This report details the discovery of a method for rhodium catalyzed asymmetric conjugate additions of heteroaryl nucleophiles to α,β-unsaturated carbonyl compounds. This work has successfully employed heteraryl titanates in enantioselective conjugate addition to α,β-unsaturated carbonyl compounds for the first time. Moreover, the utility of benzofuranyl, benzothiophenyl, and pyrrolo zinc reagents has been exemplified in enantioselective conjugate additions. We have found that the precatalyst [Rh(COD)acac]/OMeBIPHEP is broadly effective for enantioselective conjugate additions. Each heterocycle tested exhibited unique reactivity with respect to both conversion and enantioselectivity; reactivities of heteroaryl zinc reagents and heteroaryl titanates in enantioselective conjugate additions to α,β-unsaturated carbonyl compounds are sometimes complementary. Efforts directed towards the development of a method for rhodium-free enantioselective conjugate addition of furan to α,β-unsaturated carbonyl compounds are also described. / text

The electron rich and aromatic character of the indole group allows for a wide range of oxidative and substitution reactions, creating a versatile platform for generating structurally diverse molecules. This thesis explores enzyme and synthetic chemistries that act upon indoles and related molecules. Chapter 1 describes the results of in vivo studies of RebC, an enzyme that plays a pivotal role in the biosynthesis of the indolocarbazole alkaloid rebeccamycin. A homologous enzyme, StaC, exists in the biosynthetic pathway for staurosporine, a related indolocarbazole. Structural differences between the RebC and StaC active sites were hypothesized to play a pivotal role in determining the oxidation state in the corresponding natural products. Sequence alignment of RebC and StaC with homologous enzymes from related indolocarbazole biosynthetic pathways revealed six non-conserved residues in the active site. Three RebC variants were generated by replacement of all six, four, or two specific residues with their StaC counterparts. It was demonstrated that only two substitutions, F216V and R239N, are required to convert the specificity of RebC to that of StaC. Analysis of the structure of the RebC bound to a putative reaction intermediate supports the importance of F216 and R239 in catalysis. Based on these results, contrasting mechanisms for RebC and StaC are proposed to account for their differing specificities. Chapter 2 describes a synthetic approach to primarily heterocyclic analogues of lycogarubin C. Suzuki coupling of appropriately functionalized 3,4-dibromopyrrole or 3,4-bis(trifluoromethanesulfonyl)pyrrole was effective for numerous π-excessive five-membered heterocyclic-3-boronic acids. The optimized conditions were less effective for cross-couplings involving heteroaromatic-2-boronic acids, π-deficient heteroaromatic boronic acids, and heteroaromatic boropinacolate esters. Oxidative cyclization of the 3,4-bis(thiophen-3-yl)pyrrole and 3,4-bis(benzothiophen-3-yl)pyrrole to give analogues of the corresponding indolocarbazoles was demonstrated. Chapter 3 describes preliminary results on the development of regioselective C-5 and C-7 indole metalation tactics of indole-6-carboxamides, in order to provide new functionalized indoles. The use of an indole C-2 silicon protection strategy in combination with a sterically bulky C-6 N,N-di-isopropyl carboxamide directed metalation group overcame undesired side reactions observed with the analogous N,N-diethyl indole-6-carboxamide, affording the C-5 and C-7 substituted products in 40% and 13% yields, respectively. / Thesis (Ph.D, Chemistry) -- Queen's University, 2013-02-13 11:14:49.599

A variety of heterocyclic alcohols were coupled with silyl ketene acetals and other [pi]-nucleophiles in the presence of trimethylsilyl trifluoromethanesulfonate to provide an array of substituted [beta]-heteroaryl propionates, including those with contiguous quaternary centers. This reaction also proceeds with high diastereoselectivity when the [pi]-nucleophile bears a chiral auxiliary. The formal synthesis of N-methylwelwitindolinone C isothiocyanate, a densely functionalized alkaloid with the ability to reverse multiple drug resistance, was completed featuring several key transformations. The first key transformation consisted of coupling a heterocyclic alcohol with a silyl ketene acetal to give a highly functionalized intermediate. Next, a palladium catalyzed enolate arylation followed by an intramolecular allylic alkylation successfully constructed the bicyclo(4.3.1)decane backbone of the N-methylwelwitindolinone C isothiocyanate. / text

