492-39-7

We present a one-pot cascade for the synthesis of phenylpropanolamines (PPAs) in high optical purities (er and dr up to >99.5 %) and analytical yields (up to 95 %) by using 1-phenylpropane-1,2-diols as key intermediates. This bioamination entails the combination of an alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH), an ω-transaminase (ωTA) and an alanine dehydrogenase to create a redox-neutral network, which harnesses the exquisite and complementary regio- and stereo-selectivities of the selected ADHs and ωTAs. The requisite 1-phenylpropane-1,2-diol intermediates were obtained from trans- or cis-β-methylstyrene by combining a styrene monooxygenase with epoxide hydrolases. Furthermore, in selected cases, the envisioned cascade enabled to obtain the structural isomer (1S,2R)-1-amino-1-phenylpropan-2-ol in high optical purity (er and dr >99.5 %). This is the first report on an enzymatic method that enables to obtain all of the four possible PPA stereoisomers in great enantio- and diastereo-selectivity.

The chelation-controlled arylation reaction of chiral, enantiopure acyclic α-amino aldehydes enabled by a B/Zn exchange reaction between arylboronic acids and Et2Zn is reported. The presence of dibenzyl substituents at the nitrogen plays a key role in the stereochemical outcome of the reaction, and chelation is favored over the natural tendency of this type of substrate to undergo Felkin-Anh controlled additions with organomagnesium and organolithium reagents.

Chiral 1,2-amino alcohols are important building blocks for chemistry and pharmacy. Here, we developed two different biocatalytic 2-step cascades for the synthesis of all four nor(pseudo)ephedrine (N(P)E) stereoisomers. In the first one, the combination of an (R)-selective thiamine diphosphate (ThDP)-dependent carboligase with an (S)- or (R)-selective ω-transaminase resulted in the formation of (1R,2S)-NE or (1R,2R)-NPE in excellent optical purities (ee >99% and de >98%). For the synthesis of (1R,2R)-NPE, space-time yields up to ～26 g L-1 d-1 have been achieved. Since a highly (S)-selective carboligase is currently not available for this reaction, another strategy was followed to complement the nor(pseudo)ephedrine platform. Here, the combination of an (S)-selective transaminase with an (S)-selective alcohol dehydrogenase yielded (1S,2S)-NPE with an ee >98% and a de >99%. Although lyophilized whole cells are cheap to prepare and were shown to be appropriate for use as biocatalysts, higher optical purities were observed with purified enzymes. These synthetic enzyme cascade reactions render the N(P)E-products accessible from inexpensive, achiral starting materials in only two reaction steps and without the isolation of the reaction intermediates. This journal is the Partner Organisations 2014.

Two steps in one pot: An enzyme cascade consisting of a lyase and an (R)- or (S)-selective ω-transaminase (TA) provides (1R,2R)-norpseudoephedrine and (1R,2S)-norephedrine in only two steps. The intermediate is not isolated in this one-pot reaction and the products are obtained in high enantio- and diastereomeric purity. Moreover, the by-product from the second reaction can be recycled to serve as the substrate for the first reaction. Copyright

Each of the enantiomers of both norephedrine and norpseudoephedrine were stereoselectively prepared from the common, prochiral cyclic sulfamidate imine of racemic 1-hydroxy-1-phenyl-propan-2-one by employing asymmetric transfer hydrogenation (ATH) catalyzed by the well-defined chiral Rh-complexes, (S,S)- or (R,R)-Cp*RhCl(TsDPEN), and HCO2H/Et3N as the hydrogen source. The ATH processes are carried out under mild conditions (rt, 15 min) and are accompanied by dynamic kinetic resolution.

An anthracenyl-modified chiral bis(oxazoline) copper complex has been demonstrated to efficiently promote nitroaldol reactions between structurally varying aldehydes and nitromethane or nitroethane. The catalyst was recovered through formation of a charge transfer complex between the chiral ligand and trinitrofluorenone and its subsequent precipitation with pentane. The efficiency of this procedure was proved through several consecutive catalytic cycles that allowed the sturdy formation of the expected product with a high enantioselectivity. The catalyst′s stability was also put to the test in an original multi-substrate procedure. Following the same recovery concept, a new heterogeneous procedure was tested for which trinitrofluorenone was covalently linked to a silica support. Asymmetric heterogeneous catalysis was performed under these conditions as one of the few examples demonstrating the potential catalyst recycling in nitroaldol reactions through reversible, non-covalent interactions. Copyright

