Thesis advisor: Amir H. Hoveyda / Chapter 1. Efficient Z-Selective Synthesis of Allylic- and Alkenyl Boronates by Catalytic Cross-Metathesis Efficient Z-selective cross-metathesis reactions to furnish Z-(pinacolato)-allylboron and Z-(pinacolato)alkenylboron compounds through catalytic cross-metathesis are disclosed. Z-allylic boron compounds are generated by the use of catalytic amounts of a W-based monoaryloxide monopyrrolide (MAP) complex in up to 91% yield and 96:4 dr after allylation to benzaldehyde. Alkenylboron compounds are prepared in high yields and high Z selectivity in up to 93% yield and 97:3 Z:E. Cross-metathesis reactions with 1,3-dienes and aryl olefins are efficient and highly Z-selective. Combination of cross-metathesis and cross-coupling to synthesize anticancer agent combretastatin A-4 highlights the utility of this approach. Chapter 2. Synthesis of Macrocyclic and Acyclic Z-Enoates and (E,Z) or (Z,E) Dienoates by Catalytic Cross-Metathesis The first examples of kinetically controlled catalytic olefin metathesis reactions to generate Z-α,β-unsaturated macrocyclic and acyclic esters are disclosed. The synthesis of (E,Z) or (Z,E)-dienoates are also presented. Reactions promoted by 3.0–10 mol % of Mo-based monoaryloxide monopyrrolide complex proceed to completion to the desired macrocycles within 2–6 h at room temperature. Macrocycles of diverse ring sizes are formed in 79:21 to >98:2 Z:E selectivity. Pure Z isomers can be obtained after purification in up to 75% yield. Acyclic Z-α,β-unsaturated esters are prepared in the presence of acetonitrile to avoid using excess amounts of the more valuable cross-partner substrate. Spectroscopic investigations and X-ray analysis rationalize the positive effect of acetonitrile in the reaction system. Linear (Z)-enoates are generated in up to 71% yield and up to >98:2 Z:E. (E,Z)-Dienoates are generated with high Z selectivity as well. The utility of the ring-closing metathesis and cross-metathesis is highlighted by the synthesis of an (+)-aspicilin precursor and the C1–C12 fragment of biologically active natural product (–)-laulimalide. Chapter 3. Application of E-Selective Catalytic Ring-Closing Metathesis in the Total Synthesis of Dolabelides A, B, C and D Efforts towards the enantioselective synthesis of the dolabelide family of anti-cancer macrolides is presented. Development of a total synthesis incorporating a late-stage kinetically E-selective RCM is illustrated. Previous attempts to synthesize the macrolide by ring-closing metathesis (RCM) have demonstrated poor efficiency and low selectivity for the E isomer. Methodology developed in our group with acyclic trisubstituted cross-metathesis demonstrates that high selectivity can be achieved with stereodefined 1,2-disubstituted and trisubstituted olefins by the use of the proper catalyst and reaction design. Modern catalytic and stereoselective approaches towards the two main fragments of dolabelide are presented. More efficient and concise routes will be pursued to highlight the utility of the proposed disconnections and practicality of the total synthesis / Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2018. / Submitted to: Boston College. Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. / Discipline: Chemistry.

Asymmetric synthesis with biocatalyst has become an increasingly interesting and cost effective manufacturing process in fine chemicals, pharmaceuticals, and agrochemical intermediates. Enoate reductases from the Old Yellow Enzyme family offer high substrate efficiency, region, stereo-, and enantioselectivity in the catalyzed biotransformations. Asymmetric reduction of activated C=C bond is one of the most widely applied synthetic tools for the potential to generate up to two stereogenic centers in one step reaction. The thesis contributed to the development and characterization of the Old Yellow Enzyme family members including NRSal from Salmonella typhimurium, YersER from Yersinia bercoviei, KYE1 from Kluyveromyces lactis, and XenA from Pseudomonas putida. We explored the possible new chemistry, gathered further understanding of enzymes functionality and biochemistry, evaluated parameters such as enzyme stability, productivity, and selectivity, and improved enzyme specificity through computational guided protein engineering method. In overall, the increasing knowledge about this Old Yellow Enzyme family together with recent advances in biotechnology renders the enoate reductases a tool of choice for industrial applications.

