Acetones, enamines

Figure 7.10 Analogy between acetone enamines from cytisine and D-homoproline.

While several metal-catalysed approaches to solve the task of generating fl tz-l,2-diols have been developed, this method remains remarkable, since it represents the first small molecule-catalysed, catalytic version of this transformation. The starting materials do not need activation or protection, and the reaction can be performed under standard conditions without further precautions. The selectivity of the reaction potentially results from a hydro Q acetone enamine-initiated transition state (5). More recently, Enders et al. applied a related method to the organocatalytic synthesis of sialic acid precursors (Scheme 5.6). Protected pyruvic aldehyde (6) was reacted with several aldehydes, forming the desired aldols (7) in moderate yields, but good selectivities (31-51%, 90-92% de, 73-99% ee). The conditions were optimised to limit detrimental side reaetions sueh as Mannich elimination or formation of the aeetal self-aldolisation produet. While generally easily applicable and robust, the method laeks effieiency in one key parameter, its reaction time. This limitation, combined with moderate yields unfortunately prevents a scale-up to or beyond the pilot plant. 

Difunctional target molecules are generally easily disconnected in a re/ro-Michael type transform. As an example we have chosen a simple symmetrical molecule, namely 4-(4-methoxyphenyl)-2,6-heptanedione. Only p-anisaldehyde and two acetone equivalents are needed as starting materials. The antithesis scheme given helow is self-explanatory. The aldol condensation product must be synthesized first and then be reacted under controlled conditions with a second enolate (e.g. a silyl enolate plus TiCl4 or a lithium enolate), enamine (M. Pfau, 1979), or best with acetoacetic ester anion as acetone equivalents. 

Iminothiobutyramide (30), containing four nucleophilic centers (only two of which might react with two electrophilic sites in phenacylbromide), undergoes the Hantzsch reaction preferentially, yielding the enamine (31) in dry dioxane or (4-phenylthiazol-2-yl)acetone (32) in isopropanol. Other enamines are obtainable from the ketone (32) by standard methods (626) (Scheme 15). 

A solution of 10 g of this compound in 80 ml of tetrahydrofuran is added, with cooling, during 5 min, to a solution of 4.8 g of lithium aluminum hydride in 60 ml of tetrahydrofuran, and the mixture refluxed for 2.25 hr then cooled in an ice bath and treated with 60 ml of acetone, followed by 200 ml of ether and 72 ml of 2 A sodium hydroxide. The mixture is filtered, the cake washed with 50 ml of acetone, and the combined filtrate washed with water, dried over sodium sulfate and evaporated under reduced pressure. The residue is crystallized from acetone to give 6.05 g (68 %) of the enamine. 

The enamine (1 g) in 30 ml of benzene and 5 ml of toluene is treated, with cooling, with a solution of 0.33 g (1.04 eq.) of perbenzoic acid in 2.1 ml of benzene. The reaction is complete in a few minutes. Ether (30 ml) is added, then the solution is washed with 2 N sodium hydroxide and with water to neutrality, dried over sodium sulfate and evaporated under reduced pressure. Crystallization from acetone gives 0.51 g of crude product mp 230°. One further crystallization from methanol gives 0.38 g (50%) of 3J5,17a-dihydroxy-5a-pregnan-20-one rap 265°. 

If cyclic ketones are monosubstituted in the a-position, their rates of reaction decrease as compared to the rate for the parent ketone (9,41). More highly substituted ketones (e.g., diisobutyl ketone, diisopropyl ketone) can be caused to react using newer preparative techniques (39,43,44, see Section VII). Monosubstituted acetones often can give selfcondensation products, but the recent literature (13,39,43) contains reports of the successful formation of the enamines of methyl ketones. 

The enamine (191) from isobutyraldehyde on treatment with p-nitrophenyl-diazonium chloride, on the other hand, gave the p-nitrophenylhydrazone of acetone (192) and presumably N-formyl piperidine, although the latter was not isolated. 

Enamines containing one -hydrogen atom react with the lactone dimer of dimethylketene to form aminocyclohexanediones 116). Polycondensation of acetone diethyl ketal takes place by treating it with morpholine and a catalytic amount of p-toluenesulfonic acid while distilling off the ethanol formed 117-119). The resulting spiran, bicyclo, and cyclooctadienone products differ from the known polycondensation products of acetone, and hence their formation probably involves enamine intermediates 119). 

The coupling of enamines with aromatic diazonium salts has been used for the syntheses of monoarylhydrazones of a-diketones (370,488-492) and a-ketoaldehydes (488,493). Cleavage of the initial enamine double bond and formation of the phenylhydrazone of acetone and acetophenone has been reported with the enamines of isobutyraldehyde and 2-phenylpropionalde-hyde. Rearrangement of the initial coupling product to the hydrazone tautomer is not possible in these examples. 

