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Allyl 2-diazo-2-phenylacetates are shown to react with trimethylsilyl thioethers in the presence of rhodium(II) catalysts to generate α-allyl-α-thio silyl esters. The transformation involves a tandem process involving formal rhodium-catalyzed insertion of the carbene group into the S-Si bond to generate a silyl ketene acetal, followed by a spontaneous Ireland-Claisen rearrangement. The silyl ester products were isolated as the corresponding carboxylic acids after aqueous workup. Intramolecular cyclopropanation of the allyl fragment generally competes with addition of the heteroatom to the carbene center. The reaction occurs under mild conditions and in high yield, allowing for rapid entry into rearrangement tetrasubstituted products. Propargyl esters were shown to generate the corresponding α-allenyl products.

C3-substituted indoles and carbazoles react with α-aryl-α-diazoesters under palladium catalysis to form α-(N-indolyl)-α-arylesters and α-(N-carbazolyl)-α-arylesters. The products result from insertion of a palladium-carbene ligand into the N-H bond of the aromatic N-heterocycles. Enantioselection was achieved using a chiral bis(oxazoline) ligand, in many cases with high enantioselectivity (up to 99 % ee). The method was applied to synthesize the core of a bioactive carbazole derivative in a concise manner.

Palladium-catalyzed carbene insertion was utilized in a formal synthesis of (±)-picropodophyllone and a total synthesis of (±)-brazilin. All prior syntheses of brazilin have involved a Friedel-Crafts alkylation in the key carbon-carbon bond forming events. The palladium-catalyzed [4 + 1] reaction generates a 1-arylindane with all of the functionalities needed for formation of the indano[2,1-c]chroman ring system of brazilin. The synthesis of (±)-brazilin was achieved in 11 steps (longest linear sequence) with an overall 11% yield.

We demonstrate the utility of carbenylative aminations in the synthesis of the cyclic alkaloid nitensidine E involving both protected and un-protected guanidine moieties. The alkylguanidine substrate is generated using a Mitsunobu reaction and we show that NH chemical shifts correlate with the regiochemistry and tautomeric structure of N-alkyl-bis-N,N′-Boc-guanidines. When the doubly-protected guanidine is used as a substrate in the palladium reaction, the catalyst assembles the heterocyclic ring and quaternary center of nitensidine E but with concomitant loss of one of the Boc groups. The reaction also works with an un-protected guanidine leading directly to nitensidine E.

Palladium is shown to catalyze the dimerization and cyclization of vinyl halides to generate pyrrolidine and piperidine dimers connected by a trans-ethylene bridge. The reaction tolerates a variety of N-alkyl substituents, including adamantyl. This remarkable dimerization reaction generates the skeleton of the alkaloid hyalbidone in a single step. A crossover experiment with a vinyl halide and a vinyl bromide is consistent with a Michael-type addition to a vinylpalladium cation to generate a Pd(0) alkylidene intermediate.

As easy as 1, 2, 3: A palladium-catalyzed three-component coupling generates alpha,beta-unsaturated gamma-amino acids in a single step (see scheme). The reaction is believed to involve migration of a vinyl substituent to a highly electrophilic palladium carbene. Unlike previous synthetic approaches, this synthesis provides access to gamma-amino acids with non-natural side chains.

Palladium is shown to catalyze the insertion of trimethylsilylmethylene into aryl halides, leading to benzylpalladium intermediates that cyclize to give indenylsilanes through carbopalladation of pendant alkenes or allenes. Allylsilanes generated through these processes are susceptible to protodesilylation in situ.

1-Arylindanes and 1-aryltetralines (XI) are prepared by palladium catalyzed carbenylative cyclization reaction of aryl iodide derivatives and N-tosylhydrazines.

Palladium can catalyze the insertion of ethyl diazoacetate into benzyl bromides. The key step in the catalytic cycle is the migratory insertion of a carbene, derived from ethyl diazoacetate, into a Pd–C bond.

