Aldol aldehydes

Indeed, we have found antibody 38C2 to be an efficient catalyst for the retro-aldol reaction of tertiary aldols. Aldols (R) —19 through (S)— 26 were synthesized via kinetic resolution with 38C2 (List et al., 1999). The resolution of aldols (S) — 24, (R)— 25, and (5)—26 demonstrates the potential of aldehyde aldols. Aldehyde aldols provide facile access to acetate aldols that are otherwise difficult to obtain by more traditional techniques (Saito et al., 1999). 

When acetaldehyde is treated with a base, such as sodium ethoxide or sodium hydroxide, a rapid and reversible condensation reaction occurs The product is a /3-hydroxy aldehyde, or aldol (aldehyde + alcohol). 

The fourth and last fundamental reaction of carbonyl groups, carbonyl condensation, takes place when two carbonyl compounds react with each other. When acetaldehyde is treated with base, for instance, two molecules combine to yield the hydroxy aldehyde product known as aldol (aldehyde + alcohol) ... 

One-pot carboligation reaction of RibA catalyzed aldol addition of acetaldehyde to an acetaldehyde derivative and FruA-catalyzed aldol addition of DHAP to the aldol aldehyde generated in situ. 

Aldol condensations are important in organic synthesis, as these provide a good approach to form carbon-carbon bonds. It involves the nucleophilic addition of a ketone enolate to an aldehyde to form a P-hydroxyketone, or aldol (aldehyde + alcohol), a structural unit found in many naturally occurring molecules and pharmaceuticals. 

Cannizzaro reaction Two molecules of many aldehydes, under the influence of dilute alkalis, will interact, so that one is reduced to the corresponding alcohol, while the other is oxidized to the acid. Benzaldehyde gives benzyl alcohol and benzoic acid. Compare the aldol condensation. 

Here we will illustrate the method using a single example. The aldol reaction between an enol boronate and an aldehyde can lead to four possible stereoisomers (Figure 11.32). Many of these reactions proceed with a high degree of diastereoselectivity (i.e. syn anti) and/or enantioselectivity (syn-l syn-Tl and anti-l anti-lT). Bernardi, Capelli, Gennari,... 

Acetaldehyde (and other aldehydes containing at least one hydrogen atom in the a position) when treated with a small quantity of dilute sodium hydr oxide solution or other basic catalyst gives a good yield of aldol (p hydroxy-n-but3Taldehyde) (I), which readily loses water, either by heating the isolated aldol alone or with a trace of mineral acid, to form crotonaldehyde (II) ... 

The mechanism of the reaction, which is of the aldol type, involves the car-bonyl group of tlie aldehyde and an active methylene group of the anhydride the function of the basic catalyst B (acetate ion 0H3000 or triethylamine N(0,Hb)j) is to form the anion of the active hydrogen component, i.e., by the extraction of a proton from the anhydride ... 

Clalsen aldol condensation. This consists in the condensation of an aromatic aldehyde and an ester R—CHjCOOCjHj in the presence of finely divided sodium and a trace of alcohol at a low temperature. The catalyst is the alkoxide ion aqueous alkalis caimot be employed since they will hydrolyse the resulting ester. The product is an ap-unsaturated ester, for example ... 

The mechanism of the reaction between aromatic aldehydes and esters probably involves the intermediate formation of an aldol (hence the name— Claisen aldol condensation) ... 

Lewis acid promoted condensation of silyl ketene acetals (ester enolate equiv.) with aldehydes proceeds via "open" transition state to give anti aldols starting from either E- or Z- enolates. 

Apart from the thoroughly studied aqueous Diels-Alder reaction, a limited number of other transformations have been reported to benefit considerably from the use of water. These include the aldol condensation , the benzoin condensation , the Baylis-Hillman reaction (tertiary-amine catalysed coupling of aldehydes with acrylic acid derivatives) and pericyclic reactions like the 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition and the Qaisen rearrangement (see below). These reactions have one thing in common a negative volume of activation. This observation has tempted many authors to propose hydrophobic effects as primary cause of ftie observed rate enhancements. 

Alkylation of aldol type educts, e.g., /3-hydroxy esters, using LDA and alkyl halides leads stereoselectively to erythro substitution. The erythro threo ratio of the products is of the order of 95 5. Allylic and benzylic bromides can also be used. The allyl groups can later be ozonolysed to gjve aldehydes, and many interesting oligofunctional products with two adjacent chiral centres become available from chiral aldol type educts (G. Prater, 1984 D. Seebach, 1984 see also M. Nakatsuka, 1990, p. 5586). 

The usual base or acid catalyzed aldol addition or ester condensation reactions can only be applied as a useful synthetic reaction, if both carbonyl components are identical. Otherwise complicated mixtures of products are formed. If two different aldehydes or esters are to be combined, it is essential that one of the components is transformed quantitatively into an enol whereas the other component remains as a carbonyl compound in the reaction mixture. 

An example of an intermolecular aldol type condensation, which works only under acidic catalysis is the Knoevenagel condensation of a sterically hindered aldehyde group in a formyl-porphyrin with a malonic ester (J.-H. Fuhrhop, 1976). Self-condensations of the components do not occur, because the ester groups of malonic esters are not electrophilic enough, and because the porphyrin-carboxaldehyde cannot form enolates. 

