Asymmetric Borane Reduction of Ketones

Following up these investigahons, the same group further employed the third-generation dendrimer prolinol as a catalyst in the asymmetric reduction of 

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Bis(pyrazolyl)borate copper complex 47 has been employed as a catalyst in the homogeneous and heterogeneous styrene epoxidation reactions <00JCS(CC)1653>. Pyrazole palladacycles 48 have proven to be stable and efficient catalysts for Heck vinylations of aryl iodides <00JCS(CC)2053>. An asymmetric borane reduction of ketones catalyzed by N-hydroxyalkyl-/-menthopyrazoles has been reported <00JHC983>. 

Corey extended the utility of this catalytic hydroboration chemistry remarkably (38). Scheme 15 shows some examples of the highly en-antioselective asymmetric borane reduction of ketones. The well-designed chiral oxazaborolidines, which act as catalyst precursors, have... 

SCHEME 19. Asymmetric borane reduction of ketones catalyzed by an oxazaphos-pholidine-borane complex. 

Related catalysts for asymmetric borane reduction of ketones are open chain and cyclic phosphoric amides, in the oxidation state +3 or +5 (Scheme 11.3) [10, 11]. Early examples are the phosphonamides and phosphinamides 5a and 5b of Wills et al. [12] and the oxazaphospholidine-borane complex 6a of Buono et al. [13]. In the presence of 2-10 mol% catalysts 5a,b, co-chloroacetophenone was reduced by BH3 SMe2 with 35-46% ee [12]. For catalyst 6a a remarkable 92% ee was reported for the catalytic reduction of methyl iso-butyl ketone and 75% ee for acetophenone... 

Oxazaborolidines have been found to be a unique catalyst for asymmetric borane reduction of ketones and imines [35,36]. Coordination of BH3 to the nitrogen atom of 24 serves to activate BH3 as a hydride donor and to increase the Lewis acidity of the boron atom (Eq. 9). The Lewis acidity of the boron atom in the oxazaborolidine plays an important role in the reduction. Several types of polymer-supported oxazaborolidine have been reported and are considered to be polymer-supported boron-based Lewis acids. 

Pyrazole and 3,5-dimethylpyrazole were effective stoichiometric catalysts in the Baylis-Hillman reaction of cyclo-pentenone 892 with /i-nitrobenzaldehyde 893 in basic media to give adducts 894 in good yields (Equation 190) <2004TL5171>. An asymmetric borane reduction of ketones catalyzed by AT-hydroxyalkyl-Z-menthopyrazoles has been reported <2000JHC983>. 3-Aryl-/-menthopyrazoles 895 were assessed for their catalytic activity for asymmetric Diels-Alder reactions <2002JHC1235, 2003JHC773>. 

In 1996, our group initiated a program of research dealing with the asymmetric borane reduction of ketones using oxazaphospholidine oxide compounds as catalysts [34]. 

Optically active P-hydroxysulfoximines which catalyze the asymmetric borane reduction of ketones [110], also catalyze the same reaction with sodium borohydride/trimethylsilyl chloride system as reducing agent [126]. Reduction of a protected a-hydroxyacetophenone afforded the alcohol with 90% ee. 

In order to avoid the use of a rather expensive and potentially dangerous borane complex, Bolm et al. have developed an improved procedure for the borane reduction of ketones, which involved two inexpensive reagents namely NaBH4 and TMSCI. The reduction of a series of ketones was examined applying these novel reaction conditions and the same p-hydroxy sulfoximine ligand to that described above (Scheme 10.56). For most ketones, both the level of asymmetric induction and the yield compared favorably to the precedent results. 

New chiral oxazaborolidines that have been prepared from both enantiomers of optically active inexpensive a-pinene have also given quite good results in the asymmetric borane reduction of prochiral ketones.92 Borane and aromatic ketone coordinate to this structurally rigid oxazaborolidine (+)- or (—)-94, forming a six-membered cyclic chair-like transition state (Scheme 6-41). Following the mechanism shown in Scheme 6-37, intramolecular hydride transfer occurs to yield the product with high enantioselectivity. With aliphatic ketones, poor ee is normally obtained (see Table 6-9). 

A chiral lanthanoid complex, which was prepared similarly to La-(/ )-17,7 23 is an effective catalyst for asymmetric reduction of ketones.102 With 10 mol % of the catalyst, borane reduction of ketones proceeds very smoothly to give alcohols in up to 62% ee (Figure 48). 

Asymmetric Borane Reduction. The reaction of ATBH with trimethylboroxine by refluxing in toluene affords the chiral B-methyl oxazaborolidine in high yield (eq 2) This oxaz-aborolidine can serve as an efficient catalyst for the asymmetric borane reduction ofprochiral ketones (eq 3). The corresponding chiral secondary alcohols are obtained in high yields with good enantioselectivities. 

