Jing-Yan
Zhu
,
Wu-Lin
Yang
*,
Yang-Zi
Liu
,
Shao-Jing
Shang
and
Wei-Ping
Deng
*
School of Pharmacy and Shanghai Key Laboratory of New Drug Design, East China University of Science and Technology, 130 Meilong Road, Shanghai 200237, P. R. China. E-mail: ywlecust@gmail.com; weiping_deng@ecust.edu.cn
First published on 20th September 2017
A Cu(I)/Ph-Phosferrox complex catalyzed asymmetric Mannich reaction of glycine Schiff bases with isatin-derived ketimines has been described. This strategy can provide direct access to chiral 3-substituted 3-aminooxindoles bearing vicinal quaternary–tertiary carbon stereocenters in high yields (up to 99%), excellent enantioselectivities (up to >99% ee) and moderate to high diastereoselectivities (up to 98:2 dr).
The oxindole skeleton containing a tetrasubstituted carbon stereocenter at the 3-position has long been identified as a “privileged motif” in a large family of bioactive natural products and pharmaceuticals.5 In particular, a chiral 3-substituted 3-aminooxindole scaffold is a key structure present in many drug candidates (Fig. 1), such as the gastrin/cholecystokinin type B receptor antagonist AG-041R,6 the anti-malarial agent NITD609,7 and the orally active nonpeptide vasopressin V1b receptor antagonist SSR-149415.8 In this context, the addition of nucleophiles to isatin-derived ketimines provides a straightforward and powerful route to 3-substituted 3-aminooxindoles. Since the pioneering work reported by Zhou et al. in 2010,9 a variety of catalytic enantioselective addition reactions to isatin-derived ketimines have been developed, including Strecker reactions,10 Mannich reactions,11 aza-Henry reactions,12 aza-Friedel–Crafts reactions,13 Morita–Baylis–Hillman reactions,14 annulation reactions,15 and other asymmetric reactions.16 Nevertheless, the development of a challenging nucleophile in the addition reaction to meet the structural diversity of 3-substituted 3-aminooxindole compounds is still in need. As a part of our continuing interest in developing the asymmetric reaction of glycine Schiff bases,17 we demonstrate herein a copper(I)-catalyzed asymmetric Mannich reaction of glycine Schiff bases with isatin-derived ketimines, affording 3-substituted 3-aminooxindoles with an α-amino acid motif in excellent enantioselectivities (Scheme 1b).
At the outset of this study, isatin-derived N-Boc ketimine 1a was chosen as the model substrate to investigate the feasibility of the Mannich reaction with glycine methyl ester 2a in the presence of a planar-chiral ferrocene P,N-ligand (iPr-Phosferrox L1)/Cu(CH3CN)4BF4 as the catalyst and Et3N as the base in THF at ambient temperature. To our delight, Mannich adduct 3a was obtained as an exclusive product in 92% yield with moderate diastereoselectivity (39:61 dr) and excellent enantioselectivity (99%/92% ee) (Table 1, entry 1). Screening of other copper salts showed that Cu(CH3CN)4PF6, Cu(CH3CN)4ClO4, and CuOTf gave Mannich adduct 3a in high yields with excellent enantioselectivities (entries 2–4). The yields and ee of adduct 3a declined sharply when using CuOAc, Cu(OTf)2, or Cu(OAc)2 (entries 5–7). Screening of other solvents did not reveal any improvement in diastereoselectivity (see the ESI† for details). Next, we turned our attention to the optimization of ligands, P,N-ligands bearing different substituents on the oxazoline ring provided excellent yields and enantioselectivities (entries 8–11), and Ph-Phosferrox L3 was the optimal ligand in terms of diastereoselectivity (85:15 dr, entry 9). The diastereoisomeric ratio was increased to 92:8 when the temperature was decreased to −20 °C (entry 12). Further lowering the temperature to −40 °C resulted in a considerable improvement in diastereoselectivity without the loss of enantioselectivity (97:3 dr, 99% ee, entry 13). The diastereoselectivity decreased slightly when the catalyst loading was reduced to 5 mol% (94:6 dr, entry 15).
