Acetals directed lithiation

These efforts began with directed lithiation [53] of commercially available 4-methoxybenzaldehyde dimethyl acetal (117, Scheme 1.12), followed by quenching with amide 118 to produce chloro acetophenone 119 (52 %). Conversion... 

Competing deprotonation a to the halogen is a typical problem when heterosubstituents are in a position to direct lithiation to this position. So, for example, while both 125 and 126 transmetallate cleanly,107 the E and Z isomers of 127 and 128 behave quite differently, with deprotonation of 127 leading to carbene formation and capture of f-BuLi while 128 undergoes transmetallation.108 Clean transmetallation to an E vinyllithium can be achieved in this case by the use of the iodide (129) or by replacing one of the alkoxy groups of the acetal (130). 

Lithiated polystyrene resins can be obtained either via convenient bromine-lithium exchange reaction using nBuLi starting from 4-bromo-substituted polystyrene 102,111-115 qj. jjy direct lithiation of polystyrene using nBuLi in cyclohexane in the presence of TMEDA 11L116 pjjjj method, however, yields a mixture of para- and meta isomers. The bromination of microporous resins in the presence of the Lewis-acid catalysts was carried out in the dark whereby the degree of functionalisation could conveniently be controlled by the amount of bromine used in the reaction.iii Macroreticular resins were brominated using Br and FeClj or stoichiometric amounts of thallium acetate as Lewis acid catalysts. 2 ... 

The lithiation of phenols protected as acetals—methoxymethyl acetals like 140 in particular—is especially valuable the second oxygen supplies a powerful coordination component to their directing effect (Scheme 69) The regioselective lithiation of 141 was used in the synthesis of the pterocarpans 4 -deoxycabenegrins A-I. 

Attempts to make C2-symmetric ferrocenes by double lithiation of a bis-acetal met with only limited success . A second lithiation of the ferrocenylacetal 298 leads to functionalization of the lower ring of the ferrocene, in contrast with the second adjacent lithiation of the oxazolines described below. This can be used to advantage if, for example, the first-formed aldehyde 301 is protected in situ by addition of the lithiopiperazine 53 °, directing f-BuLi to the lower ring (Scheme 139) °. The same strategy can be used to introduce further functionalization to products related to 302. For example, silane 303, produced in enantiomerically pure form by the method of Scheme 138, may be converted to the ferrocenophane 304 by lithiopiperazine protection, lithiation and functionalization (Scheme 140) . 

Lithiation and mercuration are directed by the oxygen atom and occur at the 4-position, but thallation, achieved by treatment of dibenzofuran with thallium(III) isobutyrate at 110°C, affords the 2-thallium di(isobutyrate), which may be converted to the 2-iodo compound by reaction with iodine. Mercuration is achieved by treatment of dibenzofuran with mercuryfll) acetate at 150°C, and the resultant 4-mercuric acetate (56%) may also be converted to the iodo compound. ... 

Scheme 16.11 shows the completion of the total synthesis of azaspiracid-1, which followed with slight modifications, the synthesis of the originally proposed structure of azaspiracid-1 (la). This chemistry was also carried out with the corresponding ABCD enantiomer in similar yields. Thns, lithiation of dithiane 51 (n-BuLi n-BnjMg) followed by addition into pentafluorophenol ester 68 resulted in CJ-C27 ketone 69 (50% yield). Ketone 69 was then elaborated into diacetate 70, this time as the TBS ether at C-25, as this protecting group was easier to remove than the acetate used in the earlier work directed toward the original stractnre (see Scheme 16.8). Stille coupling of this allylic acetate (70) then proceeded smoothly, as before, affording the complete Cj-C q backbone 71, which was successfully elaborated to the correct structure of azaspiracid-1 (1), identical in all measured physical properties ( H NMR, C NMR, Rf, [aj ) to the natural material.

In studies directed toward intermediates for the synthesis of quadrone, Livinghouse demonstrated the utility of lithiated methoxy(phenylthio)(trimethylsilyl)methane (327) for the conversion of aldehydes and ketones to ketene 0,5-acetals (328) in good to excellent yields (Scheme 46). These Peterson alkena-tions gave predominantly the ( )-double bond isomer. As the example depicted in the scheme demonstrates, this procedure may be used to homologate a carbonyl to the phenyl thioester (329) in excellent yields. 

The amide is a good ort/zo-director but so is the acetal function. The regioselectivity (actually there is the issue of chemoselectivity here too) of the lithiation reaction will depend upon which of the two is the more potent. Amides were one of our three kings of the ortho-directors and are more powerful than acetals. Now it is time for an anionic Fries rearrangement (in the retrosynthetic direction) to give the starting material 127. 

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