Asymmetric aldol reactions using boron enolates

A review of enantioselective aldol additions of latent enolate equivalents covers a variety of Sn", boron, Ti, Cu, lanthanide, and Lewis base catalysts. Asymmetric aldol reactions using boron enolates have been reviewed (401 references). ... 

C. J. Cowden, I. Paterson, Asymmetric Aldol Reactions Using Boron Enolates, Org. Prep. Proced. Int. 

Cowden, C. J., Paterson, I. Asymmetric aldol reactions using boron enolates. Org. React. 1997, 51, 1-200. 

Paterson, I., Doughty, V. A., Florence, G., Gerlach, K., McLeod, M. D., Scott, J. P., Trieselmann, T. Asymmetric aldol reactions using boron enolates applications to polyketide synthesis. ACS Symp. Ser. 2001, 783, 195-206. 

Asymmetric Aldol Reactions Using Boron Enolates Applications to Polyketide Synthesis... 

Although in the recent years the stereochemical control of aldol condensations has reached a level of efficiency which allows enantioselective syntheses of very complex compounds containing many asymmetric centres, the situation is still far from what one would consider "ideal". In the first place, the requirement of a substituent at the a-position of the enolate in order to achieve good stereoselection is a limitation which, however, can be overcome by using temporary bulky groups (such as alkylthio ethers, for instance). On the other hand, the ( )-enolates, which are necessary for the preparation of 2,3-anti aldols, are not so easily prepared as the (Z)-enolates and furthermore, they do not show selectivities as good as in the case of the (Z)-enolates. Finally, although elements other than boron -such as zirconium [30] and titanium [31]- have been also used succesfully much work remains to be done in the area of catalysis. In this context, the work of Mukaiyama and Kobayashi [32a,b,c] on asymmetric aldol reactions of silyl enol ethers with aldehydes promoted by tributyltin fluoride and a chiral diamine coordinated to tin(II) triflate... 

In sharp contrast to the utility of chiral boron Lewis acids, chiral aluminum Lewis acids have been little used for asymmetric aldol reactions of silyl enolates since the first example reported by Reetz et al. [115]. Fujisawa et al. have reported that an equimolar amount of a chiral Lewis acid prepared from Et2AlCl and a bor-nane-2,3-diol promotes the aldol reaction of 48 in moderate yields with good enantioselectivity [127]. 

Evans et al. utilized the chiral oxazolidones to prepare optically pure 3-hydroxy-a-amino acids, - important constituents of peptides and 3-lactams. As shown in Scheme 31, an asymmetric aldol reaction using the boron enolate derived from the V-(a-haloacyl)oxazolidone (68) provides the jyn-3-hydroxy-ot-halocarbonyl derivative (69), which is converted to the ann-3-hydroxy-a-azidocarbonyl derivative (70)... 

Asymmetric Aldol Reactions Using Chiral Boron Enolates... 

Diastereoselective Aldol Reactions Using Chiral Enolates Although the approach that uses chiral auxiliaries or other elements of stoichiometric chiral information is not as elegant as asymmetric catalysis, it is highly practical. At present, the boron-mediated aldol reaction of enolates 112 and 115 with aldehydes giving the syn aldol products 113 and 116 constimtes one of the best C C bond forming methods (Scheme 10.26). ... 

Several methods for the anti-selective, asymmetric aldol reaction recorded in the literature include (i) the use of boron, titanium, or tin(ll) enolate carrying chiral ligands, (ii) Lewis acid-catalyzed aldol reactions of a metal enolate of chiral carbonyl compounds, and (iii) the use of the metal enolate derived from a chiral carbonyl compound. Although many of these methods provide anti-aldols with high enantioselectivities, these methods are not as convenient or widely applicable as the method reported here, because of problems associated with the availability of reagents, the generality of reactions, or the required reaction conditions. 

