A-Hydroxy esters, as chiral auxiliaries

Stereosectivity is a broad term. The stereoselectivity in cyclopropanation which has been discussed in the above subsection, in fact, can also be referred to as diastereoselectivity. In this section, for convenience, the description of diastereoselectivity will be reserved for selectivity in cyclopropanation of diazo compounds or alkenes that are bound to a chiral auxiliary. Chiral diazoesters or chiral Ar-(diazoacetyl)oxazolidinone have been applied in metal catalysed cyclopropanation. However, these chiral diazo precursors and styrene yield cyclopropane products whose diastereomeric excess are less than 15% (equation 129)183,184. The use of several a-hydroxy esters as chiral auxiliaries for asymmetric inter-molecular cyclopropanation with rhodium(II)-stabilized vinylcarbenoids have been reported by Davies and coworkers. With (R)-pantolactone as the chiral auxiliary, cyclopropanation of diazoester 144 with a range of alkenes provided c yield with diastereomeric excess at levels of 90% (equation 130)1... 

An alternative strategy for achieving asymmetric control may be by covalent attachment of a chiral auxiliary to the carbenoid. This strategy has so far met with rather limited success in cyclopropanation reactions (see eq. (3) for a similar palladium-catalyzed reaction). However, the use of a-hydroxy esters as chiral auxiliaries with stabilized rhodium(II) vinylcarbenoids allowed entry into both series of enantiomeric vinylcyclopropanes with predictable stereochemistry. Optical yields are fair to excellent [14] and the outcome of the reaction was rationalized on the basis of interactions between the carbonyl oxygen of the chiral auxiliary and the carbenoid carbon. The strategy led to an efficient synthesis of optically active hydroxy vitamin D3 ring A [28]. 

A method for highly efficient asymmetric cyclopropanation with control of both relative and absolute stereochemistry uses vinyldiazomethanes and inexpensive a-hydroxy esters as chiral auxiliaries . This method was also applied for stereoselective preparation of dihydroazulenes. A further improvement of this approach involves an enantioselective construction of seven-membered carbocycies (540) by incorporating an initial asymmetric cyclopropanation step into the tandem cyclopropanation-Cope rearrangement process using rhodium(II)-(5)-N-[p-(tert-butyl)phenylsulfonyl]prolinate [Rlni — TBSP)4] 539 as a chiral catalyst (equation 212)- . ... 

The first practical method for asymmetric epoxidation of primary and secondary allylic alcohols was developed by K.B. Sharpless in 1980 (T. Katsuki, 1980 K.B. Sharpless, 1983 A, B, 1986 see also D. Hoppe, 1982). Tartaric esters, e.g., DET and DIPT" ( = diethyl and diisopropyl ( + )- or (— )-tartrates), are applied as chiral auxiliaries, titanium tetrakis(2-pro-panolate) as a catalyst and tert-butyl hydroperoxide (= TBHP, Bu OOH) as the oxidant. If the reaction mixture is kept absolutely dry, catalytic amounts of the dialkyl tartrate-titanium(IV) complex are suflicient, which largely facilitates work-up procedures (Y. Gao, 1987). Depending on the tartrate enantiomer used, either one of the 2,3-epoxy alcohols may be obtained with high enantioselectivity. The titanium probably binds to the diol grouping of one tartrate molecule and to the hydroxy groups of the bulky hydroperoxide and of the allylic alcohol... 

Ghosh also took advantage of the C—2 hydroxyl moiety of aminoindanols as a handle in the aldol reaction. Chiral sulfonamide 41 was O-acylated to give ester 42. The titanium enolate of ester 42 was formed as a single isomer and added to a solution of aldehyde, precomplexed with titanium tetrachloride, to yield the anft -aldol product 43 in excellent diastereoselectivities.63 One additional advantage of the ester-derived chiral auxiliaries was their ease of removal under mild conditions. Thus, hydrolysis of 43 afforded a ft -a-methyl- 3-hydroxy acid 44 as a pure enantiomer and cis-1-/ -1 o I y I s u I f on a m i do- 2 - i n da n ol was recovered without loss of optical purity (Scheme 24.7).63... 

