A-Acyliminium ion

The reaction of A-acyliminium ions with nucleophilic carbon atoms (also called cationic x-amidoalkylation) is a highly useful method for the synthesis of both nitrogen heterocycles and open-chain nitrogen compounds. A variety of carbon nucleophiles can be used, such as aromatic compounds, alkcncs, alkyncs, carbcnoids, and carbanions derived from active methylene compounds and organometallics. 

A number of comprehensive reviews1 6on the reaction of A-acyliminium ions, including detailed accounts of their application in alkaloid synthesis7- 8, have appeared. This section does not deal with [4 + 2] cycloaddition reactions of A -acyliminium ions these will be discussed in Section D.1.6.1.1. 

For reactions of A-acyliminium ions with alkenes and alkynes one has to distinguish between A-acyliminium ions locked in an s-trans conformation and those which (can) adopt an s-cis conformation. The former type reacts as a (nitrogen stabilized) carbocation with a C —C multiple bond. Although there are some exceptions, the intramolecular reaction of this type is regarded as an anti addition to the 7t-nucleophile, with (nearly) synchronous bond formation, the conformation of the transition state determining the product configuration. 

General Aspects Reaction Behavior of A-Acyliminium Ions... 

Reactivity of A -Acyliminium Ions vs. Iminium and Oxonium Ions... 

Both Friedel-Crafts acetylation and Vilsmeier formylation of the 2,3-dihydrooxazole 5 occur at C-5, indicating that the A-acyliminium ion is more stable than the oxonium ion17. This is corroborated by ab initio calculations, which show that 3-formyl-2,5-dihydro-3-oxazolium 7 is ca. 46 kJ mol 1 more stable than 3-formyl-2,4-dihydro-l-oxazolium 817. 

Generation of A-Acyliminium Ions and Synthesis of Their Precursors... 

For synthetic applications, A-acyliminium ions are nearly always generated in situ in view of their limited stability and high reactivity. Although a large variety of methods leading to A-acyliminium ions are known, only the synthetically more useful procedures, as well as the synthesis of the precursors, will be discussed in this section. 

The A-(l-alkoxyalkyl)amides and -carbamates are stable compounds, thus allowing reactions under neutral or basic conditions to be carried out elsewhere in the molecule before generation of the A-acyliminium ion with an acidic catalyst. 

Bisamides (or biscarbamates), which are easily obtainable from the reaction of an aldehyde with two equivalents of a primary amide (carbamate), are converted into the corresponding A-acyliminium ions on heating, often in the presence of strong (Lewis) acids or acylating compounds1 3. 

Introduction of an electron-withdrawing carboxy function at the x-carbon produces particularly reactive A-acyliminium ions, the so-called glycine cation equivalents, which are of great utility for the synthesis of x-amino acids. 

Formation of A-acyliminium ions via protonation of enamides or enecarbamatcs is occasionally utilized. 

Optically active five- or six-membered cyclic A -acyliminium ions of this type are generated from the a-inethoxy derivatives, easily obtainable through anodic methoxylation of intermediates that are prepared via ex-chiral-pool syntheses from certain natural amino acids. Reaction of 5-substituted five-membered cyclic A -acyliminium ions with various nucleophiles leads to the predominant formation of cw-products with moderate selectivity. The trans-selective reaction with alkyl copper reagents appears to be an exception. 

Predominant formation of s-products on reaction of A -acyliminium ions, containing an additional conjugated double bond, with propylzinc iodide likewise arises from A(1 3) strain as discussed133. 

Allylations of certain bicyclic A-acyliminium ions occur with complete stereoselectivity, as a result of stereoelectronically favored axial attack at the sterically less hindered convex face, independent of the stereochemistry of the acetoxy substituent in the first example. Thus, on... 

Cyclizations of A-acyliminium ions containing a 3-alkenyl substituent tethered to nitrogen usually proceed with preferential formation of a six-mentbered ring via a chair-like transition state, if the alkene does not have an electronic bias. 

With certain substituents, such as methoxy150 or (substituted) phenyl53 functions, in the allylie position the reaction outcome completely changes, giving rise to predominant or exclusive formation of five-membered ring products via a preceding 2-aza-Cope rearrangement of the initially formed A -acyliminium ion. These substituents clearly stabilize the intermediary carbo-cation 3. 

So far, only reactions in which the internal nucleophile is tethered to the nitrogen atom of the A -acyliminium ion have been discussed, however, cyclizations with nucleophiles attached to other positions are also possible. If the nucleophile is connected to the carbon atom adjacent to the carbonyl group, bridged azabicycloalkane derivatives are obtained in high yield by using the more reactive allyl- or propargylsilanes. 

The mode of the diastcrcofacial selectivity is completely reversed in the case of reactions with A -methyl A-acyliminium precursors 4176. Now the nitrogen atom of the A-acyliminium ion is not able to chelate with the tin atom and the lower diastereoselectivity is explained by the less rigid nonchelation-controlled transition state 5. An electronic effect, such as n-iz attraction between the electron-deficient carbonyl group of the acyliminium ion and the electron-rich phenyl group of the phcnylthio substituent R, may account for the somewhat higher diastereoselectivity in the case of arylthio substituents R. 

Gas phase reactivity toward allyltrimethylsilane was used to compare the reactivity of several cyclic A-acyliminium ions and related iminium ions.203 Compounds with endocyclic acyl groups were found to be more reactive than compounds with exocyclic acyl substituents. Five-membered ring compounds are somewhat more reactive than six-membered ones. The higher reactivity of the endocyclic acyl derivatives is believed to be due to geometric constraints that maximize the polar effect of the carbonyl group. 

A-Acyliminium ions are usually prepared in situ in the presence of a potential nucleophile. There are several ways of generating acyliminium ions. Cyclic examples can be generated by partial reduction of imides.204... 

A-Acyliminium ions, which are even more reactive toward allylic and alkenyl-silanes, are usually obtained from imides by partial reduction (see Section 2.2.2). The partially reduced A-acylcarbinolamines can then generate acyliminium ions. Such reactions have been employed in intramolecular situations with both allylic and vinyl silanes. 

Another example of the addition of terminal alkynes to C=N in water is the coupling of alkynes with in-situ-generated A-acylimines (Eq. 4.32) and A-acyliminium ions (Eq. 4.33). In 2002, Li et al. developed a coupling reaction of alkynes with A-acylimines and A-acyliminium ions mediated by Cu(I) in water to generate propargyl amide derivatives.57 Either an activated imine derivative or imininum derivative was proposed as the intermediate, respectively. 

Enantiospecific syntheses of amino derivatives of benzo[ ]quinolizidine and indolo[2,3- ]quinolizidine compounds have also been achieved via A-acyliminium ion cyclization reactions, as an alternative to the more traditional Bischler-Napieralski chemistry (see Section 12.01.9.2.2). One interesting example involves the use of L-pyroglutamic acid as a chiral starting material to construct intermediates 240 via reaction with arylethylamine derivatives. Diisobutylaluminium hydride (DIBAL-H) reduction of the amide function in 240 and subsequent cyclization and further reduction afforded piperidine derivatives 241, which stereoselectively cyclized to benzo[ ]quinolizidine 242 upon treatment with boron trifluoride (Scheme 47) <1999JOC9729>. 

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