Dehydration aldoximes

Under the relatively mild conditions of chlorosulfonic acid in toluene, ketoximes undergo Beckmann rearrangement, whereas aldoximes dehydrate to nitriles.90... 

The montmorillonite KIO clay surface is found to be superior among several acidic surfaces that have been used for the Beckmann rearrangement of oximes (Scheme 2.2-36) [94]. However, under the same conditions aldoximes dehydrate to the corresponding nitriles under solventless conditions. 

Tnfluoroacetic anhydride is an efficient dehydrating reagent [46, 47] In the presence of pyndine, it smoothly dehydrates amides and aldoximes to the correspond ing nitriles [46] and adducts of CH-acids and 1,2,3-indantnone [47] (equation 20)... 

Aldoximes can be dehydrated to nitriles by many dehydrating agents, of which acetic anhydride is the most common. Among reagents that are effective under mild... 

Nitrile oxides are usually prepared via halogenation and dehydrohalogenation of aldoximes [11] or via dehydration of primary nitro alkanes (Scheme 1) [12]. However, it is important to note that nitrile oxides are relatively unstable and are prone to dimerization or polymerization, especially upon heating. 1,3-Dipolar cycioaddition of a nitrile oxide with a suitable olefin generates an isoxazoline ring which is a versatile synthetic intermediate in that it provides easy access to y-amino alcohols, )5-hydroxy ketones, -hydroxy nitriles, unsaturated oximes, and a host of other multifunctional molecules (Scheme 1) [5a]. Particularly for the formation of )5-hydroxy ketones, nitrile oxide-olefin cycioaddition serve as an alternative to the Aldol reaction. 

Aldoximes are prepared from aldehydes and hydroxylamine by condensation reaction, and the dehydration reaction of aldoxime is one of the most important methods of nitrile synthesis in organic chemistry." We speculated that it would become one of the most important examples in Green Chemistry if the dehydration reaction could be realized by an enzymatic method, and started studies on a new enzyme, aldoxime dehydratase, and its use in enzymatic nitrile synthesis. Furthermore, we clarified the relationship between aldoxime dehydratase and nitrile-degrading enzymes in the genome of the microorganisms and the physiological role of the enzyme. 

The dehydration reaction of aldoxime to form nitriles using the resting cells of Rhodococcus sp. YH3-3 was optimized. We found that the enzyme was induced by aldoxime and catalyzed the stoichiometric synthesis of nitriles from aldoximes at pH 7.0 and 30°C. Phenylacetonitrile once synthesized from phenylacetaldoxime was hydrolyzed to phenylacetic acid, since the strain has nitrile degradation enzymes such as nitrile hydratase and amidase. We have been successful in synthesizing phenylacetonitrile and other nitriles stoichiometrically by a selective inactivation of nitrile hydratase by heating the cells at 40°C for 1 h. Various nitriles were synthesized under optimized conditions from aldoximes in good yields. 

For further dehydration, for example, of aldoximes and amides to nitriles, of alcohols to olefines, as well as the synthesis of heterocycles like oxiranes and aziridines see Section 18.5. 

Aldoximes are readily dehydrated with N, N -carbonyldiimidazole (CDI). An intermediate azolide is formed in the process under elimination of one mole of imidazole, which fragments into a nitrile through elimination of CO2 and a second mole of imid-azole.[1],[2]... 

With the phosphoric imidazolides D, E, and F, dehydration of the aldoximes can also be achieved (dioxane, room temperature, several hours). With diphenylimidazole-1-phosphonate (D) and phenyldiimidazole-l,l -phosphinate (E) the yields of nitriles are always higher than with (C6H50)2P(0)C1 and C6H50P(0)C12 however, with phosphoryl triimidazole (F) the yields are a little lower than with POCl3.[9] Spin-labeled phosphoric imidazolides of this type are also used for the dehydration of aldoximes.1103... 

Other effective azolide reagents for the dehydration of aromatic aldoximes to nitriles under mild conditions (refluxing THF) include the two triazolides N,N -carbonyldi-benzotriazole (G) and N, A -sulfonyldibenzotriazole (H) [11]... 

Di-(2,3,4,6-tetra-0-acetyl-a-D-mannopyranosyl)-l,2,5-oxadiazole 2-oxide 306 was synthesized from D-mannose 305 by a route involving dimerization of mannopyranosyl nitrile oxide as the key step. Three methods were used for the generation of the nitrile oxide isocyanate-mediated dehydration of nitromethylmannose derivatives, treatment of aldoxime with aqueous hypochlorite, and base-induced dehydrochlorination of hydroximoyl chloride (Scheme 76) <2001TL4065, 2002T8505>. 

Aldehyde 26 was treated with hydroxylamine hydrochloride in refluxing methanol to give a mixture of (E)- and (Z)-pyrrolotriazine 40 in 59% and 21% yield, respectively. Dehydration of aldoxime 40 with trifluoromethanesulfonic anhydride and triethylamine in dichloromethane afforded triazine 41. Conversion of the nitrile 41 to the deprotected amide 42 was accomplished in 96% yield on treatment of 41 with basic hydrogen peroxide in ethanol <2001CAR77>. 

The syw-form of aldoximes is readily dehydrated to the nitrile, the anti-ioim is not. 

Aldoximes are normally dehydrated by reaction with dichlorocarbene, produced under soliddiquid two-phase conditions, to yield nitriles in high yield [41, 42], whereas a-hydroxy ketoximes are cleaved with the simultaneous formation of a nitrile and either an aldehyde or ketone (Scheme 7.33). Yields are generally >70% and, in the case of cyclic hydroxy ketoximes, the products are acyclic oxo nitriles [43],... 

Fig. 11.14. Mechanism postulated for Beckmann-fype dehydration of (Z)-aldoximes (11.103, R = H, R H) catalyzed by cytochrome P450 [132][133]...

Also, chlorosulfonic acid was demonstrated to be an efficient catalyst in the Beckmann rearrangement of a variety of ketoximes in refluxing toluene, and excellent conversion and selectivity was observed . This procedure can also be applied to the dehydration of aldoximes yielding the corresponding nitriles. 

Indium trifluoromethanesulfonate was found to be an effective high-yielding catalyst for the facile dehydration of aldoximes to nitriles and Beckmann rearrangement of ketoximes to anilides. ... 

Many different reagents and conditions have been reported to produce nitriles from aldoximes. This conversion is very much expected under the presence of dehydrating agents, proton or Lewis acid and is independent of the oxime geometry. 

Another methodology for the in situ preparation of nitrile oxide is the dehydro-halogenation of hydroxymoyl chlorides vrith triethylamine. Hydroxymoyl chlorides are accessible by the reaction of aldoximes vrith chlorinating agents such as NCS (N-chlorosuccinimide). Isoxazolines of C50 and C70 [293-295] with R = Ph, alkyl, 4-C5H4OCH3 4-C5H4CHO, amino acid [305], dialkoxyphosphoryl [296, 297] or ferrocene [298] have been synthesized in ca. 20 0% yields. The latter reaction is slower than the dehydration of nitroalkanes and requires one equivalent of hydroxymoyl chloride whereas excess nitroalkane is necessary for an optimum reaction [293]. 

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