Alanine bislactim ethers from

Structure of the lithio derivatives (84CC853) The crystal structure of a THF solvate of the lithium derivative of racemic bislactim ether (derived from two molecules of alanine) has been determined. In the solid state, the lithium derivative exists as a dimer in which the two lithium atoms are nonequivalent (189). The two organic moieties in each dimer are homo-chiral this means that the crystal contains equal number of enantiomers. The Li Li distance is 2.61 A. In THF solution at - 108°C, the compound seems to exist as an equilibrium mixture of monomer and dimer in the ratio 5 1. It is not clear at the moment whether the reacting species is the monomer or the dimer. 

The disadvantage in using such symmetrical bislactim ethers is that half the chiral auxiliary ends up as part of the product molecule thus only half of the auxiliary can be recovered and reused. This drawback is avoided in the mixed bislactim ether prepared from a chiral auxiliary (L-valine) and a racemic amino acid (e.g., DL-alanine). Regiospecific deprotonation followed by diastereoselective alkylation leads to the required a-methyl amino acid ester (193) (83T2085) the de is >95%. In this method, the chiral auxiliary (L-valine) is recovered intact. (Scheme 59). 

Najera and coworkers introduced a new class of cyclic alanine templates (227, equation 59), the structure of which was anchored on Schollkopf s bislactim ether . Palladium-catalyzed allylations of the chiral pyrazinone derivative 227 with allylic carbonates (228) as substrates led to the formation of y,i5-unsaturated amino acids (229a-c) under very mild and neutral reaction conditions, whereas the required base for enolate preparation has been generated in situ from the allylic carbonate during jr-allyl complex formation. With this protocol in hand, the alkylated pyrazinones 229 were obtained with excellent regio- and diastereoselectivities (>98% ds). Finally, hydrolysis with 6 N aqueous HCl under relatively drastic conditions (150 °C) led to the free amino acids. 

Schdllkopf and cowoikers have pioneered the development of anions of another type of masked carboxylic acid derivative, i.e. bislactim ethers such as (159), derived from (5)-valine and glycine or alanine, for the asymmetric synthesis of amino acids. As shown in Scheme 78, compounds such as... 

A simpler way to restrict the conformation of an enolate is to coniine it in aheterocycle and an important group of chiral enolates come from various derivatives of amino acids. The hrst successful such compounds were Schollkopf s bislactim ethers 41 derived from the diketopiperazines 40 formed when an amino acid such as alanine 39 condenses with itself.4 Treatment of 41 with butyl lithium creates a lithium enolate on one position in the ring the methyl group in the other position keeps the chirality intact. Alkylation occurs selectively on the opposite side to the remaining methyl group 42 and hydrolysis releases a new tertiary amino acid 43 and one of the original alanines. 

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