Enantioselective carbenoid cyclopropanation of achiral alkenes can be achieved with a chiral diazocarbonyl compound and/or chiral catalyst. In general, very low levels of asymmetric induction are obtained, when a combination of an achiral copper or rhodium catalyst and a chiral diazoacetic ester (e.g. menthyl or bornyl ester ) or a chiral diazoacetamide ° (see Section 1.2.1.2.4.2.6.3.3., Table 14, entry 3) is applied. A notable exception is provided by the cyclopropanation of styrene with [(3/ )-4,4-dimethyl-2-oxotetrahydro-3-furyl] ( )-2-diazo-4-phenylbut-3-enoate to give 5 with several rhodium(II) carboxylate catalysts, asymmetric induction gave de values of 69-97%. ° Ester residues derived from a-hydroxy esters other than ( —)-(7 )-pantolactone are not as equally well suited as chiral auxiliaries for example, catalysis by the corresponding rhodium(II) (S )-lactate provides (lS, 2S )-5 with a de value of 67%. 

Kawana et al. used xylofuranose derivates as chiral auxiliaries [7, 13], Through its primary hydroxy function, the auxiliary was loaded to the polystyrene resin. Esterification of the immobilized auxiliary 8 gave a-keto esters. Subsequent nucleophilic additions of Grignard reagents afforded resin-bound a-hydroxy esters. Subsequent saponification afforded the chiral a-hydroxy acids 9 (Scheme 12.5) in 18-84% yields and 36-65% enantiomeric excesses. The recovered polymer supported chiral auxiliaries could be reused without decrease of enantioselectivity. 

NAP-MgO catalyzed the AH reaction of a-keto esters with nitromethane to [3-nitro a-hydroxy esters, which are vital chiral intermediates with quaternary carbon centers, in higher ee s than that reported in the literature using (5)-binol as a chiral auxiliary (Scheme 5.2). 

Enantioselective D-A reactions of chiral esters and amides of acrylic acid can be achieved using achiral Lewis acid such as TiCU. After the reaction, enantiomeric pure carboxylic acid can be recovered on hydrolysis. For example, the reaction of acrylic acid with cyclopentadiene using chiral a-hydroxy ethyl propionate 95a as chiral auxiliary in the presence of TiCU gives only one enantiomeric product in large excess (93 %) [82]. The chiral auxiliary 95a reacts with dienophile to produce a chiral ester 95, which participates in the reaction with cyclopentadiene. 

One of the first examples of this type of reaction, using a chiral alcohol as an auxiliary, was the asymmetric synthesis of 2-hydroxy-2-phenylpropanoic acid (atrolactic acid, 3, R1 =C6H5 R3 = CH3) by diastereoselective addition of methyl magnesium iodide to the men-thyl ester of phcnylglyoxylie acid4,5 (Table 22). 

However, most asymmetric 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition reactions of nitrile oxides with alkenes are carried out without Lewis acids as catalysts using either chiral alkenes or chiral auxiliary compounds (with achiral alkenes). Diverse chiral alkenes are in use, such as camphor-derived chiral N-acryloylhydrazide (195), C2-symmetric l,3-diacryloyl-2,2-dimethyl-4,5-diphenylimidazolidine, chiral 3-acryloyl-2,2-dimethyl-4-phenyloxazolidine (196, 197), sugar-based ethenyl ethers (198), acrylic esters (199, 200), C-bonded vinyl-substituted sugar (201), chirally modified vinylboronic ester derived from D-( + )-mannitol (202), (l/ )-menthyl vinyl ether (203), chiral derivatives of vinylacetic acid (204), ( )-l-ethoxy-3-fluoroalkyl-3-hydroxy-4-(4-methylphenylsulfinyl)but-1 -enes (205), enantiopure Y-oxygenated-a,P-unsaturated phenyl sulfones (206), chiral (a-oxyallyl)silanes (207), and (S )-but-3-ene-1,2-diol derivatives (208). As a chiral auxiliary, diisopropyl (i ,i )-tartrate (209, 210) has been very popular. 

Another chiral auxiliary for controlling the absolute stereochemistry in Mukaiyama aldol reactions of chiral silyl ketene acetals has been derived from TV-methyl ephedrine.18 This has been successfully applied to the enantioselec-tive synthesis of various natural products19 such as a-methyl-/ -hydroxy esters (ee 91-94%),18,20 a-methyl-/Miydroxy aldehydes (91% ee),21 a-hydrazino and a-amino acids (78-91% ee),22 a-methyl-d-oxoesters (72-75% ee),20b cis- and trans-l1-lactams (70-96% ee),23 and carbapenem antibiotics.24... 

