Allylic compounds From epoxides

The industrial production of Crixivan (9 H2S04) took advantage of the chirality of (IS,2R)-aminoindanol to set the two central chiral centers of 9 by an efficient diastereoselective alkylation-epoxidation sequence.17 The lithium enolate of 12 reacted with allyl bromide to give 13 in 94% yield and 96 4 diastereoselective ratio. Treatment of a mixture of olefin 13 and V-chlorosuccinimide in isopropyl acetate-aqueous sodium carbonate with an aqueous solution of sodium iodide led to the desired iodohydrin in 92% yield and 97 3 diastereoselectivity. The resulting compound was converted to the epoxide 14 in quantitative yield. Epoxide opening with piperazine 15 in refluxing methanol followed by Boc-removal gave 16 in 94% yield. Finally, treatment of piperazine derivative 16 with 3-picolyl chloride in sulfuric acid afforded Indinavir sulfate in 75% yield from epoxide 14 and 56% yield for the overall process (Scheme 24.1).17-22... 

Allyl silanes react with epoxides, in the presence of Bp3 OEt2 to give 2-allyl alcohols.The reaction of a-bromo lactones and CH2=CHCH2Si(SiMe3)3 and AIBN leads to the a-allyl lactone.On the other hand, silyl epoxides have been prepared from epoxides via reaction with iec-butyllithium and chlorotri-methylsilane. ° a-Silyl-A-Boc-amines were prepared in a similar manner from the A-Boc-amine. " Arylsilanes were prepared by reaction of an aryl-lithium intermediate with TfOSi(OEt)3. In the presence of BEs etherate, allyl silane and a-methoxy A-Cbz amines were coupled. Benzyl silanes coupled with allyl silanes to give ArCHa—R derivatives in the presence of VO(OEt)Cl2 " and allyltin compounds couple with allyl silanes in the presence of SnCl4. Allyl silanes couple to the a-carbon of amines under photolysis conditions. 

The combination of reactions described above (Sections 2.6.4.2 to 2.6.4.5) allows the selective synthesis of a large variety of alcohols, allyl alcohols, alkenes, epoxides and carbonyl compounds from p-hydroxyalkyl selenides. These products often can be obtained from two ca nyl compounds by activation of one of them as an a-selenoalkyllithium (Schemes 161-196). 

An interesting reaction has been reported by Stork. Treatment of an unsaturated keto epoxide such as 264 with hydrazine in methanol gives the bicyclic compound 266 in 85% yield instead of the expected allylic alcohol from the Wharton reaction. A concerted mechanism and a free radical mechanism have been considered by Stork and, indeed, a free radical mechanism seems in accord with the other results described. This mechanism... 

The remarkable stereospecificity of TBHP-transition metal epoxidations of allylic alcohols has been exploited by Sharpless group for the synthesis of chiral oxiranes from prochiral allylic alcohols (Scheme 76) (81JA464) and for diastereoselective oxirane synthesis from chiral allylic alcohols (Scheme 77) (81JA6237). It has been suggested that this latter reaction may enable the preparation of chiral compounds of complete enantiomeric purity cf. Scheme 78) ... 

From a stereochemical point of view, compound 35 is rather complex, for it possesses four contiguous oxygen-bearing stereocenters. Nonetheless, compound 35 is amenable to a very productive retro-synthetic maneuver. Indeed, removal of the epoxide oxygen from 35 furnishes trans allylic alcohol 36 as a potential precursor. In the synthetic direction, SAE of 36 with the (+)-dialkyl tartrate ligand would be expected to afford epoxy alcohol 35, thus introducing two of the four contiguous stereocenters in one step. 

A reiterative application of a two-carbon elongation reaction of a chiral carbonyl compound (Homer-Emmonds reaction), reduction (DIBAL) of the obtained trans unsaturated ester, asymmetric epoxidation (SAE or MCPBA) of the resulting allylic alcohol, and then C-2 regioselective addition of a cuprate (Me2CuLi) to the corresponding chiral epoxy alcohol has been utilized for the construction of the polypropionate-derived chain ]R-CH(Me)CH(OH)CH(Me)-R ], present as a partial structure in important natural products such as polyether, ansamycin, or macro-lide antibiotics [52]. A seminal application of this procedure is offered by Kishi s synthesis of the C19-C26 polyketide-type aliphatic segment of rifamycin S, starting from aldehyde 105 (Scheme 8.29) [53]. 

