Acyl anion equivalents alkylation

Dithiane alkylation, acyl anion equivalent, Sn2, R must be I ° or 2=... 

Oxathiane 101 is readily deprotonated using s-BuLi, and the resulting anion reacts with alkyl halides, ketones, and benzonitrile (85JOC657). The majority of work in this area, however, is due to Eliel and coworkers and has involved chiral 1,3-oxathianes as asymmetric acyl anion equivalents. In the earliest work it was demonstrated that the oxathianes 102 and 103, obtained in enantiomeri-cally pure form by a sequence involving resolution, could be deprotonated with butyllithium and added to benzaldehyde. The products were formed with poor selectivity at the new stereocenter, however, and oxidation followed by addition... 

The methylenebis(boronic acid) 122 may be deprotonated and alkylated at the central position and may thus behave as an acyl anion equivalent. Monoalkylation of 122 followed by hydrolysis gives aldehydes in good yield, and a second alkylation led to a ketone in one case (77JA3196). 

The (V-methyldihydrodithiazine 125 has also been used as an effective formyl anion equivalent for reaction with alkyl halides, aldehydes, and ketones (77JOC393). In this case there is exclusive alkylation between the two sulfur atoms, and hydrolysis to give the aldehyde products is considerably easier than for dithianes. However, attempts to achieve a second alkylation at C2 were unsuccessful, thus ruling out the use of this system as an acyl anion equivalent for synthesis of ketones. Despite this limitation, the compound has found some use in synthesis (82TL4995). 

The benzodithiepines 126 and 127 have been used as formyl and acyl anion equivalents, respectively, although the range of electrophiles was restricted to alkyl halides (75S720) and epifluorohydrin (72TL1837). The carbonyl products were formed by hydrolysis with either mercury or copper salts. 

Stork first demonstrated the utility of protected cyanohydrins as acyl anion equivalents in 1971 [2]. The acetal-protected cyanohydrin 8 was transformed into the corresponding anion with LDA in THF/HMPA, which was then alkylated with a range of alkyl halides, including secondary bromides (Scheme 2). A mild acidic hydrolysis yielded a cyanohydrin, which provided the ketone after treatment with base. The Stork cyanohydrin alkylation and its variants have become important methods in natural product synthesis [3,4]. 

She and co-workers took advantage of the acyl anion equivalent formed from the addition of an NHC to an aldehyde to catalyze the formation of benzopyranones via an intramolecular S 2 displacement (Scheme 50) [167], Various aromatic aldehydes provide alkylation products in moderate yields when the leaving group is either tosylate or iodide. No reaction was observed when phenyl or methyl was placed alpha to the leaving group. 

The most important use of 1,3-dithianes (792) stems from their ability to function as acyl anion equivalents (794 Scheme 184). Metallation of this heterocycle followed by alkylation of the anion and cleavage of the dithiane group produces a carbonyl compound. Since such aspects of dithiane chemistry have been extensively documented (69S17 75JOC231), only a few of the more current applications of these heterocycles are highlighted. We again note here that the application of heterocycles to the synthesis of carbonyl compounds has been the sole subject of an extensive review (77H(6)73l). 

Diethyl-3,5-octadiene 174 Dithiane oxides alkylation of 84 carbanions of 84 Dithianes alkylation of 76,79 as acyl anion equivalents 75 carbanions of 76,79 cleavage of 14-18.76,79 desulfurization of 78 oxidation of 23... 

Dithioacetals (see also dithianes and dithiolanes) alkylation of 98 as acyl anion equivalents 75 carbanions of 87,97-102 cleavage of 14-18,98,102 desulfurization of 78 metal-catalysed coupling 127 reaction with Grignard reagents 127 reductive lithiation of 89 synthesis of 12-19,97-102 Dithioacids synthesis of 40... 

Except for the well-documented conjugate additions of diethylaluminum cyanide,92 triethylaluminum-hydrogen cyanide and Lewis acid-tertiary alkyl isonitriles,93 examples of Lewis acid catalyzed conjugate additions of acyl anion equivalents are scant Notable examples are additions of copper aldimines (233),94, 94b prepared from (232), and silyl ketene acetals (234)940 to a,(3-enones which afford 1,4-ketoal-dehydes (235) and 2,5-diketo esters (236), respectively (Scheme 37). The acetal (234) is considered a glyoxylate ester anion equivalent. 

Alkylation reactions in the 2-position are restricted to 1,3-dithiepins and related compounds. The anions behave as an acyl anion equivalent, and treatment with an electrophile affords 2-alkylated products. 

In particular, 1,3-dithiane prepared from dimethoxymethane (methylal) and pro pane-1,3-dithiol in the presence of boron trifluoride-etherate,237 and 2-alkyl-1,3-dithianes prepared similarly from aldehydes,2383 are important acyl anion equivalents. These and other uses are discussed in Sections 5.7.5, p. 596, and 6.6.1, p. 909. A wide-ranging review of the reversal of polarity of the carbonyl group through the formation of these sulphur-containing reagents has emphasised their value in organic synthesis.2388... 

