Stereodivergent Desymmetrization of Phenols En Route to Modular Access to Densely Functionalized Quinazoline and Oxazine Scaffolds

J Org Chem. 2023 Feb 3;88(3):1600-1612. doi: 10.1021/acs.joc.2c02653. Epub 2023 Jan 13.

Abstract

The de novo assembly of stereochemically and skeletally diverse scaffolds is a powerful tool for the discovery of novel chemotypes. Hence, the development of modular, step- and atom-economic synthetic methods to access stereochemically and skeletally diverse compound collection is particularly important. Herein, we show a metal-free, stereodivergent build/couple/pair strategy that allows access to a unique collection of benzo[5,6][1,4]oxazino[4,3-a]quinazoline, quinolino[1,2-a]quinazoline and benzo[b]benzo [4,5]imidazo[1,2-d][1,4]oxazine scaffolds with complete diastereocontrol and wide distribution of molecular architectures. This metal-free process proceeds via desymmetrization of phenol derivatives. The cascade unites Mannich with aza-Michael addition reactions, providing expeditious entries to diverse classes of molecular shapes in a single operation.