Axial Chirality Research Articles

Rapid Access to Chiral Spiro[2.3] Lactams: Stereoselective Hydroborylation and Hydrosilylation and Remote Control of Axial Chirality by Copper-Catalyzed Desymmetrization of Spirocyclopropenes.

Chiral spirocyclopropyl β-lactams are common motifs in bioactive compounds and pharmaceuticals. Here we disclose a diastereoselective and enantioselective hydroborylation and hydrosilylation of spirocyclopropenes, via a Cu-catalyzed desymmetrization strategy, for the rapid preparation of enantio-enriched spirocyclopropyl β-lactams. The efficient desymmetrization strategy allows the remote control of axial chirality, offering the borylated and silylated products bearing central, spiro, and axial chirality. The combination of multichiral elements would provide a novel motif for biological evaluation in potential drug discovery.

Torsional Strain Enabled Ring-Opening Polymerization towards Axially Chiral Semiaromatic Polyesters with Chemical Recyclability.

The development of new chemically recyclable polymers via monomer design would provide a transformative strategy to address the energy crisis and plastic pollution problem. Biaryl-fused cyclic esters were targeted to generate axially chiral polymers, which would impart new material performance. To overcome the non-polymerizability of the biaryl-fused monomer DBO, a cyclic ester Me-DBO installed with dimethyl substitution was prepared to enable its polymerizability via enhancing torsional strain. Impressively, Me-DBO readily went through well-controlled ring-opening polymerization, producing polymer P(Me-DBO) with high glass transition temperature (Tg >100 °C). Intriguingly, mixing these complementary enantiopure polymers containing axial chirality promoted a transformation from amorphous to crystalline material, affording a semicrystalline stereocomplex with a melting transition temperature more than 300 °C. P(Me-DBO) were capable of depolymerizing back to Me-DBO in high efficiency, highlighting an excellent recyclability.

Torsional Strain Enabled Ring‐Opening Polymerization towards Axially Chiral Semiaromatic Polyesters with Chemical Recyclability

AbstractThe development of new chemically recyclable polymers via monomer design would provide a transformative strategy to address the energy crisis and plastic pollution problem. Biaryl‐fused cyclic esters were targeted to generate axially chiral polymers, which would impart new material performance. To overcome the non‐polymerizability of the biaryl‐fused monomer DBO, a cyclic ester Me‐DBO installed with dimethyl substitution was prepared to enable its polymerizability via enhancing torsional strain. Impressively, Me‐DBO readily went through well‐controlled ring‐opening polymerization, producing polymer P(Me‐DBO) with high glass transition temperature (Tg >100 °C). Intriguingly, mixing these complementary enantiopure polymers containing axial chirality promoted a transformation from amorphous to crystalline material, affording a semicrystalline stereocomplex with a melting transition temperature more than 300 °C. P(Me‐DBO) were capable of depolymerizing back to Me‐DBO in high efficiency, highlighting an excellent recyclability.

Enantioselective synthesis of a two-fold inherently chiral molecular nanographene

AbstractThe introduction and precise control of stereogenic elements in chemical structures is typically a challenging task. Most asymmetric methods require the presence of a heteroatom in the starting substrates acting as an anchor point for the successful transfer of chiral information. For this reason, compounds comprising only carbon atoms, such as optically active molecular nanographenes, are usually obtained as racemates, and isolated by chiral chromatographic separation. Here, we report an enantioselective strategy that uses three stereocontrolled synthetic steps to introduce and extend three different types of stereogenic elements, namely central, axial and helicoidal chirality, into a polycyclic aromatic structure. Thus, two chiral nanographene layers are covalently connected through a chiral triindane core. The final stereocontrolled graphitization Scholl reaction affords the formation of chiral nanographene units with remarkable enantiomeric excesses, high stereochemical stability and good chiroptical properties.

Mechanism and Origin of Stereoselectivity for the NHC-Catalyzed Desymmetrization Reaction for the Synthesis of Axially Chiral Biaryl Aldehydes.

Organocatalytic desymmetrization reaction is a powerful tool for constructing axial chirality, but the theoretical study on the origin of stereoselectivity still lags behind even now. In this work, the N-heterocyclic carbene (NHC)-catalyzed desymmetrization reaction of biaryl frameworks for the synthesis of axially chiral aldehydes has been selected and theoretically investigated by using density functional theory (DFT). The fundamental pathway involves several steps, i.e., desymmetrization, formation of Breslow oxidation, esterification, and NHC regeneration. The desymmetrization and formation of Breslow processes have been identified as stereoselectivity-determining and rate-determining steps. Further weak interaction analyses proved that the C-H···O hydrogen bond and C-H···π interactions are responsible for the stability of the key stereoselective desymmetrization transition states. This research contributes to understanding the nature of NHC-catalyzed desymmetrization reactions for the synthesis of axially chiral compounds.