The formation of adducts of enamines with acidic carbon compounds has been achieved with acetylenes (518) and hydrogen cyanide (509,519,520) (used as the acetone cyanohydrin). In these reactions an initial imonium salt formation can be assumed. The addition of malonic ester to an enamine furnishes the condensation product, also obtained from the parent ketone (350,521). 

Reaction of tryptamine with simple ketones has not been widely explored. Acetone in the presence of benzoyl chloride has been reported to yield 2-benzoyl-1,1 -dimethyl-1,2,3,4-tetrahydro-j8-carbo-line. That the keto group is much less reactive than the aldehyde group is indicated by the fact that j8-keto aldehydes, in the form of their acetals or sodium salts, react with tryptamine at the aldehyde function to yield the conjugated enamine 24, which undergoes ring closure via an intramolecular Michael addition. The potentialities of this interesting modification of the Pictet-Spengler reaction have not yet been fuUy explored. 

A fine suspension of 25.18 grams (0.05 mol) of potassium salt of enamine protected ampicillin and 10.65 grams (0.05 mol) 3-bromophthalide were reacted in a 1 2 mixture of acetone/ethyl acetate (1,500 ml) for 24 hours. After filtration the organic layer was washed twice with 250 ml portions of 1 N sodium bicarbonate and brine, dried over anhydrous magnesium sulfate and concentrated in vacuo. Addition of ether crystallized the phthalide enamine protected a-aminophenylacetamido penicillanate in 85% yield. 

The enamine protecting group was removed by dissolving 10 grams in aqueous acetone (250 ml water to 250 ml acetone) and vigorously stirring this solution at pH 2.5 for 1 hour. The acetone was removed in vacuo and the ester, which was salted out of the aqueous phase as a sticky yellow gum, was dissolved in ethyl acetate (200 ml) and washed twice with 200 ml portions of 1 N sodium bicarbonate and brine and dried over anhydrous magnesium sulfate. Careful addition of dry ester (about 50 ml) to the dry ethyl acetate layer... 

Imine and enamine formation are slow at both high pH and low pH but reach a maximum rate at a weakly acidic pH around 4 to 5. For example, the profile of pH versus rate shown in Figure 19.9 for the reaction between acetone and hydroxylamine, NH2OH, indicates that the maximum reaction rate is obtained at pH 4.5. 

The enamine prepared from acetone and dimethylamine is shown here in its lowest-energy form. 

The disclosure, in 1982, that cationic, enantiopure BINAP-Rh(i) complexes can induce highly enantioselective isomerizations of allylic amines in THF or acetone, at or below room temperature, to afford optically active enamines in >95 % yield and >95 % ee, thus constituted a major breakthrough.67-68 This important discovery emerged from an impressive collaborative effort between chemists representing Osaka University, the Takasago Corporation, the Institute for Molecular Science at Okazaki, Japan, and Nagoya University. BINAP, 2,2 -bis(diphenylphosphino)-l,l -binaphthyl (Scheme 7), is a fully arylated, chiral diphosphine which was introduced in... 

The values of x = 0.5 and = 1 for the kinetic orders in acetone [1] and aldehyde [2] are not trae kinetic orders for this reaction. Rather, these values represent the power-law compromise for a catalytic reaction with a more complex catalytic rate law that corresponds to the proposed steady-state catalytic cycle shown in Scheme 50.3. In the generally accepted mechanism for the intermolecular direct aldol reaction, proline reacts with the ketone substrate to form an enamine, which then attacks the aldehyde substrate." A reaction exhibiting saturation kinetics in [1] and rate-limiting addition of [2] can show apparent power law kinetics with both x and y exhibiting orders between zero and one. 

A different type of catalysis is observed using proline as a catalyst.166 Proline promotes addition of acetone to aromatic aldehydes with 65-77% enantioselectivity. It has been suggested that the carboxylic acid functions as an intramolecular proton donor and promotes reaction through an enamine intermediate. 

This new impurity proved to be derived from the Pd-catalyzed oxidation of DIPA to the enamine via P-hydride elimination. In fact, mixing Pd(OAc)2 with DIPA in DMF-d7 readily formed Pd black along with two species, primary amine and acetone, presumably derived from the enamine through hydrolysis. The resulting enamine or acetone then underwent a coupling reaction with iodoaniline 28. Heterocyclization through the arylpalladium(II) species provided 2-methyl indole 71, as shown in Scheme 4.19. 

Apart from these findings, the limited application of ZnCl2 (cyclopropanation of some cyclic 1,3-dienes, isoprene and ethyl vinyl ether 4S-49)) and copper(II) acetyl-acetonate (cyclopropanation of enamines 50)) still stand alone. 

