Section Chiral molecules are of central importance in biology and medicine. The development of synthetic methodologies that allow for selective conversion of omnipresent C?H bonds into optically active compounds while installing various functionalities promises to transform the art and practice of organic synthesis and should lead to many new applications. Among different approaches, asymmetric C?H alkylation/amination via metal-catalyzed carbene/nitrene insertion represents one of the most attractive methods for enantioselective functionalization of C?H bonds. This type of catalytic carbene/nitrene transfer process provides a direct and general approach for the functionalization of C?H bonds in organic compounds through stereoselective C?C/C?N bond formation. It serves as a useful tool for the design and synthesis of biologically and pharmaceutically important chiral organic molecules. While considerable progress has been made for C?H alkylation and amination by existing catalytic systems with the use of certain type of diazo compounds as carbene sources and ArI=NTs as nitrene sources, important challenges remain in the field that validate the need to identify more effective carbene and nitrene sources in conjunction with the development of fundamentally new metal catalysts for C?H alkylation and amination. Guided by the concept of metalloradical catalysis (MRC), this research project is directed toward the development of new catalytic systems for stereoselective C?H alkylation and amination reactions. As stable metalloradicals, cobalt(II) complexes of porphyrins [Co(Por)] have been shown to function as a unique class of catalysts for C?H alkylation and amination through stepwise radical mechanism. Supported by porphyrin ligands bearing amide functionalities, the Co(II)-based MRC has been shown to be particularly effective in activating different classes of diazo reagents and organic azides for radical alkylation and amination of diverse types of C?H bonds, leading to C?C and C?N bond formation with effective control of reactivity and selectivity. In this proposal, we will focus on the utilization of cobalt(II) complexes of chiral amidoporphyrins [Co(II)(Por*)] as chiral metalloradical catalysts to advance enantioselective C?H alkylation and amination reactions for stereoselective synthesis of optically active organic molecules, including biologically important carbocycles and N-heterocycles. We hope these studies will ultimately lead to the development of Co(II)-based new catalytic systems for stereoselective C?H alkylation and amination reactions that can be generally applied toward practical synthesis of biologically important natural products and pharmaceutically interesting compounds.
The development of general and efficient chemical reactions provides the necessary tools for the design and synthesis of biologically and pharmaceutically important molecules. There has been a growing emphasis on developing practical methodologies for the synthesis of enantiomerically pure compounds since enantiomeric isomers often exhibit different biological activities. Among different approaches for preparing chiral non-racemic molecules, transition metal-based asymmetric catalysis offers promise for the development of cost-effective and environmentally benign methods.