The selective intermolecular addition of two different ketones or aldehydes can sometimes be achieved without protection of the enol, because different carbonyl compounds behave differently. For example, attempts to condense acetaldehyde with benzophenone fail. Only self-condensation of acetaldehyde is observed, because the carbonyl group of benzophenone is not sufficiently electrophilic. With acetone instead of benzophenone only fi-hydroxyketones are formed in good yield, if the aldehyde is slowly added to the basic ketone solution. Aldols are not produced. This result can be generalized in the following way aldehydes have more reactive carbonyl groups than ketones, but enolates from ketones have a more nucleophilic carbon atom than enolates from aldehydes (G. Wittig, 1968). 

There also exists an acidregioselective condensation of the aldol type, namely the Mannich reaction (B. Reichert, 1959 H. Hellmann, 1960 see also p. 291f.). The condensation of secondary amines with aldehydes yields Immonium salts, which react with ketones to give 3-amino ketones (=Mannich bases). Ketones with two enolizable CHj-groupings may form 1,5-diamino-3-pentanones, but monosubstitution products can always be obtained in high yield. Unsymmetrical ketones react preferentially at the most highly substituted carbon atom. Sterical hindrance can reverse this regioselectivity. Thermal elimination of amines leads to the a,)3-unsaturated ketone. Another efficient pathway to vinyl ketones starts with the addition of terminal alkynes to immonium salts. On mercury(ll) catalyzed hydration the product is converted to the Mannich base (H. Smith, 1964). 

Chiral 2-oxazolidones are useful recyclable auxiliaries for carboxylic acids in highly enantioselective aldol type reactions via the boron enolates derived from N-propionyl-2-oxazolidones (D.A. Evans, 1981). Two reagents exhibiting opposite enantioselectivity ate prepared from (S)-valinol and from (lS,2R)-norephedrine by cyclization with COClj or diethyl carbonate and subsequent lithiation and acylation with propionyl chloride at — 78°C. En-olization with dibutylboryl triflate forms the (Z)-enolates (>99% Z) which react with aldehydes at low temperature. The pure (2S,3R) and (2R,3S) acids or methyl esters are isolated in a 70% yield after mild solvolysis. 

A useful catalyst for asymmetric aldol additions is prepared in situ from mono-0> 2,6-diisopropoxybenzoyl)tartaric acid and BH3 -THF complex in propionitrile solution at 0 C. Aldol reactions of ketone enol silyl ethers with aldehydes were promoted by 20 mol % of this catalyst solution. The relative stereochemistry of the major adducts was assigned as Fischer- /ir o, and predominant /i -face attack of enol ethers at the aldehyde carbonyl carbon atom was found with the (/ ,/ ) nantiomer of the tartaric acid catalyst (K. Furuta, 1991). 

Stereoselectivities of 99% are also obtained by Mukaiyama type aldol reactions (cf. p. 58) of the titanium enolate of Masamune s chired a-silyloxy ketone with aldehydes. An excess of titanium reagent (s 2 mol) must be used to prevent interference by the lithium salt formed, when the titanium enolate is generated via the lithium enolate (C. Siegel, 1989). The mechanism and the stereochemistry are the same as with the boron enolate. 

The decarboxylation of allyl /3-keto carboxylates generates 7r-allylpalladium enolates. Aldol condensation and Michael addition are typical reactions for metal enolates. Actually Pd enolates undergo intramolecular aldol condensation and Michael addition. When an aldehyde group is present in the allyl fi-keto ester 738, intramolecular aldol condensation takes place yielding the cyclic aldol 739 as a main product[463]. At the same time, the diketone 740 is formed as a minor product by /3-eIimination. This is Pd-catalyzed aldol condensation under neutral conditions. The reaction proceeds even in the presence of water, showing that the Pd enolate is not decomposed with water. The spiro-aldol 742 is obtained from 741. Allyl acetates with other EWGs such as allyl malonate, cyanoacetate 743, and sulfonylacetate undergo similar aldol-type cycliza-tions[464]. 

The reaction probably must involve two steps, aldolization followed by crotonisation. and depends among other factors on the specific reactivity of the aldehyde and of the methyl, which is influenced both by the nature of the substituents on the ring and bv the nature of the anion (Scheme 35) (57. 58. 657)... 

Thiazolecarboxaldehydes exhibit many reactions typical of aldehydes. However, they give no aldolization reaction (no a-hydrogen), but they do react with different compounds such as acetic anhydride, hippuric acid, acetylglycine, and so for (37, 101, 102). Thus 2-phenyl-4-fonnylthiazole (31) mixed with hippuric acid and treated with AcOa and anhydrous NaOAc gives the azalactone (32) (Scheme 32). 

A number of aldehydes and ketones are prepared both m industry and m the lab oratory by a reaction known as the aldol condensation which will be discussed m detail in Chapter 18... 

Step 2 The alkoxide ion abstracts a proton from water to give the product of aldol addition a (3 hydroxy aldehyde ... 

An important feature of aldol addition is that carbon-carbon bond formation occurs between the a carbon atom of one aldehyde and the carbonyl group of another This is because carbanion (enolate) generation can involve proton abstraction only from the a carbon atom The overall transformation can be represented schematically as shown m Figure 18 5... 

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