When a chiral auxiliary is present in the oxazoline ring and the boron part is replaced with an achiral bicyclic system (46 bearing 9-BBN), erythro-j/-hydroxy esters (syn-53) can be obtained as the major product upon reaction of the eno-late with several aldehydes.37... 

The synthesis of the rare amino acid 3-hydroxy-4-methylproline (8)3 involves an aldol reaction of the oxazoiidinone 5 with methacrolein to provide the a-bromo-0-hydroxy adduct 6. Azide displacement and removal of the chiral auxiliary gives 7. On treatment with dicyclohexylborane, 7 undergoes hydroboration-cycloalkyl-ation to provide, after hydrolysis, the methyl ester hydrochloride (8) of (2S,3S,4S)-3-hydroxy-4-methylproline in >97% de. This cycloalkylation should be a useful route to cyclic amino acids as well as pyrrolidines. 

Perlmutter used an oxymercuration/demercuration of a y-hydroxy alkene as the key transformation in an enantioselective synthesis of the C(8 ) epimeric smaller fragment of lb (and many more pamamycin homologs cf. Fig. 1) [36]. Preparation of substrate 164 for the crucial cyclization event commenced with silylation and reduction of hydroxy ester 158 (85-89% ee) [37] to give aldehyde 159, which was converted to alkenal 162 by (Z)-selective olefination with ylide 160 (dr=89 l 1) and another diisobutylaluminum hydride reduction (Scheme 22). An Oppolzer aldol reaction with boron enolate 163 then provided 164 as the major product. Upon successive treatment of 164 with mercury(II) acetate and sodium chloride, organomercurial compound 165 and a second minor diastereomer (dr=6 l) were formed, which could be easily separated. Reductive demercuration, hydrolytic cleavage of the chiral auxiliary, methyl ester formation, and desilylation eventually led to 166, the C(8 ) epimer of the... 

A number of methods have been used to stereoselectively introduce a hydroxy group adjacent to a ketone. Epoxidation of an enol ether or ester can be used (see Chapter 10). Chiral auxiliaries have also been used to lead to the introduction of the hydroxy group.213 Another method is the reaction of nitrosobenzene with an aldehyde in the presence of L-proline as catalyst (Scheme 9.37).214... 

Control over the absolute configuration in cyclohexenone photocycloadditions has been achieved by auxiliary-induced diastereoselectivity. In particular, esters related to compound 26, which are derived from a chiral alcohol but not from methanol, lend themselves as potential precursors, from which the chiral auxiliary can be effectively cleaved [42, 43]. In a recent study, the use of additives was advertised to increase the diastereomeric excess in these reactions [44], An intriguing auxiliary-induced approach was presented by Piva et al., who employed chiral 13-hydroxy-carboxylic adds as tethers to control both the regioselectivity and the diastereoselectivity of intramolecular [2 + 2]-photocycloaddition reactions [45]. In Scheme 6.14 the reaction of the (S)-mandelic acid derived substrate 38 is depicted, which led with very good stereocontrol almost exclusively to product 39a, with the other diastereoisomer 39b being formed only in minor quantities (39a/39b = 96/4). Other acids, such as (S)-lactic acid, performed equally well. The chiral tether could be cleaved under basic conditions to afford enantiomerically pure cydobutane lactones in good yields. 

R)-(-)-2,2-Diphenylcyclopentanol (1) is a highly effective chiral auxiliary in asymmetric synthesis. Hydrogenation of chiral 0-acetamidocrotonates derived from this alcohol has afforded the corresponding 0-amido esters with high diastereoselectivity (96% de).6 In addition, (R)-1 has been used as a chiral auxiliary in Mn(lll)-based oxidative free-radical cyclizations to provide diastereomerically enriched cycloalkanones (60% de).7 Our interest in (R)-(-)-2,2-diphenylcyclopentanol is its utility as a chiral auxiliary in Lewis acid-promoted, asymmetric nitroalkene [4+2] cycloadditions. The 2-(acetoxy)vinyl ether derived from alcohol (R)-1 is useful for the asymmetric synthesis of 3-hydroxy-4-substituted pyrrolidines from nitroalkenes (96% ee).8 In a similar fashion, a number of enantiomerically enriched (71-97% ee) N-protected, 3-substituted pyrrolidines have been prepared in two steps from 2-substituted 1-nitroalkenes and (R)-2,2-diphenyl-1-ethenoxycyclopentane (2) (see Table).9... 

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