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Turning Cucurbit[8]uril into a Supramolecular Nanoreactor for Asymmetric Catalysis

Chiral macromolecules have been widely used as synthetic pockets to mimic natural enzymes and promote asymmetric reactions. An achiral host, cucurbit[8]uril (CB[8]), was used for an asymmetric Lewis acid catalyzed Diels–Alder reaction. We achieved a remarkable increase in enantioselectivity and a la...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores principales: Zheng, Lifei, Sonzini, Silvia, Ambarwati, Masyitha, Rosta, Edina, Scherman, Oren A, Herrmann, Andreas
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: WILEY-VCH Verlag 2015
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4643185/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26383272
http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/anie.201505628
Descripción
Sumario:Chiral macromolecules have been widely used as synthetic pockets to mimic natural enzymes and promote asymmetric reactions. An achiral host, cucurbit[8]uril (CB[8]), was used for an asymmetric Lewis acid catalyzed Diels–Alder reaction. We achieved a remarkable increase in enantioselectivity and a large rate acceleration in the presence of the nanoreactor by using an amino acid as the chiral source. Mechanistic and computational studies revealed that both the amino acid–Cu(2+) complex and the dienophile substrate are included inside the macrocyclic host cavity, suggesting that contiguity and conformational constraints are fundamental to the catalytic process and rate enhancement. These results pave the way towards new studies on asymmetric reactions catalyzed in confined achiral cavities.