A-Cyano carboxylates

Asymmetric Michael additionA catalyst prepared from RhH(CO)[P(C,H<,)2l2 and TRAP can effect asymmetric addition of a-cyano carboxylates to vinyl ketones or acrolein. Note that isopropyl esters show the highest selectivity. 

Potassium tert-butoxide I oxygen a-Keto- from a-cyano-carboxylic acid esters... 

Ketones from / -ketocarboxylic acid esters s. 13, 131 nitriles from a-cyano-carboxylic acid esters s. Am. Soc. 81, 5397 (1959)... 

A facile synthesis of 5-substituted 3-aminopyrrole-2-carboxylates has been developed wherein condensation of diethyl aminomalonate with a-cyano ketones 46 was facilitated by prior formation of the p-toluenesulfonyl enol ether 47 <00JOC2603>. Addition of the amine component is followed by cyclization and decarboxylation to afford the pyrroles 48. 

Bergeron S, Chaplin D, Edwards JH, Ellis BS, Hill CL, Holt-Tiffin K, Knight JR, Mahoney T, Osborne AP, Ruecroft G (2006) Nitrilase-catalyzed desym-metrization of 3-hydroxyglutaronitrile preparation of a statin side-chain intermediate. Org Proc Res Dev 10 661-665 Burns M, Weaver J, Wong J (2005) Stereoselective enzymic bioconversion of aliphatic dinitriles into cyano carboxylic acids. WO 2005100580 DeSantis G, Zhu Z, Greenberg W, Wong K, Chaplin J, Hanson SR, Farwell B, Nicholson LW, Rand CL, Weiner DP, Robertson D, Burk MJ (2002) An enzyme library approach to biocatalysis development of nitrilases for enantioselective production of carboxylic acid derivatives. J Am Chem Soc 124 9024-9025... 

The reaction of 2,3-allenenitrile 605 with EtOH in the presence of NaOH afforded the /3-ethoxy-/8,y-unsaturated enenitrile 606, which was isomerized and hydrated to afford a mixture of /8-ethoxy-a,/8-unsaturated enenitrile, enamide carboxylic acid or a-cyano ketone [271]. 

It may be suspected that the genuinely topotactic (as secured by the molecular precision of the AFM [18]) photodimerization of 2-benzyl-5-benzyli-denecyclopentanone [118] might be a good candidate for a quantitative preparative photo dimerization to give the head-to-tail anti-[2+2] dimer. Early quantitative solid-state [2-1-2] photodimerizations (most of the published mechanistic interpretations of which can no longer be accepted) are listed in [110]. These deal with the anti dimerization of acenaphthylene-1,2-dicarboxylic anhydride, the head-to-head syn dimerization of acenaphthylene-1-carboxylic acid, the syn dimerization of 5,6-dichloroacenaphthylene, and the thermally reversible head-to-tail anti dimerization of seven ( )-2,6-di-f-butyl-4-(2-aryl-ethenyl)pyrylium-trifluoromethanesulfonates. All of these reactions proceed fully specific. On the other hand, quantitative photoconversions of a 1 1 mixed crystal of ethyl and propyl a-cyano-4-[2-(4-pyridyl)ethenyl]cinnamates gives mixtures of diesters with one (A>410 nm) or two cyclobutane rings (no cutoff filter). 

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