Dinucleosides containing a thiazolidin-4-one linkage were prepared by one-pot tandem Staudinger/aza-Wittig/intermolecular cyclization under microwave irradiation and their structures were confirmed. Preliminary examination of HIV-RT inhibition showed that the dinucleosides containing (R)-thiazolidin-4-one linkage are significantly more active than those containing (S)-thiazolidin-4-one linkage.

This so-called Wittig reaction has a number of advantages over other olefination methods; in particular, it occurs with total positional selectivity (that is, an alkene always directly replaces a carbonyl group). By comparison, a number of other carbonyl olefination reactions often occur with double-bond rearrangement. In addition, the factors that influence Eand Z-stereoselectivity are well un...

The build/couple/pair strategy has yielded small molecules with stereochemical and skeletal diversity by using short reaction sequences. Subsequent screening has shown that these compounds can achieve biological tasks considered challenging if not impossible ('undruggable') for small molecules. We have developed gold(I)-catalyzed cascade reactions of easily prepared propargyl propiolates as a m...

The Wittig reaction of butylidenetriphenylphosphorane with benzaldehyde using LiHMDS as base in THF was studied. The stereochemical drift (different ratio obtained in alkenes versus oxaphosphetane intermediates) was followed by low-temperature 1D NMR techniques. A retro-Wittig reaction is demonstrated using 13C and 31P saturation transfer experiments and homonuclear DPFGSE-ROE techniques.

A key intermediate, difluoromethylene phosphobetaine, in the Wittig reaction of ClCF2CO2Na-Ph3P with aldehydes was synthesized and characterized, which confirmed the reaction mechanism. The decarboxylation of this stable intermediate was a convenient approach for Wittig difluroolefination. Its reactivity could be adjusted by the modification of the substituent on the phosphorus.