Acyl group acylation

Replacement of a Carboxyl Group by an Acyl Group Acyl-de-carboxylation... 

HisN03,(CH3)3N + -CH2 CH0H CH2C00-. Isolated from skeletal muscle. It acts as a carrier for ethanoyl groups and fatty acyl groups across the mitochondrial membrane during the biosynthesis or oxidation of fatty acids. 

TTie true ketones, in which the >CO group is in the side chain, the most common examples being acetophenone or methyl phenyl ketone, C HjCOCH, and benzophenone or diphenyl ketone, C HjCOC(Hj. These ketones are usually prepared by a modification of the Friedel-Crafts reaction, an aromatic hydrocarbon being treated with an acyl chloride (either aliphatic or aromatic) in the presence of aluminium chloride. Thus benzene reacts with acetyl chloride... 

The synthesis will therefore normally produce a 2,4-substituted pyrrole, with in addition an ester group or an acyl group at the 3-position, if a keto ster or a diketone respectively has been employed, and an ester group or an alkyl (aryl) group at the 5-position, according to the nature of the amino-ketone. 

The mechanism of the Fries reaction is not known with certainty. One mechanism regards it as a true intramolecular rearrangement in which the acyl group migrates directly from the oxygen atom to the carbon atoms of the ring. Another scheme postulates that the ester is cleaved by the reagent... 

It should be noted that the Friedel-Crafts acylation differs from the Friedel-Crafts alkylation (compare Sections IV,3-4 and discussion preceding Section IV,1) in one important respect. The alkylation requires catal3d.ic quantities of aluminium chloride, but for acylation a molecular equivalent of aluminium chloride is necessary for each carbonyl group present in the acylating agent. This is because aluminium chloride is capable of forming rather stable complexes with the carbonyl group these complexes probably possess an oxonium... 

Upon warming with 10-20 per cent, sodium or potassium hydroxide solution, no ammonia is evolved (distinction from primary amides). The base, however, is usually liberated upon fusion with soda lime (see experimental details in Section IV,175) and at the same time the acyl group yields a hydrocarbon. Thus benz-p-toluidide affords p-tolu-idine and benzene. 

Analysis The first step is to put in a carbonyl group next to nitrogen and then reverse the acylation ... 

Alkyl halides and sulfonates are the most frequently used alkylating acceptor synthons. The carbonyl group is used as the classical a -synthon. O-Silylated hemithioacetals (T.H. Chan, 1976) and fomic acid orthoesters are examples for less common a -synthons. In most synthetic reactions carbon atoms with a partial positive charge (= positively polarized carbon) are involved. More reactive, "free carbocations as occurring in Friedel-Crafts type alkylations and acylations are of comparably limited synthetic value, because they tend to react non-selectively. 

Carbanions stabilized by phosphorus and acyl substituents have also been frequently used in sophisticated cyclization reactions under mild reaction conditions. Perhaps the most spectacular case is the formation of an ylide from the >S-lactam given below using polymeric Hflnig base (diisopropylaminomethylated polystyrene) for removal of protons. The phosphorus ylide in hot toluene then underwent an intramolecular Wlttig reaction with an acetyl-thio group to yield the extremely acid-sensitive penicillin analogue (a penem I. Ernest, 1979). 

Terminal alkyne anions are popular reagents for the acyl anion synthons (RCHjCO"). If this nucleophile is added to aldehydes or ketones, the triple bond remains. This can be con verted to an alkynemercury(II) complex with mercuric salts and is hydrated with water or acids to form ketones (M.M.T. Khan, 1974). The more substituted carbon atom of the al-kynes is converted preferentially into a carbonyl group. Highly substituted a-hydroxyketones are available by this method (J.A. Katzenellenbogen, 1973). Acetylene itself can react with two molecules of an aldehyde or a ketone (V. jager, 1977). Hydration then leads to 1,4-dihydroxy-2-butanones. The 1,4-diols tend to condense to tetrahydrofuran derivatives in the presence of acids. 

In synthetic target molecules esters, lactones, amides, and lactams are the most common carboxylic acid derivatives. In order to synthesize them from carboxylic acids one has generally to produce an activated acid derivative, and an enormous variety of activating reagents is known, mostly developed for peptide syntheses (M. Bodanszky, 1976). In actual syntheses of complex esters and amides, however, only a small selection of these remedies is used, and we shall mention only generally applicable methods. The classic means of activating carboxyl groups arc the acyl azide method of Curtius and the acyl chloride method of Emil Fischer. 

