$$\rightleftharpoonup{xx}$$
$$\longleftharp{xx}$$,
$$\longrightharp{xx}$$,
Despite recent discoveries using highly-functionalized spirocyclic heterocycles in a number of biological systems1, a convenient pathway is still necessary for their easy manufacture. Such systems and uses for these heterocycles include: MDM2 inhibition and other anticancer activities2,3,4,5, enzyme inhibition6,7,8, antibiotic activity9,10, fluorescent tagging10,11,12, enantioselective binding for DNA probes13,14,15 and RNA targeting16, along with numerous potential applications to therapeutics17,18,19. With an increasing demand for these heterocycles, current literature remains divided about which synthetic pathway is best. Modern synthetic approaches to this problem use isatin and isatin derivatives as starting materials for a variety of heterocycles20,21, complicated intramolecular rearrangements22,23,24,25, Lewis acid1,26,27 or transition metal catalysis17,28,29,30, or asymmetric processes31. While these procedures have had success in producing specific spirocyclic oximes with limited functionality, a synthetic strategy for producing a library of molecules with high diastereoselectivity has been explored relatively less32.
The technique presented here shows that these molecules of interest can be generated using a number of well-understood synthetic techniques in tandem. Starting with the synthesis of the molecule on a solid support using a REM linker and intramolecular silyl nitronate-olefin cycloaddition (ISOC), the proposed pathway deploys a nonlinear route, characterized by bond severing in a tricyclic system, leaving a highly functionalized heterocycle. REM linkers, known for their convenience and recyclability, utilize a solid support to synthesize tertiary amines33. Due to the ease of purification accredited to the REM linker via simple filtration, this solid-phase synthesis technique provides scientists with a recyclable and traceless linker, which has been used here. Once the reaction is complete, the REM linker is regenerated and can be reused multiple times. The REM linker is also traceless because, unlike many solid-phase linkers, the point of attachment between the product and the polymer is indistinguishable34,35. Also well-studied and understood is the ISOC reaction, useful in the synthesis of pyrrolidine oximes36,37. Perhaps better known as a 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition, these reactions form a number of heterocycles with high diastereoselectivity38,39,40,41,42,43,44,45. Using the modified REM-coupled-ISOC technique for the synthesis of spirocyclic molecules yields a highly diastereoselective product.Herein, we report on the efficient production of spirocyclic oximes using a new synthetic approach, combining two well-understood pathways and readily available starting materials.