Organocatalytic Atroposelective Dynamic Kinetic Resolution Involving Ring Manipulations

AbstractAxially chiral architectures exist widely in natural products, biologically relevant molecules, chiral ligands and catalysts as well as functional materials. Therefore, catalytic asymmetric synthesis of atropisomers has become one of the most fast‐growing fields in the community of chemistry and rapid advances have occurred. Among different methods reported, the organocatalytic atroposelective dynamic kinetic resolution (DKR) involving ring manipulations stands out as a cutting‐edge technology to construct axial chirality from the point of atom/step economy. In this DKR strategy, the configurational lability of starting materials originates from chirally‐labile ring structure of cyclic substrates/intermediates or transient ring formation through noncovalent interactions from acyclic substrates. The two atropisomers of starting material are in equilibrium in the reaction medium, ensuring the constant transformation of the less reactive atropisomer into the more reactive one, and then to a single enantiopure product in the presence of an appropriate organocatalyst. This review summarizes recent advancements on this topic, including their scopes, limitations, mechanisms, applications and provides some insights into further developments.

Chirality of New Drug Approvals (2013-2022): Trends and Perspectives.

Many drugs are chiral with their chirality determining their biological interactions, safety, and efficacy. Since the 1980s, there has been a regulatory preference to bring single enantiomer to market. This perspective discusses trends related to chirality that have developed in the past decade (2013-2022) of new drug approvals. The EMA has not approved a racemate since 2016, while the average for the FDA is one per year from 2013 to 2022. These 10 include drugs which have been previously marketed elsewhere for several decades, analogues of pre-existing drugs, or drugs where the undefined stereocenter does not play a role in therapeutic activity. Two chiral switches were identified which were both combined with drug repurposing. This combination strategy has the potential to produce therapeutically valuable drugs in a faster time frame. Two class III atropisomers displaying axial chirality were approved between 2013 and 2022, one as a racemate and one as a single enantiomer.

Axially Chiral Organic Semiconductors for Visible-Blind UV-Selective Circularly Polarized Light Detection.

Technologies that detect circularly polarized light (CPL), particularly in the UV region, have significant potential for various applications, including bioimaging and optical communication. However, a major challenge in directly sensing CPL arises from the conflicting requirements of planar structures for efficient charge transport and distorted structures for effective interaction with CPL. Here, a novel design of an axially chiral n-type organic semiconductor is presented to surmount the challenge, in which a binaphthyl group results in a high dissymmetry factor at the molecular level, while maintaining excellent electron-transporting characteristics through the naphthalene diimide group. Experimental and computational methods reveal different stacking behaviors in homochiral and heterochiral assemblies, yielding different structures: Nanowires and nanoparticles, respectively. Especially, the homochiral assemblies exhibit effective π-π stacking between naphthalene diimides despite axial chirality. Thus, phototransistors fabricated using enantiomers exhibit a high maximum electron mobility of 0.22 cm2 V-1 s-1 and a detectivity of 3.9 ×1012 Jones, alongside the CPL distinguishing ability with a dissymmetry factor of responsivity of 0.05. Furthermore, the material possesses a wide bandgap, contributing to its excellent visible-blind UV-selective detection. These findings highlight the new strategy for compact CPL detectors, coupled with the demonstration of less-explored n-type and UV region phototransistors.

Enantioselective Synthesis of Indole‐Derivated Axially Chiral Frameworks via CpXRh(III)‐Catalyzed Domino Cyclization/C3‐Arylation of 2‐Alkynylanilines with 1‐Diazonaphthoquinones

AbstractWe report herein a chiral CpXRh(III)‐catalyzed domino cyclization/C3‐arylation process using 2‐alkynylanilines and 1‐diazonaphthoquinones as viable substrates, delivering indole‐based derivatives endowed with axial chirality. The method features high enantioselectivity, broad substrate scope, and robust functional group tolerance. Subsequent functionalization of the synthesized scaffolds underlines the practicality of this approach in the design of indole‐derivated axially chiral frameworks, demonstrating its substantial promise in synthetic and medicinal chemistry applications.

Enantioselective synthesis of [4]helicenes by organocatalyzed intermolecular C-H amination

Catalytic asymmetric synthesis of helically chiral molecules has remained an outstanding challenge and witnessed fairly limited progress in the past decades. Current methods to construct such compounds almost entirely rely on catalytic enantiocontrolled fused-ring system extension. Herein, we report a direct terminal peri-functionalization strategy, which allows for efficient assembling of 1,12-disubstituted [4]carbohelicenes via an organocatalyzed enantioselective amination reaction of 2-hydroxybenzo[c]phenanthrene derivates with diazodicarboxamides. The key feature of this approach is that the stereochemical information of the catalyst could be transferred into not only the helix sense but also the remote C-N axial chirality of the products, thus enabling the synthesis of [4]- and [5]helicenes with both structural diversity and stereochemical complexity in good efficiency and excellent enantiocontrol. Besides, the large-scale preparations and representative transformations of the helical products further demonstrate the practicality of this protocol. Moreover, DFT calculations reveal that both the hydrogen bonds and the C-H---π interactions between the substrates and catalyst contribute to the ideal stereochemical control.

