Anhydrides, alcoholysis acylation

For the mechanism of azolide hydrolysis under specific conditions like, for example, in micelles,[24] in the presence of cycloamyloses,[25] or transition metals,[26] see the references noted and the literature cited therein. Thorough investigation of the hydrolysis of azolides is certainly important for studying the reactivity of those compounds in chemical and biochemical systems.[27] On the other hand, from the point of view of synthetic chemistry, interest is centred instead on die potential for chemical transformations e.g., alcoholysis to esters, aminolysis to amides or peptides, acylation of carboxylic acids to anhydrides and of peroxides to peroxycarboxylic acids, as well as certain C-acylations and a variety of other preparative applications. 

Alcoholysis of trihalides 0-6 Hydrolysis of ortho esters 0-20 Alcoholysis of acyl halides 0-21 Alcoholysis of anhydrides 0-22 Esterification of carboxylic acids 0-23 Transesterification 0-24 Alkylation of carboxylic acid salts 0-25 Cleavage of ethers with anhydrides 0-26 Alkylation of carboxylic acids with diazo compounds... 

The alcoholysis of anhydrides (Reaction XVI) is similar in scope to the reaction of alcohols with acyl halides. The reaction is catalyzed by general esterification catalysts, but usually they are not needed unless the anhydride is unreactive or the di-ester (such as a phthalate) is the product sought. 

The relative reactivities toward nucleophilic addition-elimination are acyl chlorides > acid anhydrides > esters carboxylic acids > amides > carboxylate ions. Hydrolysis, alcoholysis, and aminolysis are reactions in which water, alcohols, and amines, respectively, convert one compound into two compounds. 

Asymmetric synthesis of unnatural j8-amino acids derivatives based on azide chemistry is known. Enantioselective desymmetrization of mera-anhydride 293 mediated by cinchona alkaloids gives optically active monomethylester 294. This compound was converted into the acyl azide, which underwent Curtius degradation followed by alcoholysis of the intermediate isocyanate affording 8-amino acid derivative 295 in high enantiomeric excess. The authors observed that Grubbs catalyst was able to polymerize norbomene-type monomer 295 affording the corresponding polymer 296 in quantitative yield (Scheme 3.45). 

Treatment of [2- C]malonic acid with acetone in the presence of acetic anhydride and catalytic amounts of concentrated sulfuric acids provides [5- C]Meldrum s acid (419). one of the most versatile low molecular weight building blocks . As summarized in Figure 6.124, its reactivity at C2 is analogous with that of the malonate diesters already discussed. However, the reactivity of the initial adducts differs. For example, hydrolysis or alcoholysis (including tert-BuOH) of the initial adducts with alkyl halides , aldehydes and acyl chlorides gives directly the [2- C]carboxylic acids/esters, a,/3-unsaturated acids/esters and /3-keto acids/esters, respectively, with simultaneous elimination of acetone and In contrast, the 2-(alkoxymethylene)[2- C]malonate... 

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