Aldol condensations amino acids

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). ... 

Diastereomeric excesses of up 56% have been claimed for the preparation of a-amino-P-hydroxy acids via the aldol condensation of aldehydes with f-butyl N-(diphenylmethylene)glycinate [63]. It might be expected that there would be thermodynamic control of the C-C bond formation influenced by the steric requirements of the substituents, but the use of cinchoninium and cinchonidinium salts lead to essentially the same diastereoselectivity. The failure of both tetra-n-butylammo-nium and benzyltriethylammonium chloride to catalyse the reaction is curious. 

Amino-3-tetrahydrofurancarboxylic acid 17, an oxygen cycloleucine analog, has been synthesized from D,L-homoserine by an intramolecular Mukaiyama aldol condensation in six steps (89TL1181). From o-Thr, l-muscarine 18 was synthesized in eight steps. The synthesis is highly stereoselective (85T5321). 

Aldol and Related Condensations As an elegant extension of the PTC-alkylation reaction, quaternary ammonium catalysts have been efficiently utilized in asymmetric aldol (Scheme 11.17a)" and nitroaldol reactions (Scheme ll.lTb) for the constmction of optically active p-hydroxy-a-amino acids. In most cases, Mukaiyama-aldol-type reactions were performed, in which the coupling of sUyl enol ethers with aldehydes was catalyzed by chiral ammonium fluoride salts, thus avoiding the need of additional bases, and allowing the reaction to be performed under homogeneous conditions. " It is important to note that salts derived from cinchona alkaloids provided preferentially iyw-diastereomers, while Maruoka s catalysts afforded awh-diastereomers. 

The dibasic side chain at position 7 can be alternatively provided by a substituted amino alkyl pyrrolidine. Preparation of that diamine in chiral form starts with the extension of the ester function in pyrrolidone (46-1) by aldol condensation with ethyl acetate (46-2). Acid hydrolysis of the (3-ketoester leads to the free acid that then decarboxylates to form an acetyl group (46-3). The carbonyl group is next converted to an amine by sequential reaction with hydroxylamine to form the oxime, followed by catalytic hydrogenation. The desired isomer (46-4) is then separated... 

The second step in the hexose synthesis was the aldol condensation of 4 with another a-hetero aldehyde derivative S. By tuning the Lewis acid and the solvent, three of the four possible diastereomeric products could be selectively prepared. a-Amino and a-thio aldehydes worked well also, leading to 9 and 10 respectively. 

MECHANISM FIGURE 22-18 Tryptophan synthase reaction. This enzyme catalyzes a multistep reaction with several types of chemical rearrangements. An aldol cleavage produces indole and glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate this reaction does not require PLP. Dehydration of serine forms a PLP-aminoacrylate intermediate. In steps and this condenses with indole, and the product is hydrolyzed to release tryptophan. These PLP-facilitated transformations occur at the /3 carbon (C-3) of the amino acid, as opposed to the a-carbon reactions described in Figure 18-6. The /3 carbon of serine is attached to the indole ring system. Tryptophan Synthase Mechanism... 

Except for some vitamin B12-dependent reactions, the cleavage or formation of carbon-carbon bonds usually depends upon the participation of carbonyl groups. For this reason, carbonyl groups have a central mechanistic role in biosynthesis. The activation of hydrogen atoms (3 to carbonyl groups permits (3 condensations to occur during biosynthesis. Aldol or Claisen condensations require the participation of two carbonyl compounds. Carbonyl compounds are also essential to thiamin diphosphate-dependent condensations and the aldehyde pyridoxal phosphate is needed for most C-C bond cleavage or formation within amino acids. 

The six carbons of the benzene ring of the aromatic amino acids are derived from the four carbons of erythrose 4-phosphate and two of the three carbons of phosphoenolpyruvate (PEP). The initial step in the pathway (Fig. 25-1, step a) is the condensation of erythrose 4-P with PEP and is catalyzed by 3-deoxy-D-arafrmo-heptulosonate-7-phosphate (DAHP) synthase. Closely analogous to an aldol condensation, the mechanism provides a surprise.10 When PEP containing lsO in the oxygen bridge to the phospho group reacts, the lsO is retained in the eliminated phosphate biochemical intuition would suggest that it should stay in the... 

Chen et al.[57] reported the synthesis of the 2-hydroxyethylene isostere using two methods. The first method is initiated with readily available a-amino acids and utilizes the Evans chiral aldol condensation to control the stereochemistry (Scheme 25). The second method does not start with a-amino acids, and thus allows for the synthesis of isosteres having side chains other than those obtained from the available a-amino acids (Scheme 26). Thus, this synthesis relies on an anti-aldol product for the 2-hydroxyethylene isosteres via an E-selective ethyl hydrocinnamate enolization. 

