Aldol condensation and related reactions

Diastereoselective aldol condensations and related reactions. The geometry of enolates... 

The use of classical condensation reactions is important. Thus, the Dieckmann reaction (equation 38) and the Thorpe-Ziegler cyclization (equation 39) have been used for almost a century for the preparation of a wide range of monocyclic and benzo-fused heterocycles. The aldol condensation and related reactions have also been fairly widely exploited, especially for the synthesis of 4-quinolones (the Camps reaction, e.g. equation 40), and various extensions of this general approach are described in the monograph chapters. 

Like the aldol condensation and related reactions, the Claisen condensation involves nucleophilic attack by a carbanion on an electron-deficient carbonyl carbon. In the aldol condensation nucleophilic attack leads to addition the typical reaction of aldehydes and ketones in the Claisen condensation, nucleophilic attack leads to substitution, the typical reaction of acyl compounds (Sec. 20.4). 

The aldol condensation and related reactions are among the most important, and ubiquitous, construction reactions in organic synthesis. In these condensations, the carbonyl compound acts as both nucleophile and electrophile—the enol or enolate is the nucleophile, and the keto form is the electrophile. The reaction works with enolizable aldehydes (Figure 17.24) or ketones (Figure 17.25) and may be catalyzed by either acid or base. Almost all of the steps we write are equilibria—how can we persuade the reaction to go to completion In the base-catalyzed reaction, a catalyst such as barium hydroxide is placed inside a Soxhlet thimble, as in Figure 17.26. The reaction mixture is heated so that the acetone refluxes, but the product does not. Thus only the SM, and not the product, comes into contact with the catalyst, ensuring that the reverse reaction does not occur. Note that in the acid-catalyzed processes, it is common for the product to be dehydrated under the reaction conditions—this usually pulls the equilibrium over to the product. The mechanism of the elimination reaction may be El or E2 depending on the... 

Related to their application in synthesis, protic ILs have been used in C-C bond-forming reactions (Knoevenagel condensations, Diels Alder reactions, alkylation and Henry reactions, aldol condensations and Mannich reactions)... 

This reaction is related to the Aldol Condensation and Michael Reaction. 

Activation of C=X Bonds. The mild Lewis acid character of ZnCl2 is frequently exploited to promote the addition of various nucleophiles to carbon-heteroatom double bonds. The well-established Knoevenagel condensation and related reactions have been effectively catalyzed by ZnC (eq 26). " The addition of enol ethers and ketene acetals to aldehydes and ketones has been noted (eq 27), though ZnCl2 has been used less widely in these aldol-type condensations than other Lewis acids, including TiCU,... 

In contrast to the "classical solution" we have just discussed, we will now consider the aldol condensation -one of the most important carbon-carbon bond formation reactions [3], in both the laboratory and Nature l - as an example of the "contemporary solution" to the problem of acyclic stereoselection. As a reversible reaction, the design of highly stereoselective aldol and related reactions demands that all the stereochemical aspects involved in the C-C bond formation are kinetically controlled. 

Trichlorotitanium enolates are directly prepared from a ketone, TiCU, and a tertiary amine [122,123] and undergo aldol reactions with aldehydes [124-129], ketones [129], and imines [130,131], Intramolecular condensation with esters is also known [132-137], Although these reactions, based on a titanium enolate [16], which often results in high diastereoselectivity in aldol and related reactions [122], will not be discussed in detail in this article, the success of the alkylation of this titanium enolate with SNl-active electrophiles should be discussed owing to the high Lewis acidity of the metal center [123], Equation (37) shows stereoselective alkylation with an orthoacetate, which is usually inert to alkali metal enolates [138], Aminoalkylation of trichlorotitanium enolates with (a-chloroalkyl)amine has been performed analogously [139,140],... 

Mukaiyama aldol and related reactions. In the condensation with this catalyst to... 

General reviews include the direct aldol/" aldoi and related processes,the Zimmerman-Traxler TS model used to explain the stereochemistry of the aldoi condensation,catalysis of direct asymmetric aldols by prolinamides versus prolinef/zioamides, " " the catalytic asymmetric aldoi reaction in aqueous media (considering both organometallic and organocatalytic approaches), " the use of BINAP oxide in enantioselective direct aldols,and the use of metal enolates as synthons. " ... 

