Ce mémoire décrit le développement d’une nouvelle méthodologie d’expansion de cycle irréversible à partir de N-alkyl-3,4-déhydroprolinols pour former des N-alkyl tétrahydropyridines 3-substituées en passant par un intermédiaire aziridinium bicyclique. Cette méthode permet l’introduction d’un vaste éventail de substituants à la position 3 et tolère bien la présence de groupements aux positions 2 et 6, donnant accès à des pipéridines mono-, di- ou trisubstituées avec un excellent diastéréocontrôle. De plus, il est démontré que l’information stéréogénique du 3,4-déhydroprolinol de départ est totalement transférée vers le produit tétrahydropyridine. Additionnellement, une méthodologie fut dévelopée pour la préparation des produits de départ 3,4-déhydroprolinols en forme énantiopure, avec ou sans substituants aux positions 2 et 5, avec un très bon stéréocontrôle. Le premier chapitre présente un résumé de la littérature sur le sujet, incluant un bref survol des méthodes existantes pour la synthèse de pipéridines 3-substituées, ainsi qu’une vue d’ensemble de la chimie des aziridiniums. L’hypothèse originale ainsi que le raisonnement pour l’entreprise de ce projet y sont également inclus. Le second chapitre traite de la synthèse des N-alkyl-3,4-déhydroprolinols utilisés comme produits de départ pour l’expansion de cycle vers les tétrahydropyridines 3-substituées, incluant deux routes synthétiques différentes pour leur formation. Le premier chemin synthétique utilise la L-trans-4-hydroxyproline comme produit de départ, tandis que le deuxième est basé sur une modification de la réaction de Petasis-Mannich suivie par une métathèse de fermeture de cycle, facilitant l’accès aux précurseurs pour l’expansion de cycle. Le troisième chapitre présente une preuve de concept de la viabilité du projet ainsi que l’optimisation des conditions réactionnelles pour l’expansion de cycle. De plus, il y est démontré que l’information stéréogénique des produits de départs est transférée vers les produits. iv Au quatrième chapitre, l’étendue des composés pouvant être synthétisés par cette méthodologie est présentée, ainsi qu’une hypothèse mécanistique expliquant les stéréochimies relatives observées. Une synthèse énantiosélective efficace et divergente de tétrahydropyridines 2,3-disubstituées est également documentée, où les deux substituants furent introduits à partir d’un intermédiaire commun en 3 étapes. / This thesis describes the development of a novel methodology of irreversible ring expansion from N-alkyl-3,4-dehydroprolinols to N-alkyl-3-substituted tetrahydropyridines through a bicyclic aziridinium ion intermediate. This method allows a wide variety of substituents at the 3-position, and also permits substitution at the 2- and 6-positions of the tetrahydropyridine giving mono-, di- or tri-substituted piperidines with excellent diasterocontrol. Complete transfer of the stereogenic information of the 3,4- dehydroprolinol to the tetrahydropyridine product is demonstrated. Also, a methodology was developed to prepare the 3,4-dehydroprolinol starting materials in enantiopure form, with the possibility of substitution at the 2- and 5-positions with excellent diasterocontrol. The first chapter presents the literature background, including a brief summary of methodologies for the synthesis of 3-substituted piperidines, and an overview of aziridinium ion chemistry. Also presented is the original hypothesis of the project, and our reasoning for undertaking this project. The second chapter describes the synthesis of N-alkyl-3,4-dehydroprolinols used as precursors for the ring expansion to 3-substituted tetrahydropyridines, including two different synthetic routes. The first route route converts L-trans-4-hydroxyproline to enantioenriched N-benzyl-3,4-dehydroprolinol in 6 steps. The second synthetic route was developed using a variant of the Petasis-Mannich reaction and a ring closing metathesis,making the precursors more readily available and simple to synthesize. The third chapter presents the proof of concept of the viability of the project and optimization studies. Moreover, the transfer of stereogenic information to the resulting product is demonstrated. The fourth chapter demonstrates the broad scope of the ring expansion and mechanistic insight is given based on the relative configuration of the products. An expedient divergent enantioselective synthesis of a 2,3-disubstituted tetrahydropyridine is also shown, with both substituents being chosen from a common intermediate in 3 steps.

