Acyl anions dithiane-derived

The most utilized Umpolung strategy is based on formyl and acyl anion equivalents derived from 2-lithio-l,3-dithiane species. These are readily generated from 1,3-dithianes (thioacetals) because the hydrogens at C(2) are relatively acidic (p f 31). In this connection it should be noted that thiols (EtSH, pi 11) are stronger acids compared to alcohols (EtOH, 16). Also, the lower ionization potential and the greater polarizability of the valence electrons of sulfur compared to oxygen make the divalent sulfur compounds more nucleophilic in Sj,2 reactions. The polarizability factor may also be responsible for the stabilization of carbanions a to sulfur. ... 

Meyers, A. I. Heterocycles in Organic Synthesis Wiley-Interscience, 1974 (332 pages). DegITnnocenti, A. Pollicino, S. Capperucci, A. Synthesis and Stereoselective Functionalization of Silylated Heterocycles as a New Class of Formyl Anion Equivalents Chemical Communications 2006, 4881—4893. Yus, M. Najera, C. Foubelo, F. The Role of 1,3-Dithianes in Natural Product Synthesis Tetrahedron 2003, 59, 6147-6212. Albright, J. D. Reactions of Acyl Anion Equivalents Derived from Cyanohydrins, Protected Cyanohydrins and a-Dialkylaminonitriles Tetrahedron 1983, 39, 3207-3233. Seebach, D. Corey, E. J. Generation and Synthetic Applications of 2-Lithio-l,3-dithianes /. Orpi. Chem. 1975, 40, 231-237. 

Converting furfuraldehyde into its 1,3-dithian-2-y] derivative by reacting it with propane-1,3-dithiol could also be the basis of a route to furoin. Once deprotonated. this forms an acyl anion equivalent that could be reacted with a second equivalent of the aldehyde and then protonated and deprotected to yield furoin ... 

The widespread use of compounds derived from the 1,3-dithiane carbanion or its homologues as acyl anion equivalents (for applications see Section 4.2.1.1) followed the pioneering works of Corey and Seebach on nucleophilic acylation (for reviews, see [43] and [44]). 

Cyanide (one carbon) and acetylene (two carbons) are limited and other acyl anion equivalents are more versatile. Dithians are thioacetals of aldehydes that can be deprotonated between the two sulfur atoms by strong bases such as BuLi. Reaction with a second aldehyde gives 27 and hydrolysis of the thioacetal by acid, usually catalysed by Cu(II) or Hg(II), gives the a-hydroxyketone 4. The disconnection is that shown on diagram 4 and the lithium derivative 26 acts as the acyl anion 2. Unlike previous methods, R1 does not have to be H or Me. 

You might also have considered the addition of an acyl anion equivalent, such as the lithium derivative of the dithian 74 to ArCHO (chapter 23). There are obviously many other methods but these are the most likely. 

In Scheme 1.3, hexanal on reaction with 1,3-propanedithiol gives the 1,3-dithiane derivative 1.8. A strong base such as u-butyllithium abstracts the proton to give the corresponding 2-lithio-1,3-dithiane 1.9, which reacts with 1-bromopentane to give alkylated product 1.10. Treatment of 1.10 with FIgO and BF3 (boron trifluoride) in aqueous THF (tetrahydrofuran) yields the dipentyl ketone (the corey-seebach reaction ). Thus, dithianyllithium (2-lithio-1,3-dithiane) 1.9 is an acyl anion synthetic equivalent. 

Formyl and Acyl Anions Derived from 1,3-Dithianes ... 

Most of the chemistry associated with this series of heterocycles is a consequence of the acetal moiety. For example, all three saturated systems undergo acetal hydrolysis, the dioxanes being the most acid-sensitive. The chemistry of 1,3-dithianes and 1,3-oxathianes is further dominated by the acidity of the C-2 protons, leading to the use of the derived carbanions as acyl anion equivalents, particularly in the case of 1,3-dithiane derivatives. Oxidation at sulfur is also a common process. 

The commonly encountered C-2 anions derived from 1,3-dithiane and 1,3-oxathiane and their derivatives can be generated by treatment with any of a wide range of bases, but typically n-butyllithium (for 1,3-dithianes) or yec-butyllithium (sometimes necessary for 1,3-oxathianes). There are many instances where the deprotonated heterocycles have been used in synthesis, usually as acyl anion equivalents <8977643, b-95MI 608-05>. Use of 1,3-dithiane derivatives is by far the most common, and the derived anions react with with a very wide variety of electrophiles <69AG(E)639, 8977643), whether or not the dithiane system is initially substituted at C-2. For example, 2-lithio-... 

