Nitrile-substituted cyclopropanes are readily synthesized in a stereocontrolled fashion from the intermolecular cyclopropanation between 2-diazo-2-phenylacetonitrile and electron-rich olefins, catalyzed by the chiral dirhodium complex, Rh(2)(S-PTAD)(4).

BACKGROUND Nitrilases, which hydrolyze nitriles in a one-step reaction into carboxylic acids and ammonia, gained increasing attention because of the abundance of nitrile compounds in nature and their use in fine chemicals and pharmaceutics. Extreme environments are potential habitats for the isolation and characterization of extremozymes including nitrilases with unique resistant properties. Th...

Silyl ketene imines derived from a variety of alpha-branched nitriles have been developed as highly useful reagents for the construction of quaternary stereogenic centers via the aldol addition reaction. In the presence of SiCl4 and the catalytic action of chiral phosphoramide (R,R)-5, silyl ketene imines undergo extremely rapid and high yielding addition to a wide variety of aromatic aldehydes...

Benzoyl radicals are generated directly from (hetero)aromatic aldehydes upon tetrabutylammonium decatungstate ((n-Bu(4)N)(4)W(10)O(32)), TBADT) photocatalysis under mild conditions. In the presence of alpha,beta-unsaturated esters, ketones and nitriles radical conjugate addition ensues and gives the corresponding beta-functionalized aryl alkyl ketones in moderate to good yields (stereoselective...

Amines are important building blocks possessing various applications in agrochemicals, the fine chemical industry, pharmaceuticals, materials science and biotechnology. The catalytic hydrogenation of nitriles is an important reaction for the onestep synthesis of diverse amines. However, significant amounts of side product formation during the course of the reaction is a major issue. In recent y...

Nitrile hydratase metalloenzymes are unique and important biocatalysts that are used industrially to produce high value amides from their corresponding nitriles. After more than three decades since their discovery, the mechanism of this class of enzymes is becoming clear with evidence from multiple recent studies that the cysteine-derived sulfenato ligand of the active site metal serves as the ...

A methodology for selective transformations of ketones, esters, Weinreb amides, and nitriles in the presence of aldehydes has been developed. The use of a combination of PPh(3)-trimethylsilyl trifluoromethanesulfonate (TMSOTf) promotes selective transformation of aldehydes to their corresponding, temporarily protected, O,P-acetal type phosphonium salts. Because, hydrolytic work-up following ens...