Cofactor-mimetic aerobic oxidation has conceptually merged with catalysis of syngas reactions to form a wide range of Markovnikov-selective olefin radical hydrofunctionalizations. We cover the development of the field and review contributions to reaction invention, mechanism and application to complex molecule synthesis. We also provide a mechanistic framework for understanding this compendium of radical reactions.

Catalytic amounts of Co(SaltBu,tBu)Cl and organosilane irreversibly isomerize terminal alkenes by one position. The same catalysts effect cycloisomerization of dienes and retrocycloisomerization of strained rings. Strong Lewis bases like amines and imidazoles, and labile functionalities like epoxides, are tolerated.

Few methods permit the hydrogenation of alkenes to a thermodynamically favored configuration when steric effects dictate the alternative trajectory of hydrogen delivery. Dissolving metal reduction achieves this control, but with extremely low functional group tolerance. Here we demonstrate a catalytic hydrogenation of alkenes that affords the thermodynamic alkane products with remarkably broad functional group compatibility and rapid reaction rates at standard temperature and pressure.

Kevin J. Bruemmer received his B.S. in Chemistry and Mathematics from Southern Methodist University in 2014, where he worked with Prof. Alexander Lippert on the development of fluorescence and magnetic resonancep robes for reactive nitrogen and sulfur species. He then moved to UC Berkeley to continue work on studying reactive species with Prof. Chris Chang in 2015, where his work as an NSF graduate fellow focuses on developing and applying activitybased sensing methods to study the physiological roles of formaldehyde. Steven W. M. Crossley received his B.Sc. in Chemistry from the University of British Columbia in 2012. After agap year,h e pursued Ph.D. studies as an NSERC postgraduate scholar at The Scripps Research Institute with Prof. Ryan Shenvi to work on first-row transition-metal hydrofunctionalization of alkenes and total synthesist osupport interrogation of GABAA receptor neurobiology.In2 018, he joined the group of Prof. Chris Chang, where he is developing amino acid specific reaction-based probes for cancer therapeutics discovery.

CONSPECTUS. Implementation of any chemical reaction in a structurally complex setting (King, S. M., J. Org. Chem., 2014, 79, 8937) confronts structurally-defined barriers: steric environment, functional group reactivity, product instability, and through-bond electronics. But there are also practical barriers. Late stage reactions conducted on small quantities of material are run inevitably at lower than optimal concentrations. Access to late stage material limits extensive optimization. Impurities from past reactions can interfere, especially with catalytic reactions. Therefore, chemical reactions that can be relied upon at the front lines of a complex synthesis campaign emerge from the crucible of total synthesis as robust, dependable, and widely applied. Trost conceptualized ‘chemoselectivity’ as a reagent’s selective reaction of one functional group or reactive site in preference to others (Trost, B. M., Science, 1983, 219, 245). Chemoselectivity and functional group tolerance can be evaluated quickly using robustness screens (Collins, K. D., Nat. Chem., 2013, 5, 597). A reaction may also be characterized by its ‘chemofidelity’, its reliable reaction with a functional group in any molecular context. For example, ketone reduction by an electride (dissolving metal conditions) exhibits high chemofidelity, but low chemoselectivity: it usually works, but many other functional groups are reduced at similar rates. Conversely, alkene coordination chemistry effected by π Lewis acids can exhibit high chemoselectivity (Trost, B. M., Science, 1983, 219, 245), but low chemofidelity: it can be highly selective for alkenes, but sensitive to substitution patterns (Larionov, E., Chem Comm., 2014, 50, 9816). In contrast, alkenes undergo reliable, robust, and diverse hydrogen atom transfer reactions from metal hydrides to generate carbon-centered radicals. Although there are many potential applications of this chemistry, its functional group tolerance, high rates, and ease of execution have led to its rapid deployment in complex synthesis campaigns. Its success derives from high chemofidelity; its dependable reactivity in many molecular environments and with many alkene substitution patterns. Metal hydride H-atom transfer (MHAT) reactions convert diverse, simple building blocks to more stereochemically and functionally dense products (Crossley, S. W. M., Chem. Rev., 2016, 116, 8912). When hydrogen is returned to the metal, MHAT can be considered the radical equivalent of Brønsted acid catalysis—itself a broad reactivity paradigm. This Account summarizes our group’s contributions to method development, reagent discovery, and mechanistic interrogation. Our earliest contribution to this area—a stepwise hydrogenation with high chemoselectivity and high chemofidelity—has found application to many problems. More recently, we reported the first examples of a dual-catalytic cross-couplings that rely on the merger of MHAT cycles and nickel catalysis. With time, we anticipate MHAT will become a staple of chemical synthesis.

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The AlkB family of nonheme Fe(II)/2-oxoglutarate–dependent oxygenases are essential regulators of RNA epigenetics by serving as erasers of one-carbon marks on RNA with release of formaldehyde (FA). Two major human AlkB family members, FTO and ALKBH5, both act as oxidative demethylases of N6-methyladenosine (m6A) but furnish different major products, N6-hydroxymethyladenosine (hm6A) and adenosine (A), respectively. Here we identify foundational mechanistic differences between FTO and ALKBH5 that promote these distinct biochemical outcomes. In contrast to FTO, which follows a traditional oxidative N-demethylation pathway to catalyze conversion of m6A to hm6A with subsequent slow release of A and FA, we find that ALKBH5 catalyzes a direct m6A-to-A transformation with rapid FA release. We identify a catalytic R130/K132/Y139 triad within ALKBH5 that facilitates release of FA via an unprecedented covalent-based demethylation mechanism with direct detection of a covalent intermediate. Importantly, a K132Q mutant furnishes an ALKBH5 enzyme with an m6A demethylation profile that resembles that of FTO, establishing the importance of this residue in the proposed covalent mechanism. Finally, we show that ALKBH5 is an endogenous source of FA in the cell by activity-based sensing of FA fluxes perturbed via ALKBH5 knockdown. This work provides a fundamental biochemical rationale for nonredundant roles of these RNA demethylases beyond different substrate preferences and cellular localization, where m6A demethylation by ALKBH5 versus FTO results in release of FA, an endogenous one-carbon unit but potential genotoxin, at different rates in living systems.

We report a concise, stereocontrolled synthesis of the neurotoxic sesquiterpenoid (−)-picrotoxinin (1, PXN). The brevity of the route is due to regio- and stereoselective formation of the [4.3.0] bicyclic core by incorporation of a symmetrizing geminal dimethyl group at C5. Dimethylation then enables selective C–O bond formation in multiple intermediates. A series of strong bond (C–C and C–H) cleavages convert the C5 gem-dimethyl group to the C15 lactone of PXN.