Catalytic asymmetric oxidation-chemistry involving heteroatom transfer from a reagent to a substrate is perhaps unparalleled in synthetic utility for the construction of enantioenriched materials.[1] Conversely, there is a significant deficiency of asymmetric two-electron oxidations that do not involve heteroatom transfer. Some potentially valuable reactions of this type include the oxidation o...

Using tin triflate, as an effective Lewis acid, and microwaves, direct double cyclizations of bis(anthranilate)-containing tripeptide precursors to afford the total syntheses of 7-substituted quinazolino[3,2-a][1,4]benzodiazepinediones (1a-f), including natural products circumdatin F (1a), sclerotigenin (1b), and asperlicin C (1c), were achieved with good overall isolated yields (23-62%).

The radicals formed in Mn(III)-based oxidative free-radical cyclizations of beta-keto esters and malonate esters can be trapped with sodium azide and Mn(III) to give cyclic and bicyclic azides in 30-80% yield. Reduction of the azide gives bi- and tricyclic lactams. [reaction: see text]

An efficient synthetic pathway to the possible stereoisomers of skeletally diverse heterocyclic small molecules is presented. The change in shape brought about by different intramolecular cyclizations of diastereoisomeric amino propargylic alcohols is quantified using principal moment-of-inertia (PMI) shape analysis.

An efficient approach for achieving radical cyclizations by using hydroxamate ester as a coordination tether with Lewis acid was studied. The chiral Lewis acid-mediated cascade radical addition-cyclization-trapping reaction proceeded smoothly with good enantio- and diastereoselectivities, providing various chiral γ-lactams.

Tandem Au(III)-catalyzed heterocyclization/Nazarov cyclizations leading to substituted carbocycle fused furans are described. An interesting dichotomy of reaction pathways as a function of solvent, confirmed by the isolation and trapping of reaction intermediates, provided a basis for computational studies that supported the experimental findings.

Normally disfavored 5-endo-trig cyclizations proceed in N-homoallylsulfonamides bearing a CF(3), CCl(3), CO(2)Et or CN group at the C-3 position, via an intramolecular S(N)2'-type or addition reaction to construct pyrrolidine rings, even though the system allows a more favorable 5-exo-trig pathway.

Cyclization of 1,6-diynes promoted by stoichiometric Ga(III) halides produces vinyl halides in good to excellent yields. Under acidic conditions, initially formed iodocyclization products undergo in situ Friedel-Crafts cyclizations, giving access to iodoindenopyridines. Application of the vinyl halides in cross-coupling reactions has been explored, and mechanistic aspects of the cyclization are...

The use of a silicon stereocontrol element in cyclobutanol and cyclopentanol-forming cyclizations mediated by SmI(2) results in excellent diastereocontrol. The C-Si bond in the products of cyclization provides a versatile handle for further manipulation. An asymmetric route to cyclization substrates involving copper-catalyzed silyl transfer has also been developed.