A Simple Organocatalytic Enantioselective Synthesis of Pregabalin

Loading...
Thumbnail Image

Access rights

openAccess

URL

Journal Title

Journal ISSN

Volume Title

A1 Alkuperäisartikkeli tieteellisessä aikakauslehdessä

Date

2009

Major/Subject

Mcode

Degree programme

Language

en

Pages

1340-1351

Series

EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF ORGANIC CHEMISTRY, issue 9

Abstract

This paper describes a new procedure for the enantioselective synthesis of the important anticonvulsant drug Pregabalin, which shows biological properties as the (S) enantiomer only. The key step of the synthetic sequence is the Michael addition reaction of Meldrum’s acid to a nitroalkene mediated by a quinidine derived thiourea. A variety of novel catalysts bearing different groups at the thiourea moiety were synthesized and tested. The most successful catalyst that incorporates a trityl substituent provided up to 75% ee of (S)-4. The conjugate addition reaction was carried out on a multigram scale with low loadings of catalyst (10 mol-%). Moreover, the catalyst can be recycled showing the same capability in chemical yield and asymmetric induction. Then, hydrogenation of nitroalkane 4 followed by decarboxylation of diacid 5 provides Pregabalin hydrochloride in 59% overall yield. Enantioenrichment by crystallization of the free amino acid 1 improves the (S)/(R) enantiomeric ratio to 9:1.

Description

Keywords

Other note

Citation

Bassas , O , Huuskonen , J , Rissanen , K & Koskinen , A M P 2009 , ' A Simple Organocatalytic Enantioselective Synthesis of Pregabalin ' , European Journal of Organic Chemistry , no. 9 , pp. 1340-1351 . https://doi.org/10.1002/ejoc.200801220