Ce mémoire décrit le développement d’une nouvelle méthodologie d’expansion de cycle irréversible à partir de N-alkyl-3,4-déhydroprolinols pour former des N-alkyl tétrahydropyridines 3-substituées en passant par un intermédiaire aziridinium bicyclique. Cette méthode permet l’introduction d’un vaste éventail de substituants à la position 3 et tolère bien la présence de groupements aux positions 2 et 6, donnant accès à des pipéridines mono-, di- ou trisubstituées avec un excellent diastéréocontrôle. De plus, il est démontré que l’information stéréogénique du 3,4-déhydroprolinol de départ est totalement transférée vers le produit tétrahydropyridine. Additionnellement, une méthodologie fut dévelopée pour la préparation des produits de départ 3,4-déhydroprolinols en forme énantiopure, avec ou sans substituants aux positions 2 et 5, avec un très bon stéréocontrôle. Le premier chapitre présente un résumé de la littérature sur le sujet, incluant un bref survol des méthodes existantes pour la synthèse de pipéridines 3-substituées, ainsi qu’une vue d’ensemble de la chimie des aziridiniums. L’hypothèse originale ainsi que le raisonnement pour l’entreprise de ce projet y sont également inclus. Le second chapitre traite de la synthèse des N-alkyl-3,4-déhydroprolinols utilisés comme produits de départ pour l’expansion de cycle vers les tétrahydropyridines 3-substituées, incluant deux routes synthétiques différentes pour leur formation. Le premier chemin synthétique utilise la L-trans-4-hydroxyproline comme produit de départ, tandis que le deuxième est basé sur une modification de la réaction de Petasis-Mannich suivie par une métathèse de fermeture de cycle, facilitant l’accès aux précurseurs pour l’expansion de cycle. Le troisième chapitre présente une preuve de concept de la viabilité du projet ainsi que l’optimisation des conditions réactionnelles pour l’expansion de cycle. De plus, il y est démontré que l’information stéréogénique des produits de départs est transférée vers les produits. iv Au quatrième chapitre, l’étendue des composés pouvant être synthétisés par cette méthodologie est présentée, ainsi qu’une hypothèse mécanistique expliquant les stéréochimies relatives observées. Une synthèse énantiosélective efficace et divergente de tétrahydropyridines 2,3-disubstituées est également documentée, où les deux substituants furent introduits à partir d’un intermédiaire commun en 3 étapes. / This thesis describes the development of a novel methodology of irreversible ring expansion from N-alkyl-3,4-dehydroprolinols to N-alkyl-3-substituted tetrahydropyridines through a bicyclic aziridinium ion intermediate. This method allows a wide variety of substituents at the 3-position, and also permits substitution at the 2- and 6-positions of the tetrahydropyridine giving mono-, di- or tri-substituted piperidines with excellent diasterocontrol. Complete transfer of the stereogenic information of the 3,4- dehydroprolinol to the tetrahydropyridine product is demonstrated. Also, a methodology was developed to prepare the 3,4-dehydroprolinol starting materials in enantiopure form, with the possibility of substitution at the 2- and 5-positions with excellent diasterocontrol. The first chapter presents the literature background, including a brief summary of methodologies for the synthesis of 3-substituted piperidines, and an overview of aziridinium ion chemistry. Also presented is the original hypothesis of the project, and our reasoning for undertaking this project. The second chapter describes the synthesis of N-alkyl-3,4-dehydroprolinols used as precursors for the ring expansion to 3-substituted tetrahydropyridines, including two different synthetic routes. The first route route converts L-trans-4-hydroxyproline to enantioenriched N-benzyl-3,4-dehydroprolinol in 6 steps. The second synthetic route was developed using a variant of the Petasis-Mannich reaction and a ring closing metathesis,making the precursors more readily available and simple to synthesize. The third chapter presents the proof of concept of the viability of the project and optimization studies. Moreover, the transfer of stereogenic information to the resulting product is demonstrated. The fourth chapter demonstrates the broad scope of the ring expansion and mechanistic insight is given based on the relative configuration of the products. An expedient divergent enantioselective synthesis of a 2,3-disubstituted tetrahydropyridine is also shown, with both substituents being chosen from a common intermediate in 3 steps.

