Asymmetric construction of spirocyclopentenebenzofuranone core structures via highly selective phosphine-catalyzed [3 + 2] cycloaddition reactions

Article abstract of DOI:10.1021/ol401087a

An efficient organocatalytic asymmetric [3 + 2] cycloaddition reaction between 3-substituted methylenebenzofuranone derivatives and diverse Morita-Baylis-Hillman carbonates to provide complex polysubstituted spirocyclopentenebenzofuranone scaffolds in a single step is reported. C2-symmetric phospholanes were efficient nucleophilic catalysts of this transformation under mild conditions, providing reaction products comprised of three consecutive stereocenters, including one all-carbon center, with excellent enantioselectivity.

Full text of DOI:10.1021/ol401087a

ORGANIC
LETTERS
XXXX
Vol. XX, No. XX
000–000
Asymmetric Construction of
Spirocyclopentenebenzofuranone Core
Structures via Highly Selective
Phosphine-Catalyzed [3 þ 2]
Cycloaddition Reactions
Klaus Albertshofer, Bin Tan, and Carlos F. Barbas, III*
The Skaggs Institute for Chemical Biology and the Departments of Chemistry and Cell
and Molecular Biology, The Scripps Research Institute, 10550 North Torrey Pines Road,
La Jolla, California 92037, United States
carlos@scripps.edu
Received April 19, 2013
ABSTRACT
An efficient organocatalytic asymmetric [3 þ 2] cycloaddition reaction between 3-substituted methylenebenzofuranone derivatives and diverse
MoritaꢀBaylisꢀHillman carbonates to provide complex polysubstituted spirocyclopentenebenzofuranone scaffolds in a single step is reported.
C2-symmetric phospholanes were efficient nucleophilic catalysts of this transformation under mild conditions, providing reaction products
comprised of three consecutive stereocenters, including one all-carbon center, with excellent enantioselectivity.
Even though tremendous progress has been made in the
construction of complex chemical structures, the rapid and
selective assembly of complex asymmetric molecules from
simple precursors remains a challenge in asymmetric syn-
thesis. The spirocyclobenzofuranone motif (Figure 1)
is prevalent in many natural products that have wide-
ranging biological activities. For example, abiesinol E is
a member of the spiro-biflavonoid family with antitumor-
initiating effects,1 while bis-diterpene ferrubietolide, iso-
lated from Dysoxylum lenticellare, a member of the
mahogany family, is a pesticide.2 The high density of sub-
stituents on the spirocyclic ring, often including all-carbon
quaternary chiral centers, makes the asymmetric assembly
of these molecules a challenging task. There are but a few
examples, typically single compound examples, concerning
the catalytic asymmetric construction of spirocyclobenzo-
furanone scaffolds.3 To the best of our knowledge, meth-
ods for highly selective catalytic asymmetric assembly of
diverse spirocyclopentanebenzofuranone core structures
have not been disclosed.
Recently, organocatalytic cascade or domino reactions
have been used for the rapid construction of numerous
pharmaceuticals, natural products, and synthetically valuable
(3) (a) Trost, B. M.; Cramer, N.; Silverman, S. M. J. Am. Chem. Soc.
2007, 129, 12396. In their pioneering work on hexaspirocyclic benzofur-
anones, Melchiorre and co-workers demonstrated that these substrates
can be constructed from benzofuranone and R,β-unsaturated aldehydes
in high selectivity and yield: (b) Cassani, C.; Tian, X.; Escudero-Adan,
E. C.; Melchiorre, P. Chem. Commun. (Cambridge, U.K.) 2011, 47, 233.
(c) Cao, Y.; Jiang, X.; Liu, L.; Shen, F.; Zhang, F.; Wang, R. Angew.
Chem., Int. Ed. 2011, 50, 9124.
(4) For reviews, see: (a) Notz, W.; Tanaka, F.; Barbas, C. F., III. Acc.
Chem. Res. 2004, 37, 580. (b) Enders, D.; Grondal, C.; Huttl, M. R. M.
Angew. Chem., Int. Ed. 2007, 46, 1570. (c) Barbas, C. F., III. Angew.
Chem., Int. Ed. 2008, 47, 42. (d) Ramachary, D. B.; Kishor, M.; Reddy,
Y. V. Eur. J. Org. Chem. 2008, 6, 975. (e) Westemann, B.; Muhammad,
A.; van Berkel, S. S. Angew. Chem., Int. Ed. 2010, 49, 846.
(1) (a) Shen, Z.; Falshaw, C. P.; Haslam, E.; Begley, M. J. J. Chem.
