Acid Unsaturated, enantioselective nitrile

This chapter deals mainly with the 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition reactions of three 1,3-dipoles azomethine ylides, nitrile oxides, and nitrones. These three have been relatively well investigated, and examples of external reagent-mediated stereocontrolled cycloadditions of other 1,3-dipoles are quite limited. Both nitrile oxides and nitrones are 1,3-dipoles whose cycloaddition reactions with alkene dipolarophiles produce 2-isoxazolines and isoxazolidines, their dihydro derivatives. These two heterocycles have long been used as intermediates in a variety of synthetic applications because their rich functionality. When subjected to reductive cleavage of the N—O bonds of these heterocycles, for example, important building blocks such as p-hydroxy ketones (aldols), a,p-unsaturated ketones, y-amino alcohols, and so on are produced (7-12). Stereocontrolled and/or enantiocontrolled cycloadditions of nitrones are the most widely developed (6,13). Examples of enantioselective Lewis acid catalyzed 1,3-dipolar cycloadditions are summarized by J0rgensen in Chapter 12 of this book, and will not be discussed further here. 

Juaristi, E., Garcia-Barradas, O. Asymmetric addition of amines to a, 3-unsaturated esters and nitriles in the enantioselective synthesis of P-amino acids. Enantioselective Synthesis of. beta.-Amino Acids 1997, 139-149. 

Malonate and related activated methylene compounds have also been used as the nucleophile in conjugate addition/Michael reactions. Taylor and co-workers have developed a new methodology that utilizes (salen)aluminum complexes such as 43 as a catalyst to effect the enantioselective conjugate addition to a,p-unsaturated ketones by a variety of nucleophiles.25 For example, nitriles, nitroalkanes, hydrazoic acids, and azides have found utility in this reaction. Additionally, cyanoacetate (42) has been demonstrated to undergo a highly enantioselective conjugate addition to 41. The Krapcho decarboxylation is then necessary to produce cyanoketone 44, an intermediate in the synthesis of enantioenriched 2,4-cw-di substituted piperidine 45. 

More recently, Enders et al. disclosed a facile access to tetracyclic double annulated indole derivatives 175, which basically relies on the chemistry of the acidic 2-substituted indole and its nitrogen nucleophilicity. Indeed, the employed quadruple cascade is initiated by the asymmetric aza-Michael-type A-alkylation of indole-2-methylene malono-nitrile derivative 174 to o,p-unsaturated aldehydes 95 under iminium activation (Scheme 2.57). The next weU-known enamine-iminium-enamine sequence, which practically is realized with an intramolecular Michael addition followed by a further intermolecular Michael and aldol reactions, gives access to the titled tetracyclic indole scaffold 175 with A-fused 5-membered rings annulated to cyclohexanes in both diastereo- and enantioselectivity [83]. 

Silyl cyanides react enantioselectively with such electrophiles as aldehydes, ketones, imines, activated azines, or,/ unsaturated carbonyl compounds, epoxides, and aziridines in the presence of chiral Lewis acid catalysts to give functionalized nitriles, versatile synthetic intermediates for hydroxy carboxylic acids, amino acids, and amino alcohols (Tables 3-6, 3-7, 3-8, and 3-9, Figures 3-6, 3-7, and 3-8, and Scheme 3-154). ° Soft Lewis acid catalytst, the reaction of epoxides with trimethylsilyl cyanide often leads to isonitriles, which are derived from silylisonitrile spiecies (Schemes 3-155 and 3-156). Soft Lewis base such as phosphine oxide also catalyzes the reaction and cyanohydrin silyl ethers of high ee s are isolated. 

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