Aldol products, comparison with

In principle, L-proline acts as an enzyme mimic of the metal-free aldolase of type I. Similar to this enzyme L-proline catalyzes the direct aldol reaction according to an enamine mechanism. Thus, for the first time a mimic of the aldolase of type I was found. The close relation of the reaction mechanisms of the aldolase of type 1 [5b] and L-proline [4] is shown in a graphical comparison of both reaction cycles in Scheme 3. In both cases the formation of the enamines Ila and lib, respectively, represents the initial step. These reactions are carried out starting from the corresponding ketone and the amino functionality of the enzyme or L-proline. The conversion of the enamine intermediates Ha and lib, respectively, with an aldehyde, and the subsequent release of the catalytic system (aldolase of type I or L-proline) furnishes the aldol product. 

In the same year Mosse and Alexakis [34] reported microwave-assisted asymmetric aldol reactions of acetone and various aromatic aldehydes catalyzed by proline (Scheme 21.12). In the model reaction, under microwave irradiation with simultaneous air-cooUng (25 °C) after 15 min the aldol product was obtained in 68% yield and with moderate enantioselectivity (74% ee). In comparison, the reaction without MW required 4h at room temperature to afford the same yield and selectivity. Comparing the yields and enantioselectivities of the product obtained... 

Aramendia et al. (22) investigated three separate organic test reactions such as, 1-phenyl ethanol, 2-propanol, and 2-methyl-3-butyn-2-ol (MBOH) on acid-base oxide catalysts. They reached the same conclusions about the acid-base characteristics of the samples with each of the three reactions. However, they concluded that notwithstanding the greater complexity in the reactivity of MBOH, the fact that the different products could be unequivocally related to a given type of active site makes MBOH a preferred test reactant. Unfortunately, an important drawback of the decomposition of this alcohol is that these reactions suffer from a strong deactivation caused by the formation of heavy products by aldolization of the ketone (22) and polymerization of acetylene (95). The occurrence of this reaction can certainly complicate the comparison of basic catalysts that have different intrinsic rates of the test reaction and the reaction causing catalyst decay. 

Further process optimization by Thiruvengadam and co-workers (Thimvengadam et al., 1999), led to a novel, stereoselective, scalable two-step process devoid of chromatography for chiral 2-azetidinone construction (Scheme 13.4). As above, the titanium-enolate of chiral oxazolidinone 11a was preformed, but now when reacted with well behaved imines of type 16, affords the unexpected anti-addition product. This surprising result was further supported by careful comparison to minor antiproducts obtained in the earlier aldol-addition methodology and determination that the major product was indeed 17a (undesired RSR series). Adjustment of the oxazolidinone absolute stereochemistry to the fortuitously less expensive 2S-series afforded the desired diastereo-mer 17b in 95% de and in 50-70% yield. Recrystallization improved the stereochemical purity to >99% de. 

The simple diastereoselectivity of aldol reactions was first studied in detail for the Ivanov reaction (Figure 13.45). The Ivanov reaction consists of the addition of a carboxylate enolate to an aldehyde. In the example of Figure 13.45, the diastereomer of the /1-hydroxycarboxylic acid product that is referred to as the and-diastereomer is formed in a threefold excess in comparison to the. vy/j-diastereoisomer. Zimmerman and Traxler suggested a transition state model to explain this selectivity, and their transition state model now is referred to as the Zimmer-man-Traxler model (Figure 13.46). This model has been applied ever since with good success to explain the simple diastereoselectivities of a great variety of aldol reactions. 

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