The synthesis of 3-benzylcyclobutanone (3) is an illustration of an overall intramolecular alkylation of an acyl anion equivalent (Section 5.9). The a,a>-dihalide is 2-benzyl-l,3-dibromopropane, and the acyl anion equivalent is methyl methylthiomethyl sulphoxide2 the product is 1-methylsulphinyl-l-methylthio-3-benzylcyclobutane which is obtained as a mixture of cis/trans isomers [(9) and (10)] (Expt 7.3). Aqueous acid hydrolysis in ethereal solution unmasks the carbonyl group. The possible mechanism of the reaction is via a Stevens-type rearrangement of the intermediate sulphur ylide, which may proceed in a pericylic, radical or ion pair fashion. 

Nitro compounds can be alkylated and are good at conjugate addition (chapter 21) so the products of these reactions can be used to make aldehydes, ketones and amines. A simple synthesis of octanal5 shows that these methods can work very well indeed. Alkylation of nitromethane with bromoheptane gives the nitro-compound 11. Formation of the anion 12 and oxidation with KMnC>4 gives octanal in 89% yield. This chemistry gives us the disconnection to an alkyl halide and a carbonyl anion. The anion 12 is an acyl anion equivalent and we shall need these in the next chapter. 

Pathway C seemed to be especially attractive, because it should enable addition of acyl anion equivalents to a large number of readily accessible activated carboxylic acids (Figure 3.6.10). Thus diversity in all relevant positions should be readily attainable. High-loaded triphenyl phosphine resin 12 (1.6 mmol g-1) was alkylated with bromoacetonitrile under the action of microwave irradiation yielding phos-phonium salt 13 quantitatively. 13 was converted into stable ylide 14 by treatment with tertiary amine. Carboxylic acids were activated in the presence of N-(3-dimethylaminopropyl)-N -ethylcarbodiimide hydrochloride (EDC) and reacted with 14 yielding acyl cyanophosphoranes 15. The reaction was monitored by ATR-IR coupling yields could be determined by spectrophotometric Fmoc-determination and were 90% for Fmoc-phenylalanine as reference amino acid. 

A sequence in which a carbonyl group has been masked as a sulfur derivative, alkylated with an electrophile, and then revealed again is a nucleophilic acylation. These nucleophilic equivalents of carbonyl compounds are known as acyl anion equivalents. In the retrosynthetic terms of Chapter 50 they are d1 reagents corresponding to the acyl anion synthon. 

C862-864. This vinyllithium reagent reacted with different electrophiles in good yields except for alkylating reagents (44-94%). However, this reagent has not been used as acyl anion equivalent. 

Vinyllithiums bearing an alkyl or arylsulfanyl (663) and selanyl (664) group at the a-position can be used as acyl anion equivalents. The reaction of these intermediates... 

Ketone synthesis. Phosphonates of this type serve as acyl anion equivalents. Thus lithiation followed by alkylation gives 2, which can be hydrolyzed to ketones 3 by base. However, the alkylation must be conducted at -78- 20° to prevent a Brook-Wittig rearrangement to 4. 

The lithium salts of aldehyde t-butylhydiazones react with electrophiles (aldehydes, ketones, alkyl halides) to form C-trapped t-butylazo compounds isomerization and hydrolysis give a-hydroxy ketones or ketones in good yields, thereby providing a convenient path via a new acyl anion equivalent (Scheme 6). Reaction of th lithium salts with aldehydes and ketones, followed by elimination, provides a new route to azaalkenes, whereas homolytic decomposition of C-tnq>ped azo compounds of trityl and diphe-nyl-4-pyridylmethylhydrazones lead to the formation of alkanes, alkenes, alcohols or saturated esters. ... 

From a historical perspective, the a-(dialkylamino)nitrile anions were the first acyl anion equivalents to undergo systematic investigation. More recent studies indicate that anions of a-(dialkylamino)nitriles derived from aliphatic, aromatic or heteroaromatic aldehydes intercept an array of electrophiles including alkyl halides, alkyl sulfonates, epoxides, aldehydes, ketones, acyl chlorides, chloroformates, unsaturated ketones, unsaturated esters and unsaturated nitriles. Aminonitriles are readily prepared and their anions are formed with a variety of bases such as sodium methoxide, KOH in alcohol, NaH, LDA, PhLi, sodium amide, 70% NaOH and potassium amide. Regeneration of the carbonyl group can be achieved... 

Tosylmethyl isocyanide (TosMIC) (75 R = H), a versatile reagent in synthesis, can also be used as an acyl anion equivalent. For instance symmetrical and unsymmetrical diketones were prepared by using this TosMIC synthon (equation 40). Ketones are homologated to enones by alkylating the condensation product derived from TosMIC, followed by acid hydrolysis (Scheme 46). 1-Isocyano-l-tosyl-l-alkenes (76), formed by the reaction of TosMIC with an aldehyde or ketone, react with a primary amine or ammonia to give 1,5-disubstituted (or 5-monosubstituted) imidazoles in high yield (Scheme 47). ... 

---