Aldol ethers, formation

Not surprisingly, an attempt at direct Mitsunobu inversion of (3-hydroxyketone 14 led only to elimination, yielding the corresponding a,(3-unsaturated ketone. To circumvent this problem, 14 was converted to homoallylic alcohol 15 by Petasis methylenation via the corresponding TES ether. Attempts to methylenate (3-hydroxyketone 14 directly under Petasis conditions led to substantial decomposition via elimination and retro-aldol pathways. Alcohol 15 underwent smooth Mitsunobu inversion to give, following methanolysis and TES ether formation, the desired 1,4-anti compound 16 (Scheme 3). This was then converted in three straightforward steps to aldehyde 17, ready for the proposed aldol union with ketone 10. 

The authors used (5)-carvotanacetone (dihydrocarvone) as starting material (Scheme 34). To prepare the linearly conjugated sUylenol ether, they used the Kharash protocol and attained y-alkylation by Mukaiyama aldol reaction with trimethylorthoformate (195). The ketoacetal 295 was a-hydroxylated according to Rubottom by silylenol ether formation followed by epoxidation and silyl migration. Acid treatment transformed 296 to the epimeric cyclic acetals 297 and 298. endo-Aceta 297 was equilibrated thereby increasing the amount of exo-acetal 298. The necessary unsaturated side chain for the prospected radical cyclization was introduced by 1,4-addition of a (trimethylsilyl)butynylcopper compound. 

Regardless of the precise structure of the chosen half southern synthon, the two main problems to be solved are the establishment of the carbon skeleton and the introduction of the necessary chirahty into the molecule. The published approaches have introduced chirality either by resolution, by starting with a chiral precursor, or via use of asymmetric synthesis techniques. The carbon skeleton has been established by use of a wide variety of techniques including the Diels-Alder and other cycloaddition reactions, heteroatom induced cyclizations, intramolecular Michael or Aldol cyclizations, intramolecular ether formation, and radical cyclization. 

Boron trifluoride is a highly moisture-sensitive gas (31). It is utilized in esterification, ether formation, Friedel-Crafts alkylation and acylation, and Lewis acid-catalyzed Diels-Alder reactions. A more widely used, easy-to-handle and convenient liquid source of BF3 is boron trifluoride etherate [BF3-0(C2H5)2] (32). Its main usage as catalyst is in the direct esterification of all types of acids, rearrangements, aldol condensation, and Lewis acid-catalyzed Diels-Alder reactions. It is the most frequently used acid in epoxide ring opening and rearrangement (33). 

Allyl aryl ethers are used for allylation under basic conditionsfh], but they can be cleaved under neutral conditions. Formation of the five-membered ring compound 284 based on the cyclization of 283 has been applied to the syntheses of methyl jasmonate (285)[15], and sarkomycin[169]. The trisannulation reagent 286 for steroid synthesis undergoes Pd-catalyzed cyclization and aldol condensation to afford CD rings 287 of steroids with a functionalized 18-methyl group 170]. The 3-vinylcyclopentanonecarboxylate 289, formed from 288, is useful for the synthesis of 18-hydroxyestrone (290)[I7I]. 

---