Brønsted-acid-catalyzed asymmetric multicomponent reactions for the facile synthesis of highly enantioenriched structurally diverse nitrogenous heterocycles.

Optically pure nitrogenous compounds, and especially nitrogen-containing heterocycles, have drawn intense research attention because of their frequent isolation as natural products. These compounds have wide-ranging biological and pharmaceutical activities, offering potential as new drug candidates. Among the various synthetic approaches to nitrogenous heterocycles, the use of asymmetric multicomponent reactions (MCRs) catalyzed by chiral phosphoric acids has recently emerged as a particularly robust tool. This method combines the prominent merits of MCRs with organocatalysis, thus affording enantio-enriched nitrogenous heterocyclic compounds with excellent enantioselectivity, atom economy, bond-forming efficiency, structural diversity, and complexity. In this Account, we discuss a variety of asymmetric MCRs catalyzed by chiral phosphoric acids that lead to the production of structurally diverse nitrogenous heterocycles. In MCRs, three or more reagents are combined simultaneously to produce a single product containing structural contributions from all the components. These one-pot processes are especially useful in the construction of heterocyclic cores: they can provide a high degree of both complexity and diversity for a targeted set of scaffolds while minimizing the number of synthetic operations. Unfortunately, enantioselective MCRs have thus far been relatively underdeveloped. Particularly lacking are reactions that proceed through imine intermediates, which are formed from the condensation of carbonyls and amines. The concomitant generation of water in the condensation reaction can deactivate some Lewis acid catalysts, resulting in premature termination of the reaction. Thus, chiral catalysts typically must be compatible with water for MCRs to generate nitrogenous compounds. Recently, organocatalytic MCRs have proven valuable in this respect. Brønsted acids, an important class of organocatalysts, are highly compatible with water and thereby offer great potential as chiral catalysts for multicomponent protocols that unavoidably release water molecules during the course of the reaction. We present a detailed investigation of several MCRs catalyzed by chiral phosphoric acids, including Biginelli and Biginelli-like reactions; 1,3-dipolar cycloadditions; aza Diels-Alder reactions; and some other cyclization reactions. These approaches have enabled the facile preparation of 3,4-dihydropyrimidinones, pyrrolidines, piperidines, and dihydropyridines with high optical purity. The synthetic applications of these new protocols are also discussed, together with theoretical studies of the reaction transition states that address the regio- and stereochemistry. In addition, we briefly illustrate the application of a recently developed strategy that involves relay catalysis by a binary system consisting of a chiral phosphoric acid and a metal complex. This technique has provided access to new reactions that generate structurally diverse and complex heterocycles. Enantioselective organocatalytic MCRs remain a challenge, but we illustrate success on several fronts with chiral phosphoric acids as the primary catalysts. Further progress will undoubtedly provide even better access to the chiral nitrogen-containing heterocycles that are not only prevalent as natural products but also serve as key chiral building blocks in organic synthesis.