The syntheses and catalytic properties of four new 1,2-acenaphthenyl N-heterocyclic carbene-supported palladium(II) catalysts are presented. The acenaphthenyl carbene can be prepared using either mesityl or 2,6-diisopropyl N-aryl substituents. In addition, two new heterogeneous analogs were synthesized with 2,6-diisopropyl N-aryl substituents that were anchored through the backbone to an insoluble silica-support. Comprehensive catalytic studies of the Suzuki coupling of aryl halides with aryl boronic acids were carried out. In general, the homogeneous diisopropyl-functionalized catalyst was found to exhibit superior selectivity and reactivity. A comparison of the performances of the aforementioned catalysts in toluene, dichloromethane and aqueous solutions are also presented. In organic solvents, the catalysts were found to be proficient for the homogeneous Suzuki coupling of aryl iodides, bromides and chlorides with boronic acids at low temperatures (35‒40 °C). Similar reactions that were carried out in aqueous media resulted in the formation of insoluble colloidal catalytic species. Nevertheless, these species still retained high activities in terms of in the Suzuki reaction with aryl chlorides. Moreover, the heterogeneous Pd precipitates can be easily recovered for subsequent use by means of filtration. The activation energies that were determined for the aryl bromide-based Suzuki reactions were found to fall in the range, 159.2‒171.2 kJ mol⁻¹ in organic solvents and 111.3‒115.9 kJ mol⁻¹ in water. The corresponding activation energy for the aryl chloride was found to be 321.8 kJ mol⁻¹ in aqueous media using the homogeneous diisopropyl-functionalized carbene catalyst. Conversely, the heterogeneous catalyst exhibited reactivity toward aryl iodides and bromides exclusively, and required significantly higher temperatures and catalyst loadings in both toluene and water. Additional experimental trials that were performed in tetrahydrofuran solution at lower temperatures resulted in substantially larger catalytic conversions. The heterogeneous catalyst allowed for easy separation and recovery. However, the catalyst exhibited a significant decrease in reactivity toward the aryl halides after two consecutive trials. / text

Cross-coupling reactions, where a transition metal catalyst facilitates the formation of a new carbon-carbon or carbon-heteroatom bond between two coupling partners, has become one of the most widely used, reliable, and robust family of transformations for the construction of molecules. The Nobel Prize was awarded to pioneers in this field who primarily used aryl iodides, bromides, and triflates as electrophilic coupling partners. The expansion of the reaction scope to non-traditional electrophiles is an ongoing challenge to enable an even greater number of useful products to be made from simple starting materials. The major goal of this thesis research is to improve and expand upon this field by using esters as electrophiles via the activation of the strong C(acyl)−O bond. Esters are particularly robust in comparison to other carboxylic acid derivatives used in cross-coupling reactions. Success on the activation of such inert functional group using catalysis has both fundamental and practical value. By discovering new reaction modes of this abundant functional group, synthetic routes to access novel or industrially important molecules can be improved. Chapter 1 of this thesis describes a literature overview of what has been accomplished in the field of cross coupling reactions using carboxylic acid derivatives as electrophilic coupling partners. Chapter 2 discloses the first palladium Suzuki-Miyaura couplings of phenyl esters to produce ketones. The method is efficient and robust, giving good yields of useful products. The reaction is proposed to proceed via an oxidative addition to the strong C(acyl)−O bond of the ester. In contrast to previous efforts in this field that use traditional catalysts such as Pd(PPh3)4, the developed reaction requires use of an electron-rich, bulky N-heterocyclic carbene ligand, which facilitates the strong bond activation. Furthermore, a palladium-catalyzed cross-coupling between aryl esters and anilines is reported, enabling access to diverse amides. The reaction takes place via a similar activation of the C−O bond by oxidative addition with a Pd−NHC complex, which enables the use of relatively non-nucleophilic anilines that otherwise require stoichiometric activation with strong bases to react. Chapter 3 discloses a nickel-catalyzed amide bond formation using unactivated and abundant esters. In this transformation, an accessible nickel catalyst can facilitate the activation of diverse aliphatic and aromatic esters to enable direct amide bond formation with amines as nucleophiles. No stoichiometric base, acid, or other activating agent is needed, providing exceptional functional group tolerance and producing only methanol as a by-product. This reaction is of both fundamental and practical importance because it is the first to demonstrate that simple conditions can enable Ni to cleave the C–O bond of an ester to make an oxidative addition product, which can be subsequently coupled with amines. This discovery contrasts industrially-common and wasteful methods that still require stoichiometric activating agents or multistep synthesis. Chapter 4 describes the evaluation of different types of cross-coupling reactions using methyl esters as electrophilic coupling partner. A high-throughput screening technique has been applied to this project. A combination between specific ligands, known by their efficiency to activate strong C−O bonds, and literature-based conditions has been designed for the chosen transformations. Using this strategy, two promising hits have been obtained using the same NHC ligand: a decarbonylative Suzuki-Miyaura and a decarbonylative borylation reaction.