The development and optimisation of conditions for oxidative Wacker-type cyclisations followed by establishing the reaction scope are reported. Building upon the achievements in the field of oxidative Wacker-type reactions that has recently gathered interest, hydroxylamines and hydrazines were converted to isoxazolidines and pyrazolidines respectively. Secondary hydroxylamines cyclised yielding syn-isoxazolidines with excellent diastereoselectivities, whereas secondary hydrazines cyclised yielding anti-pyrazolidines but still maintained a high level of diastereoselectivity. Additionally, an enantioselective variant was explored. Isoxazolidines were successfully transformed to the corresponding 1,3-amino alcohols, which were further converted to amino sugar derivatives.

Pyrrolidine and pyrrolidinone rings are common motifs found in many biologically active natural products and drugs. Accordingly, our work focuses on the development of new methodologies for their one-pot synthesis. An efficient diastereoselective nitro-Mannich / lactamisation reaction cascade of methyl 3-nitropropanoate with cyclic and acyclic imines for the direct preparation of trans-monocyclic and fused tricyclic pyrrolidinone derivatives was developed. The reaction is easy to perform, broad in scope and tolerates a wide variety of functional groups. For the monocyclic methodology, 28 examples with a very good average yield of 72% and excellent diastereocontrol (typical dr >98:2) were obtained using optimized conditions and varying the amine and the aldehyde reagents. The methodology has been extended to the synthesis of 1,3,5-trisubstituted 4-nitropyrrolidinone derivatives using α-substituted 3-nitropropanoate. Using a one-pot protocol, 22 derivatives were synthesised in good yields (65% average) and diastereomeric ratios ranging from 3:1 to 30:1 in favor of the trans/trans diastereoisomer. In addition, the nitro-Mannich / lactamisation cascade of methyl 3-nitropropanoate was developed further to allow the rapid synthesis of 5-isopropyl-4-nitropyrrolidin-2-one from reaction with ammonium acetate and 1-butyl-4-nitropyrrolidin-2-one from reaction with formaldehyde. Also, the synthetic utility of the nitro-pyrrolidinones formed was exemplified through various functional group modifications: the selective reduction of the lactam carbonyl, the reduction of the nitro group in the presence or absence of a carbonyl group and the reductive removal of the nitro group. The development of an enantioselective version of the cascade under chiral Brönsted acid catalysis provided promising results (up to 90% ee). Moreover, various studies were undertaken to understand the mechanism of the reaction and the nitro-Mannich / latamisation cascade is now well understood. Furthermore, a formal synthesis of rac-Slaframine in 8 steps and 15% overall yield was achieved and it inspired additional work towards a nitro-Mannich / epoxide ring opening cascade.

Dans ce manuscrit sont décrites de nouvelles procédures pour la synthèse stéréosélective d’un composé d’intérêt pharmacologique ainsi que leurs implémentations pour la production en continu. Plusieurs procédures de modification de catalyseurs hétérogènes commerciaux ont été développées et ont permis d’augmenter significativement la diastéréosélectivité de la réaction d’hydrogénation d’un intermédiaire de synthèse. Une voie de synthèse alternative par dérivatisation a également été développée, permettant d’atteindre une diastéréosélectivité pus élevée. De plus, des réacteurs modulaires dédiés à la réalisation de réactions triphasiques gas/liquide/solide sous haute pression ont été conçus. Un prototype a été fabriqué et a pu être utilisé pour les procédures d’hydrogénation développées. Enfin, un intermédiaire de synthèse a été préparé sans solvant ni additifs et avec une grande productivité en utilisant un microréacteur. / In this thesis, we present new procedures for the highly stereoselective synthesis of an active pharmaceutical ingredient and initiate their implementation in continuous flow for production. We developed several procedures for the highly diastereoselective hydrogenation reactions using chemically modified commercial heterogeneous catalysts. In addition, a three step reaction pathway through hydrolysis, highly diastereoselective hydrogenation reaction and conversion back to primary amide was developed to prepare. Modular high pressure continuous reactors have been designed and a prototype has been manufactured to perform the gas/liquid/solid triphasic hydrogenation reactions. Finally, we prepared a synthesis intermediate without solvents nor additives in continuous flow using a home-made micro-reactor, dramatically increasing the productivity of the process.

