Synthesis of Chiral, Enantiopure Allylic Amines by the Julia Olefination of α-Amino Esters

The four-step conversion of a series of N-Boc-protected l-amino acid methyl esters into enantiopure N-Boc allylamines by a modified Julia olefination is described. Key steps include the reaction of a lithiated phenylalkylsulfone with amino esters, giving chiral β-ketosulfones, and the reductive elimination of related α-acetoxysulfones. The overall transformation takes place under mild conditions, with good yields, and without loss of stereochemical integrity, being in this respect superior to the conventional Julia reaction of α-amino aldehydes.

Considerable effort has been devoted to the asymmetric synthesis of α-chiral allylamines, resulting in the development of several approaches, among which the transition metal-catalyzed asymmetric allylic amination has been extensively documented [18][19][20].Other methods include the asymmetric vinylation of imines [21], the Overman rearrangement of allylic imidates [22], the On the other hand, the characteristic bifunctional unit can undergo a wide range of chemical transformations, thus making allylamines versatile building blocks in organic synthesis [1].Chiral allylamines, in particular, are valuable intermediates for the synthesis of a variety of chiral, enantiomerically-pure bioactive compounds [14][15][16][17].
In spite of recent advances in asymmetric synthesis, the olefination of α-amino aldehydes from the chiral pool is still an attractive alternative, as the starting materials can be obtained from the corresponding α-amino acids by several routes [26][27][28].The synthesis of chiral allylamines by the Wittig [29][30][31], Julia [32][33][34] and Peterson [35] olefination of α-amino aldehydes has been reported, but these approaches are often limited by the chemical and configurational instability of α-amino aldehydes [27].
In the classical Julia reaction [36,37] (Scheme 1), a lithiated aryl alkyl sulfone is added to an aldehyde to give the corresponding α-hydroxysulfone A (pathway a).This, in turn, is converted into the target alkene by in situ acetylation and treatment of the resulting α-acetoxysulfone with sodium or magnesium amalgam [38] or SmI 2 [39].The same α-hydroxysulfone A, however, can be obtained in two steps by the acylation of the lithiated phenylalkylsulfone with an ester, followed by the reduction of the corresponding α-ketosulfone (Scheme 1, pathway b).Chiral allylamines may thus be obtained starting from readily-available α-amino esters that are chemically and configurationally more stable than α-amino aldehydes [40]; furthermore, the additional step of pathway b is not a limitation, as the latter compounds are generally prepared from the corresponding esters in at least one step [26].asymmetric hydrogenation of dienamines [23], the transition metal-catalyzed asymmetric allylic C-H amination [24] and the nitroso-ene reaction [25].
In spite of recent advances in asymmetric synthesis, the olefination of α-amino aldehydes from the chiral pool is still an attractive alternative, as the starting materials can be obtained from the corresponding α-amino acids by several routes [26][27][28].The synthesis of chiral allylamines by the Wittig [29][30][31], Julia [32][33][34] and Peterson [35] olefination of α-amino aldehydes has been reported, but these approaches are often limited by the chemical and configurational instability of α-amino aldehydes [27].
In the classical Julia reaction [36,37] (Scheme 1), a lithiated aryl alkyl sulfone is added to an aldehyde to give the corresponding α-hydroxysulfone A (pathway a).This, in turn, is converted into the target alkene by in situ acetylation and treatment of the resulting α-acetoxysulfone with sodium or magnesium amalgam [38] or SmI2 [39].The same α-hydroxysulfone A, however, can be obtained in two steps by the acylation of the lithiated phenylalkylsulfone with an ester, followed by the reduction of the corresponding α-ketosulfone (Scheme 1, pathway b).Chiral allylamines may thus be obtained starting from readily-available α-amino esters that are chemically and configurationally more stable than α-amino aldehydes [40]; furthermore, the additional step of pathway b is not a limitation, as the latter compounds are generally prepared from the corresponding esters in at least one step [26].This variant of the Julia reaction has been used in the synthesis of E-alkene dipeptide isosteres [41,42], but its wider scope and general applicability is still unexplored.In this paper, we demonstrate that the α-aminoester Julia olefination is a convenient method for the synthesis of terminal and disubstituted allylamines (Scheme 2).Scheme 2. Julia olefination of chiral α-amino esters.This variant of the Julia reaction has been used in the synthesis of E-alkene dipeptide isosteres [41,42], but its wider scope and general applicability is still unexplored.In this paper, we demonstrate that the α-aminoester Julia olefination is a convenient method for the synthesis of terminal and disubstituted allylamines (Scheme 2).
In spite of recent advances in asymmetric synthesis, the olefination of α-amino aldehydes from the chiral pool is still an attractive alternative, as the starting materials can be obtained from the corresponding α-amino acids by several routes [26][27][28].The synthesis of chiral allylamines by the Wittig [29][30][31], Julia [32][33][34] and Peterson [35] olefination of α-amino aldehydes has been reported, but these approaches are often limited by the chemical and configurational instability of α-amino aldehydes [27].
In the classical Julia reaction [36,37] (Scheme 1), a lithiated aryl alkyl sulfone is added to an aldehyde to give the corresponding α-hydroxysulfone A (pathway a).This, in turn, is converted into the target alkene by in situ acetylation and treatment of the resulting α-acetoxysulfone with sodium or magnesium amalgam [38] or SmI2 [39].The same α-hydroxysulfone A, however, can be obtained in two steps by the acylation of the lithiated phenylalkylsulfone with an ester, followed by the reduction of the corresponding α-ketosulfone (Scheme 1, pathway b).Chiral allylamines may thus be obtained starting from readily-available α-amino esters that are chemically and configurationally more stable than α-amino aldehydes [40]; furthermore, the additional step of pathway b is not a limitation, as the latter compounds are generally prepared from the corresponding esters in at least one step [26].This variant of the Julia reaction has been used in the synthesis of E-alkene dipeptide isosteres [41,42], but its wider scope and general applicability is still unexplored.In this paper, we demonstrate that the α-aminoester Julia olefination is a convenient method for the synthesis of terminal and disubstituted allylamines (Scheme 2).Scheme 2. Julia olefination of chiral α-amino esters.

