Acyclic compounds, stereochemistry

The description of a stereoselective reaction primarily requires characterization of enantiomeric and/or diastereomeric products by their configuration (not their stereochemistry , see Introduction). Problems have not arisen with enantiomers but difficulties (see enumerations in refs 1 and 2) are. or perhaps were, apparent for diastereomers, a focal point having been acyclic compounds, in particular aldol addition products. These are pertinent examples to illustrate the problems and their various solutions very well ... 

From among the variety of non-carbohydrate precursors, acetylenes and alkenes have found wide application as substrates for the synthesis of monosaccharides. Although introduction of more than three chiral centers having the desired, relative stereochemistry into acyclic compounds containing multiple bonds is usually difficult, the availability of such compounds, as well as the choice of methods accessible for their functionalization, make them convenient starting-substances for the synthesis. In this Section is given an outline of all of the synthetic methods that have been utilized for the conversion of acetylenic and olefinic precursors into carbohydrates. Only reactions leading from dialkenes to hexitols are omitted, as they have already been described in this Series.7... 

Two examples of tetraenes reacting with Vilsmeier reagents are the acyclic example derived from alcohol 26 (Eq. 21) and the sesquiterpene 27 (Eq. 22).In general, there seems to be no rule that predicts the stereochemistry engendered in the double bond which carries the formyl group for acyclic compounds. 

The five coordinate spirophosphoranes have played an important role with respect to understanding the stereochemistry of four coordinate phosphorus reactions which proceed via phos-phorane intermediates. Variable temperature NMR studies have established the apicophilicities of a wide range of groups (i.e. relative preferences of a series of groups to occupy an apical position rather than an equatorial position of a trigonal bipyramidal (t.b.p.) conformation of a phosphorane). The spiro ring system has been used to stabilize transient reaction intermediates of acyclic compounds, for example hydrolysis intermediates such as hydroxyphosphoranes. 

The formation of g-alkyl-a,g-unsaturated esters by reaction of lithium dialkylcuprates or Grignard reagents in the presence of copper(I) iodide, with g-phenylthio-, > g-acetoxy-g-chloro-, and g-phosphoryloxy-a,g-unsaturated esters has been reported. The principal advantage of the enol phosphate method is the ease and efficiency with which these compounds may be prepared from g-keto esters. A wide variety of cyclic and acyclic g-alkyl-a,g-unsaturated esters has been synthesized from the corresponding g-keto esters. However, the method is limited to primary dialkylcuprates. Acyclic g-keto esters afford (Zl-enol phosphates which undergo stereoselective substitution with lithium dialkylcuprates with predominant retention of stereochemistry (usually > 85-98i )). It is essential that the cuprate coupling reaction of the acyclic enol phosphates be carried out at lower temperatures (-47 to -9a°C) to achieve high stereoselectivity. When combined with they-... 

If HMPA is included in the solvent, the Z-enolate predominates.236,238 DMPU also favors the Z-enolate. The switch to the Z-enolate with HMPA or DMPU is attributed to a looser, perhaps acyclic TS being favored as the result of strong solvation of the lithium ion. The steric factors favoring the -TS are therefore diminished.239 These general principles of solvent control of enolate stereochemistry are applicable to other systems.240 For example, by changing the conditions for silyl ketene acetal formation, the diastereomeric compounds 17a and 17b can be converted to the same product with high diastereoselectivity.241... 

Although the allylation reaction is formally analogous to the addition of allylic boranes to carbonyl derivatives, it does not normally occur through a cyclic TS. This is because, in contrast to the boranes, the silicon in allylic silanes has little Lewis acid character and does not coordinate at the carbonyl oxygen. The stereochemistry of addition of allylic silanes to carbonyl compounds is consistent with an acyclic TS. The -stereoisomer of 2-butenyl(trimethyl)silane gives nearly exclusively the product in... 

The reactions of allylmetal reagents with carbonyl compounds and imines have been extensively investigated during the last two decades [1], These carbon—carbon bondforming reactions possess an important potential for controlling the stereochemistry in acyclic systems. Allylmetal reagents react with aldehydes and ketones to afford homo-allylic alcohols (Scheme 13.1), which are valuable synthetic intermediates. In particular, the reaction offers a complementary approach to the stereocontrolled aldol process, since the newly formed alkenes may be readily transformed into aldehydes and the operation repeated. 