The first part of this thesis describes a synthetic strategythat provides all eight possible isomers of a given vic-aminoalcohol starting from vinylepoxides. The value of a generalroute is evident, as several isomers are needed ininvestigations of structure-activity relationships forpharmacologically active derivatives, and for optimizing theperformance of chiral ligands containing the amino alcoholmoiety. Vinylepoxides, obtained in high enantiomeric excess, werering-opened both with inversion and retention ofstereochemistry, delivering two diastereomeric amino alcoholswith high regio- and stereoselectivity. Via ring-closure toaziridines and subsequent regioselective ring-opening withsuitable oxygen nucleophiles, the two remaining amino alcoholswere selectively achieved. Within this study, two efficient protocols for theregioselective and stereospecific aminolysis of vinylepoxideshave been presented. Comparedto previous methods, theseprocedures use milder reaction conditions, shorter reactiontimes, generally give higher yields and are applicable to alarger set of substrates. Furthermore, the ring-closure ofvic-amino alcohols to the corresponding N-H vinylaziridines hasbeen investigated. Three routes have been found useful, whichone is preferred depends on substrate and scale. In the second part of the thesis, the synthetic strategy isapplied on the synthesis of Sphingosine and its regio- andstereoisomers. Moreover, a rapid way of determining relativeconfiguration of vic-amino alcohols is described, which shouldbe of substantial use when amino alcohols are formed bydiastereoselective reactions. amino alcohols, vinylepoxides, vinylaziridines, oxazolines,oxazolidinones, ring-opening, regioselective,diastereoselective, sphingosine, configuration, NMRspectroscopy.

This thesis describes a number of synthetic approaches for obtaining chiral, enantiomerically pure natural products, in particular some semiochemicals. This has been accomplished by using various strategies; by starting from compounds from the chiral pool, by using chiral auxiliaries, via enzymatic resolutions or by chemical asymmetric synthesis. Hence, the sexual pheromone of Microdiprion pallipes, a propanoate ester of one or several isomers of 3,7,11-trimethyltridecan-2-ol, was synthesised, both as a mixture of all isomers and as the sixteen pure, individual stereoisomers. These compounds were obtained by joining different enantiopure building blocks stemming from the chiral pool. When compared with some synthetic blends, both the propanoate esters of the stereoisomeric erythro-3,7,11-trimethyltridecan-2-ols originally found in the extract from the female of M. pallipes, surprisingly, showed lower activities in biological studies. Indeed, the propanoates of two threo-isomers gave significantly higher responses in biological tests, than did the propanoates of the two natural erythro-ones. Because the synthetic strategy used earlier was not very efficient for the preparation of the threo-isomers of 3,7,11-trimethyltridecan-2-ol, we were encouraged to look for alternative synthetic approaches. The new synthetic strategy chosen led us to two key synthetic building blocks, an O-protected derivative of (2S,3S)-3-methyl-4-(phenylsulfonyl)butan-2-ol butanol and (3R,7R)-1-iodo-3,7-dimethylnonane. Deprotonation of the former followed by alkylation with the latter should give a compound with the desired carbon skeleton. For efficient preparation of the first building block, we developed a new diastereoselective addition reaction of dialkylzincs to some chiral aldehydes, the products of which were diastereomerically enriched 1,2-dialkyl-alkanols. Using this method, each enantiomer of the desired building block was obtained via efficient diastereoselective addition of dimethylzinc to each enantiomer of a 2-methylaldehyde. The resulting product, a diastereomerically and enantiomerically highly enriched 3-methyl-2-alkanol was further purified by enzyme catalysed acylation followed by some functional group interconversions. The second building block was prepared via convergent multistep synthesis, starting from a single, enantiomerically pure compound, (R)-2-methylsuccinic acid 4-t-butyl ester, derived from the chiral pool. The two enantiomerically pure building blocks, so obtained, were coupled together. Some additional functional group manipulations of the product produced furnished the desired isomer, which had shown the highest