The Rh(I)-catalyzed allenic Pauson–Khand reaction (APKR) is an efficient, redox-neutral method of synthesizing α-acyloxy cyclopentenones. An enantioselective APKR could provide access to chiral, nonracemic α-acyloxy and α-hydroxy cyclopentenones and their corresponding redox derivatives, such as thapsigargin, a cytotoxic natural product with potent antitumor activity. Rapid scrambling of axial chirality of allenyl acetates in the presence of Rh(I) catalysts enables the conversion of racemic allene to enantiopure cyclopentenone product in a dynamic kinetic asymmetric transformation (DyKAT). A combined experimental and computational approach was taken to develop an effective catalytic system to achieve the asymmetric transformation. The optimization of the denticity, and steric and electronic properties of the ancillary ligand (initially (S)-MonoPhos, 58:42 er), afforded a hemilabile bidentate (S)-MonoPhos-alkene-Rh(I) catalyst that provided α-acyloxy cyclopentenone product in up to 14:86 er. Enantioselectivity of the Rh(I)-(S)-MonoPhos-alkene catalyst was rationalized using ligand-substrate steric interactions and distortion energies in the computed transition states. This asymmetric APKR of allenyl acetates is a rare example of a Type I DyKAT reaction of an allene, the first example of DyKAT in a cyclocarbonylation reaction, and the first catalyst-controlled enantioselective APKR.

Using an intramolecular didehydro-Diels–Alder reaction, ene–yne substituted pyrroles, thiophenes, and furans afford functionalized indoles, benzothiophenes, and benzofurans and the corresponding dihydroaromatic products. Product selectivity for the aromatic or dihydroaromatic product is controlled by the reaction conditions, which vary depending upon the substrate.

Although Michael acceptors display a potent and broad spectrum of bioactivity, they have largely been ignored in drug discovery because of their presumed indiscriminate reactivity. As such, a dearth of information exists relevant to the thiol reactivity of natural products and their analogues possessing this moiety. In the midst of recently approved acrylamide-containing drugs, it is clear that a good understanding of the hetero-Michael addition reaction and the relative reactivities of biological thiols with Michael acceptors under physiological conditions is needed for the design and use of these compounds as biological tools and potential therapeutics. This Perspective provides information that will contribute to this understanding, such as kinetics of thiol addition reactions, bioactivities, as well as steric and electronic factors that influence the electrophilicity and reversibility of Michael acceptors. This Perspective is focused on α,β-unsaturated carbonyls given their preponderance in bioactive natural products.

The Nicholas reaction has been applied to the installation of alkyne ligation handles. Acid-promoted propargylation of hydroxyl, sulfhydryl, amino, and carboxyl groups using dicobalt hexacarbonyl-stabilized propargylium ions is reported. This method is useful for introduction of propargyl groups into base-sensitive molecules, thereby expanding the toolbox of methods for the incorporation of alkynes for bio-orthogonal reactions. High-value molecules are used as the limiting reagent, and various propargylium ion precursors are compared.

Reaction discovery plays a vital role in accessing new chemical entities and materials possessing important function.1 In this Account, we delineate our reaction discovery program regarding the [4 + 2] cycloaddition reaction of styrene-ynes. In particular, we highlight our studies that lead to the realization of the diverging reaction mechanisms of the intramolecular didehydro-Diels–Alder (IMDDA) reaction to afford dihydronaphthalene and naphthalene products. Formation of the former involves an intermolecular hydrogen atom abstraction and isomerization, whereas the latter is formed via an unexpected elimination of H2. Forming aromatic compounds by a unimolecular elimination of H2 offers an environmentally benign alternative to typical oxidation protocols.We also include in this Account ongoing work focused on expanding the scope of this reaction, mainly its application to the preparation of cyclopenta[b]naphthalenes. Finally, we showcase the synthetic utility of the IMDDA reaction by preparing novel environmentally sensitive fluorophores.The choice to follow this path was largely influenced by the impact this reaction could have on our understanding of the structure–function relationships of these molecular sensors by taking advantage of a de novo construction and functionalization of the aromatic portion of these compounds. We were also inspired by the fact that, despite the advances that have been made in the construction of small molecule fluorophores, access to rationally designed fluorescent probes or sensors possessing varied and tuned photophysical, spectral, and chemical properties are still needed.To this end, we report our studies to correlate fluorophore structure with photophysical property relationships for a series of solvatochromic PRODAN analogs and viscosity-sensitive cyanoacrylate analogs. The versatility of this de novo strategy for fluorophore synthesis was demonstrated by showing that a number of functional groups could be installed at various locations, including handles for eventual biomolecule attachment or water-solubilizing groups. Further, biothiol sensors were designed, and we expect these to be of general utility for the study of lipid dynamics in cellular membranes and for the detection of protein-binding interactions, ideal applications for these relatively hydrophobic fluorophores. Future studies will be directed toward expanding this chemistry-driven approach to the rational preparation of fluorophores with enhanced photophysical and chemical properties for application in biological systems.