A one-pot synthesis of ortho-arylated 9-(pyridin-2-yl)-9H-carbazoles via C-H bond activation, in which palladium(II)-catalyzed cross-coupling of 9-(pyridin-2-yl)-9H-carbazoles with potassium aryltrifluoroborates is presented. Silver nitrate and tert-butanol were proved to be the best oxidant and solvent for the process, respectively. The product yields fluctuated from modest to excellent, and the reaction showed sufficient functional group tolerance. p-Benzoquinone served as an important ligand for the transmetalation and reductive elimination steps in the catalytic process. The key intermediate of the reaction, 9-(pyridin-2-yl)-9H-carbazole palladacycle was isolated and confirmed by X-ray crystallography. The kinetic isotope effect (kH/kD) for the C-H bond activation step was measured as 0.87. In addition, Hammett experiment gave a negative rho value, -2.14 with a reasonable correlation (R2 = 0.90). The directing group, pyridyl was demonstrated as a removable functional group. Finally, a rational catalytic mechanism is presented based on all experimental evidence.

This thesis describes the combination of non-stabilized nucleophiles and prochiral/racemic electrophiles in transition metal catalyzed asymmetric transformations. These enantioselective reactions have tremendous potential for the formation of chiral building blocks and new structural motifs that can be found in a variety of natural products and their derivatives. The first part of the thesis focuses on the synthetic approach towards anti-cancer active diterpenoid structures. The two key steps involve a Cu-catalyzed asymmetric conjugate addition of alkylzirconocenes to enones and an intramolecular oxidative cyclisation. Particular investigations into the cyclisation are made with organocatalysis, transition metal catalysis and electrochemistry for the formation of these tricyclic scaffolds. In the second part this work builds on the Rh-catalyzed asymmetric Suzuki-Miyaura coupling of benzeneboronic acids and cyclic allyl chlorides, which has been developed in our group. Here, the main point is to use more challenging coupling partners, such as heteroaromatic boronic acids, which are coupled to racemic cyclic allyl halides. The utility of this method is demonstrated by performing further transformations and an asymmetric synthesis of the natural product (+)- isoanabasine. The last chapter describes the development of a new asymmetric Hiyama coupling of arylsiloxanes with racemic cyclic allyl chloride. Attempts are made to generate substrates that are not accessible via the asymmetric Suzuki - Miyaura reaction. After extensive optimisation a variety of arylsiloxanes is generated and tested with the best conditions to prove its utility in comparison to the asymmetric Suzuki-Miyaura coupling.

No description available.