activity in field tests of the M. pallipes, namely the propanoate ester of (2S,3R,7R,11R)-3,7,11-trimethyltridecan-2-ol. This thesis describes a number of synthetic approaches for obtaining chiral, enantiomerically pure natural products, in particular some semiochemicals. This has been accomplished by using various strategies; by starting from compounds from the chiral pool, by using chiral auxiliaries, via enzymatic resolutions or by chemical asymmetric synthesis. Hence, the sexual pheromone of Microdiprion pallipes, a propanoate ester of one or several isomers of 3,7,11-trimethyltridecan-2-ol, was synthesised, both as a mixture of all isomers and as the sixteen pure, individual stereoisomers. These compounds were obtained by joining different enantiopure building blocks stemming from the chiral pool. When compared with some synthetic blends, both the propanoate esters of the stereoisomeric erythro-3,7,11-trimethyltridecan-2-ols originally found in the extract from the female of M. pallipes, surprisingly, showed lower activities in biological studies. Indeed, the propanoates of two threo-isomers gave significantly higher responses in biological tests, than did the propanoates of the two natural erythro-ones. Because the synthetic strategy used earlier was not very efficient for the preparation of the threo-isomers of 3,7,11-trimethyltridecan-2-ol, we were encouraged to look for alternative synthetic approaches. The new synthetic strategy chosen led us to two key synthetic building blocks, an O-protected derivative of (2S,3S)-3-methyl-4-(phenylsulfonyl)butan-2-ol butanol and (3R,7R)-1-iodo-3,7-dimethylnonane. Deprotonation of the former followed by alkylation with the latter should give a compound with the desired carbon skeleton. For efficient preparation of the first building block, we developed a new diastereoselective addition reaction of dialkylzincs to some chiral aldehydes, the products of which were diastereomerically enriched 1,2-dialkyl-alkanols. Using this method, each enantiomer of the desired building block was obtained via efficient diastereoselective addition of dimethylzinc to each enantiomer of a 2-methylaldehyde. The resulting product, a diastereomerically and enantiomerically highly enriched 3-methyl-2-alkanol was further purified by enzyme catalysed acylation followed by some functional group interconversions. The second building block was prepared via convergent multistep synthesis, starting from a single, enantiomerically pure compound, (R)-2-methylsuccinic acid 4-t-butyl ester, derived from the chiral pool. The two enantiomerically pure building blocks, so obtained, were coupled together. Some additional functional group manipulations of the product produced furnished the desired isomer, which had shown the highest activity in field tests of the M. pallipes, namely the propanoate ester of (2S,3R,7R,11R)-3,7,11-trimethyltridecan-2-ol. This thesis describes a number of synthetic approaches for obtaining chiral, enantiomerically pure natural products, in particular some semiochemicals. This has been accomplished by using various strategies; by starting from compounds from the chiral pool, by using chiral auxiliaries, via enzymatic resolutions or by chemical asymmetric synthesis. Hence, the sexual pheromone of Microdiprion pallipes, a propanoate ester of one or several isomers of 3,7,11-trimethyltridecan-2-ol, was synthesised, both as a mixture of all isomers and as the sixteen pure, individual stereoisomers. These compounds were obtained by joining different enantiopure building blocks stemming from the chiral pool. When compared with some synthetic blends, both the propanoate esters of the stereoisomeric erythro-3,7,11-trimethyltridecan-2-ols originally found in the extract from the female of M. pallipes, surprisingly, showed lower activities in biological studies. Indeed, the propanoates of two threo-isomers gave significantly higher responses in biological tests, than did the propanoates of the two natural erythro-ones. Because the synthetic strategy used earlier was not very efficient for the preparation of the threo-isomers of 3,7,11-trimethyltridecan-2-ol, we were encouraged to look for alternative synthetic approaches. The new synthetic strategy chosen led us to two key synthetic building blocks, an O-protected derivative of (2S,3S)-3-methyl-4-(phenylsulfonyl)butan-2-ol butanol and (3R,7R)-1-iodo-3,7-dimethylnonane. Deprotonation of the former