Alkenes azomethine ylides

Dipolar addition to nitroalkenes provides a useful strategy for synthesis of various heterocycles. The [3+2] reaction of azomethine ylides and alkenes is one of the most useful methods for the preparation of pyrolines. Stereocontrolled synthesis of highly substituted proline esters via [3+2] cycloaddition between IV-methylated azomethine ylides and nitroalkenes has been reported.147 The stereochemistry of 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition of azomethine ylides derived from aromatic aldehydes and L-proline alkyl esters with various nitroalkenes has been reported. Cyclic and acyclic nitroalkenes add to the anti form of the ylide in a highly regioselective manner to give pyrrolizidine derivatives.148... 

Dipolar cycloaddition reaction of azomethine ylides to alkynes or alkenes followed by oxidation is one of the standard methods for the preparation of pyrroles.54 Recently, this strategy has been used for the preparation of pyrroles with CF3 or Me3Si groups at the (3-positions.55 Addition of azomethine ylides to nitroalkenes followed by elimination of HN02 with base gives pyrroles in 96% yield (Eq. 10.48).56... 

In addition to cydocondensation reactions of the Paal-Knorr type, cycloaddition processes play a prominent role in the construction of pyrrole rings. Thus, 1,3-dipo-lar cycloadditions of azomethine ylides with alkene dipolarophiles are very important in the preparation of pyrroles. The group of de la Hoz has studied the micro-wave-induced thermal isomerization of imines, derived from a-aminoesters, to azomethine ylides (Scheme 6.185) [346]. In the presence of equimolar amounts of /i-nitrostyrenes, three isomeric pyrrolidines (nitroproline esters) were obtained under solvent-free conditions in 81-86% yield within 10-15 min at 110-120 °C through a [3+2] cycloaddition process. Interestingly, using classical heating in an oil bath (toluene reflux, 24 h), only two of the three isomers were observed. 

Scheme 6.186 Intramolecular azomethine ylide-alkene/alkyne [3+2] cycloadditions.

Scheme 1 Ring-opening routes to azomethine ylides and trapping with alkenes...

W(CO)6 in toluene at room temperature gave the tricyclic adduct 190a in 94% yield after acidic workup. This reaction forms the tungsten-containing azomethine ylide 191, which undergoes the [3 + 2]-cycloaddition with 189a. The rhodium(n)-catalyzed cyclization of the ene-yne-aldimine 192 with alkene 193 into the cyclopropane 194 was reported by Uemura and Ohe (Scheme 32).42c... 

Other approaches including 1,3-dipolar cycloadditions of azomethine ylides or nitroxides to alkene or alkyne dipolarophiles have been applied to the synthesis of these ring systems. 

Cycloadditions. Desilylation of 1 in CH,CN with LiF results in an azomethine ylide (a), which undergoes cycloaddition reactions with dipolarophiles and activated alkenes to give pyrrolidines. 

Azomethine ylides. The reaction of 1 with the oxime of an aldehyde results in an iminium salt 2. Desilylation of 2 (CsF) gives rise to an azomethine ylide (a) that undergoes 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition with electron-deficient alkenes (equation I). 

The azomethine ylide formed in situ from benzaldehyde and an A -alkyl AA reacts with an alkene to give a mixture of diastereomeric pyrrolidines (85TL2775). 

The addition to alkenes normally leads to unstable adducts that lose carbon dioxide under the reaction conditions. The intramolecular cycloaddition of the sydnone (30) takes place at room temperature, however (Equation (5)) and the cycloadduct (31) has been characterized <86HCA927>. The unstable species formed by the loss of carbon dioxide are also azomethine ylides. It is therefore possible for a second 1,3-dipolar addition to take place, as illustrated in Scheme 6 for the reaction of 3-phenylsydnone with Al-phenylmaleimide <86TL317,92JA8414>. This 2 1 addition has been used as the basis of a synthesis of polyimides. Imides of the type (32) were used as the dipolarophiles and their reaction with 3-phenylsydnone gave linear polymers <87MM726>. 

In synthetic efforts toward the DNA reactive alkaloid naphthyridinomycin (164), Gamer and Ho (41) reported a series of studies into the constmction of the diazobicyclo[3.2.1]octane section. Constmction of the five-membered ring, by the photolytic conversion of an aziridine to an azomethine ylide and subsequent alkene 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition, was deemed the best synthetic tactic. Initial studies with menthol- and isonorborneol- tethered chiral dipolarophiles gave no facial selectivity in the adducts formed (42). However, utilizing Oppolzer s sultam as the chiral controlling unit led to a dramatic improvement. Treatment of ylide precursor 165 with the chiral dipolarophile 166 under photochemical conditions led to formation of the desired cycloadducts (Scheme 3.47). The reaction proceeded with an exo/endo ratio of only 2.4 1 however, the facial selectivity was good at >25 1 in favor of the desired re products. The products derived from si attack of the ylide... 