Soc., Chem. Commun. 1985, 1135. (b) Piacente, S.; Montoro, P.; Oleszek,
W.; Pizza, C. J. Nat. Prod. 2004, 67, 882. (c) Wada, S.-I.; Hitomi, T.;
Tanaka, R. Helv. Chim. Acta 2009, 92, 1610. (d) Wada, T.; Hitomi, H.;
Tokuda, R.; Tanaka Chem. Biodiversity 2010, 7, 2303.
(2) (a) Onan, K. D.; Kelley, C. J.; Patarapanich, C.; Leary, J. D.;
Aladesanmi, A. J. J. Chem. Soc., Chem. Commun. 1985, 121. (b)
Aladesanmi, A. J.; Adewunmi, C. O. Fitoterapia 1995, 66, 84.
r
10.1021/ol401087a
XXXX American Chemical Society

laboratory became interested in the asymmetric construc-
tion of elaborate spirocyclic oxindole skeletons,7 and we
disclosed a phosphine-catalyzed [3 þ 2] cycloaddition
reaction to construct spirocyclopenteneoxindoles through
a modified allylic phosphonium ylide strategy.6c
We hypothesized that the spirocyclobenzofuranone
scaffold could be constructed from 3-substituted methyle-
nebenzofuranones and a phosphonium ylide, derived from
MoritaꢀBaylisꢀHillman carbonates (MBHC)8,6bꢀe un-
der chiral phosphine catalysis (Figure 1). Herein we report
a highly stereoselective phosphine-catalyzed [3 þ 2] cy-
cloaddition reaction that enabled us to construct a wide
range of spirocyclopentenebenzofuranone core structures
in a single step from easily accessible starting materials in
high yield and selectivity.
We commenced our investigation by probing several
C2-symmetric phosphine catalysts (IꢀVII) and phosphine-
containing ligands (Figure 2) in a model reaction of
3-substituted benzofuranone 1a and MBHC 2a in dichlo-
romethane (DCM) at room temperature (Table 1). Phos-
pholane derivatives IꢀVI provided the desired cyclo-
addition product 3a in excellent yield and moderate to
good selectivity (Table 1, entries 1ꢀ4). Bis-2,5-dimethyl-
substituted 1,2-ethandiylphospholane I9 provided 3a in
68% enantiomeric excess (ee) after 4 h. In reactions of
the sterically more hindered 2,5-bis-ethyl- and 2,5-bis-
isopropyl-containing derivatives (II and III),9 the enan-
tioselectivities were 77% (for II, Table 1, entry 2) and 86%
(for III, Table 1, entry 3), respectively. Bis-2,5-diphenyl-
substituted 1,2-ethandiylphospholane IV10 provided the
cycloaddition product 3a in a diastereomeric ratio (dr) of
8:1 and in 94% ee after 4 h at room temperature.
Figure 1. Natural products with spirocyclopentanone core
structure and strategy for the assembly of this scaffold.
chiral building blocks.4 A number of transformations have
been disclosed involving chiral phosphine catalysts,5 and a
few examples of asymmetric construction of complex
structures, such as spirocyclic scaffolds equipped with
several chiral centers, have been reported.6 Recently, our
(5) For selected pioneering studies on chiral phosphine catalysis, see:
(a) Vedejs, E.; Daugulis, O.; Diver, S. T. J. Org. Chem. 1996, 61, 430. (b)
Zhu, G.; Chen, Z.; Jiang, Q.; Xiao, D.; Cao, P.; Zhang, X. J. Am. Chem.
Soc. 1997, 119, 3836. (c) Chen, Z.; Zhu, G.; Jiang, Q.; Xiao, D.; Cao, P.;
Zhang, X. J. Org. Chem. 1998, 63, 5631. (d) Vedejs, E.; Daugulis, O.
J. Am. Chem. Soc. 1999, 121, 5813. (e) Shaw, S. A.; Aleman, P.; Vedejs,
E. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2003, 125, 13368. (f) Shi, M.; Chen, L.-H.; Li, C.-Q.
J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2005, 127, 3790. (g) Wurz, R. P.; Fu, G. C. J. Am.
Chem. Soc. 2005, 127, 12234. For reviews on enantioselective phosphine
catalysis, see: (h) Marinetti, A.; Voituriez, A. Synlett 2010, 174. (i) Fan,
Y. C.; Kwon, O. Sci. Synth., Asymm. Organocatal. 2012, 1, 723.
(6) (a) Cowen, B. J.; Miller, S. J. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2007, 129, 10988.
(b) Voituriez, A.; Pinto, N.; Neel, M.; Retailleau, P.; Marinetti, A.
