Advances in synthesis of boron-containing molecules significantly enlarged the usage of boron-containing subunits in medicinal chemistry. Interestingly, few recently approved drugs are boron analogues of natural amino acid derivatives. They contain an aminoboronic subunit. This subunit is also known to serve as a useful synthetic intermediate. However, despite its unique properties, limited examples of its synthesis are reported. In this work, a new method of obtaining aminoboronic acids derivatives is discussed. In Chapter 2 conditions towards obtaining β-aminoboronic acid derivatives via anti-Markovnikov Cope-type hydroamination are presented. Cope-type hydroamination with boron containing species have shown to proceed at lower temperatures compared to unsubstituted alkene derivatives. The products of Cope-type hydroamination reaction are new: to our knowledge similar oxazaborolidine heterocycles have not been reported. Despite reduced stability of the synthesised products and their proneness to conduct bora-Cope type elimination reaction, it was possible to demonstrate oxazaborolidine synthetic utility by various derivatization reactions. A scope with primary and secondary hydroxylamines is presented for a vinylboronate substrate. This work required access to a range of hydroxylamines. Recently our group discovered simple conditions to oxidize amines to hydroxylamines. In Chapter 3 an investigation of isolation conditions for a variant of this newly developed hydroxylamine synthesis is presented. While the oxidation is generally efficient in the presence of excess amine, the main challenge proved to be the propensity of the unreacted amine and hydroxylamine product to interact together. The efficiency and main limitations of different isolation strategies are presented. In general, the best results of removal of the excess amine via filtration were obtained using oxalic acid to form the corresponding amine salt. This filtration was followed by a short silica plug to further remove the amine salt causing contamination.

Hydroamination reactions are very attractive to form new C-N bonds, though broadly applicable synthetic methods do not exist. The hydroamination of unactivated alkenes is especially difficult to accomplish given its negative reaction entropy, as well as potentially being a thermodynamically unfavourable transformation with some substrates. Thus, previously reported systems have often consisted of biased intramolecular systems or metal-catalyzed intermolecular variations operating at low temperatures. Recently, our group discovered that intermolecular Cope-type hydroamination of unactivated alkenes is achievable through the use of aldehydes as catalysts. These organocatalysts act solely through promoting the pre-association of reacting partners, hydroxylamines and allyl amines, in order to induce temporary intramolecularity; thus allowing for very mild reaction conditions and access to important 1,2-Diamine motifs. This thesis presents studies expanding upon initial reports of aldehyde-catalyzed Cope-type intermolecular hydroamination. In the scope of these studies standard conditions were developed to compare aldehyde catalytic activity. These evaluations led to further strengthening our understanding of hypothesized trends in aldehydes’ catalytic efficiencies, notably the impact of electronic, steric and solvent effects. Furthermore, the possibility of using a catalytic precursor species for hydroamination was evaluated. While this symmetrical hydroxylamine dimer precursor did not result in increased hydroamination yields, it did allow for easier manipulations as well as allow preliminary kinetic isotope effect studies to study formaldehyde as a precatalyst. These KIE studies allowed to reconfirm that hydroamination was highly likely the rate determining step of our proposed catalytic cycle. Derivatization of hydroamination products was also accomplished to access important 1,2 Diamine motifs from simple starting materials, also allowing to access difficult hydroamination products through the application of quantitative amounts of aldehyde, followed by hydrolysis of the formed heterocycles. Additional studies into nitrone reactivity led us to access a novel synthesis of enantiomerically enriched chiral cyclic nitrones through a sequence of nucleophilic addition, Cope-type hydroamination and Cope elimination. However, this sequence proved unpractical and of very narrow applicability, while affording only modest enantioselectivities (up to 78% ee), therefore further exploration was not warranted. A collaborative study was also undertaken in collaboration with the Wennemers group from ETH Zurich. This exploratory study had the goal of examining the potential for combining small peptide catalysis with aldehyde catalysis inducing temporary intramolecularity. It was hypothesized that the combination of both catalytic systems could improve upon the conjugate addition of nucleophiles to certain electrophiles, such as nitroolefins; in a potentially stereoselective manner. Although initial trials did not yield productive reactions, evidence for potential new mixed aminals with formaldehyde and various nucleophiles was found. Furthermore, the background reactivity of various nucleophile and electrophile pairings was assessed, allowing for better calibration of future efforts in studying such systems.

