Aldehydes hydrolyzed epoxides

The zwitterion (6) can react with protic solvents to produce a variety of products. Reaction with water yields a transient hydroperoxy alcohol (10) that can dehydrate to a carboxyUc acid or spHt out H2O2 to form a carbonyl compound (aldehyde or ketone, R2CO). In alcohoHc media, the product is an isolable hydroperoxy ether (11) that can be hydrolyzed or reduced (with (CH O) or (CH2)2S) to a carbonyl compound. Reductive amination of (11) over Raney nickel produces amides and amines (64). Reaction of the zwitterion with a carboxyUc acid to form a hydroperoxy ester (12) is commercially important because it can be oxidized to other acids, RCOOH and R COOH. Reaction of zwitterion with HCN produces a-hydroxy nitriles that can be hydrolyzed to a-hydroxy carboxyUc acids. Carboxylates are obtained with H2O2/OH (65). The zwitterion can be reduced during the course of the reaction by tetracyanoethylene to produce its epoxide (66). 

The principal side reaction to epoxide coupling is hydrolysis. Particularly at acid pH values, the epoxide ring can hydrolyze to form adjacent hydroxyls. This diol can be oxidized with periodate to create a terminal aldehyde residue with loss of one molecule of formaldehyde (Chapter 1, Section 4.4). The aldehyde then can be used in reductive amination reactions. The reaction of an epoxide group with an ammonium ion generates a terminal primary amine group that also can be used for further derivatization. 

Phenylthio-l-trimethylsilylalkanes are easily prepared by the alkylation of (phenylthioXtrimethylsilyl)mcthane as shown in Scheme 10 [40], The treatment of (phenylthio)(trimethylsilyl)methane with butyllithium/tetramethylethylene-diamine (TMEDA) in hexane followed by the addition of alkyl halides or epoxides produces alkylation products which can be oxidized electrochemically to yield the acetals. Since acetals are readily hydrolyzed to aldehydes, (phenylthioXtrimethylsilyl)methane provides a synthon of the formyl anion. This is an alternative to the oxidative transformation of a-thiosilanes to aldehydes via Sila-Pummerer rearrangement under application of MCPBA as oxidant [40, 41]. 

Oxidation of silyl enol ethers. Oxidation of silyl enol ethers to a-hydroxy aldehydes or ketones is usually effected with w-chloroperbenzoic acid (6, 112). This oxidation can also be effected by epoxidation with 2-(phenylsulfonyl)-3-( p-nitrophenyl) oxaziridine in CHC1, at 25-60° followed by rearrangement to a-silyloxy carbonyl compounds, which are hydrolyzed to the a-hydroxy carbonyl compound (BujNF or H,0 + ). Yields are moderate to high. Oxidation with a chiral 2-arene-sulfonyloxaziridine shows only modest enantioselectivity. 

Addition of l,3-bis(methylthio)allyllithium to aldehydes, ketones, and epoxides followed by mercuric ion-promoted hydrolysis furnishes hydroxyalkyl derivatives of acrolein5 that are otherwise available in lower yield by multistep procedures. For example, addition of 1,3-bis-(methylthio)allyllithium to acetone proceeds in 97% yield to give a tertiary alcohol that is hydrolyzed with mercuric chloride and calcium carbonate to saturated aldehyde.8 Similarly, addition of l,3-bis(methylthio)allyl-lithium to an epoxide, acetylation of the hydroxyl group, and hydrolysis with mercuric chloride and calcium carbonate provides a 5-acetoxy-a,/ -unsaturatcd aldehyde,6 as indicated in Table I. Cyclic cis-epoxides give aldehydes in which the acetoxy group is trans to the 3-oxopropenyl group. 

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). 

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. 

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. 

A similar reaction cycle to the epoxidation of aldehydes was proposed (Scheme 20.15). Obviously, the presence of water would hydrolyze N-sulfonyHmines to aldehydes and sulfonylamides, which would compete with its reaction with the sulfonium ylides. Other allyUc halides like aUyl bromide, silylated aUyl bromide, and crotonyl bromide were inefficient... 

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