Nitrones reaction with alkenes

Cycloaddition reactions of alkenes DIO with nitrones were also catalyzed by Yb(OTf)3, by Sc(OTf)3 (795), by chiral 2,6-bis(4R-trialkylsiloxymethyl-oxazolinyl)pyridine/Ni(II) (pybox) (Fig. 2.43) (796a), and by chiral bis(2-oxazolinyl)xanthene (xabox) (Fig. 2.44) (796b). 

One of the classical ways to perform diastereoselective 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition is by the addition of a 1,3-dipole to an allyl alcohol derivative (65, 107-120). Very recently, a short review article was devoted to this area (13). Among the most commonly applied acyclic allyl alcohol derivatives are alkenes 73-75 (Scheme 12.25). These alkenes have been used in reactions with nitrones. 

Saito et al. (32,121) developed a variety of tartaric acid derivatives, including Ci-symmetric chiral alkenes such as 76. The 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition between 76 and 77 gave primarily endo-1%. (Scheme 12.26) The diastereofacial selectivity of the reaction is excellent, as endo-1% is obtained with >98% de. Other cyclic and acyclic nitrones have been employed in reactions with 76, and in all cases, moderate to excellent endo/exo-selectivities and excellent diastereofacial selectiv-ities were obtained (32,121). Three other research groups have applied various y-hydroxylated ot,p-unsaturated carbonyl compounds in related reactions with nitrones (122-124). However, the selectivities were somewhat lower than those obtained by Saito and et al. (32,121). 

In all of the above reactions, a chiral center of the alkene was located in the allylic position. However, as shall be demonstrated next, more distant chiral centers may also lead to highly selective cycloadditions with 1,3-dipoles. In two recent papers, the use of exocyclic alkenes has been applied in reactions with C,N-diphenylnitrone (165,166). The optically active alkenes 109 obtained from (S)-methyl cysteine have been applied in reactions with nitrones, nitrile oxides, and azomethine ylides. The 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition of 109 (R=Ph) with C,N-diphenyl nitrone proceeded to give endOa-1 Q and exOa-110 in a ratio of 70 30 (Scheme 12.36). Both product isomers arose from attack of the nitrone 68 at the... 

The direct cycloaddition adduct was oxidized, resulting in the hydroxylated isoxazoline product (316). Better selectivities were obtained in 1,3-dipolar cycloadditions of 204 with nitrile oxides (317,318). The 1,3-dipolar cycloadditions proceeded with concomitant loss of the boron group to give the isoxazoline products in up to 74% ee (318). The alkene 204 was also tested in reactions with nitrones. The reactions proceeded with poor yields, but high selectivities were observed in two cases (318). Gilbertson et al. (319) investigated the use of chiral ot,p-unsaturated hexacarbonyldiiron acyl complexes 205 as dipolarophiles in reactions with nitrones. Selectivities of up to >92% de were observed. The iron moiety was removed oxidatively after the cycloaddition and the thioester was hydrolyzed. 

In the 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition reactions of especially allyl anion type 1,3-dipoles with alkenes the formation of diastereomers has to be considered. In reactions of nitrones with a terminal alkene the nitrone can approach the alkene in an endo or an exo fashion giving rise to two different diastereomers. The nomenclature endo and exo is well known from the Diels-Alder reaction [3]. The endo isomer arises from the reaction in which the nitrogen atom of the dipole points in the same direction as the substituent of the alkene as outlined in Scheme 6.7. However, compared with the Diels-Alder reaction in which the endo transition state is stabilized by secondary 7t-orbital interactions, the actual interaction of the N-nitrone p -orbital with a vicinal p -orbital on the alkene, and thus the stabilization, is small [25]. The endojexo selectivity in the 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition reaction is therefore primarily controlled by the structure of the substrates or by a catalyst. 

