Aldol condensation reaction procedure

Similar to the Dakin-West procedure previously mentioned, the Henry nitro-aldol condensation reaction is most widely used to synthesize trifluoromethyl ketones, although there are many examples of a,a-difluoroalkyl ketones synthesized by this method (Table 6)JU 12271 The method for a,a-difluoroalkyl and trifluoromethyl ketone synthesis is identical except for the final oxidation although fluoroalkyl and a,a-difluoroalkyl ketones are easily oxidized by the Sarett method (Cr03/pyridine),[12 the corresponding trifluoromethyl ketones can only be oxidized under basic conditions (0.3 M NaOH) with KMn04Jul Also, in some of the syntheses of a,a-difluoroalkyl ketones, the nitro alcohol intermediate was protected by si-lylation with /ert-butylchlorodimethylsilane. The silyl group was later removed by TosOH prior to oxidation. The full details of this method are given in Section 15.1.4.3.2. 

In this section the synthesis of fluoroalkyl (Section 15.1.4.1.3), a,a-difluoroalkyl (Section 15.1.4.2.3), and trifluoromethyl- and perfluoroalkyl ketones are discussed collectively. The second most widely used method for synthesizing peptide fluoromethyl ketones is the Henry nitro-aldol condensation reaction, which involves the use of (3-nitro alcohols to build the fluoromethyl ketones. As with the modified Dakin-West procedure, the Henry reaction has also been used to synthesize mono-, di-, tri-, and extended fluoromethyl ketones, making it another extremely versatile synthetic method.19 12 19 27 29 33 341 However, similar to the Dakin-West procedure, the products of the Henry reaction are not chiral, since an achiral carbanion is involved in the crucial carbon bond forming step. 

Dianion aldol condensation reactions with Evans oxazolidinones or Oppolzer sultams as chiral auxiliaries have been demonstrated to be a useful method to generate the core skeleton of furofurans with diastereoselectivities of 5 1-20 1. Stereoselective total syntheses of the furofuran lignans (-l-)-eudesmin, (+)-yangambin, (—)-eudesmin, and (-)-yangambin according to this procedure have been reported (Equation 102) <2006TL6433>. 

In practice this reaction is difficult to carry out with simple aldehydes and ketones because aldol condensation competes with alkylation Furthermore it is not always possi ble to limit the reaction to the introduction of a single alkyl group The most successful alkylation procedures use p diketones as starting materials Because they are relatively acidic p diketones can be converted quantitatively to their enolate ions by weak bases and do not self condense Ideally the alkyl halide should be a methyl or primary alkyl halide... 

Annual Volume 71 contains 30 checked and edited experimental procedures that illustrate important new synthetic methods or describe the preparation of particularly useful chemicals. This compilation begins with procedures exemplifying three important methods for preparing enantiomerically pure substances by asymmetric catalysis. The preparation of (R)-(-)-METHYL 3-HYDROXYBUTANOATE details the convenient preparation of a BINAP-ruthenium catalyst that is broadly useful for the asymmetric reduction of p-ketoesters. Catalysis of the carbonyl ene reaction by a chiral Lewis acid, in this case a binapthol-derived titanium catalyst, is illustrated in the preparation of METHYL (2R)-2-HYDROXY-4-PHENYL-4-PENTENOATE. The enantiomerically pure diamines, (1 R,2R)-(+)- AND (1S,2S)-(-)-1,2-DIPHENYL-1,2-ETHYLENEDIAMINE, are useful for a variety of asymmetric transformations hydrogenations, Michael additions, osmylations, epoxidations, allylations, aldol condensations and Diels-Alder reactions. Promotion of the Diels-Alder reaction with a diaminoalane derived from the (S,S)-diamine is demonstrated in the synthesis of (1S,endo)-3-(BICYCLO[2.2.1]HEPT-5-EN-2-YLCARBONYL)-2-OXAZOLIDINONE. 

