Carsten Bolm and Belén Rodríguez from the University of Aachen investigated thermal effects in the (S)-proline-catalyzed Mannich reaction (J. Org. Chem. 2006, 71, 2888. (R)-2-Methylazetidine hydrochloride structure DOI: 10.1021/jo060064d). By applying microwave heating with simultaneous cooling, reaction times and, most importantly, catalyst loadings could be reduced. 28269-02-5 structure Similar results were also achieved by heating in an oil bath for 23 h at the same temperature (45-50 °C). The corresponding reduced aminoalcohols could be obtained in excellent yields and ee´s. PMID:24733396
Aminocarbonylations of Aryl Halides in Water
Mats Larhed and co-workers from Uppsala University have reported on the synthesis of benzamides via aminocarbonylations of aryl chlorides, bromides and iodides using Mo(CO)6 as solid CO source and water as solvent (Organometallics2006, 25, 1434. DOI: 10.1021/om051044p). Intensive investigations have been made toward reaction conditions, especially in terms of reagent ratios. By either using the aryl halide or amine as limiting reagent, accompanied with the proper Pd-catalyst, hydroxycarbonylations could be suppressed as side reactions and even the otherwise unreactive aryl chlorides could be employed under these conditions.
Asymmetric Hydrogenation
An asymmetric hydrogenation step within the synthesis of the C-glycoside analogue of β-D-galactosyl hydroxylysine (2) was disclosed by Jan Kihlberg and co-workers from Umeå University (J. Org. Chem. 2006, 71, 1911. DOI: 10.1021/jo052256z). Using Burk´s catalyst and microwave heating (70 °C for 40 min) for the hydrogenation step, the corresponding product 1 was obtained in excellent yield and selectivity (>99% de) which could not be reached by conducting the reaction at room temperature and prolonged reaction time.
Synthesis of 1,5-Diarylpyrazoles
Paul Humphries and Jennifer Finefield from Pfizer, San Diego, have described the 2-step synthesis of pyrazoles using microwave heating for both steps (Tetrahedron Lett. 2006, 47, 2443. DOI: 10.1016/j.tetlet.2006.01.100). In the first step, the enol ketone precursor1 was prepared from aryl methyl ketones and ethyl trifluoroacetate. For the second step, enole ketones were reacted with 4-methylphenyl hydrazine and silica-supported p-toluenesulfonic acid (Si-TsOH) to give the corresponding pyrazoles 2 in good to excellent yields. Compared to standard p-TsOH, higher yields could be achieved using Si-TsOH and additionally the reaction work-up was simplified.