Scheeren et al. reported the first enantioselective metal-catalyzed 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition reaction of nitrones with alkenes in 1994 [26]. Their approach involved C,N-diphenylnitrone la and ketene acetals 2, in the presence of the amino acid-derived oxazaborolidinones 3 as the catalyst (Scheme 6.8). This type of boron catalyst has been used successfully for asymmetric Diels-Alder reactions [27, 28]. In this reaction the nitrone is activated, according to the inverse electron-demand, for a 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition with the electron-rich alkene. The reaction is thus controlled by the LUMO inone-HOMOaikene interaction. They found that coordination of the nitrone to the boron Lewis acid strongly accelerated the 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition reaction with ketene acetals. The reactions of la with 2a,b, catalyzed by 20 mol% of oxazaborolidinones such as 3a,b were carried out at -78 °C. In some reactions fair enantioselectivities were induced by the catalysts, thus, 4a was obtained with an optical purity of 74% ee, however, in a low yield. The reaction involving 2b gave the C-3, C-4-cis isomer 4b as the only diastereomer of the product with 62% ee. 

Several titanium(IV) complexes are efficient and reliable Lewis acid catalysts and they have been applied to numerous reactions, especially in combination with the so-called TADDOL (a, a,a, a -tetraaryl-l,3-dioxolane-4,5-dimethanol) (22) ligands [53-55]. In the first study on normal electron-demand 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition reactions between nitrones and alkenes, which appeared in 1994, the catalytic reaction of a series of chiral TiCl2-TADDOLates on the reaction of nitrones 1 with al-kenoyloxazolidinones 19 was developed (Scheme 6.18) [56]. These substrates have turned out be the model system of choice for most studies on metal-catalyzed normal electron-demand 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition reactions of nitrones as it will appear from this chapter. When 10 mol% of the catalyst 23a was applied in the reaction depicted in Scheme 6.18 the reaction proceeded to give a yield of up to 94% ee after 20 h. The reaction led primarily to exo-21 and in the best case an endo/ exo ratio of 10 90 was obtained. The chiral information of the catalyst was transferred with a fair efficiency to the substrates as up to 60% ee of one of the isomers of exo3 was obtained [56]. 

On the basis of this successful application of 23d, this catalyst was applied in a series of reactions (Scheme 6.22). For all eight reactions of nitrones 1 and alkenes 19 in which 23d was applied as the catalyst, diastereoselectivities >90% de were observed, and most remarkably >90% ee is obtained for all reactions involving a nitrone with an aromatic substituent whereas reactions with N-benzyl and N-alkyl nitrones led to lower enantioselectivities [65]. 

The TiX2-TADD0Late-catalyzed 1,3-dipolar q cloaddition reactions were extended to include an acrylate derivative [66]. In the absence of a catalyst, the reaction between nitrones 1 and acryloyl oxazolidinone 19b proceeded to give a mixture all eight regio-and stereoisomers (Scheme 6.23). However, application of in this case only 10 mol% of Ti(OTs)2-TADDOLate 23d as catalyst for the reaction of various nitrones 1 with alkene 19b, led to complete regioselectivity and high endo selectivity in the reaction and the endo products 21 were obtained with 48-70% ee (Scheme 6.23) [66]. 

The normal electron-demand principle of activation of 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition reactions of nitrones has also been tested for the 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition reaction of alkenes with diazoalkanes [71]. The reaction of ethyl diazoacetate 33 with 19b in the presence of a TiCl2-TADDOLate catalyst 23a afforded the 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition product 34 in good yield and with 30-40% ee (Scheme 6.26). 

The enantioselective inverse electron-demand 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition reactions of nitrones with alkenes described so far were catalyzed by metal complexes that favor a monodentate coordination of the nitrone, such as boron and aluminum complexes. However, the glyoxylate-derived nitrone 36 favors a bidentate coordination to the catalyst. This nitrone is a very interesting substrate, since the products that are obtained from the reaction with alkenes are masked a-amino acids. One of the characteristics of nitrones such as 36, having an ester moiety in the a position, is the swift E/Z equilibrium at room temperature (Scheme 6.28). In the crystalline form nitrone 36 exists as the pure Z isomer, however, in solution nitrone 36 have been shown to exists as a mixture of the E and Z isomers. This equilibrium could however be shifted to the Z isomer in the presence of a Lewis acid [74]. 