Dialkylboron trifluoromethanesulfonates (triflates) are particularly useful reagents for the preparation of boron enolates from carbonyl compounds, including ketones, thioesters and acyloxazolidinones.4 Recently, the combination of dicylohexylboron trifluoromethanesulfonate and triethylamine was found to effect the enolization of carboxylic esters.5 The boron-mediated asymmetric aldol reaction of carboxylic esters is particularly useful for the construction of anti (3-hydroxy-a-methyl carbonyl units.6 The present procedure is a slight modification of that reported by Brown, et al.2... 

In the total synthesis of (+)-trienomycins A and F, Smith et al. used an Evans aldol reaction technology to construct a 1,3-diol functional group8 (Scheme 2.1i). Asymmetric aldol reaction of the boron enolate of 14 with methacrolein afforded exclusively the desired xyn-diastereomer (17) in high yield. Silylation, hydrolysis using the lithium hydroperoxide protocol, preparation of Weinreb amide mediated by carbonyldiimidazole (CDI), and DIBAL-H reduction cleanly gave the aldehyde 18. Allylboration via the Brown protocol9 (see Chapter 3) then yielded a 12.5 1 mixture of diastereomers, which was purified to provide the alcohol desired (19) in 88% yield. Desilylation and acetonide formation furnished the diene 20, which contained a C9-C14 subunit of the TBS ether of (+)-trienomycinol. 

Asymmetric Aldol Reactions. Reaction of (1) with Boron Tribromide in CH2CI2 affords, after removal of solvent and HBr, a complex (5) useful for the preparation of chiral enolates (eq 5). Complex (5) is moisture sensitive and is generally prepared immediately before use. For propionate derivatives, either syn or, less selectively, anti aldol adducts may be obtained by selection of the appropriate ester derivative and conditions. Thus reaction of f-butyl propionate with (5) and triethylamine produces the corresponding E 0) enolate, leading to formation of anti aldol adducts upon addition to an aldehyde (eq 6). Selectivities may be enhanced by substitution of the t-butyl ester with the (+)-menthyl ester. Conversely, reaction of 5-phenyl thiopropionate with (5) and Diisopropylethylamine affords the corresponding Z(0) enolates and syn aldol products (eq 7). ... 

In recent years, catalytic asymmetric Mukaiyama aldol reactions have emerged as one of the most important C—C bond-forming reactions [35]. Among the various types of chiral Lewis acid catalysts used for the Mukaiyama aldol reactions, chirally modified boron derived from N-sulfonyl-fS)-tryptophan was effective for the reaction between aldehyde and silyl enol ether [36, 37]. By using polymer-supported N-sulfonyl-fS)-tryptophan synthesized by polymerization of the chiral monomer, the polymeric version of Yamamoto s oxazaborohdinone catalyst was prepared by treatment with 3,5-bis(trifluoromethyl)phenyl boron dichloride ]38]. The polymeric chiral Lewis acid catalyst 55 worked well in the asymmetric aldol reaction of benzaldehyde with silyl enol ether derived from acetophenone to give [i-hydroxyketone with up to 95% ee, as shown in Scheme 3.16. In addition to the Mukaiyama aldol reaction, a Mannich-type reaction and an allylation reaction of imine 58 were also asymmetrically catalyzed by the same polymeric catalyst ]38]. 

Other oxazolidinones have been used as chiral auxiliaries in asymmetric aldol reactions. Bomane derivatives 1.121 (X = O or S) and 1.122 are readily transformed into V-acyl derivatives. The reactions of their boron or titanium enolates with aldehydes give the same selectivities as Evans s reagents [426, 428, 429, 431, 436], iV-Acylimidazolidinones 1.131 and 1.132 [449, 1270] lead to similar results, but the selectivities observed are somewhat lower. 

Oppolzeds sultams 1.133 are also efficient auxiliaries in asymmetric aldol reactions [209,404,407,457,1271], Boron, titanium or Sn (IV) enolates of W-pro-pionoylsultams lead stereoselectively to either enantiomeric syn aldol at -78°C. These products are easily purified by fractional crystallization (Figure 6.83). After treatment with Li0H/H202 and CH2N2, syw-P-hydroxyesters are obtained with an excellent enantiomeric excess. The drawback of this method is the need to use an excess of aldehyde to obtain good chemical yields. As in the case of oxazolidi-... 

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