The aldol condensation of benzaldehyde with the thioacetamide carbanion (RCHCSNRV), derived from the desilylation of the silyl-thioether with tetra-/i-buty-lammonium fluoride, is stereoselective at—80°C producing the erythro isomer of the p-hydroxy thioamide preferentially (Scheme 6.18, R = Me, erythro threo 95 5) via a conformationally mobile intermediate. However, when R is bulky, a greater amount of the threo isomer is formed. Predictably, as the reaction temperature is raised, so the stereoselectively decreases. This procedure contrasts with the corresponding condensation catalysed by titanium salts, where the complexed intermediate produces the threo isomer [47, 48],... 

In large measure, the problem associated with the execution of a stereoselective aldol condensation has been reduced to the generation of a specific enolate geometry. The recent results of Kuwajima (66a), which demonstrate that enolsilanes may be transformed into boryl enolates without apparent loss of stereochemistry (eq. [53]), should enhance the utility of vinyloxyboranes in stereoselective synthesis. The only current drawback to this procedure is associated with the presence of trimethylsilyl triflate (69), which must be removed from the reaction medium before the aldol condensation. It has recently been established that 69 is an effective catalyst for the aldol process (4). 

An exceptionally mild procedure for the cross-condensation of aldimines and enolsilanes has been described (eq. [67]) (80). This titanium tetrachloride-mediated reaction is predicated on the previous analogies provided by Mukaiyama for related aldol condensations (73a). Depending on aldimine structure and reaction time, either -lactams or their penultimate amino esters may be isolated from the reaction. The authors postulate that these reactions are proceeding via titanium enolates derived from ligand exchange by... 

The sequence that follows illustrates how a conjugate aldol addition (Michael addition) followed by a simple aldol condensation may be used to build one ring onto another. This procedure is known as the Robinson annulation (ring forming) reaction (after the English chemist Sir Robert Robinson, who won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1947 for his research on naturally occurring compounds). 

The reaction is carried out in vapour phase (250°C) using a flow system (see methods section). This procedure turned out to be essential in order to mantain the hydrogen transfer as the main reaction pathway. A batch experiment carried out in an autoclave actually showed a wide range of condensation products besides some saturated ketone [6]. Reactions of ketones over oxide catalysts can lead to a variety of products due inter alia to aldol condensation, intramolecular dehydration and intermolecular disproportionation [16]. However, the presence of a good hydrogen donor such as a secondary alcohol and vapour phase conditions favour the transfer hydrogenation as the major reaction [16,17]. In our reaction conditions, products attributable to crotonic condensations and subsequent 1,4 Michael addition [18] were observed by g.l.c.-m.s. (Table 1). 

The synthetic method (a) is the regioselective reduction of an a,/ -unsaturated aldehyde or ketone (Section 5.18.2, p. 798), which is most conveniently effected by the Meerwein-Ponndorf-Verley procedure (Section 5.4.1, p. 520). The further disconnection shown of the a, -carbonyl compound is a retro-aldol condensation (Section 5.18.2, p. 799) however it should be emphasised that other routes to the unsaturated carbonyl compound, such as the Horner-Emmons reaction (Section 5.18.2, p. 799), may also be feasible. 

Reaction of aliphatic aldehydes with alkali acetylides in liquid ammonia gives the carbinols in very small amounts, even when the aldehyde is added to a strongly cooled solution of lithium acetylide. The predominant reaction presumably is formation of the enolate and the aldol condensation product As shown on p. 21, a suspension of LiOCH in THF can be obtained by gradually replacing the ammonia of an ammoniacal solution of the acetylide by THF. The lithium acetylide obtained in this way probably thanks its stability to the complexed ammonia. In the procedure described below, butanal is added to the suspension to give the acetylenic carbinol in a reasonable yield. Since this compound is rather volatile, it is essential to remove the greater part of the THF, before the hydrolysis is carried out. The main solvent which then has to be removed in the isolation procedure is the diethyl ether, used for the extractions. During the addition of the aldehyde, acetylene is introduced to suppress the formation of the diol RCH(OH)C=CCH(OH)R. 

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