Charge neutral TpMo(CO) 2 (5-acyloxy-η 3 -pyranyl) and TpMo(CO) 2 (5-acyloxy-η 3 -pyridinyl) scaffolds undergo a novel intermolecular "homo-S N 2′-like" reaction with a variety of carbon nucleophiles. Combined with an annulative demetalation, the homo-S N 2′-like substitution/annulative demetalation sequence rapidly generates 2,7-dioxabicyclo[4.3.0]nonane and 2-aza-7-oxabicyclo [4.3.0]nonane frameworks in good to excellent yields with high enantiopurity. An enantiocontrolled total synthesis of the antimalarial alkaloid (+)-isofebrifugine was achieved utilizing this reaction cascade.Enantiomerically pure, air and moisture-stable TpMo(CO) 2 (η 3 -pyranyl) and TpMo(CO) 2 (η 3 -pyridinyl) complexes, 1 and 2 (Scheme 1), are powerful scaffolds for the enantiocontrolled construction of substituted heterocycles.1 Readily available in multigram quantities, 1m they provide not only new bond construction strategies to access a variety of natural products, but they also constitute platforms from which to explore novel reactivity. A survey of the literature shows that a TpMo(CO) 2 -stabilized carbocation is a requisite intermediate in almost all synthetic transformations of the scaffolds.1a-i,1k,l,1n It was only recently that a new, noncationic pathway taking place through the direct nucleophilic addition of an internal enolate chemLL1@emory.edu. Supporting Information Available: Experimental procedures, synthesis and characterization of all new compounds and X-ray crystallographic studies of 8 (55 pages), scanned copies of 1 H and 13 C NMR spectra of all new compounds (64 pages). This material is available free of charge via the Internet at http://pubs.acs.org. to a terminal π-carbon of neutral 5-oxo-η 3 -pyranyl (and pyridinyl) moiety was reported.1j,1o This synthetically useful 1,5-Michael-like functionalization mode was explained, in part, by the tendency of TpMo(CO) 2 systems to favor 6-coordinate over 7-coordinate structures, 2 and also because the nucleophilic addition generates a characterizable anionic TpMo(CO) 2 intermediate (5 in Scheme 1), which possesses three good π-back-bonding ligands to delocalize the anionic charge: 2 terminal CO's and the η 2 -enone ligand. These observations led us to wonder if the preference for 6-coordinate over 7-coordinate structures alone would be sufficient to enhance a more general nucleophilic addition pathway by which TpMo(CO) 2 (η 3 -allyl) systems that are less-activated than the 5-oxo-η 3 -pyranyl/pyridinyl complexes could be functionalized. Following these considerations, we report herein the first examples of the "homo-S N 2′-like" intermolecular nucleophilic substitution of charge neutral TpMo(CO) 2 (5-acyloxy-η 3 -pyranyl) and TpMo(CO) 2 (5-acyloxy-η 3 -pyridinyl) complexes (3 and 4, Scheme 1). This mechanistically new enantiocontrolled carbon-carbon bond forming reaction occurs enantiospecifically with excellent anti stereoselectivity.
NIH Public AccessThe requisite substrates 3a-c, 4a,b (Table 1) are prepared in high yields from the readily available TpMo(CO) 2 (...