The Diels–Alder reaction represents one of the most thoroughly studied and well-understood synthetic transformations for the assembly of six-membered rings. Although intramolecular dehydro-Diels–Alder (IMDDA) reactions have previously been employed for the preparation of naphthalene and dihydronaphthalene substrates, low yields and product mixtures have reduced the impact and scope of this reaction. Through the mechanistic studies described within, we have confirmed that the thermal IMDDA reaction of styrene–ynes produces a naphthalene product via loss of hydrogen gas from the initially formed cycloadduct, a tetraenyl intermediate. Alternatively, the dihydronaphthalene product is afforded from the same tetraenyl intermediate via a radical isomerization process. Moreover, we have identified conditions that can be used to achieve efficient, high-yielding, and selective IMDDA reactions of styrene–ynes to form either naphthalene or dihydronaphthalene products. The operational simplicity and retrosynthetic orthogonality of this method for the preparation of naphthalenes and dihydronaphthalenes makes this transformation appealing for the synthesis of medicinal and material targets. The mechanistic studies within may impact the development of other thermal transformations.

Intramolecular dehydro-Diels–Alder (DDA) reactions are performed affording arylnaphthalene or aryldihydronaphthalene lactones selectively as determined by choice of reaction solvent. This constitutes the first report of an entirely selective formation of arylnaphthalene lactones utilizing DDA reactions of styrene-ynes. The synthetic utility of the DDA reaction is demonstrated by the synthesis of taiwanin C, retrohelioxanthin, justicidin B, isojusticidin B, and their dihydronaphthalene derivatives. Computational methods for chemical shift assignment are presented that allow for regioisomeric lignans to be distinguished.

The synthesis and utility of attachable cyclopenta[b]naphthalene solvatochromic fluorophores related to Prodan are described. Two fluorophores were selected for functionalization and bioconjugation studies. The skeletons were chemically modified to include reactive functional groups and showed minimal alteration of the optical properties when compared to the parent dyes. The functionalized fluorophores were covalently attached to the carboxyl group of a fatty acid, and azido- and thiol-containing amino acids, demonstrating their potential for labeling biomolecules.

Syntheses of two 6,12-guaianolide analogs are reported within. The scope of the tandem allylboration/lactonization chemistry is expanded to provide a functionalized allene-yne-containing α-methylene butyrolactone that undergoes a Rh(I)-catalyzed cyclocarbonylation reaction to afford a 5–7–5 ring system. The resulting cycloadducts bear a structural resemblance to other NF-κB inhibitors such as cumambrin A and indeed were shown to inhibit NF-κB signaling and cancer cell growth.

A transfer of chirality in an intramolecular Rh(I)-catalyzed allenic Pauson–Khand reaction (APKR) to access tetrahydroazulenones, tetrahydrocyclopenta[c]azepinones and dihydrocyclopenta[c]oxepinones enantioselectively (22–99% ee) is described. The substitution pattern of the allene affected the transfer of chiral information. Complete transfer of chirality was obtained for all trisubstituted allenes, but loss of chiral information was observed for disubstituted allenes. This work constitutes the first demonstration of a transfer of chiral information from an allene to the 5-position of a cyclopentenone using a cyclocarbonylation reaction. The absolute configuration of the corresponding cyclocarbonylation product was also established, something that is rarely done.

The synthesis and photophysical properties of a series of naphthalene-containing solvatochromic fluorophores are described within. These novel fluorophores are prepared using a microwave-assisted dehydrogenative Diels–Alder reaction of styrene, followed by a palladium-catalyzed cross coupling reaction to install an electron donating amine group. The new fluorophores are structurally related to Prodan. Photophysical properties of the new fluorophores were studied and intriguing solvatochromic behavior was observed. For most of these fluorophores, high quantum yields (60–99%) were observed in methylene chloride in addition to large Stokes shifts (95–226 nm) in this same solvent. As the solvent polarity increased, so did the observed Stokes shift with one derivative displaying a Stokes shift of ∼300 nm in ethanol. All fluorophore emission maxima, and nearly all absorption maxima were significantly red-shifted when compared to Prodan. Shifting the absorption and emission maxima of a fluorophore into the visible region increases its utility in biological applications. Moreover, the cyclopentane portion of the fluorophore structure provides an attachment point for biomolecules that will minimize disruptions of the photophysical properties.

