Alcohols and Cyanohydrins

Alcohol and cyanohydrin guests easily form inclusion complexes with brucine host 

Very interestingly, all cyanohydrins (32h-m) that are substituted with one phenyl group and one less bulky alkyl group or a hydrogen atom do not form complexes with 19. However, the cyanohydrins that are substituted with two alkyl groups (33a-c) or with one alkyl group and one hydrogen atom (33d-f) did form complexes with 19, and their enantiomers were separated [15]. 

The chiral hosts la and lb were found to be useful for the enantiomeric separation of cyanohydrins that cannot be separated with 19. For example, 32g and 32m were separated by complexation with lb and la, respectively, to give (-)-32g of 72.5% ee (70%) and (4-)-32m of 100% ee (47.6%), respectively, in the yields indicated. The most simple chiral cyanohydrin derived from acetaldehyde (33g) was obtained in enantiomerically pure (-i-)-form in 52.6% yield by complexation of rac-33g with la [13]. 

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Acetals prepared from chiral diols and carbonyl compounds serve as a chiral synthetic equivalent of aldehydes or ketones. 1,3-Dioxanes synthesized from chiral 2,4-pentanediols are especially useful, and high asymmetric inductions are observed in the Lewis acid promoted reactions of a variety of organometallic compounds. After the removal of the chiral auxiliary by the oxidation and -elimination procedures, optically active alcohols are obtained. Optically active propargylic alcohols and cyanohydrins are synthesized from organosilane compounds, TMS-C CR or TMS-CN in the presence of TiCU (Scheme 24). 1 6-138 Reactive wganometals such as alkyl-lithiums, -magnesiums or -coppers also react with chiral... 

Miscellaneous Reactions. Sodium bisulfite adds to acetaldehyde to form a white crystalline addition compound, insoluble in ethyl alcohol and ether. This bisulfite addition compound is frequendy used to isolate and purify acetaldehyde, which may be regenerated with dilute acid. Hydrocyanic acid adds to acetaldehyde in the presence of an alkaU catalyst to form cyanohydrin the cyanohydrin may also be prepared from sodium cyanide and the bisulfite addition compound. Acrylonittile [107-13-1] (qv) can be made from acetaldehyde and hydrocyanic acid by heating the cyanohydrin that is formed to 600—700°C (77). Alanine [302-72-7] can be prepared by the reaction of an ammonium salt and an alkaU metal cyanide with acetaldehyde this is a general method for the preparation of a-amino acids called the Strecker amino acids synthesis. Grignard reagents add readily to acetaldehyde, the final product being a secondary alcohol. Thioacetaldehyde [2765-04-0] is formed by reaction of acetaldehyde with hydrogen sulfide thioacetaldehyde polymerizes readily to the trimer. 

Formaldehyde Cyanohydrin. This cyanohydrin, also known as glycolonitrile [107-16-4], is a colorless Hquid with a cyanide odor. It is soluble in water, alcohol, and diethyl ether. Equimolar amounts of 37% formaldehyde and aqueous hydrogen cyanide mixed with a sodium hydroxide catalyst at 2°C for one hour give formaldehyde cyanohydrin in 79.5% yield (22). 

Benzaldehyde Cyanohydrin. This cyanohydrin, also known as mandelonitrile [532-28-5] is a yellow, oily Hquid, insoluble in water, but soluble in alcohol and diethyl ether. Mandelonitrile is a component of the glycoside amygdalin [29883-15-6] a precursor of laetdle [1332-94-7] found in the leaves and seeds on most Prunus species (plum, peach, apricot, etc). In 1832, mandelonitrile was the first cyanohydrin to be synthesized. 

Cyanohydrin Synthesis. Another synthetically useful enzyme that catalyzes carbon—carbon bond formation is oxynitnlase (EC 4.1.2.10). This enzyme catalyzes the addition of cyanides to various aldehydes that may come either in the form of hydrogen cyanide or acetone cyanohydrin (152—158) (Fig. 7). The reaction constitutes a convenient route for the preparation of a-hydroxy acids and P-amino alcohols. Acetone cyanohydrin [75-86-5] can also be used as the cyanide carrier, and is considered to be superior since it does not involve hazardous gaseous HCN and also virtually eliminates the spontaneous nonenzymatic reaction. (R)-oxynitrilase accepts aromatic (97a,b), straight- (97c,e), and branched-chain aUphatic aldehydes, converting them to (R)-cyanohydrins in very good yields and high enantiomeric purity (Table 10). 

Silylated cyanohydrins have also been prepared via silylation of cyanohydrins themselves and by the addition of hydrogen cyanide to silyl enol ethers. Silylated cyanohydrins have proved to be quite useful in a variety of synthetic transformations, including the regiospecific protection of p-quinones, as intermediates in an efficient synthesis of a-aminomethyl alcohols, and for the preparation of ketone cyanohydrins themselves.The silylated cyanohydrins of heteroaromatic aldehydes have found extensive use as... 

The requisite starting cyanohydrin is readily prepared from a 20-keto-pregnane substitution at C-21 has no effect on the success of this step. However, the stability of the cyanohydrin is markedly dependent on other features of the molecule thus a 3-acetate confers greater stability than the free alcohol, and a 3-ketone is so unstable that subsequent dehydration with phosphorus oxychloride gives poor yields of the A -unsaturated nitrile. 

