Synthesis and ring openings of cinnamate-derived N-unfunctionalised aziridines

• Alan Armstrong and
• Alexandra Ferguson

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2012, 8, 1747–1752, doi:10.3762/bjoc.8.199

• aziridination. A range of ortho-, meta- and para-substituted cinnamates were synthesised via Wittig, Heck or esterification routes (for details, see Supporting Information File 1). Each substrate was subjected to two sets of aziridination conditions, with the optimum yields reported. Electron-rich substrates

A Wittig-olefination–Claisen-rearrangement approach to the 3-methylquinoline-4-carbaldehyde synthesis

• Mukund G. Kulkarni,
• Mayur P. Desai,
• Deekshaputra R. Birhade,
• Yunus B. Shaikh,
• Ajit N. Dhatrak and
• Ramesh Gannimani

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2012, 8, 1725–1729, doi:10.3762/bjoc.8.197

• important 3-methylquinoline-4-carbaldehydes 6a–h from o-nitrobenzaldehydes 1a–h employing a Wittig-olefination–Claisen-rearrangement protocol. The Wittig reaction of o-nitrobenzaldehydes with crotyloxymethylene triphenylphosphorane afforded crotyl vinyl ethers 2a–h, which on heating under reflux in xylene

• -carbaldehydes 6a–h in excellent yields. Therefore, an efficient method was developed for the preparation of 3-methylquinoline-4-carbaldehydes from o-nitrobenzaldehydes in a simple five-step procedure. Keywords: acetal; Claisen rearrangement; oxidative cleavage; ring-closure; Wittig olefination; Introduction

• method for the synthesis of 3-methylquinoline-4-carbaldehyde. It was considered that a properly substituted 2-(2-nitrophenyl)pent-4-enal [25][26][27] could be a fitting intermediate for this purpose. Such an intermediate is easily accessible through the Wittig-olefination–Claisen-rearrangement protocol

Enantioselective total synthesis of (R)-(−)-complanine

• Krystal A. D. Kamanos and
• Jonathan M. Withey

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2012, 8, 1695–1699, doi:10.3762/bjoc.8.192

• organocatalytic O-nitrosoaldol as the key step. A retrosynthetic analysis for complanine is depicted in Scheme 1. The synthesis was initiated by preparation of homoconjugated all-Z-diene 1 (Scheme 2). Sequential olefin preparation by using Wittig chemistry, or selective polyyne reduction represent two traditional

Cyclization of ortho-hydroxycinnamates to coumarins under mild conditions: A nucleophilic organocatalysis approach

• Florian Boeck,
• Max Blazejak,
• Markus R. Anneser and
• Lukas Hintermann

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2012, 8, 1630–1636, doi:10.3762/bjoc.8.186

• use of tri-n-butylphosphane (20 mol %) as a nucleophilic organocatalyst in MeOH solution allows cyclization to take place under much milder conditions (60–70 °C). Several coumarins were prepared, starting from ortho-hydroxyarylaldehydes, by Wittig reaction with Ph3P=CHCO2Me to (E)-methyl ortho

Synthesis of diverse indole libraries on polystyrene resin – Scope and limitations of an organometallic reaction on solid supports

• Kerstin Knepper,
• Sylvia Vanderheiden and
• Stefan Bräse

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2012, 8, 1191–1199, doi:10.3762/bjoc.8.132

• ]. Organometallic reactions on solid supports are always particularly challenging [25]. In the past, indoles were synthesized by using, for example, Fischer indole synthesis [26][27][28][29][30], Bartoli indole synthesis, Nenitzescu synthesis [31], Wittig indole synthesis [32], Madelung indole synthesis [33

Highly selective synthesis of (E)-alkenyl-(pentafluorosulfanyl)benzenes through Horner–Wadsworth–Emmons reaction

• George Iakobson and
• Petr Beier

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2012, 8, 1185–1190, doi:10.3762/bjoc.8.131

• reaction is a modification of the Wittig olefination in which a phosphoryl-stabilized carbanion reacts with an aldehyde or ketone to form an alkene and a water-soluble phosphate ester [23][24][25]. In general, this reaction preferentially gives more stable E-disubstituted alkenes, although several

Parallel and four-step synthesis of natural-product-inspired scaffolds through modular assembly and divergent cyclization

• Hiroki Oguri,
• Haruki Mizoguchi,
• Hideaki Oikawa,
• Aki Ishiyama,
• Masato Iwatsuki,
• Kazuhiko Otoguro and
• Satoshi Ōmura

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2012, 8, 930–940, doi:10.3762/bjoc.8.105

• and 4 (Scheme 2), as reported previously [22]. Due to the instability of the corresponding amine building block bearing the indole unit, azide 27 was employed as a precursor. Staudinger/aza-Wittig reaction [43] of 27 and 20 and subsequent condensation with 6 and 21 afforded the peptidyl product 28