Functionalized naphthalenes are valuable building blocks in many important areas. A microwave-assisted, intramolecular dehydrogenative Diels–Alder reaction of styrenyl derivatives to provide cyclopenta[b]naphthalene substructures not previously accessible using existing synthetic methods is described. The synthetic utility of these uniquely functionalized naphthalenes was demonstrated by a single-step conversion of one of these cycloadducts to a fluorophore bearing a structural resemblance to Prodan.

A diverging diversity-oriented synthesis (DOS) strategy using an allene-containing tryptophan as a key starting material was investigated. An allene-yne substituted derivative of tryptophan 12 gave indolylmethylazabicyclooctadiene 17 when subjected to a microwave-assisted allenic [2 + 2] cycloaddition reaction. This same tryptophan-derived precursor afforded an indolylmethyldihydrocyclopentapyridinone 14 when subjected to a rhodium(I)-catalyzed cyclocarbonylation reaction and an indolylmethylpyrrolidinocyclopentenones 16 when reacted with molybdenum hexacarbonyl. Construction of allenic tetrahydro-β-carboline scaffolds via a Pictet−Spengler reaction and subsequent silver(I)-catalyzed cycloisomerization afforded tetrahydroindolizinoindoles (21). Attachment of allene and alkyne groups to the tetrahydro-β-carboline, followed by a microwave-assisted allenic [2 + 2] cycloaddition reaction, provided tetrahydrocyclobutaindoloquinolizinones 24 and the tetrahydrocyclopentenone indolizinoindolone 26 when reacted with molybdenum hexacarbonyl. These six scaffolds were used as templates for the construction of a virtual library of 11 748 compounds employing 44 indoles, 12 aldehydes, and 51 alkynes. Diversity analyses using a combination of cell-based chemistry space computations using BCUT (Burden (B) CAS (C) Pearlman at the University of Texas (UT)) metrics and Tanimoto coefficient (Tc) similarity calculations using two-dimensional (2D) fingerprints showed that the compounds in the virtual library occupied new chemical space when compared to the 327 000 compounds in the molecular libraries small molecule repository (MLSMR). A subset of fifty-three compounds was identified from the virtual library using the DVS package of Sybyl 8.0; this subset represents the most diverse compounds within the chemical space defined by these compounds and will be synthesized and screened for biological activity.Keywords (keywords): allene; allene-yne; BCUT; chemical space; cyclocarbonylation; cycloisomerization; microwave-assisted; MLSMR; Pauson−Khand; Pictet−Spengler; rhodium(I)-catalyzed; Tanimoto; tetrahydro-β-carboline; thermal [2 + 2] cycloaddition; tryptophan; virtual library

Intramolecular [2 + 2] cycloaddition reactions of allene−ynes offer a quick and efficient route to fused bicyclic ring structures. Insights into the mechanism and regiochemical preferences of this reaction are provided herein on the basis of the results of quantum chemical calculations (B3LYP/6-31+G(d,p)) and select experiments; both indicate that the reaction likely proceeds through a stepwise diradical pathway where one radical center is stabilized through allylic delocalization. The influences of the length of the tether connecting the alkyne and allene and substituent effects are also discussed.

Forty-four tetracyclic hydroazulenoisoindoles were synthesized via a tandem cyclopropanation/Cope rearrangement, followed by a Diels−Alder sequence from easily available five-membered cyclic cross-conjugated trienones. These trienones were obtained from two different routes depending upon whether R1 and R2 are alkyl or amino acid derived functional groups, via a rhodium(I)-catalyzed cycloisomerization reaction. To increase diversity, four maleimides and two 1,2,4-triazoline-3,5-diones were used as dienophiles in the Diels−Alder step. Several Diels−Alder adducts were further reacted under palladium-catalyzed hydrogenation conditions, leading to a diastereoselective reduction of the trisubstituted double bond. This library has demonstrated rapid access to a variety of structurally complex natural product-like compounds via stereochemical diversity and building block diversity approaches.

A Rh(I)-catalyzed cyclocarbonylation reaction of allenol esters has been examined and its synthetic viability established for the conversion of trisubstituted allenes to bicyclo[4.3.0] and -[5.3.0] skeletons possessing an α-acetoxy cyclopentadienone. Tetrasubstituted allenol acetates gave elimination products, providing examples of a cyclocarbonylation reaction between an alkyne and a latent cumulene or cumulene equivalent. Cleavage of the acetate affords a free hydroxyl group illustrating the utility of this method for accessing α-hydroxy carbonyls from allenol esters.