Asymmetric isomerization reactions

Mazet et al. have reported an efficient asymmetric isomerization reaction of allylic alcohols [60, 61]. In a preliminary report they utilized the BArp analog of Crabtree s complex to efficiently catalyze a hydride transfer from the a position of the allylic alcohol to the p position of the olefin with a concomitant formation of a formyl group. A subsequent report detailed a remarkable enantioselective variant of this process catalyzed with Ir(12g) and (12h) (Scheme 12). 

Perhaps the most successful industrial process for the synthesis of menthol is employed by the Takasago Corporation in Japan.4 The elegant Takasago Process uses a most effective catalytic asymmetric reaction - the (S)-BINAP-Rh(i)-catalyzed asymmetric isomerization of an allylic amine to an enamine - and furnishes approximately 30% of the annual world supply of menthol. The asymmetric isomerization of an allylic amine is one of a large and growing number of catalytic asymmetric processes. Collectively, these catalytic asymmetric reactions have dramatically increased the power and scope of organic synthesis. Indeed, the discovery that certain chiral transition metal catalysts can dictate the stereo-... 

Pd complexes 9-12 were tested for their catalytic behavior in the asymmetric Heck reaction involving the phenylation of 2,3-dihydrofuran (Scheme 3). The results are summarized in Table 2. The two isomeric products of 2-phenyl-2,5-dihydrofuran are formed with varying yields from 80% to 0%. The obtained ee s are high. Complex 12 is shown to be catalytically inactive. The lack of catalysis in complex 12 is rationalized by differences in the steric requirements between the diphenylphosphinites 1-3 (cone angle >140°) and the more sterically hindered cyclohexyl-phosphinite 4 (cone angle >170°) and the resulting stereochemistry on the Pd center. The ligands in complex 12 adopt a... 

Although the asymmetric isomerization of allylamines has been successfully accomplished by the use of a cationic rhodium(l)/BINAP complex, the corresponding reaction starting from allylic alcohols has had a limited success. In principle, the enantioselective isomerization of allylic alcohols to optically active aldehydes is more advantageous because of its high atom economy, which can eliminate the hydrolysis step of the corresponding enamines obtained by the isomerization of allylamines (Scheme 26). 

Metal-catalyzed C-H bond formation through isomerization, especially asymmetric variant of that, is highly useful in organic synthesis. The most successful example is no doubt the enantioselective isomerization of allylamines catalyzed by Rh(i)/TolBINAP complex, which was applied to the industrial synthesis of (—)-menthol. A highly enantioselective isomerization of allylic alcohols was also developed using Rh(l)/phosphaferrocene complex. Despite these successful examples, an enantioselective isomerization of unfunctionalized alkenes and metal-catalyzed isomerization of acetylenic triple bonds has not been extensively studied. Future developments of new catalysts and ligands for these reactions will enhance the synthetic utility of the metal-catalyzed isomerization reaction. 

Chapter 2 to 6 have introduced a variety of reactions such as asymmetric C-C bond formations (Chapters 2, 3, and 5), asymmetric oxidation reactions (Chapter 4), and asymmetric reduction reactions (Chapter 6). Such asymmetric reactions have been applied in several industrial processes, such as the asymmetric synthesis of l-DOPA, a drug for the treatment of Parkinson s disease, via Rh(DIPAMP)-catalyzed hydrogenation (Monsanto) the asymmetric synthesis of the cyclopropane component of cilastatin using a copper complex-catalyzed asymmetric cyclopropanation reaction (Sumitomo) and the industrial synthesis of menthol and citronellal through asymmetric isomerization of enamines and asymmetric hydrogenation reactions (Takasago). Now, the side chain of taxol can also be synthesized by several asymmetric approaches. 

In 2000, Mathey described the use of the interesting bidentate phosphine BIPNOR in the rhodium-catalyzed asymmetric isomerization of the meso-diene illustrated in Eq. (4) [5]. Interestingly, the reaction proceeds with much lower enantioselectivity when BINAP is employed as the ligand (<40% ee). 

One of the landmark achievements in the area of enantioselective catalysis has been the development of a large-scale commercial application of the Rh(I)/BINAP-catalyzed asymmetric isomerization of allylic amines to enamines. Unfortunately, methods for the isomerization of other families of olefins have not yet reached a comparable level of sophistication. However, since the early 1990s promising catalyst systems have been described for enantioselective isomerizations of allylic alcohols and aUylic ethers. In view of the utility of catalytic asymmetric olefin isomerization reactions, I have no doubt that the coming years will witness additional exciting progress in the development of highly effective catalysts for these and related substrates. 