Previous syntheses of terminal alkynes from aldehydes employed Wittig methodology with phosphonium ylides and phosphonates. 6 7 The DuPont procedure circumvents the use of phosphorus compounds by using lithiated dichloromethane as the source of the terminal carbon. The intermediate lithioalkyne 4 can be quenched with water to provide the terminal alkyne or with various electrophiles, as in the present case, to yield propargylic alcohols, alkynylsilanes, or internal alkynes. Enantioenriched terminal alkynylcarbinols can also be prepared from allylic alcohols by Sharpless epoxidation and subsequent basic elimination of the derived chloro- or bromomethyl epoxide (eq 5). A related method entails Sharpless asymmetric dihydroxylation of an allylic chloride and base treatment of the acetonide derivative.8 In these approaches the product and starting material contain the same number of carbons. 

Allylic alcohols can be converted to epoxy-alcohols with tert-butylhydroperoxide on molecular sieves, or with peroxy acids. Epoxidation of allylic alcohols can also be done with high enantioselectivity. In the Sharpless asymmetric epoxidation,allylic alcohols are converted to optically active epoxides in better than 90% ee, by treatment with r-BuOOH, titanium tetraisopropoxide and optically active diethyl tartrate. The Ti(OCHMe2)4 and diethyl tartrate can be present in catalytic amounts (15-lOmol %) if molecular sieves are present. Polymer-supported catalysts have also been reported. Since both (-t-) and ( —) diethyl tartrate are readily available, and the reaction is stereospecific, either enantiomer of the product can be prepared. The method has been successful for a wide range of primary allylic alcohols, where the double bond is mono-, di-, tri-, and tetrasubstituted. This procedure, in which an optically active catalyst is used to induce asymmetry, has proved to be one of the most important methods of asymmetric synthesis, and has been used to prepare a large number of optically active natural products and other compounds. The mechanism of the Sharpless epoxidation is believed to involve attack on the substrate by a compound formed from the titanium alkoxide and the diethyl tartrate to produce a complex that also contains the substrate and the r-BuOOH. ... 

Whereas ethylene oxide gives with 17 at ambient temperature a quantitative yield of l-trimethylsilyloxy-2-iodoethane [5, 31], substituted epoxides such as 846b react with 17 to give 848 as the main product [32]. Excess 17, however, leads to the bis-iodo compounds 849 and HMDSO 7 [4, 5]. In the presence of DBU the epoxides 850 are converted by 17, which is generated in situ from hexamethyl-disilane 857 and I2, into the allyl alcohols 851 [4, 32] (Scheme 6.14). Cycloctene epoxide 852 is opened by SiCl4 at -78 °C in the presence of catalytic amounts of the asymmetric catalyst 853 to give 61% of the chlorohydrin 854 in 98% ee [33]. 

While little biosynthetic information is available, it has been suggested [38] that 25 and 26 may be formed from AA (24) and EPA (14) via a cyclization mechanism (Scheme 3) similar to that which forms trans-cyclopropyl-containing diol 28 upon treatment of linoleic acid with performic acid [40]. An alternative biogenetic mechanism (Scheme 4), based upon that proposed for the structurally related red algal metabolites constanolactone A and B [41], would involve the formation and opening of an allylic epoxide intermediate created as a result of a 15-/ -LPO acting on either AA or EPA. Related compounds have been isolated from the coral Plexaura homomalla and the mollusc Aplysia kurodai (see below). 

The asymmetric oxidation of organic compounds, especially the epoxidation, dihydroxylation, aminohydroxylation, aziridination, and related reactions have been extensively studied and found widespread applications in the asymmetric synthesis of many important compounds. Like many other asymmetric reactions discussed in other chapters of this book, oxidation systems have been developed and extended steadily over the years in order to attain high stereoselectivity. This chapter on oxidation is organized into several key topics. The first section covers the formation of epoxides from allylic alcohols or their derivatives and the corresponding ring-opening reactions of the thus formed 2,3-epoxy alcohols. The second part deals with dihydroxylation reactions, which can provide diols from olefins. The third section delineates the recently discovered aminohydroxylation of olefins. The fourth topic involves the oxidation of unfunc-tionalized olefins. The chapter ends with a discussion of the oxidation of eno-lates and asymmetric aziridination reactions. 

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