Results and Discussion
The synthesis starts with the reaction between N-Boc amino esters 1 and lithiated phenylmethylsulfone 2a, giving the corresponding ketosulfones 3. The experimental conditions for this key step were initially optimized, with respect to yields and ee, using N-Boc alanine methyl ester 1a as the substrate (    The synthesis starts with the reaction between N-Boc amino esters 1 and lithiated phenylmethylsulfone 2a, giving the corresponding ketosulfones 3. The experimental conditions for this key step were initially optimized, with respect to yields and ee, using N-Boc alanine methyl ester 1a as the substrate (    a By addition of 1a to lithiated 2a; b ee determined after conversion to the allylamine 6a; c By the reverse addition of a suspension of lithiated 2a to 1a. Addition of 1a to one equivalent of lithiated phenylmethylsulfone 2a, even in the presence of two equivalents of n-BuLi as originally suggested by Lygo [42,44], resulted in a partial conversion into the ketosulfone 3a (Table 1, Entries 1 and 2).The low yields are likely due to the presence of ionizable protons, both in the starting amino ester (NHBoc) and in the ketosulfone product (methylene) that can exchange with lithiated 2a.The yield improved when an excess of BuLi and 2a was employed (Entries 3 and 4); under these conditions, however, the enantiomeric purity of the ketosulfone 3a was modest.The use of TMEDA in association with butyllithium [45] (Entry 6) and of other base systems (Entries 7, 8) was not successful.The best results were eventually obtained with two equivalents of sulfone and four equivalents of butyl lithium [46,47], with the resulting yellow suspension added to the amino ester 1a, at −78 °C under argon.In this case, complete conversion into the ketosulfone 3a was achieved, which was isolated in excellent yield and enantiomeric purity (Entry 9).It has been suggested that, under similar conditions, the dilithiated sulfone 8 is formed and is the reactive nucleophile [46,47].It seems more likely, however, that the monolithiated species 9 is formed following H/Li exchange with the protected aminoester (Scheme 3) and is the actual nucleophile.A second equivalent of 8 is then required for a further H/Li exchange giving the dilithiated product 12, in agreement with the observed stoichiometry.The optimized reaction conditions were then applied to the N-Boc-amino esters 1b-f (Table 2), giving the corresponding ketosulfones 3 in good to excellent yields and ee, with the only exception of the protected tyrosine methyl ester 1f; repeated attempts under several reaction conditions invariably led to a significant loss in enantiomeric purity for this compound.With L-proline methyl Entry 2a (equiv.)Base (equiv.)T ( ˝C) Yield a % ee a,b % a By addition of 1a to lithiated 2a; b ee determined after conversion to the allylamine 6a; c By the reverse addition of a suspension of lithiated 2a to 1a.
Addition of 1a to one equivalent of lithiated phenylmethylsulfone 2a, even in the presence of two equivalents of n-BuLi as originally suggested by Lygo [42,44], resulted in a partial conversion into the ketosulfone 3a (Table 1, Entries 1 and 2).The low yields are likely due to the presence of ionizable protons, both in the starting amino ester (NHBoc) and in the ketosulfone product (methylene) that can exchange with lithiated 2a.The yield improved when an excess of BuLi and 2a was employed (Entries 3 and 4); under these conditions, however, the enantiomeric purity of the ketosulfone 3a was modest.The use of TMEDA in association with butyllithium [45] (Entry 6) and of other base systems (Entries 7, 8) was not successful.The best results were eventually obtained with two equivalents of sulfone and four equivalents of butyl lithium [46,47], with the resulting yellow suspension added to the amino ester 1a, at ´78 ˝C under argon.In this case, complete conversion into the ketosulfone 3a was achieved, which was isolated in excellent yield and enantiomeric purity (Entry 9).It has been suggested that, under similar conditions, the dilithiated sulfone 8 is formed and is the reactive nucleophile [46,47].It seems more likely, however, that the monolithiated species 9 is formed following H/Li exchange with the protected aminoester (Scheme 3) and is the actual nucleophile.A second equivalent of 8 is then required for a further H/Li exchange giving the dilithiated product 12, in agreement with the observed stoichiometry.The synthesis starts with the reaction between N-Boc amino esters 1 and lithiated phenylmethylsulfone 2a, giving the corresponding ketosulfones 3. The experimental conditions for this key step were initially optimized, with respect to yields and ee, using N-Boc alanine methyl ester 1a as the substrate (Table 1) [43].a By addition of 1a to lithiated 2a; b ee determined after conversion to the allylamine 6a; c By the reverse addition of a suspension of lithiated 2a to 1a.
Addition of 1a to one equivalent of lithiated phenylmethylsulfone 2a, even in the presence of two equivalents of n-BuLi as originally suggested by Lygo [42,44], resulted in a partial conversion into the ketosulfone 3a (Table 1, Entries 1 and 2).The low yields are likely due to the presence of ionizable protons, both in the starting amino ester (NHBoc) and in the ketosulfone product (methylene) that can exchange with lithiated 2a.The yield improved when an excess of BuLi and 2a was employed (Entries 3 and 4); under these conditions, however, the enantiomeric purity of the ketosulfone 3a was modest.The use of TMEDA in association with butyllithium [45] (Entry 6) and of other base systems (Entries 7, 8) was not successful.The best results were eventually obtained with two equivalents of sulfone and four equivalents of butyl lithium [46,47], with the resulting yellow suspension added to the amino ester 1a, at −78 °C under argon.In this case, complete conversion into the ketosulfone 3a was achieved, which was isolated in excellent yield and enantiomeric purity (Entry 9).It has been suggested that, under similar conditions, the dilithiated sulfone 8 is formed and is the reactive nucleophile [46,47].It seems more likely, however, that the monolithiated species 9 is formed following H/Li exchange with the protected aminoester (Scheme 3) and is the actual nucleophile.A second equivalent of 8 is then required for a further H/Li exchange giving the dilithiated product 12, in agreement with the observed stoichiometry.The optimized reaction conditions were then applied to the N-Boc-amino esters 1b-f (Table 2), giving the corresponding ketosulfones 3 in good to excellent yields and ee, with the only exception of the protected tyrosine methyl ester 1f; repeated attempts under several reaction conditions invariably led to a significant loss in enantiomeric purity for this compound.With L-proline methyl Scheme 3. Reactions of mono-and bis-lithiated sulfones.
The optimized reaction conditions were then applied to the N-Boc-amino esters 1b-f (Table 2), giving the corresponding ketosulfones 3 in good to excellent yields and ee, with the only exception of the protected tyrosine methyl ester 1f; repeated attempts under several reaction conditions invariably led to a significant loss in enantiomeric purity for this compound.With L-proline methyl ester 1g (Entry 7), where no ionizable protons are present, the best optical purity, albeit at the expenses of a lower yield, was obtained by using two equivalents of PhSO 2 Me and BuLi with respect to the aminoester, whereas racemization was observed by employing the usual conditions.This further confirms that the reactive nucleophile in the reaction with the amino esters is the monolithiated species PhSO 2 CH 2 Li, as suggested above (Scheme 3).ester 1g (Entry 7), where no ionizable protons are present, the best optical purity, albeit at the expenses of a lower yield, was obtained by using two equivalents of PhSO2Me and BuLi with respect to the aminoester, whereas racemization was observed by employing the usual conditions.This further confirms that the reactive nucleophile in the reaction with the amino esters is the monolithiated species PhSO2CH2Li, as suggested above (Scheme 3).Finally, the same conditions were applied to the reaction of amino esters 1e and 1g with phenylethylsulfone 2b (Table 2, Entries 8 and 9), giving the corresponding ketosulfones 3h and 3i, as mixtures of diastereoisomers, in excellent yield.
The ketosulfones 3a-g thus obtained were reduced with NaBH4 (Scheme 2), giving quantitatively the α-hydroxysulfones 4a-g as mixtures of syn (S,S) and anti (S,R) diastereoisomers in ratios from approximately 10:1 for branched Compounds 4b-d (Val, Leu, Ile) to 3:1 for compounds having linear side chains 4a,e,f (Ala, Phe, Tyr) to 1.5:1 for 4g (Pro), in agreement with previous findings [48].No attempts were made to optimize the stereoselectivity, as the newly-formed stereogenic center is lost in the final step of the synthesis.Not surprisingly, complex mixtures containing all four possible diastereoisomers were obtained in the reduction of ketosulfones 3h and 3i.
Conversion of hydroxysulfones 4 into the allylamines 6 follows the standard protocol of the Julia reaction.Thus, the alcohols 4 were acetylated with acetic anhydride and DMAP, and the corresponding acetoxysulfones 5 were converted to the target aminoalkenes 6 in the final reductive elimination, promoted by sodium amalgam [36] or in situ generated magnesium amalgam [38] (Scheme 2, Table 3).The two methods were shown to proceed with comparable yields and ee, except for 5f: in this case, sodium amalgam caused the deprotection of the phenol group, leading directly to the allylamine 6f′, while the O-protected product 6f was smoothly obtained with magnesium amalgam.Finally, the same conditions were applied to the reaction of amino esters 1e and 1g with phenylethylsulfone 2b (Table 2, Entries 8 and 9), giving the corresponding ketosulfones 3h and 3i, as mixtures of diastereoisomers, in excellent yield.
The ketosulfones 3a-g thus obtained were reduced with NaBH 4 (Scheme 2), giving quantitatively the α-hydroxysulfones 4a-g as mixtures of syn (S,S) and anti (S,R) diastereoisomers in ratios from approximately 10:1 for branched Compounds 4b-d (Val, Leu, Ile) to 3:1 for compounds having linear side chains 4a,e,f (Ala, Phe, Tyr) to 1.5:1 for 4g (Pro), in agreement with previous findings [48].No attempts were made to optimize the stereoselectivity, as the newly-formed stereogenic center is lost in the final step of the synthesis.Not surprisingly, complex mixtures containing all four possible diastereoisomers were obtained in the reduction of ketosulfones 3h and 3i.
Conversion of hydroxysulfones 4 into the allylamines 6 follows the standard protocol of the Julia reaction.Thus, the alcohols 4 were acetylated with acetic anhydride and DMAP, and the corresponding acetoxysulfones 5 were converted to the target aminoalkenes 6 in the final reductive elimination, promoted by sodium amalgam [36] or in situ generated magnesium amalgam [38] (Scheme 2, Table 3).The two methods were shown to proceed with comparable yields and ee, except for 5f: in this case, sodium amalgam caused the deprotection of the phenol group, leading directly to the allylamine 6f 1 , while the O-protected product 6f was smoothly obtained with magnesium amalgam.The Julia reaction is known to favor the formation of the E isomer, when leading to disubstituted alkenes [36,37].Accordingly, when substituted acetates 5h,i were subjected to reductive elimination with Na(Hg), the corresponding allylamines 6h,i were obtained as 4:1 mixtures of E and Z isomers, as determined by NMR.A complete list of the allylamines synthesized in this work with overall yields and enantiomeric excess is reported in Table 3.