Atroposelective Construction of Tetrasubstituted Axially Chiral Alkene Frameworks

AbstractThe construction of axially chiral alkene frameworks is currently one of hottest topics in the field of organic synthetic chemistry. Compared to traditional axially chiral molecules, such as biaryls, heterobiaryls, and anilides, the synthesis of axially chiral alkenes is far more challenging, especially for acyclic tetrasubstituted alkene analogues. In this review, we summarized the development of strategies for the synthesis of tetrasubstituted axially chiral alkene analogues, including asymmetric difunctionalization, C–H functionalization, cross-coupling, (dynamic) kinetic resolution, and asymmetric allylic substitution-isomerization.1 Introduction2 Synthesis of Cyclic Tetrasubstituted Axially Chiral Alkenes3 Synthesis of Acyclic Tetrasubstituted Axially Chiral Alkenes4 Summary and Outlook

Stereocontrolled Self-Assembly of a Helicate-Bridged CuI12L4 Cage That Emits Circularly Polarized Light.

Control over the stereochemistry of metal-organic cages can give rise to useful functions that are entwined with chirality, such as stereoselective guest binding and chiroptical applications. Here, we report a chiral CuI12L4 pseudo-octahedral cage that self-assembled from condensation of triaminotriptycene, aminoquinaldine, and diformylpyridine subcomponents around CuI templates. The corners of this cage consist of six head-to-tail dicopper(I) helicates whose helical chirality can be controlled by the addition of enantiopure 1,1'-bi-2-naphthol (BINOL) during the assembly process. Chiroptical and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) studies elucidated the process and mechanism of stereochemical information transfer from BINOL to the cage during the assembly process. Initially formed CuI(BINOL)2 thus underwent stereoselective ligand exchange during the formation of the chiral helicate corners of the cage, which determined the overall cage stereochemistry. The resulting dicopper(I) helicate corners of the cage were also shown to generate circularly polarized luminescence.

Metallo‐Supramolecular Helical Fibres from Chiral Phenylacetylene Monomers: Cation Induced Self‐Assembly

AbstractChiral metallo‐supramolecular fibres can be easily obtained by mixing a chloroform solution of a phenylacetylene monomer (PA) that bears a chiral sulfoxide group as pendant, with different equivalents of a methanolic solution of AgClO4. Thus, while the PA is found molecularly dissolved in chloroform, the addition of Ag+ ions induce its aggregation through the formation of an axially chiral metallo‐supramolecular aggregate with high thermal stable properties. In this case, the ability of the metal ion to coordinate the PA triple bond, combined with the argentophilicity of the metal ion and the planarity of the phenylacetylene drives to the formation of a helical coordination polymer, whose P or M axial chirality is determined by the chirality of the sulfoxide used as substituent of the PA. Depending on the PA/Ag+ (mol/mol) ratio, it is possible to tune the morphology of the metallo‐supramolecular aggregate from chiral fibers to chiral gel.

Metallo-Supramolecular Helical Fibres from Chiral Phenylacetylene Monomers: Cation Induced Self-Assembly.

Chiral metallo-supramolecular fibres can be easily obtained by mixing a chloroform solution of a phenylacetylene monomer (PA) that bears a chiral sulfoxide group as pendant, with different equivalents of a methanolic solution of AgClO4 . Thus, while the PA is found molecularly dissolved in chloroform, the addition of Ag+ ions induce its aggregation through the formation of an axially chiral metallo-supramolecular aggregate with high thermal stable properties. In this case, the ability of the metal ion to coordinate the PA triple bond, combined with the argentophilicity of the metal ion and the planarity of the phenylacetylene drives to the formation of a helical coordination polymer, whose P or M axial chirality is determined by the chirality of the sulfoxide used as substituent of the PA. Depending on the PA/Ag+ (mol/mol) ratio, it is possible to tune the morphology of the metallo-supramolecular aggregate from chiral fibers to chiral gel.

Organocatalytic Enantioselective Synthesis of Seven‐Membered Ring with Inherent Chirality

AbstractInherent chirality is used to describe chiral cyclic molecules devoid of central, axial, planar, or helical chirality and has tremendous applications in chiral recognition and enantioselective synthesis. Catalytic and divergent syntheses of inherently chiral molecules have attracted increasing interest from chemists. Herein, we report the enantioselective synthesis of inherently chiral tribenzocycloheptene derivatives via chiral phosphoric acid (CPA)‐catalyzed condensation of cyclic ketones and hydroxylamines. This chemistry paves the way to accessing the less stable derivatives of 7‐membered rings with inherent chirality. A series of chiral tribenzocycloheptene oxime ethers was synthesized in good yields (up to 97 %) with excellent enantioselectivities (up to 99 % ee).