Palladium(II) salts catalyze the Kirmse reaction of allylsulfides with trimethylsilyldiazomethane (TMSD) to give homoallylsulfides. Similarly, TMSD can intercept ArPdX intermediates generated during Stille couplings to give benzhydryl derivatives. The yields of this process are limited by overinsertion and β-elimination. Insertion and elimination can be harnessed to generate styrenes from benzylic halides in the presence of palladium (0) catalysts.

Trimethylsilyldiazomethane is compared with ethyl diazoacetate for the rhodium, copper, and cobalt catalyzed formation and [2,3] rearrangement of allylsulfonium ylides. At room temperature, the reaction can be carried out using the allyl sulfide as the limiting reagent by slow addition of 3 equivalents of the diazo compound. Slightly better yields were obtained with trimethylsilyldiazomethane than with ethyl diazoacetate.

Palladium catalysts are shown to catalyze the three-component coupling of vinyl halides, trimethylsilyldiazomethane, and stabilized carbon nucleophiles. The reaction is believed to proceed through a palladium-carbene intermediate LX(R)PdCHSiMe 3 that undergoes migration of the vinyl substituent to the electrophilic carbene center to generate an eta 3-allylpalladium intermediate. The allylpalladium intermediate is attacked by the carbon nucleophile to generate a vinylsilane product.

Peronatins A and B and 7,7‘-dimethoxyperonatin B, originally isolated from the damaged fruiting bodies of Collybia peronata and Tricholoma scalpturatum, have been synthesized by oxidative dimerization of 2-alkylindoles. The conversion of peronatin A to peronatin B was shown to be catalyzed by Bronsted acids in chloroform solution and inhibited by triethylamine, implicating a retro-Mannich/Mannich isomerization pathway under these conditions. Attempts to identify or trap out radical or ionic intermediates were unsuccessful.

A convenient one-pot procedure is developed for the bis-cyclization/dimerization of aminovinyl iodides.

Palladium is shown to catalyze an intramolecular aminocyclopropanation of norbornenes with aliphatic vinyl halides in good yields. The reaction tolerates a variety of amine substituents and gives good results with a variety of carbocyclic and oxabicyclic [2.2.1] alkene acceptors. Notably, stabilized enolate nucleophiles were also employed in cyclopropanation reactions.

We demonstrate that antibodies generated to a nitrophenylphosphonate hapten are able to catalyze hydrolysis of the corresponding ester 4 and carbamate 2 , but not the alternative carbamate 5 or amide 6 .

A general strategy for the synthesis of aminocyclopentitol glycosidase inhibitors has been applied to the synthesis of allosamizoline and mannostatin A. These cyclic pseudosugars are members of a growing family of highly potent and selective glycosidase inhibitors. A palladium-catalyzed ionization/cyclization reaction for preparing oxazolidinones from meso-alkenediols forms the cornerstone for this approach toward the synthesis of highly functionalized cyclopentane rings

Palladium(II) salts catalyze the Kirmse reaction of allylsulfides with trimethylsilyldiazomethane (TMSD) to give homoallylsulfides. Similarly, TMSD can intercept ArPdX intermediates generated during Stille couplings to give benzhydryl derivatives. The yields of this process are limited by overinsertion and β-elimination. Insertion and elimination can be harnessed to generate styrenes from benzylic halides in the presence of palladium (0) catalysts.

A new class of ligands for asymmetric transition metal catalysis based on 2-(diphenylphosphino)benzoic acid was used in a mechanistically-defined palladium-catalyzed reaction in which enantiodifferentiation was the result of selective ionization of substrates derived from cis-2-cycloalkene-1,4-diols. By making rational, stepwise changes in the ligand structure, the structural requirements for good asymmetric induction were probed. The absolute stereochemistry of the products was found to be related to the chirality of the ligand in a predictable fashion

Palladium catalysts are shown to catalyze the three-component coupling of vinyl halides, trimethylsilyldiazomethane, and stabilized carbon nucleophiles. The reaction is believed to proceed through a palladium-carbene intermediate LX(R)Pd═CHSiMe3 that undergoes migration of the vinyl substituent to the electrophilic carbene center to generate an η3-allylpalladium intermediate. The allylpalladium intermediate is attacked by the carbon nucleophile to generate a vinylsilane product.