Entry | Metal | Ligand | Yieldb (%) | drc | eed (%) | t (h) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
a All reactions were carried out with 0.1 mmol of 1a and 0.11 mmol of 2a in 1.5 mL of THF; CuBF4 = [Cu(CH3CN)4BF4]; CuPF6 = [Cu(CH3CN)4PF6]; CuClO4 = [Cu(CH3CN)4ClO4]; CuOTf = [(CuOTf)2·C6H6]; Cu(OAc)2 = Cu(OAc)2·H2O. b Combined yield of two diastereomers. c Determined by 1H NMR spectroscopy and chiral HPLC analysis. d Determined by chiral HPLC analysis. e Reaction conducted at −20 °C. f Reaction conducted at −40 °C. g Reaction conducted at −78 °C. h 5 mol% catalyst was used. | ||||||
1 | CuBF4 | L1 | 92 | 39:61 | 99/92 | 0.5 |
2 | CuPF6 | L1 | 98 | 40:60 | 99/99 | 0.5 |
3 | CuClO4 | L1 | 98 | 40:60 | 96/90 | 0.5 |
4 | CuOTf | L1 | 99 | 41:59 | 92/92 | 0.5 |
5 | CuOAc | L1 | 35 | 72:28 | 14/62 | 1 |
6 | Cu(OTf)2 | L1 | 66 | 43:57 | 75/85 | 8 |
7 | Cu(OAc)2 | L1 | 52 | 84:16 | 2/36 | 24 |
8 | CuBF4 | L2 | 98 | 41:59 | 94/84 | 0.5 |
9 | CuBF4 | L3 | 98 | 85:15 | 98/55 | 0.5 |
10 | CuBF4 | L4 | 98 | 44:56 | 96/86 | 0.5 |
11 | CuBF4 | L5 | 98 | 76:24 | 98/85 | 0.5 |
12e | CuBF4 | L3 | 99 | 92:8 | 99/88 | 1 |
13f | CuBF4 | L3 | 98 | 97:3 | 99/94 | 4 |
14g | CuBF4 | L3 | 34 | 84:16 | 84/15 | 24 |
15f,h | CuBF4 | L3 | 98 | 94:6 | 98/76 | 7 |
After optimization of the reaction conditions, the substrate scope for this catalytic asymmetric Mannich reaction was investigated. Initially, the ester groups of glycine Schiff bases 2 were varied (Table 2). The results indicated that the reactivities and stereoselectivities of the Mannich reaction were highly dependent on the steric hindrance of ester groups. As glycine ethyl ester was used, the yield and the diastereoselectivity were maintained, while the enantioselectivity of the major diastereomer was slightly declined (entry 2), whereas the diastereoselectivities decreased obviously as the steric bulk group iso-propyl or benzyl was introduced (entries 3 and 4). Even more, glycine tert-butyl ester Schiff base 2e was inactive under the optimal conditions due to the steric encumbrance (entry 5).
Entrya | R | Yieldb (%) | drc | eed (%) | t (h) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
a All reactions were carried out with 0.1 mmol of 1a and 0.11 mmol of 2 in 1.5 mL of THF at −40 °C. b Combined yield of two diastereomers, nr = no reaction. c Determined by 1H NMR spectroscopy and chiral HPLC analysis, nd = not determined. d Determined by chiral HPLC analysis. | |||||
1 | Me (2a) | 98 (3a) | 97:3 | 99/94 | 4 |
2 | Et (2b) | 98 (3b) | 98:2 | 93/nd | 4 |
3 | Bn (2c) | 98 (3c) | 88:12 | 95/68 | 10 |
4 | iPr (2d) | 74 (3d) | 89:11 | 98/45 | 24 |
5 | tBu (2e) | nr | nd | nd | 24 |
Subsequently, the potential of this catalytic asymmetric Mannich reaction with a variety of isatin-derived ketimines was further evaluated (Table 3). The results revealed that the N-protecting group of isatin is crucial to the conversion. When ketimines derived from N-benzyl and N-acetyl isatins were introduced into this reaction, the diastereoselectivities were disappointing (entries 1 and 2). Ketimine 1d prepared from isatin without a protecting group at the N1 position also could not give the Mannich adduct (entry 3). Gratifyingly, N-Cbz-1-methyl ketimine 1e also performed well with excellent enantioselectivity (>99% ee), though the diastereoselectivity was slightly lower (entry 4). Subsequently, N-Boc ketimines derived from diverse substituted N-methyl isatins were evaluated. The electronic nature and the position of the substituents on isatin backbones had little influence on the enantioselectivities (>99% ee in most cases), whereas they had an obvious influence on the diastereoselectivities (55:45–96:4 dr). For example, the 5-OMe-substituted isatin imine 1f gave adduct 3i in excellent diastereoselectivities (96:4 dr) (entry 6), while the 6-OMe-substituted substrate 1l only gave 85:15 dr of the product (entry 11). Furthermore, the substrates bearing electron-withdrawing groups at the 6-position all worked well and afforded the products in high yields and stereoselectivities (entries 12 and 13). In contrast, an electron-withdrawing substituent at the 5-position provided the decreased diastereoselectivities (entries 9 and 10). Particularly, ketimine 1i with a fluorine atom at the 5-position led to a desirable outcome of both yield and stereoselectivity (entry 8). In addition, both electron-donating and electron-withdrawing groups at the 7th position of isatins were harmful for the diastereoselectivities (entries 14 and 15).