Chem.;Eur. J. 2010, 16, 12541. (c) Tan, B.; Candeias, N. R.; Barbas,
C. F., III. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2011, 133, 4672. (d) Zhong, F.; Han, X.;
Wang, Y.; Lu, Y. Angew. Chem., Int. Ed. 2011, 50, 7837. (e) Deng, H.-P.;
Wei, Y.; Shi, M. Org. Lett. 2011, 13, 3348. (f) Duvvuru, D.; Pinto, N.;
Gomez, C.; Betzer, J.-F.; Retailleau, P.; Voituriez, A.; Marinetti, A. Adv.
Synth. Catal. 2012, 354, 408.
(7) (a) Tan, B.; Candeias, N. R.; Barbas, C. F., III. Nat. Chem. 2011,
3, 473. (b) Tan, B.; Hernandez-Torres, G.; Barbas, C. F., III. J. Am.
Chem. Soc. 2011, 133, 12354. (c) Tan, B.; Zeng, X.; Leong, W. W. Y.; Shi,
Z.; Barbas, C. F., III; Zhong, G. Chem.;Eur. J. 2012, 18, 63. (d)
Albertshofer, K.; Tan, B.; Barbas, C. F., III. Org. Lett. 2012, 14, 1834. (e)
Albertshofer, K.; Anderson, K.; Barbas, C. F., III. Org. Lett. 2012, 14,
5968.
(8) MoritaꢀBaylisꢀHillman carbonates have been previously em-
ployed to generate allylic phosphonium ylides as reaction partners in
asymmetric catalytic transformations: (a) Wang, Q.-G.; Zhu, S.-F.; Ye,
L.-W.; Zhou, C.-Y.; Sun, X.-L.; Tang, Y.; Zhou, Q.-L. Adv. Synth.
Catal. 2010, 352, 1914. (b) Hong, L.; Sun, W.; Liu, C.; Zhao, D.; Wang,
R. Chem. Commun. (Cambridge, U.K.) 2010, 46, 2856. (c) Wang, Q.-G.;
Zhu, S.-F.; Ye, L.-W.; Zhou, C.-Y.; Sun, X.-L.; Tang, Y.; Zhou, Q.-L.
Adv. Synth. Catal. 2010, 352, 1914. (d) Yang, Y.-L.; Pei, C.-K.; Shi, M.
Org. Biomol. Chem. 2011, 9, 3349. (e) Zhong, F.; Han, X.; Wang, Y.; Lu,
Y. Angew. Chem., Int. Ed. 2011, 50, 7837. (f) Deng, H.-P.; Wang, D.;
Wei, Y.; Shi, M. Beilstein J. Org. Chem 2012, 8, 1098. (g) Deng, H.-P.;
Wei, Y.; Shi, M. Adv. Synth. Catal. 2012, 354, 783. (h) Hu, F.; Wei, Y.;
Shi, M. Tetrahedron 2012, 68, 7911. (i) Huang, X.; Peng, J.; Dong, L.;
Chen, Y.-C. Chem. Commun. (Cambridge, U.K.) 2012, 48, 2439. (j)
Wang, D.; Yang, Y.-L.; Jiang, J.-J.; Shi, M. Org. Biomol. Chem. 2012,
10, 7158. (k) Wang, Y.; Liu, L.; Zhang, T.; Zhong, N.-J.; Wang, D.;
Chen, Y.-J. J. Org. Chem. 2012, 77, 4143. (l) Zhang, X.-N.; Deng, H.-P.;
Huang, L.; Wei, Y.; Shi, M. Chem. Commun. (Cambridge, U.K.) 2012,
48, 8664. (m) Zhong, F.; Chen, G.-Y.; Han, X.; Yao, W.; Lu, Y. Org.
Lett. 2012, 14, 3764.
Figure 2. Chiral phosphine catalysts probed in the [3 þ 2]
cycloaddition reaction between 1a and 2a.
(9) (a) Burk, M. J. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 1991, 113, 8518. (b) Burk, M. J.;
Feaster, J. E.; Nugent, W. A.; Harlow, R. L. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 1993,
115, 10125.
B
Org. Lett., Vol. XX, No. XX, XXXX

24 h was needed to obtain 60% conversion (Table 1, entry 11).
The ee was essentially independent of catalyst loading.