As a catalyst for ester and amide formation from acyl chlorides or anhydrides, 4-(di-methylamino)pyridine has been recommended (DMAP G. Hdfle, 1978). In the presence of this agent highly hindered hydroxyl groups, e.g. of steroids and carbohydrates, are acylated under mild conditions, which is difficult to achieve with other catalysts. 

The only acid-resistant protective group for carbonyl functions is the dicyanomethy-lene group formed by Knoevenagel condensation with malononitrile. Friedel-Crafts acylation conditions, treatment with hot mineral acids, and chlorination with sulfuryl chloride do not affect this group. They have, however, to be cleaved by rather drastic treatment with concentrated alkaline solutions (J.B. Basttis, 1963 H. Fischer, 1932 R.B. Woodward, 1960, 1961). 

With the dicyclohexylcarbodiimide (DCQ reagent racemization is more pronounced in polar solvents such as DMF than in CHjCl2, for example. An efficient method for reduction of racemization in coupling with DCC is to use additives such as N-hydroxysuccinimide or l-hydroxybenzotriazole. A possible explanation for this effect of nucleophilic additives is that they compete with the amino component for the acyl group to form active esters, which in turn reaa without racemization. There are some other condensation agents (e.g. 2-ethyl-7-hydroxybenz[d]isoxazolium and l-ethoxycarbonyl-2-ethoxy-l,2-dihydroquinoline) that have been found not to lead to significant racemization. They have, however, not been widely tested in peptide synthesis. 

Then N-Boc-O-benzylserine is coupled to the free amino group with DCC. This concludes one cycle (N° -deprotection, neutralization, coupling) in solid-phase synthesis. All three steps can be driven to very high total yields (< 99.5%) since excesses of Boc-amino acids and DCC (about fourfold) in CHjClj can be used and since side-reactions which lead to soluble products do not lower the yield of condensation product. One side-reaction in DCC-promoted condensations leads to N-acylated ureas. These products will remain in solution and not reaa with the polymer-bound amine. At the end of the reaction time, the polymer is filtered off and washed. The times consumed for 99% completion of condensation vary from 5 min for small amino acids to several hours for a bulky amino acid, e.g. Boc-Ile, with other bulky amino acids on a resin. A new cycle can begin without any workup problems (R.B. Merrifield, 1969 B.W. Erickson, 1976 M. Bodanszky, 1976). 

Mannosides are difficult to obtain since here a 2-O-acyl group blocks the -position. 2-O-Benzyl-a-mannosyl bromides give, however, high yields of pure -glycosides with a heterogeneous silver silicate catalyst preventing anomerization and SnI reaction of the bromide H. Paulsen, 1981 B, Q. 

Indene derivatives 264a and 264b are formed by the intramolecular reaction of 3-methyl-3-phenyl-l-butene (263a) and 3,3,3-triphenylpropylene (263b) [237]. Two phenyl groups are introduced into the /3-substituted -methylstyrene 265 to form the /3-substituted /3-diphenylmethylstyrene 267 via 266 in one step[238]. Allyl acetate reacts with benzene to give 3-phenylcinnamaldehyde (269) by acyl—O bond fission. The primary product 268 was obtained in a trace amount[239]. 

Retrosynthetic path b in Scheme 3.1 corresponds to reversal of the electrophilic and nucleophilic components with respect to the Madelung synthesis and identifies o-acyl-iV-alkylanilines as potential indole precursors. The known examples require an aryl or EW group on the iV-alkyl substituent and these substituents are presumably required to facilitate deprotonation in the condensation. The preparation of these starting materials usually involves iV-alkyla-tion of an o-acylaniline. Table 3.3 gives some examples of this synthesis. 

Indoles can also be alkylated by lactones[l4]. Base-catalysed reactions have been reported for (3-propiolactone[15], y-butyrolactone[10] and 5-valerolac-tone[10]. These reactions probably reflect the thermodynamic instability of the N -acylindole intermediate which would be formed by attack at the carbonyl group relative to reclosure to the lactone. The reversibility of the JV-acylation would permit the thermodynamically favourable N-alkylation to occur. 

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