Entry | R1/R2/R3 | Yieldb (%) | drc | eed (%) | t (h) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
a All reactions were carried out with 0.1 mmol of 1 and 0.11 mmol of 2a in 1.5 mL of THF at −40 °C. b Combined yield of two diastereomers, nr = no reaction. c Determined by 1H NMR spectroscopy and chiral HPLC analysis, nd = not determined. d Determined by chiral HPLC analysis. | |||||
1 | Bn/Boc/H (1b) | 55 (3e) | 67:33 | 87/74 | 24 |
2 | Ac/Boc/H (1c) | 90 (3f) | 52:48 | 98/99 | 22 |
3 | H/Boc/H (1d) | nr | nd | nd | 24 |
4 | Me/Cbz/H (1e) | 98 (3g) | 83:17 | >99/>99 | 1 |
5 | Me/Boc/5-Me (1f) | 99 (3h) | 91:9 | 99/nd | 3 |
6 | Me/Boc/5-OMe (1g) | 99 (3i) | 96:4 | >99/nd | 1.5 |
7 | Me/Boc/5-OCF3 (1h) | 98 (3j) | 83:17 | >99/>99 | 5.5 |
8 | Me/Boc/5-F (1i) | 99 (3k) | 94:6 | >99/nd | 3 |
9 | Me/Boc/5-Cl (1j) | 90 (3l) | 83:17 | >99/>99 | 2.5 |
10 | Me/Boc/5-I (1k) | 98 (3m) | 89:11 | >99/83 | 2 |
11 | Me/Boc/6-OMe (1l) | 96 (3n) | 85:15 | >99/>99 | 2 |
12 | Me/Boc/6-Cl (1m) | 99 (3o) | 94:6 | >99/nd | 2.5 |
13 | Me/Boc/6-Br (1n) | 92 (3p) | 95:5 | >99/nd | 2 |
14 | Me/Boc/7-Cl (1o) | 79 (3q) | 55:45 | >99/>99 | 6.5 |
15 | Me/Boc/7-Me (1p) | 98 (3r) | 67:33 | 98/94 | 5.5 |
To explore the practicality of the current methodology, a gram-scale experiment was carried out under optimized conditions. The corresponding product 3m was obtained in 89% yield, 99% ee and 87:13 dr. The absolute configuration of compound 3m was determined by single crystal X-ray diffraction analysis (Scheme 2).18 Besides, the transformations of the Mannich adduct 3a was explored. Oxindole-based Cβ-tetrasubstituted α,β-diamino acid ester 4 could be obtained via hydrolysis and deprotection in high yield (83%) without the loss of enantioselectivity (99% ee) (Scheme 3a). The Mannich adduct could be conveniently converted to biologically important spirooxindole compounds196 and 720 in excellent enantioselectivities (99% ee) (Scheme 3b).
In summary, we have developed the diastereo- and enantioselective Mannich reaction of glycine Schiff bases 2 with isatin N-Boc ketimines 1 catalyzed by the Cu(I)/Ph-Phosferrox complex. A wide range of 3-substituted 3-aminooxindole compounds 3 were produced in high yields (up to 99%) with excellent enantioselectivities (>99% ee in most cases) and moderate to high diastereoselectivities (up to 98:2 dr). Notably, this study disclosed for the first time the enantioselective Mannich reaction of glycine Schiff bases with ketimines furnishing Cβ-tetrasubstituted α,β-diamino acid precursors efficiently. Furthermore, the synthetic utility of this protocol was illustrated by a gram-scale experiment and transformations of Mannich adduct 3a, and biologically important α,β-diamino acid ester 4 and spirooxindole derivatives 6 and 7 were obtained conveniently without the loss of enantioselectivity (99% ee).
Footnote |
† Electronic supplementary information (ESI) available. CCDC 1565164. For ESI and crystallographic data in CIF or other electronic format see DOI: 10.1039/c7qo00691h |
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