Due to the increased reactivity of the reaction in the presence of a Lewis acid, the reaction scope was extended to singly activated alkenes. Previous results had shown either no reaction or extremely poor yields. However, under the Lewis acid catalyzed conditions, acrylonitrile furnished a 1 1, endo/exo mixture of products. The addition of the catalyst gave unexpected regiochemistry in the reaction, which is analogous with results described in Grigg s metal catalyzed reactions. These observations in the reversal of regio- and stereocontrol of the reactions were rationalized by a reversal of the dominant, interacting frontier orbitals to a LUMO dipole-HOMO dipolarophile combination due to the ylide-catalyst complex. This complex resulted in a further withdrawal of electrons from the azomethine ylide. 

The thermolytic preparation by De Shong et al. (74) of azomethine ylides from aziridines and their intermolecular reactions are the first examples of singly stabilized ylides of this type. However, the protocol has been further extended to include intramolecular processes. Aziridines tethered to both activated and unactivated alkenes were subjected to flash vacuum thermolysis generating cycloadducts in moderate-to-excellent yields. While previously singly activated alkenes had furnished low material yields via an intermolecular process, the intramolecular analogue represents a major improvement. Typically, treatment of 222 under standard conditions led to the formation of 223 in 80% yield as a single cis isomer. Similarly, the cis precursor furnished adduct 224 in 52% yield, although as a 1 1 diastereomeric mixture (Scheme 3.77). 

Harwood and Lilley (87) reported the tandem generation and intramolecular trapping of a stabilized azomethine ylide, derived from the enantiopure template examined in detail in Section 3.2.3. Condensation of 5-hexenal with template 205 under standard conditions led to in situ ylide generation and subsequent cycloaddition of the tethered alkene to furnish 296 as a single enantiomer in 95% yield after purification and this despite the fact that the dipolarophile is unactivated. Hydro-genolytic destruction of the template revealed the bicyclic amino acid 297 in 75% yield (Scheme 3.97). 

The decarboxylative approach to the ylide formation generated cycloaddition products derived from cycloaddition of the ylide to the carbonyl moiety of the molecule, as opposed to the alkene as seen in previous examples. Kanemasa has reconciled this observation by consideration of the postulated transition state model of the reaction. It was assumed that the steric repulsion of the terminal olehnic substituent and the ylide would favor transition state 309 (Fig. 3.19). Additionally, nonstabilized azomethine ylides have a higher energy HOMO than stabilized ylides, and would therefore prefer the LUMO of the carbonyl than the lower lying alkene LUMO. Formation of fused hve-membered rings would also be kinetically favored over construction of six-membered ring (Scheme 3.103). 

The highly effective desilylation routes to nonstabihzed azomethine ylides have provided the basis for much of this chemistry. Thus, the reaction of A-(silylmethyl)-thioimidates (30) with AgF in the presence of a range of dipolarophiles (electron-deficient alkenes and alkynes, and aldehydes) led to the isolation of nitrile ylide adducts in generally high yields (20,21). Differences in reactivity and regioselectivity... 

Af-(Silylmethyl)thioimidates (34) also undergo water-induced desilylation leading to the N-protonated azomethine ylides (38). These ylides react with a range of electron-deficient alkenes and alkynes, aldehydes, and ketones followed by elimination of methane thiol to give formal nitrile ylide adducts (e.g., 40) (23,24). The reactivity of these species is rather dependent on the nature of R (e.g., good for R = Ph but less so for R=Et or i-Pr), which may be due to competition from tautomerization to give the A -methylthioimidate (39). 

This work has been extended from aryl and alkyl substituted systems (42) (R = aryl, alkyl) to analogues where R is an amino group, so giving access to synthetic equivalents of the nonstabilized amino nitrile ylides (45). Adducts were obtained in good-to-moderate yield with A-methyhnaleimide (NMMA), DMAD, electron-deficient alkenes and aromatic aldehydes (27,28), and with sulfonylimines and diethyl azodicarboxylate (29). Similarly the A-[(trimethylsilyl)methyl]-thiocarbamates (46) undergo selective S-methylation with methyl triflate and subsequent fluorodesilylation in a one-pot process at room temperature to generate the azomethine ylides 47. 

This chapter deals mainly with the 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition reactions of three 1,3-dipoles azomethine ylides, nitrile oxides, and nitrones. These three have been relatively well investigated, and examples of external reagent-mediated stereocontrolled cycloadditions of other 1,3-dipoles are quite limited. Both nitrile oxides and nitrones are 1,3-dipoles whose cycloaddition reactions with alkene dipolarophiles produce 2-isoxazolines and isoxazolidines, their dihydro derivatives. These two heterocycles have long been used as intermediates in a variety of synthetic applications because their rich functionality. When subjected to reductive cleavage of the N—O bonds of these heterocycles, for example, important building blocks such as p-hydroxy ketones (aldols), a,p-unsaturated ketones, y-amino alcohols, and so on are produced (7-12). Stereocontrolled and/or enantiocontrolled cycloadditions of nitrones are the most widely developed (6,13). Examples of enantioselective Lewis acid catalyzed 1,3-dipolar cycloadditions are summarized by J0rgensen in Chapter 12 of this book, and will not be discussed further here. 