Ephedra sinica Stapf (Ephedraceae) is a widely used Chinese medicinal plant (Chinese name: Ma Huang). The main active constituents of E. sinica are the unique and taxonomically restricted adrenergic agonists phenylpropylamino alkaloids, also known as ephedrine alkaloids: (1R,2S)-norephedrine (1S,2S)-norpseudoephedrine, (1R,2S)-ephedrine, (1S,2S)-pseudoephedrine, (1R,2S)-N-methylephedrine and (1S,2S)-N-methylpseudoephedrine. GC-MS analysis of freshly picked young E. sinica stems enabled the detection of 1-phenylpropane-1,2-dione and (S)-cathinone, the first two putative committed biosynthetic precursors to the ephedrine alkaloids. These metabolites are only present in young E. sinica stems and not in mature stems or roots. The related Ephedra foemina and Ephedra foliata also lack ephedrine alkaloids and their metabolic precursors in their aerial parts. A marked diversity in the ephedrine alkaloids content and stereochemical composition in 16 different E. sinica accessions growing under the same environmental conditions was revealed, indicating genetic control of these traits. The accessions can be classified into two groups according to the stereochemistry of the products accumulated: a group that displayed only 1R stereoisomers, and a group that displayed both 1S and 1R stereoisomers. (S)-cathinone reductase activities were detected in E. sinica stems capable of reducing (S)-cathinone to (1R,2S)-norephedrine and (1S,2S)-norpseudoephedrine in the presence of NADH. The proportion of the diastereoisomers formed varied according to the accession tested. A (1R,2S)-norephedrine N-methyltransferase capable of converting (1R,2S)-norephedrine to (1R,2S)-ephedrine in the presence of S-adenosylmethionine (SAM) was also detected in E. sinica stems. Our studies further support the notion that 1-phenylpropane-1,2-dione and (S)-cathinone are biosynthetic precursors of the ephedrine alkaloids in E. sinica stems and that the activity of (S)-cathinone reductases directs and determines the stereochemical branching of the pathway. Further methylations are likely due to N-methyltransferase activities.

A method of making high diastereoselective and enantiomerically pure pseudonorephedrine and the hitherto unknown compound (1R,2R) pseudonorephedrine.

Norephedrine has been efficiently converted into the corresponding diastereomer pseudonorephedrine using a three step, one-pot reaction. The three step process involves treatment of norephedrine with di-tert-butyl dicarbonate (Boc2O); cyclization by way of mesylate formation at the alcohol; and lithium hydroxide mediated hydrolysis of the oxazolidinone. The diastereomeric purity was determined by HPLC and the enantiomeric purity was determined by optical activity measurements and chiral stationary phase HPLC analysis of the pseudonorephedrine oxazolidinone derivatives.

(Figure Presented) Novel enzyme activity: Biocatalytic Henry reactions with nitromethane and nitroethane yielded the corresponding nitroalcohols with good enantio- and diastereo-control in the presence of the hydroxynitrile lyase from the tropical rubber tree Hevea brasiliensis. Molecular modeling and deuterated starting materials were used in mechanistic investigations.

The present invention provides stereoscopically-pure diastereomers of Formula I: 1In a preferred embodiment, the stereoisomers of the present invention are of Formula II, depicted below: 2R2, R3 and le are independently H, OH, OCH3, CH2OH, NHCONH2, NH2, halogen or CF3, and R1 is pyridine, or an amine which may be substituted with hydrogen, lower alkyl, lower alkylenearyl, lower alkylenephenyl, lower alkylenehydroxyphenyl, lower alkyleneamine, lower alkyleneaminoaryl, lower alkylaminohydroxyphenyl, or a similar functional group. TV is hydrogen, hydroxyl or methyl; R6 is hydrogen, lower alkyl, lower alkylenaryl, lower alkylenephenyl, lower alkylenehydroxyphenyl, lower alkyleneamine, lower alkyleneaminoaryl, lower alkylaminohydroxyphenyl, and the like. For both Formula I and Formual II, the firs carbon on the side chain progressing from the ring is preferably in the R-configuration. The second carbon atom on the side chain of Formula II, which is attached to IV, may or may not be a chiral center. However, when the second carbon atom is a chiral center, it is preferably in the S-configuration. The present invention contemplates each stereoisomer of Formula I and II in substantially-pure form. The present invention also provides methods of relieving nasal, sinus and bronchial congestion and of treating attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and obesity. The present stereoisomers may also be used to induce pupil dilation. These methods include administering to a mammal a composition containing a therapeutically effective amount of a stereoscopically-pure stereoisomer of Formula I or II with a pharmaceutically acceptable excipient.

Chiral nitridomanganese complex 1 was found to be a highly potential N1 unit source for the asymmetric synthesis of aziridines and 2-oxazolines from olefins such as styrene and its derivatives. When sulfonyl chlorides were employed as activators of the complex in the presence of pyridine, pyridine N-oxide, and a silver salt, the reaction of olefins with complex 1 proceeded smoothly to afford the N-sulfonylated aziridines. The aziridination of styrene derivatives with complex 1 using 2-trimethylsilylethanesulfonyl chloride (SESC1) gave the N-SES-aziridines, which were easily converted into chiral N-unsubstituted aziridines. It was found that the reaction was applicable to the asymmetric synthesis of 2-oxazolines from olefins when acyl chlorides were employed as activators. Complex I provided an effective asymmetric environment for trans-disubstituted styrenes in the reaction (up to 92% ee). This is the first example of a direct asymmetric synthesis of 2-oxazolines from olefins. Additional experiments, conducted during the course of this investigation, suggest that the isomerization of the N-acylaziridine intermediate is involved in this reaction.