Experimental Section
Glassware was thoroughly oven-dried for reactions using anhydrous conditions.THF was distilled over sodium benzophenone ketyl, under argon; CH2Cl2 and EtOH were distilled over CaH2 under argon.Yields refer to chromatographically and spectroscopically ( 1 H-NMR) homogeneous materials.Reactions were monitored by TLC carried out on silica gel plates using UV light as the visualizing agent and KMnO4 as the developing agent.Silica gel 60 (230−400 mesh) was used for flash column chromatography.NMR spectra were recorded on a Varian 500 MHz spectrometer in CDCl3, unless otherwise stated, at 500 MHz ( 1 H) and 125.68 MHz ( 13 C); chemical shifts are in ppm (δ) with chloroform as the reference (δ = 7.26 for 1 H-NMR and 77.16 for 13 C-NMR).Coupling constants J are given in hertz. 1 H and 13 C-NMR resonances were assigned using a combination of DEPT, COSY and HSQC spectra.Infrared spectra were recorded as thin film or Nujol mull on NaCl plates on a Nicolet Avatar FT-IR spectrometer (Thermo Fisher Scientific, Waltham, MA, USA).Melting points are uncorrected.Electrospray (ESI) mass spectra were obtained on a Bruker Daltonics Esquire 4000 spectrometer (Bruker Corporation, Billerica, MA, USA).HRMS analyses were carried out in the ESI mode on a TOF-MS instrument (Bruker Corporation).Enantiomeric excesses were determined by Chiral High Resolution GC analyses on γ-or β-cyclodextrin capillary columns and, for compounds 3f and 6f only, by chiral high pressure liquid chromatography on a Cellulose2 column, with a UV detector operating at λ = 280 nm, eluting with nHex/iPrOH 9:1.Optical rotations were measured at 25 °C with a Jasco P-2000 polarimeter (Jasco Inc, Easton, MD, USA).Commercial reagents and solvents were purchased from Sigma-Aldrich (Milan, Italy); PhSO2Me and PhSO2Et were prepared  The Julia reaction is known to favor the formation of the E isomer, when leading to disubstituted alkenes [36,37].Accordingly, when substituted acetates 5h,i were subjected to reductive elimination with Na(Hg), the corresponding allylamines 6h,i were obtained as 4:1 mixtures of E and Z isomers, as determined by NMR.A complete list of the allylamines synthesized in this work with overall yields and enantiomeric excess is reported in Table 3.

