No abstract

The intramolecular acid catalyzed aldol cyclization of 2,3,7-triketoesters formed from ζ-keto-α-diazo-β-ketoesters provides highly functionalized cyclopentanones with good diastereoselectivity in high overall yields via kinetically controlled and stereodivergent catalytic processes. Lewis acid catalysis gives high selectivity for the 1,3-anti tetrasubstituted cyclopentanones, whereas Brønsted acid catalysis produces the corresponding 1,3-syn diastereomer.

The synthesis of α-carbonylimines by rhodium(II)-catalyzed reactions of α-diazoesters and organic azides has been developed and applied in hetero-Diels-Alder reactions to form highly functionalized tetrahydropyrimidines and in a one-pot, multicomponent transformation between aryldiazoacetates, p-anisyl azide, and an enonediazoacetate to produce β-lactams in high yields and diastereoselectivities.

Carbonyl-ene reactions of 2,3-diketoesters catalyzed by [Cu{(S,S)-tBu-box}](SbF6)2 [box=bis(oxazoline)] generate chiral α-functionalized α-hydroxy-β-ketoesters in up to 94% yield and 97% ee. The 2,3-diketoesters are conveniently accessed from the corresponding α-diazo-β-ketoester, and a catalyst loading as low as 1.0 mol% can be achieved.

No abstract

DMDO oxidation of functionalized α-diazo-β-ketoacetates, formed by zinc triflate catalyzed Mukaiyama-aldol condensation of methyl diazoacetoacetate with aldehydes, occurred in quantitative yield to form dihydrofuranols that undergo acid catalyzed dehydration under mild conditions to generate 3-methoxyfuran-2-carboxylates in good yield.

Regio- and diastereoselective Lewis acid catalyzed cycloaddition reactions between imines and donor-acceptor cyclopropenes generated from silyl-protected enoldiazoacetates provide direct access to stable cyclopropane-fused tetrahydroquinolines and, with cyclopropane ring opening under mild conditions, to 1H-benzazipine derivatives.

Imaging of cannabinoid subtype-1 (CB1) receptors in vivo with positron emission tomography (PET) is likely to be important for understanding their role in neuropsychiatric disorders and for drug development. Radioligands for imaging with PET are required for this purpose. We synthesized new ligands from a 3,4-diarylpyrazoline platform of which (-)-12a ((-)-3-(4-chlorophenyl)-N’-[(4-cyanophenyl)sulfonyl]-4-phenyl-4,5-dihydro-1H-pyrazole-1-carboxamidine) was found to have high-affinity and selectivity for binding to CB1 receptors. (-)-12a and its lower affinity enantiomer ((+)-12a) were labeled with carbon-11 (t1/2 = 20.4 min) using [11C]cyanide ion as labeling agent and evaluated as PET radioligands in cynomolgus monkey. After injection of [11C](-)-12a there was high uptake and retention of radioactivity across brain according to the rank order of CB1 receptor densities. The distomer, [11C](+)-12a, failed to give a sustained CB1 receptor-specific distribution. Polar radiometabolites of [11C](-)-12a appeared moderately slowly in plasma. Radioligand [11C](-)-12a is promising for the study of brain CB1 receptors and merits further investigation in human subjects.