Optical activity, alkylation

The approach to haplophytine proposed by Fukuyama and Tokuyama et al. did not rely on the synthesis of aspidophytine previously reported [75]. One of the main synthetic problems was the connection of the left-hand segment to the indole moiety of aspidophytine. Retrosynthetically, Fischer indole synthesis of the fully elaborated left-hand fragment 186 and the tricychc ketone 187 gave haplophytine. 186 was generated through oxidative skeletal rearrangement from precursor 188, which was accessible from indole 189 by Friedel-Crafts alkylation. Optically active ketone 187 was assembled through a stereoselective intramolecular Mannich reaction from aldehyde 190 (Scheme 33). 

These reactions follow first-order kinetics and proceed with racemisalion if the reaction site is an optically active centre. For alkyl halides nucleophilic substitution proceeds easily primary halides favour Sn2 mechanisms and tertiary halides favour S 1 mechanisms. Aryl halides undergo nucleophilic substitution with difficulty and sometimes involve aryne intermediates. 

Which of these two opposite stereochemical possibilities operates was determined in experiments with optically active alkyl halides In one such experiment Hughes and Ingold determined that the reaction of 2 bromooctane with hydroxide ion gave 2 octanol having a configuration opposite that of the starting alkyl halide... 

Although this mechanistic picture developed from experiments involving optically active alkyl halides chemists speak even of methyl halides as undergoing nucleophilic substitution with inversion By this they mean that tetrahedral inversion of the bonds to carbon occurs as the reactant proceeds to the product... 

Partial but not complete loss of optical activity m S l reactions probably results from the carbocation not being completely free when it is attacked by the nucleophile Ionization of the alkyl halide gives a carbocation-hahde ion pair as depicted m Figure 8 8 The halide ion shields one side of the carbocation and the nucleophile captures the carbocation faster from the opposite side More product of inverted configuration is formed than product of retained configuration In spite of the observation that the products of S l reactions are only partially racemic the fact that these reactions are not stereospecific is more consistent with a carbocation intermediate than a concerted bimolecular mechanism... 

An advantage that sulfonate esters have over alkyl halides is that their prepara tion from alcohols does not involve any of the bonds to carbon The alcohol oxygen becomes the oxygen that connects the alkyl group to the sulfonyl group Thus the configuration of a sulfonate ester is exactly the same as that of the alcohol from which It was prepared If we wish to study the stereochemistry of nucleophilic substitution m an optically active substrate for example we know that a tosylate ester will have the same configuration and the same optical purity as the alcohol from which it was prepared... 

The same cannot be said about reactions with alkyl halides as substrates The conver Sion of optically active 2 octanol to the corresponding halide does involve a bond to the chirality center and so the optical purity and absolute configuration of the alkyl halide need to be independently established... 

The few studies that have been carried out with optically active tertiary alcohols indicate that almost complete racemization accompanies the preparation of tertiary alkyl halides by this method... 

Synthetic utility of stereoselective alkylations in natural product chemistry is exemplified by the preparation of optically active 2-arylglycine esters (38). Chirally specific a-amino acids with methoxyaryl groups attached to the a-carbon were prepared by reaction of the dimethyl ether of a chiral bis-lactam derivative with methoxy arenes. Using SnCl as the Lewis acid, enantioselectivities ranging from 65 to 95% were obtained. 

Optically active 2-arylalkanoic acid esters have been prepared by the Friedel-Crafts alkylation of arenes with optically active a-sulfonyloxy esters (40). Friedel-Crafts alkylation of ben2ene with (5)-methyl 2-(chlorosulfonyloxy)- or 2-(mesyloxy)propionate proceeded with predorninant inversion of configuration (<97%) to give (5)-methyl 2-phenylpropionate. 

In view of the ready availabiUty of optically pure lactic acid derivatives this reaction offers an attractive general method for the preparation of optically pure aromatic ester derivatives (41). Stereoselective alkylation (15—60% inversion) of ben2ene with optically active 1,2- 1,3- and 1,5-dihaloalkanes was also reported (42). 