Experimental Section
Glassware was thoroughly oven-dried for reactions using anhydrous conditions.THF was distilled over sodium benzophenone ketyl, under argon; CH2Cl2 and EtOH were distilled over CaH2 under argon.Yields refer to chromatographically and spectroscopically ( 1 H-NMR) homogeneous materials.Reactions were monitored by TLC carried out on silica gel plates using UV light as the visualizing agent and KMnO4 as the developing agent.Silica gel 60 (230−400 mesh) was used for flash column chromatography.NMR spectra were recorded on a Varian 500 MHz spectrometer in CDCl3, unless otherwise stated, at 500 MHz ( 1 H) and 125.68 MHz ( 13 C); chemical shifts are in ppm (δ) with chloroform as the reference (δ = 7.26 for 1 H-NMR and 77.16 for 13 C-NMR).Coupling constants J are given in hertz. 1 H and 13 C-NMR resonances were assigned using a combination of DEPT, COSY and HSQC spectra.Infrared spectra were recorded as thin film or Nujol mull on NaCl plates on a Nicolet Avatar FT-IR spectrometer (Thermo Fisher Scientific, Waltham, MA, USA).Melting points are uncorrected.Electrospray (ESI) mass spectra were obtained on a Bruker Daltonics Esquire 4000 spectrometer (Bruker Corporation, Billerica, MA, USA).HRMS analyses were carried out in the ESI mode on a TOF-MS instrument (Bruker Corporation).Enantiomeric excesses were determined by Chiral High Resolution GC analyses on γ-or β-cyclodextrin capillary columns and, for compounds 3f and 6f only, by chiral high pressure liquid chromatography on a Cellulose2 column, with a UV detector operating at λ = 280 nm, eluting with nHex/iPrOH 9:1.Optical rotations were measured at 25 °C with a Jasco P-2000 polarimeter (Jasco Inc, Easton, MD, USA).Commercial reagents and solvents were purchased from Sigma-Aldrich (Milan, Italy); PhSO2Me and PhSO2Et were prepared  The Julia reaction is known to favor the formation of the E isomer, when leading to disubstituted alkenes [36,37].Accordingly, when substituted acetates 5h,i were subjected to reductive elimination with Na(Hg), the corresponding allylamines 6h,i were obtained as 4:1 mixtures of E and Z isomers, as determined by NMR.A complete list of the allylamines synthesized in this work with overall yields and enantiomeric excess is reported in Table 3.

