Aryl (β,β',β″-Trifluoro)- tert-butyl: A Candidate Motif for the Discovery of Bioactives

Org Lett. 2023 Sep 22;25(37):6802-6807. doi: 10.1021/acs.orglett.3c02236. Epub 2023 Sep 8.

Abstract

The (β,β',β″-trifluoro)-tert-butyl (TFTB) group has received very little attention in the literature. This work presents a direct synthesis of this group and explores its properties. The TFTB group arises when the methyl groups of a tert-butyl moiety are exchanged for fluoromethyl groups. Sequential fluoromethylations result in a decrease of Log P (increasing hydrophilicity), ultimately by 1.7 Log P units in the TFTB group relative to that of tert-butyl benzene itself. A focus is placed on synthetic transformations, conformational analysis, and metabolism of the TFTB group in the context of presenting a favorable profile as a motif for the discovery of bioactives.