Volume 1 of a series of texts on carbon-carbon bond formation has been advertiseda section deals, for example, with the aldol and related reactions. The importance of the aldol reaction has already been illustrated in the above-mentioned syntheses of polyethers applications of boron enolates in stereoselective aldol condensations have been discussed and exemplified by Evans et al. ... 

For Aldol and Related Reactions. The TMSI/(TMS)2NH combination can be used for the synthesis of polycyclic cyclobutane derivatives by tandem intramolecular Michael-aldol reaction. TMSI-induced diastereoselective synthesis of tetrahy-dropyranones by a tandem Knoevenagel-Michael reaction, has also been developed. More recently, the facile synthesis of a,a bis(substituted benzylidene)cycloalkanones has been reported, using TMSI (in situ generated) mediated cross-aldol condensations (eq 53). ... 

Guthrie JP (1978) Equilibrium constants for a series of simple aldol condensations, and linear free energy relations with other carbonyl addition reactions. Can J Chem 56 962-973... 

With simpler, less stabilized, enols and enolates, the same selectivity issues arise in this addition process as we saw for aldol and related reactions—these reactions are related to the aldols, but a double bond simply intervenes as an electron relay. Consider the example shown in Figure 17.68. We have chosen a nucleophile that can enolize readily and an a,p-unsaturated aldehyde that can t enolize. The enal is more electrophilic than the ketone, so self-condensation of the ketone is not... 

The azlactones of a-benzoylaminocinnamic acids have traditionally been prepared by the action of hippuric acid (1, Ri = Ph) and acetic anhydride upon aromatic aldehydes, usually in the presence of sodium acetate. The formation of the oxazolone (2) in Erlenmeyer-Plochl synthesis is supported by good evidence. The method is a way to important intermediate products used in the synthesis of a-amino acids, peptides and related compounds. The aldol condensation reaction of azlactones (2) with carbonyl compounds is often followed by hydrolysis to provide unsaturated a-acylamino acid (4). Reduction yields the corresponding amino acid (6), while drastic hydrolysis gives the a-0X0 acid (5). ... 

Pyrimidinopyrazines related to folic acid have been investigated in some detail for their antimeta-bolic and antineoplastic activities. A related compound, which lacks one nitrogen atom, has been described as an antiproliferative agent, indicating it too has an effect on cell replication. Aldol condensation of the benzaldehyde 99 with ethyl acetoacetate gives the cinnamate 100. This is then reduced catalytically to the acetoacetate 101. Reaction of that keto ester with 2,4,6- triami-nopyrimidine gives the product 102 which is subsequently chlorinated (103) and subjected to hydrogenolysls. There is thus formed piritrexim (104) [17]. 

Besides the domino Michael/SN processes, domino Michael/Knoevenagel reactions have also been used. Thus, Obrecht, Filippone and Santeusanio employed this type of process for the assembly of highly substituted thiophenes [102] and pyrroles [103]. Marinelli and colleagues have reported on the synthesis of various 2,4-disubstituted quinolines [104] and [l,8]naphthyridines [105] by means of a domino Michael addition/imine cyclization. Related di- and tetrahydroquinolines were prepared by a domino Michael addition/aldol condensation described by the Hamada group [106]. A recent example of a domino Michael/aldol condensation process has been reported by Brase and coworkers [107], by which substituted tetrahydroxan-thenes 2-186 were prepared from salicylic aldehydes 2-184 and cycloenones 2-185 (Scheme 2.43). 

Kambe and Yasuda19 discovered the effectiveness of the fluoride as a Henry reaction catalyst. Since then, the use of diverse fluorides is a common method to catalyze nitro aldol condensations, since they provide mild conditions that are particularly convenient for sensitive products as carbohydrates. The most common fluorides are potassium fluoride20 and tetrabutyl ammonium fluoride.21 A recent example relates to the TBAF catalyzed addition of nitroethanol to the D-glucose derivative 18, to give nitro sugars 19 (Scheme 8).22... 

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