Experimental Section
Glassware was thoroughly oven-dried for reactions using anhydrous conditions.THF was distilled over sodium benzophenone ketyl, under argon; CH2Cl2 and EtOH were distilled over CaH2 under argon.Yields refer to chromatographically and spectroscopically ( 1 H-NMR) homogeneous materials.Reactions were monitored by TLC carried out on silica gel plates using UV light as the visualizing agent and KMnO4 as the developing agent.Silica gel 60 (230−400 mesh) was used for flash column chromatography.NMR spectra were recorded on a Varian 500 MHz spectrometer in CDCl3, unless otherwise stated, at 500 MHz ( 1 H) and 125.68 MHz ( 13 C); chemical shifts are in ppm (δ) with chloroform as the reference (δ = 7.26 for 1 H-NMR and 77.16 for 13 C-NMR).Coupling constants J are given in hertz. 1 H and 13 C-NMR resonances were assigned using a combination of DEPT, COSY and HSQC spectra.Infrared spectra were recorded as thin film or Nujol mull on NaCl plates on a Nicolet Avatar FT-IR spectrometer (Thermo Fisher Scientific, Waltham, MA, USA).Melting points are uncorrected.Electrospray (ESI) mass spectra were obtained on a Bruker Daltonics Esquire 4000 spectrometer (Bruker Corporation, Billerica, MA, USA).HRMS analyses were carried out in the ESI mode on a TOF-MS instrument (Bruker Corporation).Enantiomeric excesses were determined by Chiral High Resolution GC analyses on γ-or β-cyclodextrin capillary columns and, for compounds 3f and 6f only, by chiral high pressure liquid chromatography on a Cellulose2 column, with a UV detector operating at λ = 280 nm, eluting with nHex/iPrOH 9:1.Optical rotations were measured at 25 °C with a Jasco P-2000 polarimeter (Jasco Inc, Easton, MD, USA).Commercial reagents and solvents were purchased from Sigma-Aldrich (Milan, Italy); PhSO2Me and PhSO2Et were prepared Molecules 2016, 21, 805 5 of 15 The Julia reaction is known to favor the formation of the E isomer, when leading to disubstituted alkenes [36,37].Accordingly, when substituted acetates 5h,i were subjected to reductive elimination with Na(Hg), the corresponding allylamines 6h,i were obtained as 4:1 mixtures of E and Z isomers, as determined by NMR.A complete list of the allylamines synthesized in this work with overall yields and enantiomeric excess is reported in Table 3.

Experimental Section
Glassware was thoroughly oven-dried for reactions using anhydrous conditions.THF was distilled over sodium benzophenone ketyl, under argon; CH2Cl2 and EtOH were distilled over CaH2 under argon.Yields refer to chromatographically and spectroscopically ( 1 H-NMR) homogeneous materials.Reactions were monitored by TLC carried out on silica gel plates using UV light as the visualizing agent and KMnO4 as the developing agent.Silica gel 60 (230−400 mesh) was used for flash column chromatography.NMR spectra were recorded on a Varian 500 MHz spectrometer in CDCl3, unless otherwise stated, at 500 MHz ( 1 H) and 125.68 MHz ( 13 C); chemical shifts are in ppm (δ) with chloroform as the reference (δ = 7.26 for 1 H-NMR and 77.16 for 13 C-NMR).Coupling constants J are given in hertz. 1 H and 13 C-NMR resonances were assigned using a combination of DEPT, COSY and HSQC spectra.Infrared spectra were recorded as thin film or Nujol mull on NaCl plates on a Nicolet Avatar FT-IR spectrometer (Thermo Fisher Scientific, Waltham, MA, USA).Melting points are uncorrected.Electrospray (ESI) mass spectra were obtained on a Bruker Daltonics Esquire 4000 spectrometer (Bruker Corporation, Billerica, MA, USA).HRMS analyses were carried out in the ESI mode on a TOF-MS instrument (Bruker Corporation).Enantiomeric excesses were determined by Chiral High Resolution GC analyses on γ-or β-cyclodextrin capillary columns and, for compounds 3f and 6f only, by chiral high pressure liquid chromatography on a Cellulose2 column, with a UV detector operating at λ = 280 nm, eluting with nHex/iPrOH 9:1.Optical rotations were measured at 25 °C with a Jasco P-2000 polarimeter (Jasco Inc, Easton, MD, USA).Commercial reagents and solvents were purchased from Sigma-Aldrich (Milan, Italy); PhSO2Me and PhSO2Et were prepared  The Julia reaction is known to favor the formation of the E isomer, when leading to disubstituted alkenes [36,37].Accordingly, when substituted acetates 5h,i were subjected to reductive elimination with Na(Hg), the corresponding allylamines 6h,i were obtained as 4:1 mixtures of E and Z isomers, as determined by NMR.A complete list of the allylamines synthesized in this work with overall yields and enantiomeric excess is reported in Table 3.