Two series of stable palladium and silver complexes ligated to hemilabile ligands were prepared. The stability and applicability of these well-defined complexes in promoting various reactions (cycloaddition, hydroamination, cross-coupling reactions, etc.) was investigated. Structure-activity studies with a series of related ligands led us to find a pronounced ligand effect on these reactions. The dichotomous reactivity of triethyl phosphonium hydrobromide salt with dialkyl acetals was used for the synthesis of alkoxy phosphonium salts. Reactivity and applications of these phosphonium salts were described for the synthesis of the biologically active cinnamyl triazoles and ethyl indole-2-carboxylates. Total synthesis of the natural product nostodione A, was developed in eight chemical steps and with 21.6% overall yield from ethyl-2-indolecarboxylates. The synthesis of a mini-panel of structural analogs allowed for the discovery of anti-parasitic biological activity of nostodione A and its analogues for the first time. / Thesis / Doctor of Science (PhD)

Neste trabalho foi desenvolvido uma metodologia sintética para a obtenção de adutos de Knoevenagel empregando a radiação de micro-ondas. Os adutos foram usados como precursores sintéticos para a obtenção de compostos tetrazólicos, reações de acoplamento de Suzuki-Miyaura, adutos cromenos e em bio-hidrogenação. A primeira etapa realizada foi a reação e a otimização da condensação de Knoevenagel usando derivados de aldeído aromático, malononitrila e água em um reator de micro-ondas por 30 min, 20 W fornecendo rendimentos de 80-99 %. Também foi observado que para o trans-metil-cinamaldeído ocorreu a formação do produto de condensação de Knoevenagel e posteriormente a formação de um produto dimérico com rendimento de 96 % por uma reação de ciclo adição [2+2] via fotoquímica. Adicionalmente foi realizada a síntese de adutos de Knoevenagel com aldeídos aromáticos e cianoacetamida fornecendo produtos diaestereoisoméricos com configuração E e rendimentos entre 90-99 %. Na segunda etapa foi realizada a obtenção de compostos tetrazólicos via one-pot entre aldeídos aromáticos, malononitrila e azida de sódio empregando água como solvente em um reator de micro-ondas por 4 h, 60 W fornecendo rendimentos de 85-99 %. Foi realizado o uso de aditivos de caráter ácido-básico na síntese do tetrazóis, observando que para o sistema N(Et)3-CuSO4 forneceu um rendimento de 90 % em um tempo de 2 h para (E)-3-fenil-2-(1H-tetrazol-5-il)acrilonitrila. Na terceira parte foram desenvolvidas reações de acoplamento de Suzuki-Miyaura a partir dos adutos de Knoevenagel com grupos halogênios (F, Cl e Br) em um reator de micro-ondas por 30 min, 60W fornecendo rendimentos de 80-97 %. Também foi realizada a reação de Knoevenagel-Suzuki-Miyaura one-pot empregando a radiação de micro-ondas fornecendo rendimentos de 82-98 %. Na quarta parte do trabalho foram sintetizados cromenos a partir de adutos de Knoevenagel com 5,5-dimetil-1,3-ciclo-hexanodiona em um reator de micro-ondas por 25 min, 60 W fornecendo rendimentos de 94-99 %. Também foram obtidos cromenos com os compostos tetrazólicos derivados de adutos de Knoevenagel por radiação micro-ondas fornecendo rendimentos de 85-98 %. Por último os adutos de Knoevenagel foram bio-hidrogenados pelo fungo marinho Penicillum citrinum CBMAI 1186 obtendo rendimentos de reação entre 12-99 %. Observou-se para a 2-(4-nitrobenzilideno)malononitrila uma reação de retro-Knoevenagel causada por efeitos eletrônicos eletroatratores. Também observou-se a presença de várias enzimas no meio de cultura de fungo P. citrinum CBMAI 1186 como: enoato redutase, nitro redutase, ceto redutase e nitrila hidratase. Também realizaram-se estudos dos tempos de reação da síntese de Knoevenagel por micro-ondas, para o qual foram empregados aditivos como: SiO4, CuSO4, imidazol, fibroína, fibra da paina e fibroína-CuSO4. Este último aditivo forneceu um rendimento de 74 % em 10 min para a 2-benzilidenomalononitrila. Em geral o estudo desenvolvido na otimização da reação de condensação de Knoevenagel e o desenvolvimento da metodologia para a obtenção de compostos tetrazólicos, adutos de acoplamento de Suzuki-Miyaura, cromenos foram bastante satisfatórios, assim como, as reações de bio-hidrogenação de sistemas α,β-insaturados. / The present work describes a synthetic methodology to obtain Knoevenagel adducts by