Two-directional synthesis as a tool for diversity-oriented synthesis: Synthesis of alkaloid scaffolds

• Kieron M. G. O’Connell,
• Monica Díaz-Gavilán,
• Warren R. J. D. Galloway and
• David R. Spring

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2012, 8, 850–860, doi:10.3762/bjoc.8.95

• EtOH and H2O under reflux to achieve ester saponification, which was followed by decarboxylation, proceeding smoothly to give the corresponding ketone in 76% yield. The ketone was then transformed to the exocyclic alkene 15 in 61% yield by Wittig reaction with the appropriate phosphonium salt. The

Synthesis of 2,6-disubstituted tetrahydroazulene derivatives

• Zakir Hussain,
• Henning Hopf,
• Khurshid Ayub and
• S. Holger Eichhorn

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2012, 8, 693–698, doi:10.3762/bjoc.8.77

• ; ring expansion; Introduction Hydroazulene skeletons provide the basic ring systems of natural products, such as guaianolide sesquiterpenes [1][2] and the so-called furanether B series [3][4]. The stereoselective synthesis of trans-hydroazulene derivatives by a tandem Michael/intramolecular Wittig

Dioxane dibromide mediated bromination of substituted coumarins under solvent-free conditions

• Subrata Kumar Chaudhuri,
• Sanchita Roy and
• Sanjay Bhar

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2012, 8, 323–329, doi:10.3762/bjoc.8.35

• [8], Et4N+Br− in the presence of hypervalent iodine reagents [9], and NBS in tetrabutylammonium bromide under molten salt conditions [10]. There is a recent report of the preparation of 3-bromocoumarins from acyclic precursors through bromination of a Wittig reagent with NBS followed by tandem Wittig

Synthesis of fused tricyclic amines unsubstituted at the ring-junction positions by a cascade condensation, cyclization, cycloaddition then decarbonylation strategy

• Iain Coldham,
• Adam J. M. Burrell,
• Hélène D. S. Guerrand,
• Luke Watson,
• Nathaniel G. Martin and
• Niall Oram

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2012, 8, 107–111, doi:10.3762/bjoc.8.11

• chemistry for the construction of the core ring system found in alkaloid natural products. Wittig reaction with aldehyde 16 should be possible to provide the core ring system found in the alkaloids meloscine and scandine [26][27][28][29][30]. However, we chose to investigate a shorter reaction sequence

• without the need for protecting groups and to carry out the Wittig reaction at an earlier stage, as shown in Scheme 6. Olefination of aldehyde 6 with the anion formed from methyltriphenylphosphonium bromide gave alkene 17, which was reduced with DIBAL-H to give aldehyde 18. Heating this aldehyde with

Photochemical and thermal intramolecular 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition reactions of new o-stilbene-methylene-3-sydnones and their synthesis

• Kristina Butković,
• Željko Marinić,
• Krešimir Molčanov,
• Biserka Kojić-Prodić and
• Marija Šindler-Kulyk

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2011, 7, 1663–1670, doi:10.3762/bjoc.7.196

• -cyanotoluene (see Supporting Information File 1 for full experimental data). Bromination of o-cyanotoluene afforded 2-(bromomethyl)benzonitrile (4) [24], which was transformed to triphenylphosphonium salt 5 [25] followed by Wittig reaction with 4-methylbenzaldehyde to 2-(4-methylstyryl)benzonitrile (6a,b) [26

The application of a monolithic triphenylphosphine reagent for conducting Appel reactions in flow microreactors

• Kimberley A. Roper,
• Heiko Lange,
• Anastasios Polyzos,
• Malcolm B. Berry,
• Ian R. Baxendale and
• Steven V. Ley

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2011, 7, 1648–1655, doi:10.3762/bjoc.7.194

• interest in using monolithic supports to facilitate key chemical transformations [20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27][28][29][30][31]. We recently reported on the development of a new monolithic triphenylphosphine reagent and its use in the Staudinger aza-Wittig reaction in flow [32][33]. Here we discuss the

A new phenylethyl alkyl amide from the Ambrostoma quadriimpressum Motschulsky

• Guolei Zhao,
• Chao Yang,
• Bing Li and
• Wujiong Xia

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2011, 7, 1342–1346, doi:10.3762/bjoc.7.158

• chain was accomplished by the selective protection of the hydroxy groups and two-time implementation of the Wittig olefination reaction. Keywords: asymmetric synthesis; beetle; fatty acid amide; isolation; Introduction The leaf beetle Ambrostoma quadriimpressum Motschulsky (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae

• disconnected into two fragments, 2 and 3. The intermediate fragment 2 would be readily prepared from the commercially available ε-caprolactone. The crucial fragment 3 would be constructed from the intermediate 4 through Wittig olefination. The polyhydroxy compound 4 would be obtained from L-glutamic acid by