The ability to generate chiral building blocks is of paramount importance to organic chemists. This problem presents itself most notably at the interface of chemistry and biology, where molecules of only a single enantiomer can induce function to many biological systems. In this context, recent developments in the field of organocatalysis, most notably the employment of chiral N-heterocyclic carbenes (NHCs) have shown much promise. Our group has recently shown that one possible chiral NHC catalyzed Stetter cyclization product of a conjugated triene, a highly functionalized cyclopentenone, contains both a chiral center and an adjacent conjugated diene. This structure can be easily elaborated to a bicyclic structural motif present in some biologically active natural products from the ginkgolide family, and is difficult to access by other means. The synthesis of novel vinyl stannanes and other coupling substrates involved in the development of the aforementioned reaction discovery are described in this report.

Vu l’importance des molécules fluorées dans différents domaines et vu la réactivité engendrée par le 4,4,4-trifluorobut-2-ynoate d’éthyle 1 lors des travaux antérieurs réalisés au laboratoire, nous avons décidé d’étudier le comportement de dérivé fluoré 1 vis-à-vis d’hydrure tributylétain sans l’emploi de catalyseurs ou d’additifs. Le but est d’accéder à de nouveaux synthons fluorés par voies originales.Après une étude préliminaire pour effectuer cette réaction d’hydrostannation dans les meilleures conditions, nous avons réalisé pour la première fois la synthèse totalement régio- et stéréosélective des vinylétains (Z)-2α et (Z)-2β par un simple choix de solvant et sans l’utilisation d’aucun additif. Ces résultats inédits et très encourageants, nous ont conduis à étendre cette stratégie à d’autres hydrures comme l’hydrure de diphénylphosphine et l’hydrure de triphénylgermane..Les vinylétains (Z)-2α et (Z)-2β- de configurations bien définies sont des réactifs de choix pour élaborer de nouvelles structures fonctionnelles trifluorométhylées. En effet, le couplage cupro-catalysé de ces vinylétains en présence d’une quantité catalytique de CuI (10 moles%) avec une variété de bromures d’allyles, de propargyles, d’aryles, de benzyles et d’alcynyles conduisent à une grande variété de composés fluorés jamais décrits dans la littérature.Les méthodes de synthèse développées dans ce travail sont originales et permettent la synthèse d’une grande famille de composés fluorés avec un moindre coût. / The development of a simple method to obtain perfluoroalkylated building blocks for their subsequent utilization in the synthesis of Rf-containing compounds is therefore essential to organofluorine chemistry. Perfluoroalkylated vinyl metals constitute an important class of these building blocks.In order to prepare a new perfluoroalkylated bulding blocks, we investigated transition metal-catalyzed-free hydrostannylation of ethyl 4,4,4-trifluorobut-2-ynoate 1. The hydrostannylation took place smoothly in the absence of additive, providing regioselectively high yields of the corresponding α or β stannylated alkenoates depending on the nature of the solvent used. Indeed, we have demonstrated that the hydrostannylation of 1 in hexane provided the β-stannylated product with high regioselectivity (>95%) and excellent yield (>97%). Using methanol as solvent, total α-regioselectivity of the hydrostannylation of 1 was observed, providing α -tributylstannylacrylate as the sole regioisomer in a nearly quantitative yield.Theses new vinyltins reagents readily undergo copper (I) catalyst coupling reactions with various electrophiles as allyl, propargyl, benzyl and alkynyl bromides to provide good yields of the new corresponding acrylates esters bearing a β-trifluoromethyl group.This method provided a new efficient entry to this important class of compounds