Aeruginoguanidines 98-A-98-C (1-3) were isolated from the cyanobacterium Microcystis aeruginosa (NIES-98). The structures of aeruginoguanidines 98-A-98-C (1-3) were determined by two-dimensional 1H-1H and 1H-13C NMR correlation experiments and confirmed by mass spectral analysis. The absolute stereochemistry of 1, consisting of Hphpa trisulfate (1-(4-hydroxy-3-hydroxymethyl)phenyl-1-hydroxy-2-propylamine 4′,3′,1-tri-O-sulfate), MpArg (Nα-methyl-Nω-prenylarginine) and MgArg ((Z)-Nα-methyl-Nω-geranylarginine), was determined by the NMR analyses of phenylglycine methyl ester (PGME) or Boc phenylglycine (BPG) derivatives of acid hydrolysates. These compounds showed moderate cytotoxicity against the P388 murine leukemia cells.

Chiral (salen)chromium(III)N3 complexes are demonstrated to be catalysts for the regioselective ring opening a variety of enantiomerically enriched epoxides. Selective nucleophilic attack at either epoxide carbon atom can be achieved by selection of the appropriate enantiomer of catalyst. A highly selective synthesis of norpseudoephedrine is described using this strategy.

Asymmetric reduction of α-oxoketoxime ethers with the reagents prepared in situ from trimethyl borate and chiral amino alcohols derived from either L-proline or α-pinene was investigated. Both cyclic and acyclic α- oxoketoxime ethers were reduced to afford the corresponding chiral 1,2amino alcohols with high enantioselectivities.

Cyanohydrins, prepared in high optical purity from aryl aldehydes, have been converted into α-hydroxy aldehydes, α-hydroxy ketones and β-hydroxy amines without any racemization and frequently with good stereoselectivity for the erythro-diastereoisomer (>90percent) at the newly introduced stereogenic centre.

The "benzostabase" (BSB) protecting group has been applied to primary aliphatic amines. It can be introduced via a dehydrogenative silylation employing an air- and moisture-stable reagent, and is appreciably more acid-stable than the related "stabase" group. BSB protection has been used in a stereoselective synthesis of amino-alcohols involving the addition of organometallic reagents to protected amino-aldehydes under "non-chelation control".

Ephedrine and related optically active β-aminoalcohols can be prepared by zinc borohydride reduction of aryl O-protected magnesium imines and aryl α-hydroxyimimes which in turn are readily available from optically active cyanohydrins.

Sequential addition of iBu2AlH and RLi or RMgX to Schiff base esters derived from amino acids provides a simple route to β-amino alcohols. The reaction procedes without racemization, and with high threo selectivity. Several representative sphingosines are synthesized.

2-(2,5-Dimethylpyrrol-1-yl)alkanals, 2-(pyrrol-1-yl)alkanals, and 2-(2,5-dimethylpyrrol-1-yl)alkan-1-ones were prepared.The reactions of these compounds with Grignard and hydride reagents proceeded stereoselectively to give the corresponding 2-(pyrrol-1-yl)alcohols, which were converted into 2-aminoalcohols, such as norephedrine and ephedrine, by cleavage of the pyrrole ring.

-

A new method for enantiomeric resolution of primary amino alcohols by HPLC is described involving derivatization to the salicylaldehyde Schiff base followed by ligand exchange chromatography (LEC) with chiral L-proline-bonded stationary phases.All of the α-amino alcohols with a hydroxyl substituent on the asymmetric carbon examined were resolved, including catecholamines and other β-hydroxyphenethylamines.The copper(II) ion employed in LEC serves to stabilize the Schiff base, whereas the derivative permits complexation in a manner favorable for resolution and enhanced detection.A possible structure for the mixed complex responsible for separation is suggested.From this structure, a correlation between elution order and configuration is proposed.

Several methods are described which allow determination on a small scale of the enantiomer distribution constant Q, and the affinity coefficient P, which characterize the enantioselectivity and the affinity of a lipophilic phase for ammonium salts of different constitution and configuration.The influence of concentration of the tartaric acid ester, temperature, concentration and type of the lipophilic anion on Q and P was investigated to find out favourable experimental conditions for resolutions of racemates by iterative processes, e.g. partition chromatography.The relation ship between Q and the configuration of aminoalcohols 1-12 was explored and the observed regularities are pointed out.In addition it was found that lipophilic tartaric acid esters are enantioselective to salts of threo-1,2-diphenyl-1,2-ethanediamine 13, and to phenylglycine and its derivatives 14-16.

α-N-Acylamino acids have been developed as useful reagents for the preparation of optically pure α-aminoalkylaryl ketones.Protection of the amino group as either the ethoxycarbonyl or benzenesulfonyl derivative allows alanine to serve as an effective educt for the chirally specific synthesis of a variety of structures containing the phenylethylamine backbone.Benzene undergoes Friedel-Crafts acylation with the N-acylalanine acid chloride.Catalyst complexation with oxagenated aromatics, however, prohibits acylation of aryl ethers.An arylmetallo reaction scheme overcomes this problem and also affords regiospecificity not attainable in conventional acylations.As examples, optically pure ephedrines and amphetamines were directly synthesized without recourse to resolution since the chirality of the amino acid educt was entirely conserved throughout the process.