• , resulted in the deprotection of the TBDPS group. Alternatively, the alcohol 9 could be obtained by reduction with diisobutylaluminium hydride (Dibal-H) in 86% yield, which was then converted to the corresponding aldehyde 10 by oxidation with PCC. Wittig olefination of aldehyde 10 with n

Bromine–lithium exchange: An efficient tool in the modular construction of biaryl ligands

• Laurence Bonnafoux,
• Frédéric R. Leroux and
• Françoise Colobert

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2011, 7, 1278–1287, doi:10.3762/bjoc.7.148

• certainly one of the most fundamental synthetic transformations [39]. Although this reaction was reported by C. S. Marvel in 1927 [40], G. Wittig [41] and H. Gilman [42][43][44] were the first to apply it in organic synthesis in the late thirties. Since then, this reaction has been considered as a mature

Functionalization of heterocyclic compounds using polyfunctional magnesium and zinc reagents

• Paul Knochel,
• Matthias A. Schade,
• Sebastian Bernhardt,
• Georg Manolikakes,
• Albrecht Metzger,
• Fabian M. Piller,
• Christoph J. Rohbogner and
• Marc Mosrin

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2011, 7, 1261–1277, doi:10.3762/bjoc.7.147

• corresponding zinc reagents. This makes their preparation especially important. 2.1 The preparation of heterocyclic magnesium reagents through a bromine- (or iodine-) magnesium exchange Compared to the halogen/lithium exchange, discovered in 1939 by Wittig and Gilman, the halogen/magnesium exchange is much

A simple and convenient one-pot synthesis of substituted isoindolin-1-ones via lithiation, substitution and cyclization of N'-benzyl-N,N-dimethylureas

• Keith Smith,
• Gamal A. El-Hiti,
• Amany S. Hegazy and
• Benson Kariuki

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2011, 7, 1219–1227, doi:10.3762/bjoc.7.142

• [27], Wittig reagents [28], reduction processes [29][30], rearrangement processes [31] and photochemical reactions [32][33]. However, such methods generally require multiple reaction steps and are unsatisfactory both in yield and generality. In recent years several new approaches have been developed

Directed aromatic functionalization

• Victor Snieckus

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2011, 7, 1215–1218, doi:10.3762/bjoc.7.141

• since the independent discoveries by Gilman and Wittig, the directed ortho metalation (DoM) reaction has trickled into the armamentarium of the synthetic chemist (but not significantly into textbooks [8][14]), as a general and rational strategy for the construction of polysubstituted aromatics and

Toward an integrated route to the vernonia allenes and related sesquiterpenoids

• Da Xu,
• Michael A. Drahl and
• Lawrence J. Williams

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2011, 7, 937–943, doi:10.3762/bjoc.7.104

• the direct formation of 21 via bromomethyltriphenylphosphonium bromide (Scheme 4). This reaction was inefficient and gave both the (E)- and (Z)-bromoolefins as well as dibromoolefin 20. Bromo group scrambling under basic Wittig reaction conditions is known [63], and the usual procedure for Wittig

• the reaction profile, as did varying the ratio of Wittig reagent relative to aldehyde (1–3 equiv), solvent (THF and toluene), and aldehyde concentration (0.035–0.09 M). The yield of the reaction was low under all the conditions examined (13–26%) [66]. The known behavior of

Intraannular photoreactions in pseudo-geminally substituted [2.2]paracyclophanes

• Henning Hopf,
• Vitaly Raev and
• Peter G. Jones

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2011, 7, 658–667, doi:10.3762/bjoc.7.78

• trans,trans-10 by a Wittig olefination, appears to be unstable in the solid state at room temperature, but in the refrigerator at −20 °C or in dilute (~0.1 M) solution in dichloromethane or chloroform it can be stored in the dark for at least 3 months without any detectable decomposition or

• product after 2 h of irradiation with a halogen 1 kW lamp, it appeared to be very unstable even below 0 °C, although it was stable enough for NMR identification. Wittig olefination of the irradiated mixture gave the divinylcyclobutane derivative 14 as the sole product and was isolable by column

• with the ylide prepared from cyclopropylcarbinyl triphenylphosphonium bromide and obtained in quantitative yield a product mixture consisting of the three possible diastereomers E,E-, E,Z- and Z,Z-22 (Scheme 8), the latter being the main product as is often observed in classical Wittig reactions

Construction of cyclic enones via gold-catalyzed oxygen transfer reactions

• Leping Liu,
• Bo Xu and
• Gerald B. Hammond

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2011, 7, 606–614, doi:10.3762/bjoc.7.71

