Development of drug intermediates by using direct organocatalytic multi-component reactions

Abstract

Development of drug intermediates by using direct amino acid organocatalytic multi-component reaction was investigated. Hydrogenations of double-bond containing compounds including carbonyls, imines and olefins are important for living organisms as well as for the industrial production of chemicals. Amino acid catalysis has emerged as a powerful green synthetic tool for the development of both achiral and chiral catalysis of condensations and cycloadditions and the 1,2- and 1,4-additions of enals, enones and ketones including electrophiles. It was found that the amino acid proline 4a catalyzes the Knoevenagel condenstion of cyclohexanone 1a with the CH-acid ethyl cyanoacetate 2a to furnish the active olefin 9aa. This simple and environmentally friendly approach can be used to construct highly substituted hydrogenated products in a regioselective fashion with good yields.