Aldehydes phenylmagnesium bromide addition

The lower diastereoselectivity found with aldehyde 15 (R = CH3) can be explained by the steric influence of the two methyl substituents in close vicinity to the stereogenic center, which probably diminishes the ability of the ether oxygen to coordinate. In contrast, a significant difference in the diastereoselectivity was found in the additions of phenyllithium and phenylmagnesium bromide to isopropylidene glyceraldehyde (17)58 (see also Section 1.3.1.3.6.). Presumably the diastereo-sclcctivity of the phenyllithium addition is determined by the ratio of chelation-controlled to nonchelation-controlled attack of the nucleophile, whereas in the case of phenylmagnesium bromide additional chelation with the / -ether oxygen may occur. Formation of the -chelate 19 stabilizes the Felkin-Anh transition state and therefore increases the proportion of the anZz -diastereomeric addition product. 

However, with phenyllithium or phenylmagnesium bromide addition to arsenic takes preference to aldehyde addition 115). 

R)- and (,S )-1.1,2-Triphenyl-l,2-ethancdiol which are reliable and useful chiral auxiliary groups (see Section 1.3.4.2.2.3.) also perform ami-sclcctive aldol additions with remarkable induced stereoselectivity72. The (/7)-diastercomer, readily available from (7 )-methyl mandelate (2-hy-droxy-2-phcnylaeetate) and phenylmagnesium bromide in a 71 % yield, is esterified to give the chiral propanoate which is converted into the O-silyl protected ester by deprotonation, silylation, and subsequent hydrolysis. When the protected ester is deprotonated with lithium cyclohexyliso-propylamide, transmetalated by the addition of dichloro(dicyclopentadienyl)zirconium, and finally reacted with aldehydes, predominantly twm -diastereomers 15 result. For different aldehydes, the ratio of 15 to the total amount of the syn-diastereomers is between 88 12 and 98 2 while the chemical yields are 71 -90%. Furthermore, high induced stereoselectivity is obtained the diastereomeric ratios of ami-15/anti-16 arc between 95 5 and >98 2. 

N-substituted and N,N-disubstituted chiral a-amino nitrones are also available from the corresponding a-amino aldehydes. In a first study, it was shown that the addition of phenylmagnesium bromide to N-Boc derivatives exclusively gave the syn N-Boc a-aminohydroxylamines with good yields, but... 

The facile arylation of aldehydes with arylboronic acid has prompted the exploration of asymmetric versions of this reaction. However, this field has been scarcely explored and only few examples have been reported in the literature, with moderate results. The first diastereoselective example was described by Ftirstner and coworkers. By reacting the Gamer aldehyde 15 with phenylboronic acid under their set of experimental conditions (i.e. RhClj-SH O, IPr HCl) (Scheme 7.4) [21], the secondary alcohol was obtained in higher selectivity than that observed in the addition of phenylmagnesium bromide reported by Joullie (de = 94% versus 66%), with the anti isomer as the major compound [29]. 

Mandelic acid-derived chiral (a-substituted) acetate enolate addition to aldehydes leading to chiral j5-hydroxycarboxylic acids illustrates the versatility of the readily available ester 63. The addition of phenylmagnesium bromide to methyl (i )-mandelate (63) gives the (i )-diol 152, which is acetylated to (i )-2-acetoxy-l,l,2-triphenylethanol (153) [(/ )-HYTRA]. Deprotonation with LDA at — 78 °C provides an enolate that is then transmetallated with magnesium bromide and further cooled to —115 °C before reaction with an aldehyde to produce 154 as the major diastereomer with a yield of 84-95%. Heating 154 in aqueous methanol containing potassium hydroxide provides the optically active j5-hydroxyacid 156 (Scheme 36) [41- 4]. 

---