• conjugated enone substructure has attracted the interest of synthetic chemists for decades. Among numerous methodologies, aldol condensations and Wittig-type reactions have been widely utilized [9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18]. Recently, it was found that conjugated enones could be generated from the

• oxygen transfer from a carbonyl group to a carbon–carbon triple bond, the so-called alkyne–carbonyl metathesis. This methodology has sparked the attention of the synthetic community, because it could serve as an efficient and atom-economic alternative to the Wittig reaction by the formation of a new

The preparation of 3-substituted-1,5-dibromopentanes as precursors to heteracyclohexanes

• Bryan Ringstrand,
• Martin Oltmanns,
• Jeffrey A. Batt,
• Aleksandra Jankowiak,
• Richard P. Denicola and
• Piotr Kaszynski

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2011, 7, 386–393, doi:10.3762/bjoc.7.49

• addition of a Grignard reagent to tetrahydro-4H-pyran-4-one, elimination of water, and hydrogenation of the olefin (Method 2A). Typical yields for Method 2A range from 20–30% [39][40]. The second route is the Wittig olefination of tetrahydro-4H-pyran-4-one followed by hydrogenation (Method 2B). Yields for

• the Wittig olefination of tetrahydro-4H-pyran-4-one range from 35–75% [41][42][43]. The third route (Method 2C) begins from tetrahydropyran-4-carboxylic acid: The acid chloride is reacted with a Grignard reagent, and the resulting ketone reduced under Wolff–Kischner conditions. Typical yields for this

• propyl (1a), pentyl (1b), 2-(4-trans-pentylcyclohexyl)ethyl (1c), or 4-propylphenethyl (1d) substituents (Figure 2). We investigate the preparation of appropriate diols 2 starting from malonate (Method 1B, Scheme 1) and glutaconate diesters (Method 1C) as well as appropriate tetrahydropyrans 3 via Wittig

Rh-Catalyzed rearrangement of vinylcyclopropane to 1,3-diene units attached to N-heterocycles

• Franca M. Cordero,
• Carolina Vurchio,
• Stefano Cicchi,
• Armin de Meijere and
• Alberto Brandi

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2011, 7, 298–303, doi:10.3762/bjoc.7.39

• domino 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition/thermal rearrangement sequence, were converted by Wittig methylenation to the corresponding vinylcyclopropanes (VCPs), which underwent rearrangement to 1,3-dienes in the presence of the Wilkinson Rh(I) complex under microwave heating. The previously unexplored Rh(I

• the construction of other heterocyclic compounds by selective elaboration of the α-oxocyclopropane functionality, for example, to vinylcyclopropane (VCP) by simple Wittig olefination. The rearrangement of VCPs to cyclopentenes and dienes are well known processes [18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25] that

• influence of the N-heterocyclic system on the rearrangement, some model VCPs were generated by Wittig olefination of the α-oxocyclopropane group of functionalized oligocyclic spirocyclopropane-tetrahydropyridones and converted into the corresponding 1,3-dienes by treatment with Rh(PPh3)3Cl. Results and

Application of the diastereoselective photodeconjugation of α,β-unsaturated esters to the synthesis of gymnastatin H

• Ludovic Raffier and
• Olivier Piva

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2011, 7, 151–155, doi:10.3762/bjoc.7.21

• configuration of the C-6 centre of the target molecule was controlled. Keywords: amide; diastereoselective protonation; dienol; isomerisation; Wittig reaction; Introduction The photodeconjugation of α,β-unsaturated esters 1 – which bear at least one hydrogen atom on γ-position – allows a straightforward

• manumycin C (12) isolated from Streptomyces parvulus [13]. Different groups have investigated the synthesis of gymnastatins 10a–c [14][15][16], compounds 11 [17] and 12 [18]. In most cases, the lateral acid chain was prepared starting from (R)-2-methyloctanal by iterative Wittig reactions to build the

• first de novo total synthesis of gymnastatin H (10c). Results and Discussion Ethyl ester 14, readily prepared from hexanal by a Wittig–Horner reaction, was saponified and esterified under DCC activation with commercially available diacetone D-glucose (Scheme 3). Irradiation of 16 at 254 nm in methylene

Tandem catalysis of ring-closing metathesis/atom transfer radical reactions with homobimetallic ruthenium–arene complexes

• Yannick Borguet,
• Xavier Sauvage,
• Guillermo Zaragoza,
• Albert Demonceau and
• Lionel Delaude

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2010, 6, 1167–1173, doi:10.3762/bjoc.6.133

• ][13][14], ATRP [15][16][17][18], cyclopropanation [19], dihydroxylation [20], hydrogenation [21][22][23], hydrovinylation [24], isomerization [25][26][27][28], oxidation [29], or Wittig reactions [30], to name just a few [31]. In this contribution, we investigate the tandem catalysis of RCM/ATRC