Experimental Section
Glassware was thoroughly oven-dried for reactions using anhydrous conditions.THF was distilled over sodium benzophenone ketyl, under argon; CH2Cl2 and EtOH were distilled over CaH2 under argon.Yields refer to chromatographically and spectroscopically ( 1 H-NMR) homogeneous materials.Reactions were monitored by TLC carried out on silica gel plates using UV light as the visualizing agent and KMnO4 as the developing agent.Silica gel 60 (230−400 mesh) was used for flash column chromatography.NMR spectra were recorded on a Varian 500 MHz spectrometer in CDCl3, unless otherwise stated, at 500 MHz ( 1 H) and 125.68 MHz ( 13 C); chemical shifts are in ppm (δ) with chloroform as the reference (δ = 7.26 for 1 H-NMR and 77.16 for 13 C-NMR).Coupling constants J are given in hertz. 1 H and 13 C-NMR resonances were assigned using a combination of DEPT, COSY and HSQC spectra.Infrared spectra were recorded as thin film or Nujol mull on NaCl plates on a Nicolet Avatar FT-IR spectrometer (Thermo Fisher Scientific, Waltham, MA, USA).Melting points are uncorrected.Electrospray (ESI) mass spectra were obtained on a Bruker Daltonics Esquire 4000 spectrometer (Bruker Corporation, Billerica, MA, USA).HRMS analyses were carried out in the ESI mode on a TOF-MS instrument (Bruker Corporation).Enantiomeric excesses were determined by Chiral High Resolution GC analyses on γ-or β-cyclodextrin capillary columns and, for compounds 3f and 6f only, by chiral high pressure liquid chromatography on a Cellulose2 column, with a UV detector operating at λ = 280 nm, eluting with nHex/iPrOH 9:1.Optical rotations were measured at 25 °C with a Jasco P-2000 polarimeter (Jasco Inc, Easton, MD, USA).Commercial reagents and solvents were purchased from Sigma-Aldrich (Milan, Italy); PhSO2Me and PhSO2Et were prepared Molecules 2016, 21, 805 5 of 15 The Julia reaction is known to favor the formation of the E isomer, when leading to disubstituted alkenes [36,37].Accordingly, when substituted acetates 5h,i were subjected to reductive elimination with Na(Hg), the corresponding allylamines 6h,i were obtained as 4:1 mixtures of E and Z isomers, as determined by NMR.A complete list of the allylamines synthesized in this work with overall yields and enantiomeric excess is reported in Table 3.

Experimental Section
Glassware was thoroughly oven-dried for reactions using anhydrous conditions.THF was distilled over sodium benzophenone ketyl, under argon; CH2Cl2 and EtOH were distilled over CaH2 under argon.Yields refer to chromatographically and spectroscopically ( 1 H-NMR) homogeneous materials.Reactions were monitored by TLC carried out on silica gel plates using UV light as the visualizing agent and KMnO4 as the developing agent.Silica gel 60 (230−400 mesh) was used for flash column chromatography.NMR spectra were recorded on a Varian 500 MHz spectrometer in CDCl3, unless otherwise stated, at 500 MHz ( 1 H) and 125.68 MHz ( 13 C); chemical shifts are in ppm (δ) with chloroform as the reference (δ = 7.26 for 1 H-NMR and 77.16 for 13 C-NMR).Coupling constants J are given in hertz. 1 H and 13 C-NMR resonances were assigned using a combination of DEPT, COSY and HSQC spectra.Infrared spectra were recorded as thin film or Nujol mull on NaCl plates on a Nicolet Avatar FT-IR spectrometer (Thermo Fisher Scientific, Waltham, MA, USA).Melting points are uncorrected.Electrospray (ESI) mass spectra were obtained on a Bruker Daltonics Esquire 4000 spectrometer (Bruker Corporation, Billerica, MA, USA).HRMS analyses were carried out in the ESI mode on a TOF-MS instrument (Bruker Corporation).Enantiomeric excesses were determined by Chiral High Resolution GC analyses on γ-or β-cyclodextrin capillary columns and, for compounds 3f and 6f only, by chiral high pressure liquid chromatography on a Cellulose2 column, with a UV detector operating at λ = 280 nm, eluting with nHex/iPrOH 9:1.Optical rotations were measured at 25 °C with a Jasco P-2000 polarimeter (Jasco Inc, Easton, MD, USA).Commercial reagents and solvents were purchased from Sigma-Aldrich (Milan, Italy); PhSO2Me and PhSO2Et were prepared  The Julia reaction is known to favor the formation of the E isomer, when leading to disubstituted alkenes [36,37].Accordingly, when substituted acetates 5h,i were subjected to reductive elimination with Na(Hg), the corresponding allylamines 6h,i were obtained as 4:1 mixtures of E and Z isomers, as determined by NMR.A complete list of the allylamines synthesized in this work with overall yields and enantiomeric excess is reported in Table 3.

Experimental Section
Glassware was thoroughly oven-dried for reactions using anhydrous conditions.THF was distilled over sodium benzophenone ketyl, under argon; CH2Cl2 and EtOH were distilled over CaH2 under argon.Yields refer to chromatographically and spectroscopically ( 1 H-NMR) homogeneous materials.Reactions were monitored by TLC carried out on silica gel plates using UV light as the visualizing agent and KMnO4 as the developing agent.Silica gel 60 (230−400 mesh) was used for flash column chromatography.NMR spectra were recorded on a Varian 500 MHz spectrometer in CDCl3, unless otherwise stated, at 500 MHz ( 1 H) and 125.68 MHz ( 13 C); chemical shifts are in ppm (δ) with chloroform as the reference (δ = 7.26 for 1 H-NMR and 77.16 for 13 C-NMR).Coupling constants J are given in hertz. 1 H and 13 C-NMR resonances were assigned using a combination of DEPT, COSY and HSQC spectra.Infrared spectra were recorded as thin film or Nujol mull on NaCl plates on a Nicolet Avatar FT-IR spectrometer (Thermo Fisher Scientific, Waltham, MA, USA).Melting points are uncorrected.Electrospray (ESI) mass spectra were obtained on a Bruker Daltonics Esquire 4000 spectrometer (Bruker Corporation, Billerica, MA, USA).HRMS analyses were carried out in the ESI mode on a TOF-MS instrument (Bruker Corporation).Enantiomeric excesses were determined by Chiral High Resolution GC analyses on γ-or β-cyclodextrin capillary columns and, for compounds 3f and 6f only, by chiral high pressure liquid chromatography on a Cellulose2 column, with a UV detector operating at λ = 280 nm, eluting with nHex/iPrOH 9:1.Optical rotations were measured at 25 °C with a Jasco P-2000 polarimeter (Jasco Inc, Easton, MD, USA).Commercial reagents and solvents were purchased from Sigma-Aldrich (Milan, Italy); PhSO2Me and PhSO2Et were prepared  The Julia reaction is known to favor the formation of the E isomer, when leading to disubstituted alkenes [36,37].Accordingly, when substituted acetates 5h,i were subjected to reductive elimination with Na(Hg), the corresponding allylamines 6h,i were obtained as 4:1 mixtures of E and Z isomers, as determined by NMR.A complete list of the allylamines synthesized in this work with overall yields and enantiomeric excess is reported in Table 3.

