Synthesis of Stereoenriched Piperidines via Chemo- Enzymatic Dearomatization of Activated Pyridines

Gideon James Grogan, Vanessa Harawa, Thomas Thorpe, James Marshall, Jack Sangster, Amelia Gilio, Lucian Pirvu, Rachel Heath, Antonio Angelastro, James Finnigan, Simon J. Charnock, Jordan Nafie, Roger Whitehead, Nicholas Turner

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

The development of efficient and sustainable methods for the synthesis of nitrogen heterocycles is an important goal for the chemical industry. In particular, substituted chiral piperidines are prominent targets due to their prevalence in medicinally relevant compounds and their precursors. A potential biocatalytic approach to the synthesis of this privileged scaffold would be the asymmetric dearomatization of readily assembled activated pyridines. However, nature has yet to yield a suitable biocatalyst specifically for this reaction. Here, by combining chemical synthesis and biocatalysis, we present a general chemo-enzymatic approach for the asymmetric dearomatization of activated pyridines for the preparation of substituted piperidines with precise stereochemistry. The key step involves a stereoselective one-pot amine
oxidase/ene imine reductase cascade to convert N-substituted tetrahydropyridines to stereo-defined 3- and 3,4-substituted piperidines. This chemo-enzymatic approach has proved useful for key transformations in the syntheses of the
antipsychotic drugs Preclamol and OSU-6162, as well as for the preparation of two important intermediates in synthetic routes of the ovarian cancer monotherapeutic Niraparib.
Original languageEnglish
Number of pages8
JournalJournal of the American Chemical Society
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 9 Nov 2022

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