Aldehydes from hydrolyzed epoxides

The required chain extension of 12 was accomplished via deprotonation with NaH and condensation with aldehyde 7 to afford the Diels-Alder precursor 13 in 50% yield. Thermolysis of triene 13 and lactam 3 in xylene at 170 C for four days resulted in the desired cycloaddition to 14. Chromatographic purification permitted isolation of pure 14 in addition to a small amount of an exo isomer (>4 1 ratio). Acid treatment induced cleavage of both the silyl ether and acetonide. Reprotection of the diol and selective epoxidation of the A olefin produced 15 in 64% yield from 12. Epoxide 12 was then transformed to the isomeric allylic alcohol 16 by conversion of the alcohol to the bromide followed by reductive elimination. Protecting-group manipulation and subsequent oxidation the gave aldehyde 17, which was homologated and hydrolyzed to give seco acid 18 in 32% overall yield from 16. 

Hofmann degradation, styrene 468 was formed. Epoxidation of 468 with m-chloroperbenzoic acid from the less hindered side and lithium aluminum hydride reduction gave ( )-epicorynoline (469). Moreover, slow addition of the a-methoxystyrene 471 to isoquinolinium salt 470 gave cycloadduct 472 in 90% yield. The adduct was hydrolyzed by acid and the resultant aldehyde oxidized to naphthoic acid by Jones oxidation. Modified Curtius rearrangement of 473 with added benzyl alcohol afforded benzyl urethane 474, which was reduced by lithium aluminum hydride and formylated with chloral to give 0-methylarnottiamide (475) (Scheme 60). 

An enzymatic production process for Diltiazem (54), a coronary vasodilator and calcium channel blocker, was started in 1993 by Tanabe Seiyaku, Japan [7, 77]. The epoxide (2i, 3S)-52 is a key intermediate in this synthesis (Scheme 17) and can be produced via asymmetric hydrolysis of rac-52 catalyzed by Serratia marescens lipase immobilized on spongy layers. The whole process takes place in a polyacrylonitrile hollow fiber membrane reactor and produces (2i, 3S)-52 in yields of 40-45%. The hydrolyzed product (2S,3i )-53 is not stable under the prevailing reaction conditions and decarboxylates to aldehyde 55, a strong enzyme deactivator. The aldehyde needs therefore to be removed, which is achieved by continuous filtration of its bisulfite adduct 56. Using this enzymatic process it was possible to bring down the number of required steps en route to 54 from nine to five. This process is also carried out by other companies (e.g., DSM) with a worldwide annual production of 1001. 

The mode of action for the outliers cannot be discerned from these analyses. It could bedueto theircarbanionic nature, or it could be due to a combination of modes. For example, nitriles can decompose to cyanide in some systems (Tanii and Hashimoto 1984) alcohols can be enzymatically oxidized to aldehydes esters can hydrolyze and alpha halo alcohols can form epoxides (Frost and Pearson 1961). If the carbanionic nature of the outliers affects toxicity, there are two most likely modes 1) more facile transport of carbanions across gill membranes or 2) reaction of carbanions with biomolecules. 

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