D-Threonine-L-tert-leucine-derived bifunctional phosphine, Cat. 11, catalyzed highly enantioselective [3+2] annulation of maleimides with allenes has been disclosed, allowing the synthesis of optically active functionalized bicyclic cyclopentenes containing two tertiary stereogenic centers in good to high yields along with good to high enantioselectivities.

A convergent, catalytic asymmetric formal [4 + 2] annulation for the synthesis of dihydroquinolones has been developed. Carboxylic acids can be employed as precursors to NHC enolates through an in situ activation strategy. Simultaneous generation of a reactive aza-o-quinone methide under the basic conditions employed for NHC generation leads to a dual activation approach.

A novel and efficient cascade annulation of tertiary α-hydroxy ketones and dimethyl but-2-ynedioate is reported. The reaction, which only requires a base as the promoter, provides a straightforward access to polysubstituted pyrano[4,3-a]quinolizine-1,4,6(2H)-triones and 2H-pyran-2,5(6H)-diones under very mild reaction conditions.

The reaction of readily accessible 1,1-dialkylhydrazones with commercially available o-(trimethylsilyl)aryl triflates provides a direct one-step route to pharmaceutically important 1-alkylindazoles. The products are obtained in high yields by one-pot NCS-chlorination/aryne annulation or Ac(2)O-acylation/deprotection/aromatization protocols.

A chiral N-heterocyclic carbene (NHC)-catalyzed formal [4 + 2] annulation of β-methyl substituted enals with isatins was developed to construct six-membered spirolactones bearing highly congested quaternary carbon stereocentersin good yields and high enantioselectivities. The strategy realized a challenging remote γ-carbon addition of enals and chiral control of β-methyl substituted enals in th...

Various highly substituted 2,3'-diindolylmethane heterocycles were prepared from propargylic alcohols and indole nucleophiles via a transition metal-catalyzed tandem indole annulation/arylation reaction for the first time. Among the metal catalysts we examined, the most economical copper(I) catalyst provided the highest efficiency. The indole nucleophiles could also be replaced by other electro...

A novel and direct approach to synthesize 1-aminoindole derivatives by Rh(iii)-catalyzed cyclization of 2-acetyl-1-arylhydrazines with diazo compounds via aryl C-H activation has been developed. This intermolecular annulation involving tandem C-H activation, cyclization and condensation steps proceeds efficiently in water, obviates the need of external oxidants, and displays a broad substituent...

A series of chiral triazolium salts have been synthesized from methyl L-phenylalaninate hydrochloride. The NHCs derived from this class of novel triazolium salts were found to be highly efficient catalysts in the annulation reaction of enals and 2-naphthols. These reactions proceeded with high chemoselectivity and wide substrate scope affording enantioenriched b-arylsplitomicins in good yields ...

This paper describes a formal total synthesis of the marine ladder toxin hemibrevetoxin B from Danishefsky's dienes. This approach couples the generation of C-glycosides from cyclic enol ethers with metathesis or acid-mediated annulation reactions. The result is a highly efficient synthesis of the tetracyclic ring system of hemibrevetoxin B.

The N-heterocyclic carbene-catalyzed oxidative [3 + 2] annulation of dioxindole and enals was developed, giving the corresponding spirocyclic oxindole-γ-lactones in good yields with high to excellent diastereo- and enantioselectivities. The challenging aliphatic enals worked effectively using this strategy. The oxidative cross coupling of homoenolate and enolate via single electron transfer was...