Experimental Section
Glassware was thoroughly oven-dried for reactions using anhydrous conditions.THF was distilled over sodium benzophenone ketyl, under argon; CH2Cl2 and EtOH were distilled over CaH2 under argon.Yields refer to chromatographically and spectroscopically ( 1 H-NMR) homogeneous materials.Reactions were monitored by TLC carried out on silica gel plates using UV light as the visualizing agent and KMnO4 as the developing agent.Silica gel 60 (230−400 mesh) was used for flash column chromatography.NMR spectra were recorded on a Varian 500 MHz spectrometer in CDCl3, unless otherwise stated, at 500 MHz ( 1 H) and 125.68 MHz ( 13 C); chemical shifts are in ppm (δ) with chloroform as the reference (δ = 7.26 for 1 H-NMR and 77.16 for 13 C-NMR).Coupling constants J are given in hertz. 1 H and 13 C-NMR resonances were assigned using a combination of DEPT, COSY and HSQC spectra.Infrared spectra were recorded as thin film or Nujol mull on NaCl plates on a Nicolet Avatar FT-IR spectrometer (Thermo Fisher Scientific, Waltham, MA, USA).Melting points are uncorrected.Electrospray (ESI) mass spectra were obtained on a Bruker Daltonics Esquire 4000 spectrometer (Bruker Corporation, Billerica, MA, USA).HRMS analyses were carried out in the ESI mode on a TOF-MS instrument (Bruker Corporation).Enantiomeric excesses were determined by Chiral High Resolution GC analyses on γ-or β-cyclodextrin capillary columns and, for compounds 3f and 6f only, by chiral high pressure liquid chromatography on a Cellulose2 column, with a UV detector operating at λ = 280 nm, eluting with nHex/iPrOH 9:1.Optical rotations were measured at 25 °C with a Jasco P-2000 polarimeter (Jasco Inc, Easton, MD, USA).Commercial reagents and solvents were purchased from Sigma-Aldrich (Milan, Italy); PhSO2Me and PhSO2Et were prepared  The Julia reaction is known to favor the formation of the E isomer, when leading to disubstituted alkenes [36,37].Accordingly, when substituted acetates 5h,i were subjected to reductive elimination with Na(Hg), the corresponding allylamines 6h,i were obtained as 4:1 mixtures of E and Z isomers, as determined by NMR.A complete list of the allylamines synthesized in this work with overall yields and enantiomeric excess is reported in Table 3.

Experimental Section
Glassware was thoroughly oven-dried for reactions using anhydrous conditions.THF was distilled over sodium benzophenone ketyl, under argon; CH2Cl2 and EtOH were distilled over CaH2 under argon.Yields refer to chromatographically and spectroscopically ( 1 H-NMR) homogeneous materials.Reactions were monitored by TLC carried out on silica gel plates using UV light as the visualizing agent and KMnO4 as the developing agent.Silica gel 60 (230−400 mesh) was used for flash column chromatography.NMR spectra were recorded on a Varian 500 MHz spectrometer in CDCl3, unless otherwise stated, at 500 MHz ( 1 H) and 125.68 MHz ( 13 C); chemical shifts are in ppm (δ) with chloroform as the reference (δ = 7.26 for 1 H-NMR and 77.16 for 13 C-NMR).Coupling constants J are given in hertz. 1 H and 13 C-NMR resonances were assigned using a combination of DEPT, COSY and HSQC spectra.Infrared spectra were recorded as thin film or Nujol mull on NaCl plates on a Nicolet Avatar FT-IR spectrometer (Thermo Fisher Scientific, Waltham, MA, USA).Melting points are uncorrected.Electrospray (ESI) mass spectra were obtained on a Bruker Daltonics Esquire 4000 spectrometer (Bruker Corporation, Billerica, MA, USA).HRMS analyses were carried out in the ESI mode on a TOF-MS instrument (Bruker Corporation).Enantiomeric excesses were determined by Chiral High Resolution GC analyses on γ-or β-cyclodextrin capillary columns and, for compounds 3f and 6f only, by chiral high pressure liquid chromatography on a Cellulose2 column, with a UV detector operating at λ = 280 nm, eluting with nHex/iPrOH 9:1.Optical rotations were measured at 25 °C with a Jasco P-2000 polarimeter (Jasco Inc, Easton, MD, USA).Commercial reagents and solvents were purchased from Sigma-Aldrich (Milan, Italy); PhSO2Me and PhSO2Et were prepared Molecules 2016, 21, 805 5 of 15 The Julia reaction is known to favor the formation of the E isomer, when leading to disubstituted alkenes [36,37].Accordingly, when substituted acetates 5h,i were subjected to reductive elimination with Na(Hg), the corresponding allylamines 6h,i were obtained as 4:1 mixtures of E and Z isomers, as determined by NMR.A complete list of the allylamines synthesized in this work with overall yields and enantiomeric excess is reported in Table 3.