The reactions of nitrones constitute the absolute majority of metal-catalyzed asymmetric 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition reactions. Boron, aluminum, titanium, copper and palladium catalysts have been tested for the inverse electron-demand 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition reaction of nitrones with electron-rich alkenes. Fair enantioselectivities of up to 79% ee were obtained with oxazaborolidinone catalysts. However, the AlMe-3,3 -Ar-BINOL complexes proved to be superior for reactions of both acyclic and cyclic nitrones and more than >99% ee was obtained in some reactions. The Cu(OTf)2-BOX catalyst was efficient for reactions of the glyoxylate-derived nitrones with vinyl ethers and enantioselectivities of up to 93% ee were obtained. 

Dipolar cydoadditions are one of the most useful synthetic methods to make stereochemically defined five-membered heterocydes. Although a variety of dia-stereoselective 1,3-dipolar cydoadditions have been well developed, enantioselec-tive versions are still limited [29]. Nitrones are important 1,3-dipoles that have been the target of catalyzed enantioselective reactions [66]. Three different approaches to catalyzed enantioselective reactions have been taken (1) activation of electron-defident alkenes by a chiral Lewis acid [23-26, 32-34, 67], (2) activation of nitrones in the reaction with ketene acetals [30, 31], and (3) coordination of both nitrones and allylic alcohols on a chiral catalyst [20]. Among these approaches, the dipole/HOMO-controlled reactions of electron-deficient alkenes are especially promising because a variety of combinations between chiral Lewis acids and electron-deficient alkenes have been well investigated in the study of catalyzed enantioselective Diels-Alder reactions. Enantioselectivities in catalyzed nitrone cydoadditions sometimes exceed 90% ee, but the efficiency of catalytic loading remains insufficient. 

The 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition reaction of nitrones with alkenes gives isoxazolidines is a fundamental reaction in organic chemistry and the available literature on this topic of organic chemistry is vast. In this reaction until three contiguous asymmetric centers can be formed in the isoxazolidine 17 as outlined for the reaction between a nitrone and an 1,2-disubstituted alkene. The relative stereochemistry at C-4 and C-5 is always controlled by the geometric relationship of the substituents on the alkene (Scheme 8.6). 

One of the problems related to the Lewis acid activation of a,/ -unsaturated carbonyl compounds for the reaction with a nitrone is the competitive coordination of the nitrone and the a,/ -unsaturated carbonyl compound to the Lewis acid [30]. Calculations have shown that coordination of the nitrone to the Lewis acid can be more feasible than a monodentate coordination of a carbonyl compound. However, this problem could be circumvented by the application of alkenes which allow a bidentate coordination to the Lewis acid which is favored over the monodentate coordination. 

The theoretical investigations of Lewis acid-catalyzed 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition reactions are also very limited and only papers dealing with cycloaddition reactions of nitrones with alkenes have been investigated. The Influence of the Lewis acid catalyst on these reactions are very similar to what has been calculated for the carbo- and hetero-Diels-Alder reactions. The FMOs are perturbed by the coordination of the substrate to the Lewis acid giving a more favorable reaction with a lower transition-state energy. Furthermore, a more asynchronous transition-structure for the cycloaddition step, compared to the uncatalyzed reaction, has also been found for this class of reactions. 

The mechanism of 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition can be found in Ref. 63 and the references within. The reaction of nitrone with 1,2-disubstituted alkenes creates three contiguous asymmetric centers, in which the geometric relationship of the substituents of alkenes is retained. The synthetic utility of nitrone adducts is mainly due to their conversion into various important compounds. For instance, P-amino alcohols can be obtained from isoxazolidines by reduction with H2-Pd or Raney Ni with retention of configuration at the chiral center (Eq. 8.44). 

The typical 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition reaction of nitrones with alkenes involves a dominant interaction of HOMO (nitrone) and LUMO (alkenes). The inverse-electron demand of the... 