Reaction of ATBH with trimethyl borate in THF presumably affords the B-methoxy oxazaborolidine, which effectively catalyzes asymmetric borane reduction of prochi-ral ketones. Thus the borane reduction of acetophenone with the reagent prepared in situ from 0.1 equiv of ATBH and 0.12 equiv of trimethyl borate provides... 

Reduction of C=0 and C=N Bonds. Asymmetric reductions of prochiral ketones (19) to the corresponding chiral alcohols (20) using (S)-proline-modified borohydride reagents as the reductant have been published. The borane reductions of ketones (19) employing (S)-proline as chiral mediator proceeds with enantiomeric... 

The synthesis of various new chiral (o-hydroxyaryl)oxazaphospholidine oxides (139), derived from (S)-proline derivatives, from precursors (140) have been elaborated. This two-step reaction involves an unstable metallated intermediate that undergoes a fast 1,3-rearrangement with the formation of phosphorus-carbon bond. These catalysts have been successfully applied to the catalytic asymmetric borane reduction of numerous prochiral ketones with enantiomeric excess up to 84% ee (Scheme 35). ... 

A disulfide-linked bis(aminoethanol) 82 prepared from L-cystine also catalyzes the borane reduction of ketones. Other oxazaborolidine derivatives are obtained from 83, 84, " and 85, " and polymer-bound species. Those derived from the ephedra bases find use in the asymmetric reduction of imines. bicyclic oxazaborolidine generated... 

Chiral organophosphorus compounds have been found to act as catalysts in numerous enan-tioselective reactions. This review highlights recent developments in this area and more precisely in the kinetic resolution of secondary alcohols, the enantioselective borane reduction of ketones, and in the asymmetric C-C bond formation with the introduction of asymmetric two-center catalysts. 

One of the most powerful asymmetric catalytic reductions of ketones is borane reduction with oxazaborolidine catalyst [92, 93]. Various types of polymer-supported chiral amino alcohols have been prepared and used for the formation... 

New stereogenic centres from prochiral units in planar molecules Enantiotopic and diastereotopic groups Asymmetric Reduction of Unsymmetrical Ketones Asymmetric boron or aluminium hydrides Asymmetric reduction by boranes Reduction of ketones with Ipc2BCl (DIP-Chloride ) Asymmetric Electrophiles... 

Subsequently, the difference in the attack angle on a double bond between a nucleophile and an electrophile was postulated by Houk et al. [33] to be a major factor responsible for the different sense of 1,2-asymmetric induction. Since transition state B is less hindered than A in the case of hydroboration of alkenes or borane reduction of ketones (Scheme 6.27, right), it was proposed that such reactions should have a stereochemistry opposite to that obtained in metal hydride reductions (Scheme 6.27, left). The experimental results, indeed, confirm the reversal of the product ratios [178]. 

The CBS (Corey-Bakshi-Shibata) reagent is a chiral catalyst derived from proline. Also known as Corey s oxazaborohdine, it is used in enantioselective borane reduction of ketones, asymmetric Diels-Alder reactions and [3 + 2] cycloadditions. 

The pioneering work from Itsuno group [11-14] on stoichiometric 1,2-aminoalcohol-borane complex-mediated borane reduction of ketones led to the discovery of well-defined oxazaborolidine catalyzed asymmetric reduction by Corey and coworkers [15-18]. Known as Corey-Bakshi-Shibata reaction, or CBS reduction, this reaction has become a standard method for making chiral secondary alcohols for complex molecule synthesis [19]. The generally accepted mechanism of this reaction is shown in Fig. 2. Coordination of the electrophilic reductant BH3 to the nitrogen atom of... 

Another breakthrough came from Antilla et al., who employed a chiral phosphoric acid as an efficient catalyst for the reduction of prochiral ketones (83). As an extension of their success in the enantioselective allylation of aldehydes with allyl borate [84], they hypothesized that a chiral phosphoric could activate and direct the borane reduction of ketones. Initial studies showed that the asymmetric reduction truly works and, after screening various chiral phosphoric acids, found that 6 stands out as the most suitable catalyst. The enantioselectivity is further improved by using 4-(dimethylamino)pyridine (DMAP) as an additive (ee up to 95%) (Scheme 32.30). To gain mechanistic insight into this reduction, the authors performed several parallel B NMR experiments the results suggest that the complex formed between 6, catechol borate, and DMAP might be the real catalyst for the asymmetric reduction. 

They were applied as effective reagents for the asymmetric reduction of ketones with borane. 

Oxazaborolidine catalysts behave like an enzyme in the sense of binding with both ketone and borane, bringing them close enough to undergo reaction and releasing the product after the reaction. Thus these compounds are referred to as chemzymes by Corey.78 The oxazaborolidines listed in Figure 6-6 are representative catalysts for the asymmetric reduction of ketones to secondary alcohols. 

Evans et al.106 report an asymmetric transfer hydrogenation of ketones using samarium(III) complex (108) as the catalyst at ambient temperature in 2-propanol. The products showed ee comparable with those obtained through enantioselective borane reduction (Scheme 6-48). 

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