Enolate anions derived from syn and anti 2-substituted 2-acyl-13-dithiane 1-oxides react readily with the nitrogen electrophile di-t-butyl azodicarboxylate (DBAD) to give a-aminoketones with good diastereoselectivity and in moderate yields (Scheme 4.64) [121]. A low-temperature acetic acid quench is necessary and is believed to prevent loss of stereochemical integrity at the new asymmetric centre which can otherwise occur. 

Related Reagents. Several other chiral acyl anion equivalents have been published. Conqtarison with 1,3-disulfur derived compounds is reported below. Benzaldehyde has been taken as the reference electrophile. The equivalents are of two kinds mono-and dioxides. Generally, monoxides are slightly less efficient (85 15 ds) or much more difficult to prepare and thus of scarce synthetic interest (100 0 ds). Furthermore, they lead to additional problems because they lack C -sjunmetry. Dioxides are either cyclic or acyclic. Acyclic bis(sulfoxides) work also slightly less efficiently with benzaldehyde (90 10 to 95 5 ds), but slightly better with aliphatic aldehydes. The two reported cyclic dioxides (trans-l,3-dithiane 1,3-dioxide and trans-1,3-dithiolane 1,3-dioxide) are comparable and work equally well (>98 2 ds). Yet, there are some differences trans-1,3-dithiolane 1,3-dioxide proceeds under kinetic control, while trans-1,3-dithiane 1,3-dioxide is best under thermodjuiamic conditions. The latter also offers the advantage to be available in enantioenriched form. 

Keto-esters.—Further examples of alkylations of the acyl anion equivalent (105) have been reported (c/. 2, 226 3, 16). Only in some cases can good yields of a-keto-ester dimethyl acetals be realized. In an extension of earlier work, N-aryl-triflamides have been found to be useful reagents for the overall oxidation of a-bromo-esters to a-keto-esters. Benzoylformates are accessible by carboxylation of anions derived from 2-aryl-l,3-dithians this approach seems to be an improvement on existing methods. 

Various versions of the acyl anion equivalent (32) are described by Stork etal. (use of Et2NCH2CN), Krief and co-workers (1,3-dithianes in regioselective Michael addition), Gokel et al. (use of sulphur heterocycles with thermal deblocking), Cohen and Weisenfeld" (conversion of acids into vinyl sulphides), Meyers and Campbell " (acetals derived from aryl aldehydes), and Hunig and co-workers (cyanohydrin derivatives of aryl aldehydes). 

In summary, the title compound, readily available from diethyl oxalate, is a synthetically useful synthon in various C-C bondforming reactions, requiring only catalytic amounts of mild Lewis acids such as zinc chloride. Mtematives to such an acyl anion equivalent include dithiane derivatives of glyoxylic acid esters, which have not been tested as widely and which require some synthetic effort in the final deprotection step. ... 

In dithioacetals the proton geminal to the sulfur atoms can be abstracted at low temperature with bases such as Bu"Li. Lithium ion complexing bases such as DABCO, HMPA and TMEDA enhance the process. The resulting anion is a masked acyl carbanion, which enables an assortment of synthetic sequences to be realized via reaction with electrophiles. Thus, a dithioacetal derived from an aldehyde can be further functionalized at the aldehyde carbon with an alkyl halide, followed by thioacetal cleavage to produce a ketone. Dithiane carbanions allow the assemblage of polyfunctional systems in ways complementary to traditional synthetic routes. For instance, the p-hydtoxy ketone systems, conventionally obtained by an aldol process, can now be constructed from different sets of carbon groups. ... 

The anions, generated in situ by desilylation of silylacetylenes, allylsilanes, propargylsilanes, a-silyloxetanones, bis(trimethylsilylmethyl) sulfides, and other silane derivatives,can undergo nucleophilic addition to ketones and aldehydes (eq 11). Al-(C,C-bis(trimethylsilyl)methyl) amido derivatives can add to aldehydes followed by Peterson alkenation to form acyl enamines. Treatment of 2-trimethylsilyl-l,3-dithianes can generate dithianyl anions, which are capable of carbocyclization via direct addition to carbonyl or Michael addition (eq 12). The fluoride-catalyzed Michael additions are more general than Lewis acid-catalyzed reactions and proceed well even for those compounds with enolizable protons and/or severe steric hindrance (eq 13). ... 

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