Table 1. Catalyst Screen and Optimization Studiesa
catalyst catalyst loading
time yieldb drc eed
entry mol (%)
(mol %)
solvent (h)
(%) (%) (%)
Scheme 1. Reaction of Various MoritaꢀBaylisꢀHillman Car-
bonates with 3-Substituted Benzofuranone 1aa
1
I
20
20
20
20
20
20
20
20
20
10
5
DCM
DCM
DCM
DCM
4
4
4
4
99 n.d. 68
99 n.d. 77
99 n.d. 86
2
II
3
III
IV
V
4
99 8:1
20 n.d. ꢀ50
25 n.d.
<5 n.d. 31
94
5
DCM 24
DCM 24
DCM 24
6
VI
VII
IV
IV
IV
IV
IV
IV
IV
0
7
8
9e
DCE
DCE
DCE
4
4
4
99 9:1
99 9:1
94
98
10e
11e
12e,f
13e,g
14e,h
99 18:1 97
60 16:1 96
99 12:1 96
DCE 24
DCE 24
DCE
10
10
10
2.5 99 8:1
98
DCE 24
80 18:1 96
a Reaction conditions unless otherwise noted: 1a (0.05 mmol, 1
equiv), 2a (0.075 mmol, 1.5 equiv), solvent (400 μL, 0.125 M); direct
silica gel column, no workup. b Percent conversion of 1a. c Determined
by 1H NMR of crude product. d Determined by HPLC analysis of
purified product. e Reaction performed at 0 °C. f Reaction of 0.05 mmol
(1 equiv) of 2a. g Solvent: 200 μL, 0.25 M. h Solvent: 800 μL, 0.0635 M.
DCM = dichloromethane, DCE = dichloroethane.
In an effort to increase the selectivity of the transforma-
tion, we investigated catalysts VꢀVII. Reactions with
these catalysts provided 3a in lower selectivity and poorer
yield than those carried out with catalyst IV. For example,
the reaction catalyzed by bis-2,5-dimethyl-substituted
phospholane derivative V9 afforded the target compound
in 20% yield and 50% ee (Table 1, entry 5). Catalyst VI11
provided the reaction product with 25% conversion in
racemic form (Table 1, entry 6), whereas catalyst VII12
afforded 3a in low conversion and 31% ee (Table 1, entry 7).
Based on these results, phospholane derivative IV was
selected as catalyst for a series of reactions to investigate
the influence of the reaction medium and temperature on
the selectivity of the transformation. The best results were
obtained when the reaction was performed in nonpolar
aprotic solvents.13 Dichloroethane (DCE) was the most
suitable of solvents evaluated, yielding 3a in 9:1 dr and
94% ee after 4 h (Table 1, entry 8). Lowering the reaction
temperature to 0 °C afforded 3a in of 98% ee and 9:1 dr
(Table 1, entry 9). In an effort to probe the efficiency of the
process, the catalyst loading was decreased incrementally
from 20 mol % to 5 mol %. The dr was 9:1 at 20 mol %
catalyst loading and was increased to 18:1 at 10 mol %
(Table 1, entries 9 and 10). Further reduction of the
catalyst loading to 5 mol % led to a slightly decreased
selectivity compared to 10 mol %, and a reaction time of
a Reaction conditions unless otherwise noted: 1a (0.1 mmol, 1 equiv);
2 (0.15 mmol, 1.5 equiv); solvent (800 μL, 0.125 M); direct silica gel
column, no workup; isolated yield shown; dr determined by 1H NMR of
crude product; ee determined by HPLC analysis. DCE = dichloroethane.
b 0.02 mmol of IV.
When BaylisꢀHillman carbonate 2a was used at 1 equiv
relative to 1a, product 3a was obtained in 12:1 dr and 96%
ee after 24 h (Table 1, entry 12). Increasing the concentra-
tions of reactants resulted in lower selectivity (Table 1,
entry 12). Lowering the reaction concentration had no
influence on selectivity; however, a reaction time of more
than 24 h was required to achieve 80% conversion under
these conditions (Table 1, entry 14).
We then evaluated the reaction between 3-substituted
benzofuranone derivative 1a and various MBHCs (2aꢀh)
catalyzed by 10 mol % IV in DCE at 0 °C (Scheme 1).
Significantly, a wide range of MBHCs with aromatic as
well as aliphatic substituents were well tolerated in the
cycloaddition reaction, providing reaction products in
excellent yield and selectivity. Electron-neutral phenyl-
substituted BaylisꢀHillman carbonate 2a provided the
target compound 3a in 18:1 dr, 97% ee and 95% yield in
2.5 h. MBHCs containing electron-deficient substituents
such as p-NO2-phenyl (2b) and p-CN-phenyl (2c) provided
products 3b (8:1 dr, 94% ee) and 3c (18:1 dr, 92% ee),
respectively, in only 2 h in excellent yield and selectivity.