An asymmetric synthesis of estrone begins with an asymmetric Michael addition of lithium enolate (178) to the scalemic sulfoxide (179). Direct treatment of the cmde Michael adduct with y /i7-chloroperbenzoic acid to oxidize the sulfoxide to a sulfone, followed by reductive removal of the bromine affords (180, X = a and PH R = H) in over 90% yield. Similarly to the conversion of (175) to (176), base-catalyzed epimerization of (180) produces an 85% isolated yield of (181, X = /5H R = H). C8 and C14 of (181) have the same relative and absolute stereochemistry as that of the naturally occurring steroids. Methylation of (181) provides (182). A (CH2)2CuLi-induced reductive cleavage of sulfone (182) followed by stereoselective alkylation of the resultant enolate with an allyl bromide yields (183). Ozonolysis of (183) produces (184) (wherein the aldehydric oxygen is by isopropyUdene) in 68% yield. Compound (184) is the optically active form of Ziegler s intermediate (176), and is converted to (+)-estrone in 6.3% overall yield and >95% enantiomeric excess (200). 

Sulfonic acids are prone to reduction with iodine [7553-56-2] in the presence of triphenylphosphine [603-35-0] to produce the corresponding iodides. This type of reduction is also facile with alkyl sulfonates (16). Aromatic sulfonic acids may also be reduced electrochemicaHy to give the parent arene. However, sulfonic acids, when reduced with iodine and phosphoms [7723-14-0] produce thiols (qv). Amination of sulfonates has also been reported, in which the carbon—sulfur bond is cleaved (17). Ortho-Hthiation of sulfonic acid lithium salts has proven to be a useful technique for organic syntheses, but has Httie commercial importance. Optically active sulfonates have been used in asymmetric syntheses to selectively O-alkylate alcohols and phenols, typically on a laboratory scale. Aromatic sulfonates are cleaved, ie, desulfonated, by uv radiation to give the parent aromatic compound and a coupling product of the aromatic compound, as shown, where Ar represents an aryl group (18). 

Selectivity, Steering of reaction directions by the type of catalyst cation, eg, O- vs C-alkylation (7), substitution vs dibalocarbene addition (8), as weU as enantioselective alkylations by optical active catalysts (9) have been achieved in some systems. Extensive development is necessary, however, to generate satisfactorily large effects. 

Substitution, All lation, and Rearrangement. The reaction of alkaline phenoxides with alkyl 3 -2-(chloro)- or 3 -2-(mesyloxy)propionate gives optically active R-2-aryloxyaIkanoic acid esters in good chemical and optical yields (>97% ee) (51—53) ... 

Optically active 2-arylaIkanoic acid esters have been prepared by Eriedel-Crafts alkylation of arenes with optically active esters, such as methyl 3 -2-(chlorosulfonoxy)- or 3 -2-(mesyloxy)propionate, in the presence of aluminum chloride (54,55). 

The most important reaction with Lewis acids such as boron trifluoride etherate is polymerization (Scheme 30) (72MI50601). Other Lewis acids have been used SnCL, Bu 2A1C1, Bu sAl, Et2Zn, SO3, PFs, TiCU, AICI3, Pd(II) and Pt(II) salts. Trialkylaluminum, dialkylzinc and other alkyl metal initiators may partially hydrolyze to catalyze the polymerization by an anionic mechanism rather than the cationic one illustrated in Scheme 30. Cyclic dimers and trimers are often products of cationic polymerization reactions, and desulfurization of the monomer may occur. Polymerization of optically active thiiranes yields optically active polymers (75MI50600). 

X-ray analysis of an optically active oxaziridine substituted at nitrogen with the 1-phenylethyl group of known configuration led to the absolute configuration (+)-(2R,3R)-2-(5-l-phenylethyl)-3-(p-bromophenyl)oxaziridine of the dextrorotatory compound as expected, C-aryl and A-alkyl groups were trans to each other (79MI50800). 

