Stereoselective synthesis of meso-2,6-diaminopimelic acid and its selectively protected derivatives

Four synthetic routes to selectively protected derivatives and isomers of meso-diaminopimelic acid (DAP) (1a), a key constituent of bacterial peptidoglycan, were investigated. N-(tert-butyloxycarbonyl)-D-allylglycine (2) and N-(benzyloxycarbonyl)-L-allylglycine (4) were esterified to ethylene glycol and cyclized via olefin metathesis to a protected derivative 7 of 2,7-diaminosuberic acid. Analogous linking of propane-1,3-diol with 2 and potential precursors of N-(benzyloxycarbonyl)-L-vinylglycine moieties, such as N-(benzyloxycarbonyl)-L-glutamate or N-(benzyloxycarbonyl)-L-methionine sulfoxide, gave 12 or 15, both of which produced the alpha,beta-unsaturated ester 14 upon attempted generation of the vinylglycine precursor for olefin metathesis to DAP derivatives. An alternative route, based on SnCl4-catalyzed ene reaction of methyl N-(benzyloxycarbonyl)-L-allylglycinate (18) with glyoxylate esters of phenylcyclohexanol isomers as chiral auxiliaries, gave ca. 85:15 ratios of diastereomeric alcohols (19 or 20). These could be transformed to DAP derivatives in a series of steps employing azide displacement of corresponding mesylates to introduce the second nitrogen. A third method, involving reduction of pure dimethyl (6S)-2-keto-6-[N-(benzyloxycarbonyl)amino]pimelate (32) to the corresponding alcohol 33 with (S)-binaphthol-ruthenium catalyst as the key step, gives a 79:21 isomeric ratio. The fourth route employs the bis(oxazoline)-copper complex 41 as a chiral catalyst for the ene reaction of methyl (S)-4-(phenylthio)allylglycinate (39) and methyl glyoxylate to afford 42 in 94:6 isomeric ratio. Nickel boride removal of sulfur and the double bond in the presence of the Cbz group gives the desired alcohol, dimethyl (2S,6S)-6-[N(benzyloxycarbonyl)amino]-2-hydroxyheptane-1,7-dioate (33). The required selectively protected second nitrogen is introduced using Mitsunobu inversion with N-tert-butyl [[2-(trimethylsilyl)ethyl]sulfonyl]carbamate (34) as a key step.