The use of lithium amides to metalate the a-position of the N-substituent of imines generates 2-azaallyl anions, typically stabilized by two or three aryl groups (Scheme 11.2) (48-62), a process pioneered by Kauffmann in 1970 (49). Although these reactive anionic species may be regarded as N-lithiated azomethine ylides if the lithium metal is covalently bonded to the imine nitrogen, they have consistently been discussed as 2-azaallyl anions. Their cyclization reactions are characterized by their enhanced reactivity toward relatively unactivated alkenes such as ethene, styrenes, stilbenes, acenaphtylene, 1,3-butadienes, diphenylacetylene, and related derivatives. Accordingly, these cycloaddition reactions are called anionic [3+2] cycloadditions. Reactions with the electron-poor alkenes are rare (54,57). Such reactivity makes a striking contrast with that of N-metalated azomethine ylides, which will be discussed below (Section 11.1.4). 

The stereochemistry of 1,3-dipolar cycloadditions of azomethine ylides with alkenes is more complex. In this reaction, up to four new chiral centers can be formed and up to eight different diastereomers may be obtained (Scheme 12.4). There are three different types of diastereoselectivity to be considered, of which the two are connected. First, the relative geometry of the terminal substituents of the azomethine ylide determine whether the products have 2,5-cis or 2,5-trans conformation. Most frequently the azomethine ylide exists in one preferred configuration or it shifts between two different forms. The addition process can proceed in either an endo or an exo fashion, but the possible ( ,Z) interconversion of the azomethine ylide confuses these terms to some extent. The endo-isomers obtained from the ( , )-azomethine ylide are identical to the exo-isomers obtained from the (Z,Z)-isomer. Finally, the azomethine ylide can add to either face of the alkene, which is described as diastereofacial selectivity if one or both of the substrates are chiral or as enantioselectivity if the substrates are achiral. 

Husson and co-workers (84) investigated the 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition of acyclic chiral azomethine ylides derived from (—)-Af-cyanomethyl-4-phenyl-l,3-oxazoli-dine with electron-deficient alkenes, and in some cases de >95% were obtained. 

Another approach employing chiral acyclic azomethine ylides was published in two recent papers by Alcaide et al. (85,86). The azomethine ylide-silver complex (51) was formed in situ by reaction of the formyl-substituted chiral azetidinone (50) with glycine (or alanine) in the presence of AgOTf and a base (Scheme 12.18). Azomethine ylides formed in this manner were subjected to reaction with various electron-deficient alkenes. One example of this is the reaction with nitrostyrene, as illustrated in Scheme 12.18 (86). The reaction is proposed to proceed via a two step tandem Michael-Henry process in which the products 52a and 52b are isolated in a... 

Other chiral azomethine ylide precursors such as 2-(ferf-butyl)-3-imidazolidin-4-one have been tested as chiral controllers in 1,3-dipolar cycloadditions (89). 2-(ferf-Butyl)-3-imidazolidin-4-one reacted with various aldehydes to produce azomethine ylides, which then were subjected to reaction with a series of different electron-deficient alkenes to give the 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition products in moderate diastereoselectivity of up to 60% de. 

Azomethine ylides such as 64 can be generated from tertiary amine A-oxides (63) by reaction with lithium diisopropylamide (EDA) (Scheme 12.22) (97). Several different chiral A -substituted azomethine ylides were prepared in this manner. The best results were obtained when using 64 in 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition with alkenes, but the de values obtained of the product 65 were <60%. 

Other 1,3-dipolar cycloadditions of chiral azomethine ylides with Cgo (98) and reactions of chiral azomethine ylides derived from l-benzyl-4-phenyl-2-imidazoline with different electron-deficient alkenes have been performed (99). 

The use of chiral azomethine imines in asymmetric 1,3-dipolar cycloadditions with alkenes is limited. In the first example of this reaction, chiral azomethine imines were applied for the stereoselective synthesis of C-nucleosides (100-102). Recent work by Hus son and co-workers (103) showed the application of the chiral template 66 for the formation of a new enantiopure azomethine imine (Scheme 12.23). This template is very similar to the azomethine ylide precursor 52 described in Scheme 12.19. In the presence of benzaldehyde at elevated temperature, the azomethine imine 67 is formed. 1,3-Dipole 67 was subjected to reactions with a series of electron-deficient alkenes and alkynes and the reactions proceeded in several cases with very high selectivities. Most interestingly, it was also demonstrated that the azomethine imine underwent reaction with the electronically neutral 1-octene as shown in Scheme 12.23. Although a long reaction time was required, compound 68 was obtained as the only detectable regio- and diastereomer in 50% yield. This pioneering work demonstrates that there are several opportunities for the development of new highly selective reactions of azomethine imines (103). 

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