Intramolecular hydroamination represents a potentially general, simple strategy to access various nitrogen heterocycles. While important progress has been accomplished in recent years, six-membered ring formation via alkene hydroamination is typically difficult and limited to terminal alkenes, suggesting that only 2-methylpiperidines can be accessed reliably with current methods. As part of the Beauchemin group efforts on metal-free concerted hydroamination methods, the first part of this thesis describes the development of a Cope-type hydroamination-Meisenheimer rearrangement (CHMR) sequence that is applicable in inter- and intramolecular reactions. Data acquired from optimization on a difficult substrate (coniine) and the successful application of the CHMR sequence to the syntheses of N-norreticuline and 10-desbromoarborescidine are reported. The amination of alkenes is surprisingly scarcely used in the synthesis of complex alkaloids despite its potential for the construction of structurally challenging molecules while avoiding functional group interconversions. Hence, the second part of this thesis describes the studies on a novel amination sequence, consisting of an intermolecular Diels-Alder followed by an intramolecular hydroamination reaction, in the efforts towards the synthesis of biologically active and structurally complex Manzamine A. As such, the synthesis of the model substrates, including the development of a novel family of aminodienes, as well as the assessment of their reactivity towards [4+2] cycloadditions is reported.

Intramolecular hydroamination represents a potentially general, simple strategy to access various nitrogen heterocycles. While important progress has been accomplished in recent years, six-membered ring formation via alkene hydroamination is typically difficult and limited to terminal alkenes, suggesting that only 2-methylpiperidines can be accessed reliably with current methods. As part of the Beauchemin group efforts on metal-free concerted hydroamination methods, the first part of this thesis describes the development of a Cope-type hydroamination-Meisenheimer rearrangement (CHMR) sequence that is applicable in inter- and intramolecular reactions. Data acquired from optimization on a difficult substrate (coniine) and the successful application of the CHMR sequence to the syntheses of N-norreticuline and 10-desbromoarborescidine are reported. The amination of alkenes is surprisingly scarcely used in the synthesis of complex alkaloids despite its potential for the construction of structurally challenging molecules while avoiding functional group interconversions. Hence, the second part of this thesis describes the studies on a novel amination sequence, consisting of an intermolecular Diels-Alder followed by an intramolecular hydroamination reaction, in the efforts towards the synthesis of biologically active and structurally complex Manzamine A. As such, the synthesis of the model substrates, including the development of a novel family of aminodienes, as well as the assessment of their reactivity towards [4+2] cycloadditions is reported.

Intramolecular hydroamination represents a potentially general, simple strategy to access various nitrogen heterocycles. While important progress has been accomplished in recent years, six-membered ring formation via alkene hydroamination is typically difficult and limited to terminal alkenes, suggesting that only 2-methylpiperidines can be accessed reliably with current methods. As part of the Beauchemin group efforts on metal-free concerted hydroamination methods, the first part of this thesis describes the development of a Cope-type hydroamination-Meisenheimer rearrangement (CHMR) sequence that is applicable in inter- and intramolecular reactions. Data acquired from optimization on a difficult substrate (coniine) and the successful application of the CHMR sequence to the syntheses of N-norreticuline and 10-desbromoarborescidine are reported. The amination of alkenes is surprisingly scarcely used in the synthesis of complex alkaloids despite its potential for the construction of structurally challenging molecules while avoiding functional group interconversions. Hence, the second part of this thesis describes the studies on a novel amination sequence, consisting of an intermolecular Diels-Alder followed by an intramolecular hydroamination reaction, in the efforts towards the synthesis of biologically active and structurally complex Manzamine A. As such, the synthesis of the model substrates, including the development of a novel family of aminodienes, as well as the assessment of their reactivity towards [4+2] cycloadditions is reported.