PigD enzyme subfamily, which accept aliphatic and aromatic α,β-unsaturated ketones and thioesters as Michael acceptor substrates. Here, we describe the unexpected activity of MenD with short-chain α,β-unsaturated acids and derivatives as substrates in Stetter reactions. MenD possesses a characteristic substrate range with respect to Michael acceptor substrates which is distinctly different from the classical stetterases. This provides biocatalytic access to new types of products which are not related to the products currently accessible by thiamine diphosphate dependent enzyme catalysis.

The bis(hydroxyphenyl)diamide architecture constitutes as a privileged ligand that promotes a number of catalytic asymmetric transformations in combination with rare-earth metals. A new diamide analog armed with a carbene catalytic function derived from a thiazolium unit was designed, synthesized, and applied to the catalytic asymmetric intramolecular Stetter reaction. Cooperative work between the carbene function and hydrogen bonding interactions was suggested to give the enantioenriched chroman derivatives.

A novel synthesis of highly substituted pyrrole-N-acetic derivatives is described through the coupling of 1,4-diketones with amino acids following Paal-Knorr's approach. These pyrrole-N-acetic acid derivatives are found to exhibit potent anti-mycobacterial activity against Mycobacterium smegmatis and Mycobacterium tuberculosis strain H37Rv. In particular, 5n, 5q &5r are found to display excellent anti-mycobacterial activity against M. tuberculosis strain H37Rv with MIC values in the range of 2.97 μM. Conversely, these compounds showed low cytotoxicity (selectivity index: >16.83) against HEK-293T cell line.

A five-step synthesis of the 6-6-6 tricyclic skeleton of the diterpene wickerol A is described. The synthesis features a diastereoselective d-proline-mediated Robinson annulation and N-heterocyclic carbene-catalyzed Stetter reaction as key transformations to give the tricyclic carbon skeleton of this promising anti-influenza A natural product.

A number of chiral triazolium salts incorporating pyridine rings have been investigated as precatalysts for an asymmetric intramolecular Stetter reaction. The salt structure and reaction parameters were optimized, resulting in very good yield and enantioselectivity. This reaction was found to be applicable to a wide range of salicylaldehyde-derived substrates.

Functionalized 2,2-disubstituted benzofuran-3-(2H)-ones have been synthesized from simple aldehyde building blocks in a combined NHC- and base-catalyzed one-pot cascade reaction in moderate to excellent yields. This modular approach comprises a NHC-catalyzed hydroacylation/Stetter reaction sequence followed by a retro-Michael, 1,3-H shift and oxa-Michael cascade rearrangement promoted by strong bases.

A series of polyether-substituted triazolium ionic liquids catalysts have been first synthesized for resolving the problem of separation and reuse of Stetter catalysts. The catalysts possess the properties of critical solution temperature (CST) and inverse temperature-dependent solubility in toluene/heptane solvents. Based on these properties, the catalysts can achieve the catalytic process named as thermoregulated phase-separable catalysis (TPSC) with the characteristic of homogeneous reaction at higher temperature and phase-separation at lower temperature. The novel TPSC system has been successfully applied for Stetter reaction of furfural or butanal with ethyl acrylate. The experimental results have showed that the novel catalysts exhibit excellent TPSC with high recycling efficiency.

The inversion of the normal reactivity (umpolung) of aldehydes has been induced via N-heterocyclic carbenes (NHCs) thiazol-2-ylidenes 2a or 3a, generated by simple electrolyses of solutions containing thiazolium salt 2 or 3. Accordingly, 1,4-dicarbonyl compounds have been obtained, in mild conditions and in moderate to very high yields, via 1,4-addition of the Breslow intermediates to the suitable Michael acceptor. The procedure has been performed in classical organic solvents (VOCs) as well as in room temperature ionic liquids (RTILs). The different reactivity of aliphatic aldehydes vs the one of aromatic and heteroaromatic aldehydes has been emphasized.

The asymmetric intramolecular Stetter reaction of ω-formyl α,β-unsaturated carbonyl compounds was catalyzed by a C2 symmetric chiral carbene, generated from (4S,5S)-diphenyl-1,3-bis(mesitylmethyl)-4,5-dihydro-1H-imidazolium tetrafluoroborate, to afford 2-substituted cyclopentanones in good enantioselectivity of up to 80%.

We developed an efficient method for the synthesis of 3-substituted 2,3-dihydroquinolin-4-ones using a one-pot sequential multi-catalytic process: Pd-catalyzed allylic amination–thiazolium salt-catalyzed Stetter reaction cascade. Measurement of the initial rate of the developed sequential process revealed a significant increase in the reaction rate of the Stetter reaction in the presence of Pd(OAc)2 and AcOH·i-Pr2NEt, the constituents of the first Pd catalysis.

A series of disubstituted cyclopentanones have been synthesized by the intramolecular Stetter reaction. Racemic substrates containing one chiral center were used, allowing us the opportunity to observe a parallel kinetic resolution in the synthesis of 2,3- and 2,4-disubstituted cyclopentanones. The Stetter reaction of 2,5-disubstituted cyclopentanones proved to be substrate controlled, resulting in the selective formation of the cis -diasteromers with low ee.

The mechanism of the NHC-catalyzed intermolecular Stetter reaction between benzaldehyde and cyclopropene has been investigated using the PCM-M062X/6-311++G(3df,2p)//M062X/6-31+G(d,p) level of DFT. Compared to the direct reaction, a substantial reduction in the activation free energy by 10.6–14.4 kcal/mol is observed when the reaction is performed in the presence of water, 1,5,7-triazabicyclo[4.4.0]dec-5-ene (TBD), and 1,8-diazabicyclo[5.4.0]undec-7-ene (DBU). The bases promote the proton transfer step of the reaction to yield the Breslow intermediate. An early concerted transition state has been located for the stereocontrolling C–C bond formation step (ΔG# = 26.6 kcal/mol) which is used to explain the diastereomeric ratio observed in the experiment.

Using solid- and solution-phase synthesis, a library of 2,5-disubstituted pyrrole compounds was constructed. This is the first report that Stetter reaction was applied to the solid-phase synthesis for C-C bond formation. Some of 2,5-disubstituted pyrrole compounds showed the inhibitory activity of LPS-induced mouse B-lymphocyte proliferation.

The reaction of arylaldehydes 1 and N , N -dimethylacrylamide in the presence of tributylphosphine afforded N , N -dimethyl-3-aroylpropionamides 2 in moderate yields. The reaction might involve the formation of α-oxo ylide A .

A series of pentacyclic analogs of α-quinquethiophene containing one or two furan or pyrrole units has been synthesized. The synthesis is based on the cyanide-catalyzed Stetter reaction, providing the ketonic precursors to the pentacycles. Spectral and electrochemical investigations show that the redox-stable mixed pentacycles display hypsochromic shifts in their absorption maxima, as well as a greater ease of oxidation, in comparison to α-quinquethiophene.

The first report of thiazolium salt promoted Michael addition of aldehydes to chalcones (Stetter reaction) on solid-phase is reported. Reaction conditions have also been devised for cleaving the product 1,4-diketone from the solid-support in good yield and high purity.

Piperodione (3), a secondary metabolite previously isolated from the Javanese pepper plant Piper retrofractum in 0.0002% isolated yield was synthesized in a convergent strategy utilizing a Mannich and a Stetter reaction. An over-all yield of 76% could be achieved. Several analogs were prepared by this synthetic sequence. None of the compounds showed a significant cytotoxicity for human tumor cells (photometric sulforhodamine B assay).