followed by alkylation with the latter should give a compound with the desired carbon skeleton. For efficient preparation of the first building block, we developed a new diastereoselective addition reaction of dialkylzincs to some chiral aldehydes, the products of which were diastereomerically enriched 1,2-dialkyl-alkanols. Using this method, each enantiomer of the desired building block was obtained via efficient diastereoselective addition of dimethylzinc to each enantiomer of a 2-methylaldehyde. The resulting product, a diastereomerically and enantiomerically highly enriched 3-methyl-2-alkanol was further purified by enzyme catalysed acylation followed by some functional group interconversions. The second building block was prepared via convergent multistep synthesis, starting from a single, enantiomerically pure compound, (R)-2-methylsuccinic acid 4-t-butyl ester, derived from the chiral pool. The two enantiomerically pure building blocks, so obtained, were coupled together. Some additional functional group manipulations of the product produced furnished the desired isomer, which had shown the highest activity in field tests of the M. pallipes, namely the propanoate ester of (2S,3R,7R,11R)-3,7,11-trimethyltridecan-2-ol. / QC 20101026

The following study investigates the intramolecular and intermolecular interactions responsible for invoking stereoselectivity and stereospecificity in the synthesis of a chiral original species and amino acid receptor. The former commences with a brief overview of the nature, scope and applications of helical chirality, and culminates in the formation of a permanent helix via the synthesis of a novel chiral lactone. The latter is discussed as an extension of a naturally occurring cofactor whose identity is modulated to furnish a tailored receptor selective to the binding of amino-acid enantiomers. The study and analysis is executed via both synthetic and computational methods.

The following study investigates the intramolecular and intermolecular interactions responsible for invoking stereoselectivity and stereospecificity in the synthesis of a chiral original species and amino acid receptor. The former commences with a brief overview of the nature, scope and applications of helical chirality, and culminates in the formation of a permanent helix via the synthesis of a novel chiral lactone. The latter is discussed as an extension of a naturally occurring cofactor whose identity is modulated to furnish a tailored receptor selective to the binding of amino-acid enantiomers. The study and analysis is executed via both synthetic and computational methods.

<p>The first part of this thesis describes a synthetic strategythat provides all eight possible isomers of a given vic-aminoalcohol starting from vinylepoxides. The value of a generalroute is evident, as several isomers are needed ininvestigations of structure-activity relationships forpharmacologically active derivatives, and for optimizing theperformance of chiral ligands containing the amino alcoholmoiety.</p><p>Vinylepoxides, obtained in high enantiomeric excess, werering-opened both with inversion and retention ofstereochemistry, delivering two diastereomeric amino alcoholswith high regio- and stereoselectivity. Via ring-closure toaziridines and subsequent regioselective ring-opening withsuitable oxygen nucleophiles, the two remaining amino alcoholswere selectively achieved.</p><p>Within this study, two efficient protocols for theregioselective and stereospecific aminolysis of vinylepoxideshave been presented. Comparedto previous methods, theseprocedures use milder reaction conditions, shorter reactiontimes, generally give higher yields and are applicable to alarger set of substrates. Furthermore, the ring-closure ofvic-amino alcohols to the corresponding N-H vinylaziridines hasbeen investigated. Three routes have been found useful, whichone is preferred depends on substrate and scale.</p><p>In the second part of the thesis, the synthetic strategy isapplied on the synthesis of Sphingosine and its regio- andstereoisomers. Moreover, a rapid way of determining relativeconfiguration of vic-amino alcohols is described, which shouldbe of substantial use when amino alcohols are formed bydiastereoselective reactions.</p><p>amino alcohols, vinylepoxides, vinylaziridines, oxazolines,oxazolidinones, ring-opening, regioselective,diastereoselective, sphingosine, configuration, NMRspectroscopy.</p>