And the Reformatsky reaction

E Aidol-Type Additions of Ester Anions and the Reformatsky Reaction... 

Organogallium compounds are good nucleophiles for performing addition reactions to carbonyl functionalities. Alkylation, allylation, aldol condensation, and the Reformatsky reaction proceed readily with organogallium reagents. 

Rieke metal has broad application in organic synthesis that requires an active metal of low valence, such as the McMurry Coupling (Cr) and the Reformatsky Reaction (Zn). 

The Reformatsky Reaction consists of the interaction of an ester of an a-halogeno-acid with an aldehyde, a ketone or another ester in the presence of zinc. For example, if a mixture of ethyl bromoacetate and benzaldehyde is heated with zinc, the latter undoubtedly first combines with the ethyl bromoacetate to form a Grignard-like reagent (reaction A), which then adds on to the benzaldehyde Just as a Grignard reagent would do (reaction B). The complex so formed, on acidification gives ethyl p-phenyl-p-hydroxy-propionate (reaction C). Note that reaction A could not satisfactorily be carried out using... 

This preparation illustrates the Reformatsky reaction, which consists in the interaction of a carbonyl compound, an a-halogen ester (e.g., ethyl bromo-acetate) and zinc In the presence of ether or benzene, followed by hydrolysis. 

Conversion of androstans to pregnanes via the Reformatsky Reaction 17a-pregn-5-ene-3/3,17/3,21-triol and ethyl 3/3-acetoxy-17/3-hy droxy-17a-pregn-5-en-21-oate, 139... 

Bromination of the methyl group of (249) with A -bromosuccinimide, followed by reaction with excess secondary amine gave (250) which shows combined analgesic and antitussive properties. The Reformatsky reaction has also been used for the preparation of 2-amino-ethyl 3,3-diaryl-3-hydroxypropanates (251) as well as their dehydration products. The propene amides (252) have also been prepared for pharmacological evaluation. In l-methyl-3-bis (2-thienyl)-... 

Because of the mild reaction conditions, and its broad applicability, the Knoevenagel reaction is an important method for the synthesis of a ,/3-unsaturated carboxylic acids. Comparable methods are the Reformatsky reaction, the Perkin reaction, as well as the Claisen ester condensation. The Knoevenagel reaction is of greater versatility however the Reformatsky reaction permits the preparation of a ,/3-unsaturated carboxylic acids that are branched in a-position. 

The classical Reformatsky reaction consists of the treatment of an a-halo ester 1 with zinc metal and subsequent reaction with an aldehyde or ketone 3. Nowadays the name is used generally for reactions that involve insertion of a metal into a carbon-halogen bond and subsequent reaction with an electrophile. Formally the Reformatsky reaction is similar to the Grignard reaction. 

Kitazume and Kasai [55] have investigated the Reformatsky reaction in three ionic liquids. This reaction involves treatment of an a-bromo ester with zinc to give an a-zinc bromide ester, which in turn reacts with an aldehyde to give an addition product. An example is given in Scheme 5.1-26. Moderate to good yields (45-95 %) were obtained in ionic liquids such as [EDBU][OTf] for the reactions between ethyl bro-moacetate or ethyl bromodifluoroacetate and benzaldehyde [55]. 

The complexation of achiral metal enolates by chiral additives, e.g., solvents or complexing agents could, in principle, lead to reagent-induced stereoselectivity. In an early investigation, the Reformatsky reaction of ethyl bromoacetate was performed in the presence of the bidentate ligand (—)-sparteine20. The enantioselectivity of this reaction varies over a wide range and depends on the carbonyl Compound, as shown with bcnzaldehyde and acetophenone. 

Both aldehydes and ketones react with the anion of ethyl trimethylsilyl-acetate to produce a/3-unsaturated esters in an alternative (13) to the Reformatsky reaction ... 

In the presence of a strong base, the ot carbon of a carboxylic ester can condense with the carbonyl carbon of an aldehyde or ketone to give a P-hydroxy ester, which may or may not be dehydrated to the a,P-unsaturated ester. This reaction is sometimes called the Claisen reaction,an unfortunate usage since that name is more firmly connected to 10-118. In a modem example of how the reaction is used, addition of tert-butyl acetate to LDA in hexane at -78°C gives the lithium salt of ferf-butyl acetate, " (12-21) an enolate anion. Subsequent reaction a ketone provides a simple rapid alternative to the Reformatsky reaction (16-31) as a means of preparing P-hydroxy erf-butyl esters. It is also possible for the a carbon of an aldehyde or ketone to add to the carbonyl carbon of a carboxylic ester, but this is a different reaction (10-119) involving nucleophilic substitution and not addition to a C=0 bond. It can, however, be a side reaction if the aldehyde or ketone has an a hydrogen. 

This result is similar to that obtained in the Reformatsky reaction (16-31), but this is more general since no ester or other group is required to be a to the halogen. Another important advantage of the Wittig reaction is that the position of the new double bond is always certain, in contrast to the result in the Reformatsky reaction and in most of the base-catalyzed condensations (16-38-16-46). Examples of this are given below. 

The Reformatsky reaction is a classical reaction in which metallic zinc, an a-haloester, and a carbonyl compound react to give a (i-hydroxyester.162 The zinc and a-haloester react to form an organozinc reagent. Because the carboxylate group can stabilize the carbanionic center, the product is essentially the zinc enolate of the dehalogenated ester.163 The enolate effects nucleophilic attack on the carbonyl group. 

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