Reaction with the electron-rich aryl substituent p-OMe-
phenyl afforded 3d in 5:1 dr and 95% ee and 93% yield;
(10) Pilkington, C. J.; Zanotti-Gerosa, A. Org. Lett. 2003, 5, 1273.
(11) (a) Kagan, H. B.; Dang, T. P. J. Chem. Soc. D 1971, 481. (b)
Kagan, H. B; Dang, T. P. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 1972, 94, 6429.
(12) (a) Zhang, X.; Tang, W. The Penn State Research Foundation,
USA. Patent Application WO, 2003, 70 pp. (b) Zhang, X.; Tang, W. The
Penn State Research Foundation, USA. Patent Application: US, 2004, 41 pp,
Cont-in-part of US Ser. No. 291, 232. (c) Liu, D.; Zhang, X. Eur. J. Org.
Chem. 2005, 646.
(13) See the Supporting Information.
Org. Lett., Vol. XX, No. XX, XXXX
C

however, a reaction time of 24 h was necessary to obtain
the product in satisfactory yield. Various halide-substi-
tuted MBHCs were also suitable reactants. p-Br-phenyl-
and p-Cl-phenyl-substituted starting material afforded 3e
and 3f in excellent yields and drs of up to 7:1 and ees of up
to 97% in 5 h (Scheme 1). Heterocyclic-aryl substituents
were also well tolerated (3g); however, a reduced dr of 2:1
and 81% ee was observed. With alkyl-substituted 2h,
product 3h was obtained in >4:1 dr, 71% ee and 40% yield.
well tolerated in the phosphene-catalyzed [3 þ 2] cycload-
dition reaction. However, slightly longer reaction times of
24 h were required. In the reaction of 5-Me-substituted 1c,
3j was obtained in 8:1 dr, 95% ee, and 96% yield. 7-MeO-
substituted 1d provided 3k in 94% yield, without loss of
selectivity. We were able to further extend the scope of the
reaction to halide-substituted reaction products such as 3l,
which was obtained in 90% yield, 2:1 dr, and 63% ee.
In accord with our previously reported phosphine-
catalyzed cycloaddition reactions, we suggest that the reac-
tion proceeds in a stepwise fashion with a phosphonium-ylide
first generated by reaction of a MoritaꢀBaylisꢀHillman
carbonate and a chiral phospholane. The phosphonium
ylide subsequently attacks the methylenebenzofuranone,
followed by ring closure through an intramolecular con-
jugate addition (Figure 1).6c The absolute configurations
of the products afforded by the [3 þ 2] cycloaddition
reactions were assigned based on the X-ray crystal struc-
ture of compound 3j.13
Scheme 2. Reaction of Various 3-Substituted Benzofuranone
Derivatives with MoritaꢀBaylisꢀHillman Carbonate 2aa
In summary, we have demonstrated for the first time
that a wide range of complex polysubstituted spirocyclo-
pentenebenzofuranone scaffolds can be efficiently assembled
in high stereoselectivity in a single step from readily available
starting materials. The transformation proceeds smoothly at
0 °C, providing reaction products comprised of three con-
secutive stereocenters, including one all-carbon center, in
high yield and selectivity. We believe this methodology may
enable the discovery of novel spirocyclopentenebenzofura-
nones with interesting biological activities.
a Reaction conditions unless otherwise noted: 1a (0.1 mmol, 1 equiv);
2 (0.15 mmol, 1.5 equiv); solvent (800 μL, 0.125 M); direct silica gel
column, no work up; isolated yield shown; dr determined by 1H NMR of
crude product; ee determined by HPLC analysis. DCE = dichlo-
roethane. b 0.02 mmol of IV.
Acknowledgment. Research support from the Skaggs
Institute for Chemical Biology is gratefully acknowledged.
We also thank Dr. A. L. Rheingold for X-ray crystal-
lographic analysis (Department of Chemistry and Bio-
chemistry, University of San Diego).
We then focused on benzofuranone diversification with
with MBHC 2a catalyzed by 10 mol % of IV in DCE at
0 °C (Scheme 2). When ethyl ester-containing methylene-
benzofuranone 1a was replaced with benzyl ester-modified
derivative 1b, cycloaddition product 3i was obtained in
95% yield, 10:1 dr, and 94% ee. Various benzofuranones
equipped with electron-donating substituents were also
Supporting Information Available. Experimental pro-
cedures and compound characterization (1H NMR, 13C
NMR, HPLC) including X-ray data.This material is
available free of charge via the Internet at http://pubs.
acs.org.
The authors declare no competing financial interest.
D
Org. Lett., Vol. XX, No. XX, XXXX