microwave radiation. The adducts were used as synthetic precursors to obtain tetrazole compounds, Suzuki-Miyaura coupling reactions, chromene adducts and biohydrogenation. The first step was the reaction and optimization of Knoevenagel condensation using aromatic derivatives aldehyde, malononitrile and water in a microwave reactor for 30 min to obtain 80-99 % yield. Was observed that for trans-methyl cinnamaldehyde the Knoevenagel condensation product and subsequently the dimeric product with 96 % yield by [2 + 2] cycloaddition reaction photochemistry. Additionally, the synthesis of Knoevenagel adducts with aromatic aldehydes and cyanoacetamide was performed providing diastereoisomeric products with E-configuration in 90-99% yield. In the second step, tetrazole compounds were obtained via one-pot reactions between aromatic aldehydes, malononitrile and sodium azide using water as the solvent in a microwave reactor for 4 h, 60 W to obtain 85-99% yields. The use acid-base additives in the synthesis of (E)-3-phenyl-2-(1H-tetrazol-5-yl)acrylonitrile was develoment with N(Et)3-CuSO4 system, to give 90 % yields in 2 h, 60 W. In the third part, Suzuki-Miyaura coupling reactions were developed from the Knoevenagel adducts with halogen groups (F, Cl and Br) in a microwave reactor for 30 min, 60W providing yields of 80-97 %. The Knoevenagel-Suzuki-Miyaura one-pot reaction was also employed by employing microwave radiation with yields of 82-98 %. In the fourth part of this work, chromene products were synthesized from Knoevenagel adducts with 5,5-dimethyl-1,3-cyclohexanedione in a microwave reactor for 25 min, 60 W with yields 94-99 %. Chromenes adducts were also obtained with the tetrazole compounds by microwave radiation with yields of 85-98%. Finally, the Knoevenagel adducts were biohydrogenated by the marine fungi Penicillum citrinum CBMAI 1186 and was obtained 12-99 % yields. The reaction of retro-Knoevenagel was observed to 2-(4-nitrobenzylidene)malononitrile cause by highly electro-electronic electronic effects. The presence of several enzymes in the fungi culture medium P. citrinum CBMAI 1186 was also observed as enoate reductase, nitro reductase, keto reductase and nitrile hydratase. Other studies were carried out to improve the Knoevenagel synthesis by microwave using additives such as SiO4, CuSO4, imidazole, fibroin and fibroin-CuSO4. For fibroin-CuSO4 the yield was 74% in 10 min to 2-benzylidenemalononitrile. In general, the optimization of the Knoevenagel condensation reaction and the development of the synthetic methodology to obtain tetrazole compounds, Suzuku-Miyaura coupling adducts, chromene adducts was very satisfactory as well as the biohydrogenation reactions of α,β systems unsaturated.

Neste trabalho foi desenvolvido uma metodologia sintética para a obtenção de adutos de Knoevenagel empregando a radiação de micro-ondas. Os adutos foram usados como precursores sintéticos para a obtenção de compostos tetrazólicos, reações de acoplamento de Suzuki-Miyaura, adutos cromenos e em bio-hidrogenação. A primeira etapa realizada foi a reação e a otimização da condensação de Knoevenagel usando derivados de aldeído aromático, malononitrila e água em um reator de micro-ondas por 30 min, 20 W fornecendo rendimentos de 80-99 %. Também foi observado que para o trans-metil-cinamaldeído ocorreu a formação do produto de condensação de Knoevenagel e posteriormente a formação de um produto dimérico com rendimento de 96 % por uma reação de ciclo adição [2+2] via fotoquímica. Adicionalmente foi realizada a síntese de adutos de Knoevenagel com aldeídos aromáticos e cianoacetamida fornecendo produtos diaestereoisoméricos com configuração E e rendimentos entre 90-99 %. Na segunda etapa foi realizada a obtenção de compostos tetrazólicos via one-pot entre aldeídos aromáticos, malononitrila e azida de sódio empregando água como solvente em um reator de micro-ondas por 4 h, 60 W fornecendo rendimentos de 85-99 %. Foi realizado o uso de aditivos de caráter ácido-básico na síntese do tetrazóis, observando que para o sistema N(Et)3-CuSO4 forneceu um rendimento de 90 % em um tempo de 2 h para (E)-3-fenil-2-(1H-tetrazol-5-il)acrilonitrila. Na terceira parte foram desenvolvidas reações de acoplamento de Suzuki-Miyaura a partir dos adutos de Knoevenagel com grupos halogênios (F, Cl e Br) em um reator de micro-ondas por 30 min, 60W fornecendo rendimentos de 80-97 %. Também foi realizada a reação de Knoevenagel-Suzuki-Miyaura one-pot empregando a radiação de micro-ondas fornecendo rendimentos de 82-98 %. Na quarta parte do trabalho foram sintetizados cromenos a partir de adutos de Knoevenagel com 5,5-dimetil-1,3-ciclo-hexanodiona em um reator de micro-ondas por 25 min, 60 W fornecendo rendimentos de 94-99 %. Também foram obtidos cromenos com os compostos tetrazólicos derivados de adutos de Knoevenagel por radiação micro-ondas fornecendo rendimentos de 85-98 %. Por último os adutos de Knoevenagel foram bio-hidrogenados pelo fungo marinho Penicillum citrinum CBMAI 1186 obtendo rendimentos de reação entre 12-99 %. Observou-se para a 2-(4-nitrobenzilideno)malononitrila uma reação de retro-Knoevenagel causada por efeitos eletrônicos eletroatratores. Também observou-se a presença de várias enzimas no meio de cultura de fungo P. citrinum CBMAI 1186 como: enoato redutase, nitro redutase, ceto redutase e nitrila hidratase. Também realizaram-se estudos dos tempos de reação da síntese de Knoevenagel por micro-ondas, para o qual foram empregados aditivos como: SiO4, CuSO4, imidazol, fibroína, fibra da paina e fibroína-CuSO4. Este último aditivo forneceu um rendimento de 74 % em 10 min para a 2-benzilidenomalononitrila. Em geral o estudo desenvolvido na otimização da reação de condensação de Knoevenagel e o desenvolvimento da metodologia para a obtenção de compostos tetrazólicos, adutos de acoplamento de Suzuki-Miyaura, cromenos foram bastante satisfatórios, assim como, as reações de bio-hidrogenação de sistemas α,β-insaturados. / The present work describes a synthetic methodology to obtain Knoevenagel adducts by microwave radiation. The adducts were used as synthetic precursors to obtain tetrazole compounds, Suzuki-Miyaura coupling reactions, chromene adducts and biohydrogenation. The first step was the reaction and optimization of Knoevenagel condensation using aromatic derivatives aldehyde, malononitrile and water in a microwave reactor for 30 min to obtain 80-99 % yield. Was observed that for trans-methyl cinnamaldehyde the Knoevenagel condensation product and subsequently the dimeric product with 96 % yield by [2 + 2] cycloaddition reaction photochemistry. Additionally, the synthesis of Knoevenagel adducts with aromatic aldehydes and cyanoacetamide was performed providing diastereoisomeric products with E-configuration in 90-99% yield. In the second step, tetrazole compounds were obtained via one-pot reactions between aromatic aldehydes, malononitrile and sodium azide using water as the solvent in a microwave reactor for 4 h, 60 W to obtain 85-99% yields. The use acid-base additives in the synthesis of (E)-3-phenyl-2-(1H-tetrazol-5-yl)acrylonitrile was develoment with N(Et)3-CuSO4 system, to give 90 % yields in 2 h, 60 W. In the third part, Suzuki-Miyaura coupling reactions were developed from the Knoevenagel adducts with halogen groups (F, Cl and Br) in a microwave reactor for 30 min, 60W providing yields of 80-97 %. The Knoevenagel-Suzuki-Miyaura one-pot reaction was also employed by employing microwave radiation with yields of 82-98 %. In the fourth part of this work, chromene products were synthesized from Knoevenagel adducts with 5,5-dimethyl-1,3-cyclohexanedione in a microwave reactor for 25 min, 60 W with yields 94-99 %. Chromenes adducts were also obtained with the tetrazole compounds by microwave radiation with yields of 85-98%. Finally, the Knoevenagel adducts were biohydrogenated by the marine fungi Penicillum citrinum CBMAI 1186 and was obtained 12-99 % yields. The reaction of retro-Knoevenagel was observed to 2-(4-nitrobenzylidene)malononitrile cause by highly electro-electronic electronic effects. The presence of several enzymes in the fungi culture medium P. citrinum CBMAI 1186 was also observed as enoate reductase, nitro reductase, keto reductase and nitrile hydratase. Other studies were carried out to improve the Knoevenagel synthesis by microwave using additives such as SiO4, CuSO4, imidazole, fibroin and fibroin-CuSO4. For fibroin-CuSO4 the yield was 74% in 10 min to 2-benzylidenemalononitrile. In general, the optimization of the Knoevenagel condensation reaction and the development of the synthetic methodology to obtain tetrazole compounds, Suzuku-Miyaura coupling adducts, chromene adducts was very satisfactory as well as the biohydrogenation reactions of α,β systems unsaturated.

