Alcohols, amino chiral aziridines from

As described in Section 2.3.2, vinylaziridines are versatile intermediates for the stereoselective synthesis of (E)-alkene dipeptide isosteres. One of the simplest methods for the synthesis of alkene isosteres such as 242 and 243 via aziridine derivatives of type 240 and 241 (Scheme 2.59) involves the use of chiral anti- and syn-amino alcohols 238 and 239, synthesizable in turn from various chiral amino aldehydes 237. However, when a chiral N-protected amino aldehyde derived from a natural ot-amino acid is treated with an organometallic reagent such as vinylmag-nesium bromide, a mixture of anti- and syn-amino alcohols 238 and 239 is always obtained. Highly stereoselective syntheses of either anti- or syn-amino alcohols 238 or 239, and hence 2,3-trans- or 2,3-as-3-alkyl-2-vinylaziridines 240 or 241, from readily available amino aldehydes 237 had thus hitherto been difficult. Ibuka and coworkers overcame this difficulty by developing an extremely useful epimerization of vinylaziridines. Palladium(0)-catalyzed reactions of 2,3-trons-2-vinylaziri-dines 240 afforded the thermodynamically more stable 2,3-cis isomers 241 predominantly over 240 (241 240 >94 6) through 7i-allylpalladium intermediates, in accordance with ab initio calculations [29]. This epimerization allowed a highly stereoselective synthesis of (E) -alkene dipeptide isosteres 243 with the desired L,L-... 

Chiral cyanohydrins are versatile intermediates in the synthesis of a-hydroxy acids, /3-amino alcohols, amino nitriles, a-hydroxy ketones and aziridines. For the synthesis of enantiopure cyanohydrins, the use of hydroxynitrile lyases is currently the most effective approach.Application of an organic-solvent-free system allows thermodynamically hindered substrates to be converted with moderate to excellent yields. With the use of the highly selective hydroxynitrile lyase from Manihot esculenta, the syntheses of several acetophenone cyanohydrins with excellent enantioselectivities were developed (Figure 8.2). (5)-Acetophenone cyanohydrin was synthesized on a preparative scale. ... 

Kawahata and Goodman utilized a chiral aziridine 166 as a simple precursor for the synthesis of / -aminoacids <1999TL2271>. The chiral aziridine is prepared in five steps from the corresponding allylic alcohol via a Sharpless asymmetric epoxidation. A one-electron reduction of aziridine 166 with SmG provided the ring-opened aziridine. Protection of the resulting amine as the BOC-derivative provided a 1.6 1 mixture of the BOC-amino ester diaster-eomers 167a and 167b in 66% yield (Equation 50). 

Ghorai and co-workers reported on the synthesis of non-racemic amino aziridines 177 vmmemory of chirality (MOC) concept. The precursor 175 obtained from the addition of axially chiral enolate of amino acid ester to A7-sulfo-nyl imine following the concept of MOC. Reduction of 175 to the corresponding amino alcohol 176 followed by C—N cyclization produced the chiral aziridines 177 in good yields with excellent enatiomeric excess (Scheme 40.35). ... 

Although the first aziridine was synthesized by Gabriel in 1888, aziridination reactions were still being described by Atkinson as epoxidation s poor relation in 1999 [36], This statement dramatically reflects some of the inherent difficulties associated with the development of effective methods to synthesize aziridines. Traditionally, chiral aziridines have typically been formed by multistep procedures from chiral alcohol precursors, such as the corresponding /3-amino alcohols [34, 35]. More specialized methods have also been developed, as illustrated by Heathcock s two-step sequence proceeding through /3-iodo carbamate 170 (Scheme 9.21) [138]. 

Since the discovery of the CBS catalyst system, many chiral //-amino alcohols have been prepared for the synthesis of new oxazoborolidine catalysts. Compounds 95 and 96 have been prepared93 from L-cysteine. Aziridine carbi-nols 97a and 97b have been prepared94 from L-serine and L-threonine, respectively. When applied in the catalytic borane reduction of prochiral ketones, good to excellent enantioselectivity can be attained (Schemes 6-42 and 6-43). 

A series of chiral guanidines, either symmetrical or nonsymmetrical, was newly synthesized from commercial amino alcohols using a concise and efficient aziridine-based synthetic methodology [25]. 

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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