Amino esters, azomethine ylides metalation

Although Grigg et al. (97) have been prolific authors in azomethine ylide chemistry, probably their greatest contribution has been in the development of metal-mediated technologies, leading to elegant solutions to the problems of regio-, stereo-, and enantiocontrol over reactions. Typically, EtaN or DBU deprotonation of amino esters, with subsequent metalation of the anion, led to the formation of stabilized, metallo-1,3-dipolar systems (340), often to the extent where isolation is possible (Scheme 3.115). 

One problem in the anti-selective Michael additions of A-metalated azomethine ylides is ready epimerization after the stereoselective carbon-carbon bond formation. The use of the camphor imines of ot-amino esters should work effectively because camphor is a readily available bulky chiral ketone. With the camphor auxiliary, high asymmetric induction as well as complete inhibition of the undesired epimerization is expected. The lithium enolates derived from the camphor imines of ot-amino esters have been used by McIntosh s group for asymmetric alkylations (106-109). Their Michael additions to some a, p-unsaturated carbonyl compounds have now been examined, but no diastereoselectivity has been observed (108). It is also known that the A-pinanylidene-substituted a-amino esters function as excellent Michael donors in asymmetric Michael additions (110). Lithiation of the camphor... 

More recently, another route to N-metallated azomethine ylides has been presented. The N-(p-substituted benzylidene) imines of a-amino esters are... 

The N-metallated azomethine ylides having a wider synthetic potential are N-lithiated ylides 141, derived from the imines of a-amino esters, lithium bromide, and triethylamine, and 144 from the imines of a-aminonitriles and LDA (Section II,G). Ester-stabilized ylides 144 undergo regio- and endo-selective cycloadditions, at room temperature, to a wide variety of unsym-metrically substituted olefins bearing a carbonyl-activating substituent, such as methyl acrylate, crotonate, cinnamate, methacrylate, 3-buten-2-one, ( )-3-penten-2-one, ( )-4-phenyl-3-buten-2-one, and ( )-l-(p-tolyl)-3-phenyl-propenone, to give excellent yields of cycloadducts 142 (88JOC1384). 

The 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition reaction of azomethine ylides with thioketones has been used to prepare 1,3-thiazoIidines. The metallated azomethine ylides 67 were generated in situ by treating a-amino acid ester imines 66 with lithium bromide and DBU. The ylides were then treated with highly reactive thioketones such as thiobenzophenone or fluorene-9-thione, to afford 1,3-thiazolidine derivatives 68 (main isomer) and 69 (minor isomer) in good yield and in diastereoisomeric ratios of between 2 1 and 4 1 <01H(55)691>. 

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