The stereochemistry of addition of organometallic reagents to acyclic carbonyl compounds parallels the behavior of the hydride reducing agents, as discussed in Section... 

In an approach to the stereocontrolled creation of the acyclic side-chain of tetracyclic triterpenoids and other natural products, Trost and his colleagues have converted the acyclic starting compound (29) into the cyclopropanoid intermediate (31) via the diazo-ketone (30). The key step in the scheme is the cleavage of the cyclopropane with lithium dimethylcuprate to give (32). The stereochemistry at C-7 is determined by the configuration of the double bond in (29). The c.d. and u.v. spectra of a series of triterpenoid olefins have been measured. The Scott-Wrixon rules can be used to correlate the sign of the c.d. curves with molecular structure. A... 

Table 1 shows the two dihydrothiopyrans, and the two corresponding benzo fused systems. The monocycles (5,6-dihydro-2//- thiin and 3,4-dihydro-2iT-thiin) are quite clearly from their chemistry an allylic sulfide and an enol sulfide respectively, and in many of the reactions they exhibit they are perfectly comparable with acyclic counterparts. Once again, as for the tetrahydrothiopyrans, in many cases the principal chemical interest is related to the effects of preferred conformations on the stereochemistry of particular conversions, but this will not be discussed in great length as it is entirely predictable from classical alicyclic work. Where differences exist they may be attributed to the interaction of the heteroatom with the neighbouring alkene, which is not too considerable, and more importantly the reactivity of the sulfur atom in its own right. The benzo fused compounds, of course, have their own particular chemistry which has received considerable attention over many years, some of which will be discussed. 

While the process works for a great number of conjugated dienes, a few, such as 1,3-cyclopentadiene and those acyclic dienes that have an oxygen substituenl in an allylic position, did not give a chloroacetoxylation product.23 Control of the 1,4-relative stereochemistry and preparation of compounds analogous to the title compounds also work for acyclic dienes,23 5 This process was used to obtain remote stereocontrol in acyclic systems and applied to the synthesis of a pheromone.5... 

The 191 problems in this book cover most of the area of stereochemistry, including nomenclature, stereogenic elements (centers, axes, planes) and their descriptors, symmetry, inorganic stereochemistry, determination of enantiomer excess, conformation of acyclic and cyclic compounds, and more. The answers, in addition to providing solutions to the problems, frequently include additional explanations of the underlying principles. The problems are ordered more or less in order of increasing difficulty. (I had a hard time with some of the problems toward the end myself )... 

Nitrones were the first as well as the most widely used dipoles in asymmetric cycloadditions. The first report on the use of enantiomerically pure vinylsulf-oxides as dipolarophiles was due to Koizumi et al. [153], who described in 1982 the reaction of (-R)-vinyl p-tolyl sulfoxide 1 with acyclic nitrones 191. The reactions required 20 h in refluxing benzene to be completed, yielding a mixture of only two compounds, 192 and 193 (Scheme 91). They exhibited identical endo or exo stereochemistry (which was not unequivocally assigned), deduced from the fact that their reduction yielded enantiomeric thioethers. The major component, 192, exhibits (S) configuration at C-3, determined by chemical correlation. The authors claim this paper [153] to be the first example of 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition using chiral dipolarophiles. 

Iron complexes can also catalyze allylic amination [31,32]. Enders et al. have demonstrated the nucleophilic addition of various acyclic and cyclic amines to the optically active l-methoxycarbonyl-3-methyl-(T)3-allyl)-tetracarbonyliron cation 49 formed in high yield from reaction of 48 with iron carbonyls. Oxidative removal of the tetracarbonyliron group by reaction with CAN gives 50 with high optical purity and retention of the stereochemistry (Eq. (12)) [31]. The reaction proceeds well for the different amines, and has been used for the synthesis of a compound showing cytotoxic activity against diverse cell lines [31b]. 

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