Copper(II)-bisoxazoline also catalyzes asymmetric 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition reactions of nitrones with electron-rich alkenes (Eq. 8.57).90... 

Related to the nitrile oxide cycloadditions presented in Scheme 6.206 are 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition reactions of nitrones with alkenes leading to isoxazolidines. The group of Comes-Franchini has described cycloadditions of (Z)-a-phenyl-N-methylnitrone with allylic fluorides leading to enantiopure fluorine-containing isoxazolidines, and ultimately to amino polyols (Scheme 6.207) [374]. The reactions were carried out under solvent-free conditions in the presence of 5 mol% of either scandium(III) or indium(III) triflate. In the racemic series, an optimized 74% yield of an exo/endo mixture of cycloadducts was obtained within 15 min at 100 °C. In the case of the enantiopure allyl fluoride, a similar product distribution was achieved after 25 min at 100 °C. Reduction of the isoxazolidine cycloadducts with lithium aluminum hydride provided fluorinated enantiopure polyols of pharmaceutical interest possessing four stereocenters. 

The influence of electronic factors on the regioselective cycloadditions of nitrones (551), and (583) to (585) to acrylates has been demonstrated by using dipolarophiles with electrophilic substituents at the P-carbon of the alkene in y-bromo a, 3-unsaturated esters and lactones (774) and in ethyl 2-hydroperfluoro-2-alkenoates (586) (775). The reactions of enoates (586) with nitrones are regio-specific and afford isoxazolidines with the CC>2Et and R/, groups in C-4 and C-5... 

The 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition of nitrones to vinyl ethers is accelerated by Ti(IV) species. The efficiency of the catalyst depends on its complexation capacity. The use of Ti( PrO)2Cl2 favors the formation of trans cycloadducts, presumably, via an endo bidentate complex, in which the metal atom is simultaneously coordinated to the vinyl ether and to the cyclic nitrone or to the Z-isomer of the acyclic nitrones (800a). Highly diastereo- and enantioselective 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition reactions of nitrones with alkenes, catalyzed by chiral polybi-naphtyl Lewis acids, have been developed. Isoxazolidines with up to 99% ee were obtained. The chiral polymer ligand influences the stereoselectivity to the same extent as its monomeric version, but has the advantage of easy recovery and reuse (800b). 

Reactions with alkenes and nonconjugated dienes have been described in many publications (101, 103, 106-111). Various alkenes, such as cycloalkenes as well as acyclic alkenes, up to tetrasubstituted derivatives, can react with nitroalkenes (42) (110). Only one double bond is involved in the reactions of heterodienes (42) with nonconjugated dienes (111), whereas the second double bond can be used in subsequent transformations of target nitronates (35). The reactions of heterodienes (42) with inactivated alkenes require the presence of LA as catalyst. 

Alkyl Nitronates In spite of the low stability of acyclic alkyl nitronates, these compounds were rather extensively studied in [3 + 2]-addition reactions with various alkenes (9, 18, 28, 49, 300, 301, 306, 307, 338b-354) (Chart 3.11). 

Attempts to Catalyze [3 + 2]-Cycloaddition of Nitronates to Olefins In Section 3.2.1.2.2.2, it was noted that [4+ 2]-cycloaddition reactions of nitro-alkenes and alkenes proceed much faster in the presence of LA. At the same time, in the presence of LA, nitronates can rapidly decompose (49) or undergo rearrangements (see Section 3.4.2.5.6 ). Hence, it is not surprising that catalysis of 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition reactions of nitronates with alkenes by LA has attracted little attention until very recent times. An exception is the study by the Japanese... 

Finally, the catalytic enantioselective 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition reaction has recently been developed to be a highly selective reaction of nitrones with electron-deficient alkenes activated by chiral Lewis acids. High levels of regio-, diastereo-, and enantioselectivities can now be reached using catalysts 89 <2000JOC9080>, 90 <2002JA4968>, or 91 <2005JA13386> (Scheme 29). 

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