Reduction of l-methyl-2-alkyl-.d -pyrroline and l-methyl-2-alkyl-.d -piperideine perchlorates with complex hydrides prepared in situ by partial decomposition of lithium aluminum hydride with the optically active alcohols (—)-menthol and (—)-borneol affords partially optically active l-methyl-2-alkyl pyrrolidines (153, n = 1) and 1-methy 1-2-alkyl piperideines (153, n = 2), respectively (241,242). 

Aza-Payne rearrangement of optically active A-aryl(alkyl)sulfonyl-substituted 2-aziridinemethanols to corresponding epoxysulfonamides 98CSR145. 

The thiazole-2,4-dione 105a has been obtained optically active, demonstrating the existence of the dioxo form. Rhodanines are usually written in the carbonyl form (106, R, R = H or alkyl) (cf, reference 117), and this formulation is supported by infrared, ultraviolet, ... 

Hie same autliors also studied tlie alkylation of alkynyl epoxides for fornialion of optically active a-aUenic alcohols under kinetic resolution ctmdilions fSdieme 8.29) [54]. 

Reductive alkylation with chiral substrates may afford new chiral centers. The reaction has been of interest for the preparation of optically active amino acids where the chirality of the amine function is induced in the prochiral carbonyl moiety 34,35). The degree of induced asymmetry is influenced by substrate, solvent, and temperature 26,27,28,29,48,51,65). Asymmetry also has been obtained by reduction of prochiral imines, using a chiral catalyst 44). Prediction of the major configurational isomer arising from a reductive alkylation can be made usually by the assumption that amine formation comes via an imine, not the hydroxyamino addition compound, and that the catalyst approaches the least hindered side (57). 

From intermediate 28, the construction of aldehyde 8 only requires a few straightforward steps. Thus, alkylation of the newly introduced C-3 secondary hydroxyl with methyl iodide, followed by hydrogenolysis of the C-5 benzyl ether, furnishes primary alcohol ( )-29. With a free primary hydroxyl group, compound ( )-29 provides a convenient opportunity for optical resolution at this stage. Indeed, separation of the equimolar mixture of diastereo-meric urethanes (carbamates) resulting from the action of (S)-(-)-a-methylbenzylisocyanate on ( )-29, followed by lithium aluminum hydride reduction of the separated urethanes, provides both enantiomers of 29 in optically active form. Oxidation of the levorotatory alcohol (-)-29 with PCC furnishes enantiomerically pure aldehyde 8 (88 % yield). 

Especially in the early steps of the synthesis of a complex molecule, there are plenty of examples in which epoxides are allowed to react with organometallic reagents. In particular, treatment of enantiomerically pure terminal epoxides with alkyl-, alkenyl-, or aryl-Grignard reagents in the presence of catalytic amounts of a copper salt, corresponding cuprates, or metal acetylides via alanate chemistry, provides a general route to optically active substituted alcohols useful as valuable building blocks in complex syntheses. 

A highly diastereoselective alkenoylation of protected optically active a-hydroxy- and a-aminoalkanals is achieved with (alkyl-substituted) [1-(diisopropylaminocarbonyloxy)-l-[(4-tnethylphenyl)sulfonyl]-2-alkeuyl]lithium,1 ,2, generated by deprotonation with butyllithi-um in THF. During the reaction, the aminocarbonyl residue migrates and 4-methylbenzenesul-finate is eliminated. 

Optically active 1-alkoxyallylstannanes are more readily available by asymmetric reduction of acylstannanes using either ( + )-(/J)-BINAL-Il105 106 or LiAlH4-Darvon alcohol [(2S,3/ )-4-dimethylamino-3-mcthy]-1,2-diphenyl-2-butanol] 06 followed by O-alkylation. The stereoselectivity of the BINAL-H reductions differs from that usually observed, and has been attributed to a tin-oxygen hypervalent interaction107, l08. 

A representative example is the cyclic enamide 1, containing an optically active A-camphanoyl substituent as a chiral auxiliary82. Treatment of 1 at — 78 C with hydrogen chloride and then a Lewis acid leads to the chiral A -acyliminium intermediate that is alkylated with high stereoselectivity to provide optically active piperidine derivatives. 

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