Liu Ning, Xia Hanyu, Shi Yue, Xu Kejie, Yu Zhiying, Wu Xianqing, Huang Genping, Qu Jingping, Chen Yifeng
Key Laboratory for Advanced Materials and Joint International Research Laboratory of Precision Chemistry and Molecular Engineering, Feringa Nobel Prize Scientist Joint Research Center, Frontiers Science Center for Materiobiology and Dynamic Chemistry, School of Chemistry and Molecular Engineering, East China University of Science & Technology, 130 Meilong Road, Shanghai 200237, China.
Department of Chemistry, School of Science, Tianjin University, Tianjin 300072, China.
J Am Chem Soc. 2025 Jul 30;147(30):26786-26796. doi: 10.1021/jacs.5c07911. Epub 2025 Jul 17.
Sulfur-based chiral centers play a critical role in drug discovery yet pose significant challenges in achieving precise stereochemical control. Sulfinamides, serving as versatile intermediates and chiral auxiliaries, have traditionally required multistep synthesis or auxiliary-dependent strategies. Recent advances using -sulfinyltritylamine (TrNSO) enabled catalytic arylative additions; however, stereoselective alkylative approaches remain underdeveloped, likely due to the highly reactive alkyl radical intermediate. Herein, we report a cobalt-catalyzed reductive addition strategy for direct enantioselective C(sp)-S bond formation between TrNSO and unactivated alkyl halides. Leveraging an unprecedented 8-Quinox cobalt catalyst, this method delivers alkyl-substituted sulfinamides with broad substrate scope, excellent functional group tolerance, and high enantioselectivity. The protocol is further extended to a cascade addition/cyclization sequence, facilitating the efficient synthesis of enantioenriched sultims. DFT calculations reveal stereochemical control arises from selective alkyl radical addition orchestrated by the chiral cobalt catalyst.
基于硫的手性中心在药物发现中起着关键作用,但在实现精确的立体化学控制方面面临重大挑战。亚磺酰胺作为通用的中间体和手性助剂,传统上需要多步合成或依赖助剂的策略。最近使用-亚磺酰三苯甲基胺(TrNSO)的进展实现了催化芳基化加成;然而,立体选择性烷基化方法仍未得到充分发展,这可能是由于高活性的烷基自由基中间体所致。在此,我们报道了一种钴催化的还原加成策略,用于在TrNSO和未活化的卤代烃之间直接对映选择性地形成C(sp)-S键。利用前所未有的8-喹喔啉钴催化剂,该方法可提供具有广泛底物范围、优异官能团耐受性和高对映选择性的烷基取代亚磺酰胺。该方案进一步扩展为级联加成/环化序列,有助于对映体富集的磺内酰胺的高效合成。密度泛函理论计算表明,立体化学控制源于手性钴催化剂精心安排的选择性烷基自由基加成。