Palladium is shown to catalyze the three-component coupling of vinyl halides, trimethylsilyldiazomethane, and amines to generate allylamines. The mechanism is believed to involve formation of an R-Pd=CHSiMe3 intermediate that undergoes migration of the vinyl ligand to the empty p-orbital of the carbene ligand. The resulting eta1-allylpalladium species forms an eta3-allylpalladium intermediate that is trapped by the amine nucleophile. Under the conditions tested, cyclic secondary amines and terminal vinyl iodides give the best results.

Rebeccamycin and staurosporine represent two broad classes of indolocarbazole glycoside natural products with antitumor properties. Based upon previous sequence annotation and in vivo studies, rebG encodes for the rebeccamycin N-glucosyltransferase, and rebM for the requisite 4′-O-methyltransferase. In the current study, an efficient in vivo biotransformation system for RebG was established in both Streptomyces lividans and Escherichia coli. Bioconversion experiments revealed RebG to glucosylate a set of indolocarbazole surrogates, the products of which could be further modified by in vitro RebM-catalyzed 4′-O-methylation. Both RebG and RebM displayed substrate promiscuity, and evidence for a remarkable lack of RebG regioselectivity in the presence of asymmetric substrates is also provided. In the context of the created indolocarbazole analogues, cytotoxicity assays also highlight the importance of 4′-O-methylation for their biological activity.

The iron(II)-catalyzed Bach reaction of tert-butoxycarbonyl azide (BocN(3)) and allyl sulfides has been extended to include propargyl sulfides, which give N-allenylsulfenimide products. Using 10 mol % dppeFeCl(2) as catalyst the reaction proceeds at 0 degrees C with a number of different propargyl sulfides in 31-73% isolated yield. The reaction is limited by product instability toward catalyst and termination of the catalytic cycle by excess BocN(3). N-Allenylsulfenimide 2b smoothly undergoes catalytic hydrogenation and a Diels-Alder reaction with cyclopentadiene.

The iron(II)-catalyzed Bach reaction of tert-butoxycarbonyl azide (BocN(3)) and allyl sulfides has been extended to include propargyl sulfides, which give N-allenylsulfenimide products. Using 10 mol % dppeFeCl(2) as catalyst the reaction proceeds at 0 degrees C with a number of different propargyl sulfides in 31-73% isolated yield. The reaction is limited by product instability toward catalyst and termination of the catalytic cycle by excess BocN(3). N-Allenylsulfenimide 2b smoothly undergoes catalytic hydrogenation and a Diels-Alder reaction with cyclopentadiene.

The previously prepared disaccharide 2 was deprotected (3) and transformed into the trichloroacetimidate 4. In the presence of Me3SiOTf, 4 reacted regioselectively with the racemic allosamizoline benzyl ether 5, to yield (61%) the pseudotrisaccharides 7–10 (44:40:9:7) and the elimination product 6 (Scheme 1). Selective dephthaloylation (MeNH2, MeOH) of 7 and 8, followed by acetylation, gave 12 (73%) and 13 (74%), respectively (Scheme 2); harsher conditions (NH2NH2.H2O, EtOH, reflux), followed by acetylation, transformed 7 into 11. Deacetylation of 11–13 yielded 14–16, respectively. Allosamidin (1) was obtained in high yield by hydrogenation of 15 under acidic conditions (Scheme 3). Similarly, 16 and 14 were transformed into 17 and 18, respectively. Preliminary data on the inhibition of endochitinases by 1 and 17 are reported.