Experimental Section
Glassware was thoroughly oven-dried for reactions using anhydrous conditions.THF was distilled over sodium benzophenone ketyl, under argon; CH2Cl2 and EtOH were distilled over CaH2 under argon.Yields refer to chromatographically and spectroscopically ( 1 H-NMR) homogeneous materials.Reactions were monitored by TLC carried out on silica gel plates using UV light as the visualizing agent and KMnO4 as the developing agent.Silica gel 60 (230−400 mesh) was used for flash column chromatography.NMR spectra were recorded on a Varian 500 MHz spectrometer in CDCl3, unless otherwise stated, at 500 MHz ( 1 H) and 125.68 MHz ( 13 C); chemical shifts are in ppm (δ) with chloroform as the reference (δ = 7.26 for 1 H-NMR and 77.16 for 13 C-NMR).Coupling constants J are given in hertz. 1 H and 13 C-NMR resonances were assigned using a combination of DEPT, COSY and HSQC spectra.Infrared spectra were recorded as thin film or Nujol mull on NaCl plates on a Nicolet Avatar FT-IR spectrometer (Thermo Fisher Scientific, Waltham, MA, USA).Melting points are uncorrected.Electrospray (ESI) mass spectra were obtained on a Bruker Daltonics Esquire 4000 spectrometer (Bruker Corporation, Billerica, MA, USA).HRMS analyses were carried out in the ESI mode on a TOF-MS instrument (Bruker Corporation).Enantiomeric excesses were determined by Chiral High Resolution GC analyses on γ-or β-cyclodextrin capillary columns and, for compounds 3f and 6f only, by chiral high pressure liquid chromatography on a Cellulose2 column, with a UV detector operating at λ = 280 nm, eluting with nHex/iPrOH 9:1.Optical rotations were measured at 25 °C with a Jasco P-2000 polarimeter (Jasco Inc, Easton, MD, USA).Commercial reagents and solvents were purchased from Sigma-Aldrich (Milan, Italy); PhSO2Me and PhSO2Et were prepared The Julia reaction is known to favor the formation of the E isomer, when leading to disubstituted alkenes [36,37].Accordingly, when substituted acetates 5h,i were subjected to reductive elimination with Na(Hg), the corresponding allylamines 6h,i were obtained as 4:1 mixtures of E and Z isomers, as determined by NMR.A complete list of the allylamines synthesized in this work with overall yields and enantiomeric excess is reported in Table 3.

Experimental Section
Glassware was thoroughly oven-dried for reactions using anhydrous conditions.THF was distilled over sodium benzophenone ketyl, under argon; CH 2 Cl 2 and EtOH were distilled over CaH 2 under argon.Yields refer to chromatographically and spectroscopically ( 1 H-NMR) homogeneous materials.Reactions were monitored by TLC carried out on silica gel plates using UV light as the visualizing agent and KMnO 4 as the developing agent.Silica gel 60 (230´400 mesh) was used for flash column chromatography.NMR spectra were recorded on a Varian 500 MHz spectrometer in CDCl 3 , unless otherwise stated, at 500 MHz ( 1 H) and 125.68 MHz ( 13 C); chemical shifts are in ppm (δ) with chloroform as the reference (δ = 7.26 for 1 H-NMR and 77.16 for 13 C-NMR).Coupling constants J are given in hertz. 1 H and 13 C-NMR resonances were assigned using a combination of DEPT, COSY and HSQC spectra.Infrared spectra were recorded as thin film or Nujol mull on NaCl plates on a Nicolet Avatar FT-IR spectrometer (Thermo Fisher Scientific, Waltham, MA, USA).Melting points are uncorrected.Electrospray (ESI) mass spectra were obtained on a Bruker Daltonics Esquire 4000 spectrometer (Bruker Corporation, Billerica, MA, USA).HRMS analyses were carried out in the ESI mode on a TOF-MS instrument (Bruker Corporation).Enantiomeric excesses were determined by Chiral High Resolution GC analyses on γor β-cyclodextrin capillary columns and, for compounds 3f and 6f only, by chiral high pressure liquid chromatography on a Cellulose2 column, with a UV detector operating at λ = 280 nm, eluting with nHex/iPrOH 9:1.Optical rotations were measured at 25 ˝C with a Jasco P-2000 polarimeter (Jasco Inc, Easton, MD, USA).Commercial reagents and solvents were purchased from Sigma-Aldrich (Milan, Italy); PhSO 2 Me and PhSO 2 Et were prepared by reaction of sodium phenylsulfinate with the appropriate iodoalkane according to the literature [49].

Figure 1 .
Figure 1.Bioactive compounds based on the allylamine structure.

Figure 1 .
Figure 1.Bioactive compounds based on the allylamine structure.
´15 ˝C; b Overall yields from amino esters 1 in brackets; c By chiral HRGC; d From O-TBDMS protected sulfone 5f; e By chiral HPLC; f 80:20 mixture of E and Z isomers; g 85:15 mixture of E and Z isomers.