Acetate ester aldol addition stereoselective

One of the pervasive problems in asymmetric synthesis has been the development of stereoselective acetate ester aldol reactions. Although a number of chiral auxiliaries perform superbly well in diastereoselective propionate aldol additions, these have, with rare exceptions, been unsuccessful in the corresponding additions of unsubstituted acetate-derived enolates [19, 63, 64). Braun s disclosure of a stereoselective acetate aldol addition reaction with 103 was an important milestone in the development of the field (Scheme 4.11) [63, 65]. The diol auxiliary can easily be prepared from mandelic acid esterification of the secondary alcohol is obsei ved, without interference from the tertiary counterpart. Its use has been showcased in a number of syntheses [53]. The high yield and diastereoselectivity generally obtained with 103 were highlighted by investigators at Merck in the construction of the chiral lactone fragment that is common in a number of HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors, such as compactin (105) [66]. 

Ester Enolate Aldol Additions to Aldehydes. Among the first examples of aldol additions employing chiral Lewis bases as catalysts were the additions of trichlorosilyl ketene acetals to aldehydes. Silyl ketene acetal 7 could be generated by metathesis of methyl tributylstannylacetate with SiCL. Treatment of 7 with benzaldehyde and 10 mol % of a phosphoramide in CH2CI2 at —78°C afforded aldol products in good to high yields with moderate enantioselectivities for all phosphoramides employed. Reaction of 7 with pivalaldehyde provided aldol products in similar yields and with slightly improved enantioselectivities. The increase in stereoselection is presumably attributed to a less com-... 

Aldol Reactions of Ester Derivatives. The Titanium(IV) C/tlor/dc-catalyzed addition of aldehydes to 0-silyl ketene acetals derived from acetate and propionate esters proceeds with high stereoselectivity. Formation of the silyl ketene acetal was found to be essential for high diastereoselectivity. Treatment of the silyl ketene acetal, derived from deprotonation of the acetate ester with LICA in THF and silyl trapping, with a corresponding aldehyde in the presence of TiCU (1.1 equiv) afforded the addition products in 93 7 diastereoselectivity and moderate yield (51-67%). Similarly, the propionate ester provides the anti-aldol product in high antilsyn selectivity (14 1) and facial selectivity (eq 4). 

The addition reaction of fert-butyl thioacetate-derived silyl ketene acetal produces the corresponding aldol adducts in 84% yield and up to 96% enantiomeric excess (Eq. 16). The enantioselectivity of the products was observed to be optimal with toluene as solvent the use of the more polar dichloromethane consistently produced adducts with 10-15% lower enantiomeric excess. The bulkier ferf-butylthioacetate-derived enol silane was found to lead to uniformly higher levels of enantioselectivity than the smaller S-ethyl thioketene acetal. This process is impressive in that it tolerates a wide range of aldehyde substrates for instance, the aldol addition reaction has been successfully conducted with aldehydes substituted with polar functionaUty such as N-Boc amides, chlorides, esters, and 0-benzyl ethers. A key feature of this system when compared to previously reported processes was the abiUty to achieve high levels of stereoselectivity at 0 °C, in contrast to other processes that commonly prescribe operating temperatures of -78 °C. 

The aldol reaction is one of the most useful carbon-carbon bond forming reactions in which one or two stereogenic centers are constructed simultaneously. Diastereo-and enantioselective aldol reactions have been performed with excellent chemical yield and stereoselectivity using chiral catalysts [142]. Most cases, however, required the preconversion of donor substrates into more reactive species, such as enol silyl ethers or ketene silyl acetals (Scheme 13.45, Mukaiyama-type aldol addition reaction), using no less than stoichiometric amounts of silicon atoms and bases (Scheme 13.45a). From an atom-economic point of view [143], such stoichiometric amounts of reagents, which afford wastes such as salts, should be excluded from the process. Thus, direct catalytic asymmetric aldol reaction is desirable, which utilizes unmodified ketone or ester as a nucleophile (Scheme 13.45b). Many researchers have directed considerable attention to this field, which is reflected in the increasing... 

Later, Yamamoto and coworkers developed the axially chiral ester 183 for asymmetric acetate aldol additions. After formation of the lithium enolate with LDA, the reaction with various aldehydes yielded P-hydroxy esters 184 in very high diastereoselectivity. It was shown, for two adducts, that a nearly quantitative saponification leads to P-hydroxy carboxylic acids 176 and liberates phenol 185 in nearly quantitative yield and undiminished optical purity (Scheme 4.40) [100]. The authors discuss a twist-boat as well as an open transition state for rationalizing the preferred Re-face attack to the aldehyde, observed with (R,R)-configured acetate 183. Yamamoto s procedure is impressive because of its stereoselectivity, but one has to be aware that the chiral auxiliary 185 is by far not as readily accessible as others also enabling the asymmetric acetate aldol addition. 

Mukaiyama aldol reactions of silylketene acetal and pyruvate ester (eq 14) in the presence of 10 mol % Cu[(5,5)-/-Bu-box] (OTf)2 catalyst furnish the corresponding aldol product in excellent enantiomeric excess (98%). Furthermore, the addition reactions of ketene acetals derived from /-butyl thioacetate and ben-zyloxyacetaldehyde with only 5 mol % catalyst afford the aldol product in 91% ee (eq 15). It is also noteworthy that the addition of both propionate-derived (Z)- and ( )-silylketene acetals stereoselectively forms the jyn-adduct in 97% and 85% ee, respectively. 

Amide enolates undergo silylation at both carbon and oxygen, depending upon the chloride used. Silyl acetals, which can be prepared from aldehydes, give /5-amino esters, or /5-lactams with Schiff bases. Silyl substituents also play a stereoselective role in the synthesis of aldol type systems, and protect nitrone-aldehyde condensates in dipolar additions that produce isoxazolidines and isoxazolines. ... 

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