As predicted, l,2,3,4-13C-labeled acetone dicarboxylate (15) provided an intact three-carbon chain into lycopodine. It also helped to explain why two molecules of pelletierine (12) were not incorporated (Scheme 6.3) [12]. As before, lysine (6) is converted to piperideine (8) via a decarboxylation. Then a Mannich reaction of labeled 15 with 8 provides pelletierine 12. The other half of the molecule to be incorporated must be pelletierine-like (12-CC>2Na), still containing one of the carboxylates. An aldol reaction of the two pelletierine fragments and a series of transformations leads to phlegmarine 9. Oxidation of 9 involving imine formation between N-C5, isomerization to the enamine and then cyclization onto an imine (at N-C13), provides lycopodine 10. Phlegmarine 9 and lycopodine 10 are proposed as... 

The crude enamine is dissolved in 450 ml. of ether, and the solution is transferred to a 1-1. three-necked flask equipped with a sealed stirrer, a 250-ml. dropping funnel, and a two-necked adapter fitted with a calcium chloride tube and a thermometer immersed in the solution. A solution of 71-76 g. (0.85-0.90 mole) (Note 5) of methyl propiolate (Caution Methyl propiolate is a severe lachrymator and should he handled only in the hood.) in 150 ml. of ether is added dropwise. During the addition the temperature of the mixture is maintained at 25-30° by periodic cooling of the reaction flask in a dry ice-acetone bath. When the addition is almost complete, a white solid begins to separate. The mixture is stirred at 25-30° for an additional hour, cooled to 0°, and filtered to remove the solid. This is dissolved in 700 ml. of 6% hydrochloric acid (Note 6), the acidic solution is warmed at 55-60° for 1 hour, and the mixture is cooled and extracted with two 100-ml. portions of ether. The ether is removed on a steam bath, and the residue of crude methyl 10-oxocyclodec-2-ene-l-carboxylate is dissolved in 300 ml. of methanol and hydrogenated over 5 g. of 5% palladium-on-alumina catalyst at 40 p.s.i. pressure and room temperature. 

Antibodies produced by this procedure were screened for their ability to react with the hapten to form the vinylogous amide 6, which has a convenient UV chromophore near 318nm, clear of the main protein absorption. Two antibodies selected in this way catalysed the expected aldol reaction of acetone with aldehyde 7 by way of the enamine 8 (Scheme 3) the remainder did not. These two effective aldolase mimics have been studied in some detail, and a crystal structure is available for (a Fab fragment of) one of them.126,281... 

Selective reduction of esters.1 Sodium borohydride does not usually reduce esters, but it can reduce normal esters slowly in CH3OH. This reaction has been used to reduce a normal ester selectively in the presence of a vinylogous urethane. Thus the methylene group of the enamine (E)-l, formed from dimethyl acetone-... 

The oxidation of sugar enamines [1465 and 1466, R2 = —CH=C (COOEt)2] with potassium permanganate and potassium metaperiodate in a 1 1 mixture of acetone and water at ambient temperature gave a-hy-droxy amides [1465 and 1466, R2 = COCOH(COOEt)2] and AMbrmyl amino sugars (1465 and 1466, R2 = CHO) 42-52% and 15-28% yields, respectively [89JCS(P1) 1923]. 

B. A - -Octalone-2. A solution of 35 g. (0.23 mole) of the above octalone mixture in 200 ml. of 60-110° petroleum ether is cooled to —80° in an acetone-dry ice bath and kept at this temperature for 1 hour. The crystalline Ai -octalone-2 is filtered by suction through a jacketed sintered-glass funnel kept at —80°. The residue is washed with 100 ml. of cold petroleum ether, removed from the funnel, and recrystallized a second time in the same way. After the second recrystallization the white crystals are removed from the funnel, allowed to melt by warming to room temperature, and distilled. The yield of purified octalone-2 (Note 5), b.p. 143-145° (15 mm.), is 20-25 g. (34-46% based on starting enamine). The petroleum ether mother liquors can be distilled to yield a fraction boiling at 143-145° (15 mm.) which is enriched in A ° -octaIone-2. 

The word enamine was coined in 1927 by Wittig [27], However, at that time, enamines were usually not considered as reactive intermediates. An early example of enamine catalysis that was not explicitly recognized as enamine-based reaction was the reaction of isatin with ketone nucleophiles (acetone and acetophenone), first pnblished by Lindwall and coworkers in 1932 [28, 31]. Later, the interconversion of imininm ions and enamines in enzymatic reactions was recognized by Westheimer [32, 354]. The first person to propose a modem enamine-based... 

Typical starting materials, catalysts, and products of the enamine-catalyzed aldol reaction are summarized in Scheme 17. In proline-catalyzed aldol reactions, enantioselectivities are good to excellent with selected cyclic ketones, such as cyclohexanone and 4-thianone, but generally lower with acetone. Hindered aldehyde acceptors, such as isobutyraldehyde and pivalaldehyde, afford high enantioselectivities even with acetone. In general, the reactions are anti selective, but there are aheady a number of examples of syn selective enamine aldol processes [200, 201] (Schemes 17 and 18, see below). However, syn selective aldol reactions are still rare, especially with cychc ketones. 

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