Organocatalytic Enantioselective Synthesis of Seven-Membered Ring with Inherent Chirality.

Inherent chirality is used to describe chiral cyclic molecules devoid of central, axial, planar, or helical chirality and has tremendous applications in chiral recognition and enantioselective synthesis. Catalytic and divergent syntheses of inherently chiral molecules have attracted increasing interest from chemists. Herein, we report the enantioselective synthesis of inherently chiral tribenzocycloheptene derivatives via chiral phosphoric acid (CPA)-catalyzed condensation of cyclic ketones and hydroxylamines. This chemistry paves the way to accessing the less stable derivatives of 7-membered rings with inherent chirality. A series of chiral tribenzocycloheptene oxime ethers was synthesized in good yields (up to 97 %) with excellent enantioselectivities (up to 99 % ee).

Boosting Circularly Polarized Luminescence from Alkyl-Locked Axial Chirality Scaffold by Restriction of Molecular Motions.

Boosting the circularly polarized luminescence of small organic molecules has been a stubborn challenge because of weak structure rigidity and dynamic molecular motions. To investigate and eliminate these factors, here, we carried out the structure-property relationship studies on a newly-developed axial chiral scaffold of bidibenzo[b,d]furan. The molecular rigidity was finely tuned by gradually reducing the alkyl-chain length. The environmental factors were considered in solution, crystal, and polymer matrix at different temperatures. As a result, a significant amplification of the dissymmetry factor glum from 10-4 to 10-1 was achieved, corresponding to the situation from (R)-4C in solution to (R)-1C in polymer film at room temperature. A synergistic strategy of increasing the intramolecular rigidity and enhancing the intermolecular interaction to restrict the molecular motions was thus proposed to improve circularly polarized luminescence. The though-out demonstrated relationship will be of great importance for the development of high-performance small organic chiroptical systems in the future.

Organocatalytic diastereo- and atroposelective construction of N–N axially chiral pyrroles and indoles

The construction of N–N axially chiral motifs is an important research topic, owing to their wide occurrence in natural products, pharmaceuticals and chiral ligands. One efficient method is the atroposelective dihydropyrimidin-4-one formation. We present herein a direct catalytic synthesis of N–N atropisomers with simultaneous creation of contiguous axial and central chirality by oxidative NHC (N-heterocyclic carbenes) catalyzed (3 + 3) cycloaddition. Using our method, we are able to synthesize structurally diverse N–N axially chiral pyrroles and indoles with vicinal central chirality or bearing a 2,3-dihydropyrimidin-4-one moiety in moderate to good yields and excellent enantioselectivities. Further synthetic transformations of the obtained axially chiral pyrroles and indoles derivative products are demonstrated. The reaction mechanism and the origin of enantioselectivity are understood through DFT calculations.

Design and Catalytic Asymmetric Synthesis of Furan‐Indole Compounds Bearing both Axial and Central Chirality

AbstractIn the chemistry community, catalytic asymmetric synthesis of furan‐based compounds bearing both axial and central chirality has proven to be a significant but challenging issue owing to the importance and difficulty in constructing such frameworks. In this work, we have realized the first catalytic asymmetric synthesis of five‐five‐membered furan‐based compounds bearing both axial and central chirality via organocatalytic asymmetric (2+4) annulation of achiral furan‐indoles with 2,3‐indolyldimethanols with uncommon regioselectivity. By this strategy, furan‐indole compounds bearing both axial and central chirality were synthesized in high yields with excellent regio‐, diastereo‐, and enantioselectivities. Moreover, theoretical calculations were conducted to provide an in‐depth understanding of the reaction pathway, activation mode, and the origin of the selectivity.

Design and Catalytic Asymmetric Synthesis of Furan-Indole Compounds Bearing both Axial and Central Chirality.

In the chemistry community, catalytic asymmetric synthesis of furan-based compounds bearing both axial and central chirality has proven to be a significant but challenging issue owing to the importance and difficulty in constructing such frameworks. In this work, we have realized the first catalytic asymmetric synthesis of five-five-membered furan-based compounds bearing both axial and central chirality via organocatalytic asymmetric (2+4) annulation of achiral furan-indoles with 2,3-indolyldimethanols with uncommon regioselectivity. By this strategy, furan-indole compounds bearing both axial and central chirality were synthesized in high yields with excellent regio-, diastereo-, and enantioselectivities. Moreover, theoretical calculations were conducted to provide an in-depth understanding of the reaction pathway, activation mode, and the origin of the selectivity.