Organocatalytic Cascade Cyclizations for the Enantioselective Synthesis of Spirooxindoles

The thesis entitled “Organocatalytic Cascade Cyclizations for the Enantioselective Synthesis of Spirooxindoles” is divided into three chapters. Chapter 1: Catalytic Enantioselective Michael Addition/Cyclization Cascade of 3-Isothiocyanato Oxindoles with Nitroolefins A myriad of spirocyclic frameworks present in natural product, and pharmaceutically important compounds, has attracted the synthetic organic chemists to explore their preparation in enantioselective manner. Consequently various strategies have been devised for efficiently accessing highly functionalized spirooxindoles. Among these strategies, the use of 3-isothiocyanato oxindoles as the building block appeared as the most popular one. The combination of 3-isothiocyanato oxindoles and a variety of electrophiles have already been reported. However one of the most popular electrophiles, nitroolefins, has never been used in the reaction with 3-isothiocyanato oxindoles. In this chapter, a highly efficient catalytic asymmetric Michael addition/cyclization cascade reaction between 3-isothiocyanato oxindoles and β-substituted nitroolefins with the help of a cinchonidine-derived bifunctional thiourea catalyst has been discussed. Highly functionalized spirooxindoles containing three successive stereocenters were obtained in high yield with moderate to good diastereo- and enantioselectivity. Reference: Kayal, S.; Mukherjee, S. Eur. J. Org. Chem. 2014, 6696-6700. Chapter 2: Catalytic Aldol-Cyclization Cascade of 3-Isothiocyanato Oxindoles with α-Ketophosphonates for the Enantioselective Synthesis of β-Amino-α-Hydroxyphosphonates The oxindole scaffold containing a quaternary stereocenter at the C3 position is a privileged structural motif present in many biologically active molecules and natural products. In this respect, spirooxindoles have received special attention during the past few years. Similarly, β-Amino and/or hydroxy functionalized phosphonic acids and their derivatives are found to display inhibitory activities towards a range of enzymes such as renin, HIV protease, thrombin, and various classes of protein tyrosine kinases and phosphatases. Considering the importance of both oxindole and β-amino-α-hydroxyphosphonic acid, we reasoned that highly functionalized phosphonic acid derivatives based on a spirooxindole framework could be of potential biological significance, if synthesized in enantiopure form This chapter deals with a cascade aldol-cyclization reaction between 3-isothiocyanato oxindoles and α-ketophosphonates for the enantioselective synthesis of spirooxindole-based β-amino-α-hydroxyphosphonate derivatives. Catalyzed by cinchona alkaloid-based bifunctional thiourea derivatives, this protocol delivers 2-thioxooxazolidinyl phosphonates bearing two adjacent quaternary stereogenic centers, generally in high yields with excellent diastereo- and enantioselectivities. Both the product enantiomers are accessible with nearly equally high level of enantioselectivity. Reference: Kayal, S.; Mukherjee, S. Org. Lett. 2015, 17, 5508-5511. Chapter 3: Catalytic Michael Addition/Cyclization Cascade of 3-Isothiocyanato Oxindoles with Cyclic α,β-Unsaturated Ketones: A Concise Enantioselective Synthesis of Bispiro[indoline-3,2'-pyrrolidine] Among different spirocyclic cores, the spirooxindole framework containing pyrrolidinyl ring represents a very important class owing to their biological activities such as antimicrobial, anticancer, antihypertensive, antidiabetic, antimycobacterial and antitubercular properties. Similarly, the bispirooxindole scaffold recently has drawn considerable interests because of its exclusive structural and stereochemical diversity. Only a few examples have been reported till date for enantioselective construction of the pharmaceutically important bispirooxindole architectures. Considering the importance of bispirooxindoles and pyrrolidinyl spirooxindole scaffolds, we were interested in merging them in a single molecular framework. In this chapter, a Michael addition/cyclization cascade reaction between 3-isothiocyanato oxindoles and exocyclic enones for the enantioselective synthesis of 3,2′-pyrrolidinyl bispirooxindole derivatives has been illustrated. With the help of a quinine-derived bifunctional squaramide as the catalyst, this protocol delivers bispirooxindoles bearing three contiguous stereogenic centers, in high yields and generally with outstanding diastereo- and enantioselectivity. Reference: Kayal, S.; Mukherjee, S. manuscript under preparation