In 1896, Emil Fisher found that 2,5-diphenyloxazole hydrochloride was precipitated by passing gaseous hydrogen chloride into an absolute ether solution of benzaldehyde and benzaldehyde cyanohydrin. The oxazole hydrochloride can be converted to the free base by addition of water or by boiling with alcohol. Many different aromatic aldehydes and cyanohydrin combinations have been converted to 2,5-diaryloxazoles 4 by this procedure in 80% yield. ... 

Hayashi et al.147 reported another highly enantioselective cyanohydrination catalyzed by compound 138. In this reaction, a Schilf base derived from fl-amino alcohol and a substituted salicylic aldehyde were used as the chiral ligand, and the asymmetric addition of trimethylsilylcyanide to aldehyde gave the corresponding cyanohydrin with up to 91% ee (Scheme 2-56). 

The other reactions of the aldehydes, which are extraordinarily reactive substances, need only he mentioned here. Such reactions are reduction to alcohols, formation of hydrazones, oximes, semicarbazones, bisulphite compounds, acetals and cyanohydrins (by addition of hydrogen cyanide). 

To the crude mixture of ammonium bromide and /3-bromo-propionic acid, prepared as described on p. 25, from 317 g. of ethylene cyanohydrin, are added 1200 cc. of carbon tetrachloride and 200 cc. of the same solvent which has been shaken with the aqueous distillates the ammonium bromide is filtered off and washed with 200 cc. of carbon tetrachloride. The watery layer, amounting to about 350 cc., is separated and shaken with 100 cc. of carbon tetrachloride. To the united carbon tetrachloride solutions are added 450 cc. of 95 per cent ethyl alcohol and 10 g. of sulfosalicylic acid or phenolsulfonic acid to act as a catalyst (Note 1). 

Ethylene cyanohydrin has been prepared by the action of ethylene oxide upon anhydrous hydrocyanic acid but the majority of methods described in the literature have involved the interaction of ethylene chlorohydrin and alkali cyanide. This has been efifected in the absence of a solvent by heating to 100° in a closed vessel, by boiling the reagents in 50 per cent aqueous-alcohoUc solution, by adding a concentrated aqueous solution of potassium or sodiiun cyanide to a boiling solution of ethylene chlorohydrin in absolute alcohol, and in aqueous solution at 45°. ... 

The acetone cyanohydrin was converted to ethyl or-hydroxyisobuty-rate by reaction with ethyl alcohol and dilute sulfunc acid... 

The presence of the double bond (carbonyl group C 0) markedly determines the. chemical behavior of the aldehydes. The hydrogen atom connected directly to the carbonyl group is not easily displaced. The chemical properties of the aldehy des may be summarized by (1) they react with alcohols, with elimination of H2O, to form ace t i (2) they combine readily with HCN to form cyanohydrins, (3) they react with hydroxylamine to yield aldoximes (4) they react with hydrazine to form hydrazones (5) they can be oxidized lulu fatty acids, which contain die same [lumber of carbons as in the initial aldehyde 5) they can be reduced readily to form primary alcohols. When bcnzaldchydc is reduced with sodium amalgam and HjO, benzyl alcohol C,f l - -C f I Of I is obtained. The latter compound also may be obtained by treating benzaldehyde with a solution of cold KOH in which benzyl alcohol and potassium benzoate are produced. The latter reaction is known as Cannizzaro s reaction. 

With acid catalysis, alcohols add to the carbonyl group of aldehydes to give hemiacetals [RCH(OH)OR ]. Further reaction with excess alcohol gives acetals [RCH(OR )2]- Ketones react similarly. These reactions are reversible that is, acetals can be readily hydrolyzed by aqueous acid to their alcohol and carbonyl components. Water adds similarly to the carbonyl group of certain aldehydes (for example, formaldehyde and chloral) to give hydrates. Hydrogen cyanide adds to carbonyl compounds as a carbon nucleophile to give cyanohydrins [R2C(OH)CN],... 

Resolution The reagent 1 reacts with racemic alcohols, thiols, amines, and cyanohydrins to give diastcreomeric derivatives that can be separated by column chromatography or crystallization. Subsequent hydrolysis gives the enantiomers and 1 is recovered. With racemic alcohols, preferential acetalization of the (R)-cnantiomers is observed. 

The full configurations of the other synthetic octoses, nonoses and Philippe s decose remained unknown because these aldoses led to no meso alcohols and none of their alcohols was obtained from two aldoses. If both epimers from each cyanohydrin synthesis in the glucose, mannose and galactose series had been obtainable readily, most configurations in... 

TrialkylsUyl cyanides, which also possess sp C—Si bonds, react with carbonyls. Znh, " AlCb, TMSOTf, LnCb (Ln = La, Ce, Sm), etc., are employed as the promoter, and cyanohydrin silyl ethers are obtained in high yields even from hindered ketones (equation 12). The products are converted to various synthetically important intermediates such as cyanohydrins, a,p-unsaturated nitriles or amino alcohols. 

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