As described in Scheme 25, the first method starts with the conversion of an a-amino acid into a p-amino-p-alkyl aldehyde. Then, the chiral aldol condensation between the resulting aldehyde and an oxazolidinone derivative is carried out. In the last step, removal of the oxazolidinone provides the desired product. 

The use of the aldol condensation to synthesize y-amino-p-hydroxy acids suffers from several drawbacks, such as possible racemization either of the initial carboxy group during its transformation to the a-amino aldehyde, or during any subsequent manipulations of the sensitive CHO moiety. An alternative route involves the direct activation of the carboxy group of the N-protected a-amino acids 30 followed by alkylation with enolates 17 to produce the corresponding p-oxo esters 31.[36 521 The P-oxo esters can be selectively reduced under various conditions to produce diastereomeric mixtures of the target compounds 18 but with retention of the chirality of the initial a-amino acid (Scheme 8). 

N-Methylated y-amino-p-hydroxy acids are accessible by the usual synthetic sequences, i.e. aldol condensation or y-amino-P-oxo ester reduction, starting from the corresponding N-methylated a-amino acids, but are obtained with low diastereoselectivity. 61-63 Alternatively, Brown allylboration of the ALBoc-ALMe amino aldehyde 16 (R1 = Bzl, X=Boc, Y = Me) gives the allyhc N-methylated intermediate 27 in 64% yield and 90% de (Scheme 12). 64 Oxidative cleavage of the alkenol is performed using the two-step ozonolysis and sodium chlorite oxidation sequence. 

The control of the three consecutive asymmetric centers in a-alkylated y-amino-p-hydroxy acids is achieved by aldol condensation of a chiral aldehyde and a chiral reagent (Scheme 17 and Table 6), e.g. boron enolate 43,150 79 oxazolidinones of Evans type lit80 or 45 [68>69>801 or Brown s or Roush s crotylorganoboron reagents 46[81 and 47J81,82 respectively. 

One of the most spectacular and useful template reactions is the Curtis reaction , in which a new chelate ring is formed as the result of an aldol condensation between a methylene ketone or inline and an imine salt. The initial example of this reaction was the formation of a macrocyclic nickel(II) complex from tris(l,2-diaminoethane)nickel(II) perchlorate and acetone (equation 53).182 The reaction has been developed by Curtis and numerous other workers and has been reviewed.183 In mechanistic terms there is some circumstantial evidence to suggest that the nucleophile is an uncoordinated aoetonyl carbanion which adds to a coordinated imine to yield a coordinated amino ketone (equation 54). If such a mechanism operates then the template effect is largely, if not wholly, thermodynamic in nature, as described for imine formation. Such a view is supported by the fact that the free macrocycle salts can be produced by acid catalysis alone. However, this fact does not... 

In tile industrial production of higher alcohols (above butyls), aldehydes play the role of an intermediate in a complete process that involves aldol condensation and hydrogenation. In the OXO process, olefins are catalytically converted into aldehydes that contain one more carbon titan the olefin in the feedstock. Aldehydes also serve as starting materials in the synthesis of several amino acids. See also Acetaldehyde Aldol Condensation Benzaldehyde and Furfuraldehyde. 

Amino acids and their derivatives undergo a wide range of reactions, e.g. racemization, peptide bond formation, ester hydrolysis, aldol-type condensation, Schiff base formation and redox reactions, which are catalyzed by coordination to a metal centre. A number of reviews are available which cover some of these reactions.48,69,70... 

In invoking the Schiff base intermediate described above, Gillard et aV4 were making use of the known extra activation of the a C—H bond in Schiff base complexes as compared to the simple amino acid complexes. Rates of racemization are enhanced several-fold, as are aldol condensation reactions. 

The various reactions undergone by coordinated amino acids have been the subject of several reviews28,31,32,438,446 and only a brief discussion will be given here. The reactions which occur can be roughly classified under three headings (a) aldol condensations, (b) reactions of complexes of amino acid Schiff bases, and (c) isotopic exchange and racemization at the a-carbon of the amino acid. 

The methodology of the catalytic asymmetric aldol reaction has been further extended to the aldol-type condensation of (isocyanomethyl)phosphonates (12) with aldehydes, providing a useful method for the synthesis of optically active (l-aminoalkyl)phosphonic acids, which are a class of biologically interesting phosphorous analogs of a-amino acids (Scheme 8B1.6) [21,22], Higher enantioselectivity and reactivity are obtained with diphenyl ester 12b than with diethyl ester 12a (Table 8B1.6). 

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