Les motifs hétéroaromatiques sont présents dans de nombreuses molécules naturelles. Depuis plusieurs années, notre groupe s'est particulièrement intéressé à la réactivité des pyrroles et des indoles vis-à-vis des nitrones pour donner des bis(pyrrolyl)alcanes, et des bis(indolyl)alcanes, dont des composés naturels comme le vibrindole A ou des composés synthétiques. Ces motifs présentent un grand intérêt car ils peuvent présenter aussi bien des activités anticancéreuses que des activités antibactériennes. C'est dans ce contexte que s'inscrit la première partie du présent travail de recherche. La méthode développée au laboratoire a été étendue à de nouveaux motifs mixtes de type "indole-pyrrole", "indole-furane" et "pyrrole-furane", afin de tester leurs activités en tant qu’antibactériens. Un second volet de ce manuscrit porte sur le développement d'une synthèse "verte" de 2,2'-bis(pyrrolyl)alcanes et de 3,3' bis(indolyl)alcanes symétriques. Finalement, l’addition catalysée énantiosélective de pyrroles à divers électrophiles azotés menant à des pyrrolyl méthanamines a été mise au point en présence d'un catalyseur organique de type acide phosphorique présentant une chiralité axiale. Cette méthode est appliquée à la synthèse d'une molécule naturelle, la (+) absouline. / Heteroaromatics are present in many natural products. Since several years, our group is particularly interested in the reactivity of pyrroles and indoles towards nitrones to give bis(pyrrolyl)alkanes and bis (indolyl)alkanes that could be present in natural compounds such as vibrindole A or in synthetic compounds. These structural patterns are interesting because they could display either anticancer or antibacterial activities. The first part of the present research starts from these previous results. The method developed in the laboratory was extended to new mixed molecules containing either "indole-pyrrole", "indole-furan" or "pyrrole-furan" moieties, in order to test their activities as antibacterial agents. A second part of this manuscript focuses on the development of a "green" preparation of symmetrical 2,2' bis(pyrrolyl)alkanes and 3,3' bis(indolyl) alkanes respectively. Finally, the catalytic enantioselective addition of pyrroles onto several nitrogen-containing electrophiles yielding pyrrolyl methanamines has been developed in the presence of an organic catalyst such as a phosphoric acid with an axial chirality. This method is currently applied to the synthesis of a natural molecule, the (+)-absouline.

Heteroaryl nitrone spin traps have been suggested to act as free radical scavengers. The geometry optimizations and the single-point energies of the spin trapping reactions of the heteroaryl nitrones, 5,5-dimethylpyrroline-N-oxide (DMPO) and α-phenyl-N-t-butylnitrone (PBN) have been computationally studied using ab initio (Hartree-Fock (HF) and second-order Møller-Plesset (MP2)) methods and Density Functional Theory (DFT) methods. The effects of new heteroaryl substituents on a parent nitrone spin trap have been examined at the HF and MP2 levels with the 6-31G*, and cc-pVnZ (n=D, T, Q) basis sets. The thermodynamics of the spin trapping at the C-site and O-site with •H, •CH3 and •OH radicals were studied at the HF/6-31G* and DFT/m06/6-31G* levels. The addition reactions favor at the C-sites and the double adducts are thermodynamically more stable than the mono adducts. The spin trapping of DMPO, PBN and α(Z)-(3-methylfuroxan-4-yl)-N-tert-butylnitrone (FxBN) with •OH have also been studied.

Les ligands multidentes montrent généralement de très bonnes activités dans la catalyse organométallique au palladium à faibles charges. Parmi ces ligands, l'utilisation des ligands polyphosphines ferrocéniques mènent à des résultats intéressants. Des systèmes catalytiques palladium/triphosphine ferrocénique robustes ont permis d'obtenir d'une part des diarylamines et d'autre part des éthers d'aryle et d'hétéroaryle avec de faibles charges catalytiques. Des calculs théoriques de DFT sur le cycle catalytique lors de la formation d'éthers d'aryle et d'hétéroaryle ont été réalisés. La présence d’un troisième groupement phosphino permettrait de stabiliser les états de transition et accélèrerait l’élimination réductrice. Les triarylamines ont pu être obtenues à l'aide d'une diphosphine ferrocénique avec une charge de 2 mol% de palladium. Des résultats modérés à excellents ont été obtenus. Enfin, les thioéthers d'aryle et d'hétéroaryle ont été obtenus avec d'excellents résultats à l'aide d'une tétraphosphine ferrocénique en présence de 0,2 mol% de palladium / Multidentate ligands usually show great activities in low loading organometallic catalysis in palladium. Among these ligands, the use of ferrocenyl polyphosphane ligands give interesting results. Robust palladium-ferrocenyl triphosphane catalytic systems have permitted to obtain biarylamines and aryl-heteroaryl ethers in the presence of low catalytic loadings. DFT studies on catalytic cycle during formation of aryl-heteroaryl ethers were carried out. The presence of third phosphino group stabilizes a transition state which enhances the rate of the reductive elimination. Triarylamines were obtained with ferrocenyl diphosphane in the presence of 2 mol% of palladium loading. Moderate to excellent results were obtained. Finally, aryl-heteroaryl sulfides were obtained with excellent results with ferrocenyl tetraphosphane ligand in the presence of 0.2 mol% of palladium.

The synthesis of a series of 2-chloropyrimidine derivatives is described. The synthesis began with a nucleophilic addition of lithiated heterocyclic molecules to the 4 position of 2-chloropyrimidine to give dihydropyrimidine intermediates. The intermediates were oxidized to the pyrimidine ring using the DDQ method. This was followed by an addition-elimination reaction of an amine to the 2-chloropyrimidine derivative. The structure and properties of the final compounds were analyzed by melting point, combustion analysis, and 13C-NMR and 1H-NMR spectroscopy. Biological activities in vitro of the synthesized compounds as antagonists of the 5-HT2a and 5-HT7 receptors were determined by an independent laboratory.