Le N-acétylcolchinol est un composé hémi-synthétique connu pour inhiber la polymérisation de la tubuline en microtubules. Il a montré une activité prometteuse en tant qu’agent ciblant la vascularisation tumorale, cependant, sa cardiotoxicité a conduit à l’arrêt des essais cliniques en phase I. Cette thèse porte sur la synthèse et l'évaluation biologique de nouveaux allocolchicinoïdes, composés analogues du N-acétylcolchinol. Dans un premier temps, une nouvelle voie de synthèse permettant l’accès, de façon racémique, au squelette dibenzoxépine de ces molécules a été mise au point. Elle comprend notamment trois étapes clés, un couplage de Suzuki-Miyaura, une addition de Grignard et une cyclodéshydratation effectuée en présence d’un acide de Brønsted. Par la suite, trois séries d’allocolchicinoïdes de structures variées, que ce soit au niveau du cycle médian oxépine ou des substituants présents sur les noyaux benzéniques, ont été synthétisées. L’activité sur tubuline de la plupart de ces molécules a été évaluée, ce qui a conduit à une rationalisation des relations structure-activité. / N-acetylcolchinol is a semi-synthetic inhibitor of the polymerization of tubulin into microtubules, that showed promising activity as vascular-disrupting agent. However, its toxicity evidenced in phase I clinical trials precluded its further development. This thesis describes the synthesis and biological evaluation of new allocolchicinoids, analogues of N-acetylcolchinol.A racemic synthesis of the dibenzoxepine framework of these compounds was first established. A Suzuki-Miyaura coupling, a Grignard addition and a Brønsted acid-mediated cyclodehydration constituted the key steps of the strategy. Then, three different series of dibenzoxepines have been synthesized, which differ by the nature of the substituent on the oxepine medium ring and on phenyl rings. These new dibenzoxepines were tested against the inhibition of microtubule assembly, leading to a structure-activity relationship study.

Face à l’apparition grandissante de souches bactériennes multi-résistantes à l’arsenal d’antibiotiques actuels, les thiopeptides antibiotiques, bien que connus depuis plus de 60 ans, suscitent actuellement un fort regain d’intérêt. En effet, cette classe de molécules présente une forte activité antibiotique contre des souches bactériennes résistantes et multirésistantes, et met en œuvre deux modes d’inhibition originaux de la synthèse protéique encore inexploités en thérapie antibiotique humaine. Leur développement pharmacologique est en particulier freiné par la difficulté de préparation de ces molécules très complexes. L'élaboration d'une stratégie innovante de synthèse de la partie la plus complexe de ces molécules, le cœur hétérocyclique est étudiée dans ce travail. Cette approche repose sur l'étude et la valorisation de nouvelles méthodologies de fonctionnalisation directe des liaisons C-H et C-X de mono- et bis-thiazoles avec une large gamme d’hétéroaromatiques. Sa viabilité est démontrée par la préparation du cœur hétérocyclique commun aux amythiamicines. / Due to the emergence of multiresistant bacterial strains to standard antibacterial treatments, thiopeptides antibiotics are actually highly considered, though they are known for 60 years. They show an excellent antibiotic activity against multiresistant bacterial strains, and implement two originals inhibition mechanisms of protein synthesis, still unemployed in human therapy. However, the difficulty to prepare these complex macromolecules limits their pharmacological development. The development of a new strategy to synthetize the most complicated part of these macromolecules, their heterocyclic core, is studied here in. This approach is based on the study and the exploitation of novel direct C-H and C-X transition-metal-catalyzed couplings of mono- and bithiazoles units with a broad panel of heteroaromatics. Its viability is here demonstrated trough the multi-step synthesis of the common heterocyclic core of amythiamicins.