Asymmetric cyclizations, amino acid

Garbay reported the chemoselective reduction of a a-dehydrophenylala-nine substrate bearing a p-acrylate moiety [105]. Robinson et al. have also used a tandem, one-pot asymmetric hydrogenation-hydroformylation-cyclization approach to generate six- to eight-membered cyclic a-amino acids [136]. 

The total asymmetric syntheses of natural (lS,2S)-norcoronamic 72a and of (lS,2S)-coronamic acid 73 have been obtained from the diastereoselective cyclization of chiral non-racemic 2-(Ar-benzylideneamino)-4-chlorobutyronitriles [98] but one of the shortest syntheses of these attractive amino acids was based on the diastereoselective palladium(0)-catalyzed alkylation and S cyclization of l,4-dichlorobut-2-ene by the anion of 2-aminoacetonitrile derivatives [99]. On the other hand, diastereoselective palladium(0)-catalyzed azidation of chiral non-racemic 1-alkenylcyclopropyl esters provide non-natural (lk,2S)-norcoro-namic acid, enantiomerically pure [100]. 

Piperazine-2,5-diones can be symmetric or asymmetric. Symmetric DKPs are readily obtained by heating amino acid esters,1179-181 whereas asymmetric DKPs are obtained directly from the related dipeptides under basic or, more properly, acid catalysis, or by cyclocondensation of dipeptide esters.1182-185 As an alternative procedure hexafluoroacetone can be used to protect/activate the amino acid for the synthesis of symmetric DKPs or of the second amino acid residue for synthesis of the dipeptide ester and subsequent direct cyclocondensation to DKPs.1186 The use of active esters for the cyclocondensation is less appropriate since it may lead to epimerization when a chiral amino acid is involved as the carboxy component in the cyclization reaction. Resin-bound DKPs as scaffolds for further on-resin transformations are readily prepared using the backbone amide linker (BAL) approach, where the amino acid ester is attached to the BAL resin by its a-amino group and then acylated with a Fmoc-protected amino acid by the HATU procedure, N -deprotection leads to on-resin DKP formation1172 (see Section 6.8.3.2.2.3). 

Until 1968, not a single nonenzymic catalytic asymmetric synthesis had been achieved with a yield above 50%. Now, barely 15 years later, no fewer than six types of reactions can be carried out with yields of 75-100% using amino acid catalysts, i.e., catalytic hydrogenation, intramolecular aldol cyclizations, cyanhydrin synthesis, alkylation of carbonyl compounds, hydrosilylation, and epoxidations. 

Many methods have been developed for the enantioselective synthesis of unnatural a-amino acids. Jeff Johnston of Indiana University reports (J. Am. Chem. Soc. 125 163,2003) coupling the asymmetric alkylation of O Donnell with intramolecular radical cyclization, leading to what appears to be a general method for the enantioselective construction of indolines. 

A model compound 15 containing an indole (3-lactam moiety in chartellines was synthesized from the Mannich reaction of isatin imine with ketene silyl acetal, followed by (3-lactam formation through cyclization of the resulting (3-amino acid 14 (Scheme 5) [52]. L-Proline-catalyzed direct asymmetric Mannich reactions of... 

A general approach towards the asymmetric synthesis of amino acid derived 4-alkyl-4-carboxy-2-azetidinones has been described [192], The (+)- or (-)-lO-(N, Af-dicyclohexylsulfamoyl)isobomeol was used as chiral auxiliary in the intramolecular cyclization of /V-(/>methoxybenzyI)-/V-chloroacetyl Phe and Ala derivatives for the stereocontrolled base-catalyzed construction of the (1-lactam ring (Scheme 85). 

Kawabata, T. Kawakami, S. Majumdar, S. Asymmetric cyclization via memory of chirality a concise access to cyclic amino acids with a quaternary stereocenter. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 

A short asymmetric synthesis of the 2-ketocarbacepham (27) involving as the initial step for the preparation of the starting piperidone, a hetero Diels-Alder reaction of the benzylimine derived from the enantiomer of Gamer s aldehyde with Danishesky s diene, has been described <02JOC598>. The key cyclization step to form the bicyclic P-lactam system was achieved from a P-amino acid precursor using the Mukaiyama reagent, 2-chloro-A-methylpyridinium iodide. 

Asymmetric aldol cyclization. Complete details are available for the cyclization of the triketone 1 to the optically active bicyclic aldol product 2, first reported in 1974 (6, 411). The high asymmetric induction is attributed to formation of the rigid intermediate A by virtue of two hydrogen bonds. Other amino acids are considerably less effective for this asymmetric cyclization. ... 

Asymmetric aldol condensation (6, 410-411 7, 307). Terashima and coworkers have examined the effect of various (S)-amino acids on asymmetric cyclization of the acyclic triketone 1. The course of the cyclization is dependent on the solvent. In ether (R,S)-3 is formed preferentially in water (R,S)-2 is the major product. Several amino acids were found to effect asymmetric cyclization, particularly in the cyclization of 1 to 2. The most interesting result is that addition of (S)-phenylalanine gives (R)-2 in 56% enantiomeric excess and that addition of (S)-histidine gives (S)-2 in 54% enantiomeric excess. As expected (S)-proline exerted an effect, but rather slight. 

Both intermolecular and intramolecular additions of carbon radicals to alkenes and alkynes continue to be a widely investigated method for carbon-carbon bond formation and has been the subject of a number of review articles. In particular, the inter- and intra-molecular additions of vinyl, heteroatomic and metal-centred radicals to alkynes have been reported and also the factors which influence the addition reactions of carbon radicals to unsaturated carbon-carbon bonds. The stereochemical outcome of such additions continues to attract interest. The generation and use of alkoxy radicals in both asymmetric cyclizations and skeletal rearrangements has been reviewed and the use of fi ee radical reactions in the stereoselective synthesis of a-amino acid derivatives has appeared in two reports." The stereochemical features and synthetic potential of the [1,2]-Wittig rearrangement has also been reviewed. In addition, a review of some recent applications of free radical chain reactions in organic and polymer synthesis has appeared. The effect of solvent upon the reactions of neutral fi ee radicals has also recently been reviewed. ... 

Finally, mention may be made of those articles in which this method is utilized in the synthesis of optically active oxiranes for example, the simple synthesis of monosubstituted (S)-oxiranes and the asymmetric cyclization of some chlorohydrins catalyzed by optically active cobalt (salen)-type complexes, or in the enantiomeric selection of racemic oxiranes via halohydrins and /3-hydroxy sulfides. A useful three-step synthesis has been worked out from (S)-amino acids to (R)-alkyloxiranes as well as enantiomer resolution for chiral oxiranes by complexation gas chromatography. ... 

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