An isomerization reaction closely similar to that observed with indole alkaloids has been noted with oxindole alkaloids. Due to their facile isomerization, it is pharmacologically difficult to test the individual oxindole isomers expected to have different activities. Instead of epimerization the term isomerization has been used with oxindole alkaloids since inversion of configuration can occur in more than one asymmetric centre. Isomerization was employed mainly to provide structural proof of different oxindole epimers isolated in nature. As early as 1959, Wenkert and co-workers [42] proposed a mechanism for the isomerization of oxindole alkaloids, Scheme (17). Almost simultaneously, Seaton et al. [43] reported analogous findings. 

Olefinic double-bond isomerization is probably one of the most commonly observed and well-studied reactions that uses transition metals as catalysts [1]. However, prior to our first achievement of asymmetric isomerization of allylamine by optically active Co(I) complex catalysts [2], there were only a few examples of catalytic asymmetric isomerization, and these were characterized by very low asymmetric induction (<4% ee) [3], In 1978 we reported that an enantioselective hydrogen migration of a prochiral allylamine such as AVV-diethylgerany-lamine, (1) or N V-diethylnerylamine (2) gave optically active citronellal ( )-enamine 3 with about 32% ee utilizing Co(I)-DIOP [DIOP = 2,3-0-isopropylidene-2,3-dihydroxy-l,4-bis(diphenylphosphino)butane] complexes as the catalyst (eq 3.1). 

During the past decade, metal-catalyzed asymmetric reactions have become one of the indispensable synthetic methodologies in academic and industrial fields. The asymmetric isomerization of allylamine to an optically active enamine is a typical example of the successful application of basic research to an industrial process. We believe that Takasago s successful development of large-scale asymmetric catalysis will have a great impact on both synthetic chemistry and the fine chemical industries. The Rh-BINAP catalysts, though very expensive, have become one of the cheapest catalysts in the chemical industry through extensive process development. 

Their controlled formation can be utilized to control the course of the chemical reaction. In this context the chiral discrimination of PET processes of a chiral electron acceptor and (pro)chiral electron donors is of special interest We have observed such a discrimination in case of the isomerization of 1,2-diary Icyclo-propanes [122] and, for the first time, in case of a bimolecular PET process, e.g. the dimerization of 1,3-cyclohexadiene in presence of (+) and (—) l,l -bi-naphthalene-2,2 -dicarbonitrile as chiral electron acceptors [123]. Experiments in the same field are undertaken by Schuster and Kim and have been published recently [124], So far the enantiomeric excesses are small (ca. 15% [124] in toluene at —65 °C) but future efforts will certainly give more information about the applicability of catalytic asymmetric PET reactions. Consequently, the conditions which govern the formation and the fate of radical ion pairs are of central importance both for a better understanding of the mechanism and for synthetic applications. 

In asymmetric hydrocyanation reactions the desired isomers are the chiral branched products only. Good regioselectivity toward the branched product (>98%) is limited to vinylarenes. Hydrocyanation of 1,3-dienes gives a variety of mixtures depending on the catalyst and conditions 1-alkenes give the linear nitrile as major product [34]. Both are seen in the adiponitrile process in which the unwanted branched 2M3BN (hydrocyanation product from 1,3-butadiene) is isomerized to the linear product 3-pentenenitrile, which is then hydrocyanated by in-situ isomerization to 4-pentenenitrile, resulting in the linear adiponitrile. Thus vinylarenes and cyclic alkenes (mainly norbomene) are usually the substrates of choice for the asymmetric hydrocyanation. Hopefully 1,3-dienes will become feasible substrates in the near future. 

Transition metal catalyzed isomerization reactions are closely related to asymmetric hydrogenations, especially because similar catalysts are used. A number of these reactions are used at scale (Chapters 12 and 31). 

The catalysts used in the asymmetric isomerization of allylamines are very susceptible to water, oxygen, and carbon dioxide, and significant deactivation is observed by the presence of donor substances that include NEt4, COD, 27, and 28. Unfortunately, commercial production of 24 is usually accompanied by formation of 0.5-0.7% of 28 and a thorough pretreatment of the substrate 24 is required for the reaction system to attain high turnover numbers (TON), especially when Rh(L2)(5-BINAP)]+BF4 is used as the catalyst.42... 

Although a large number of asymmetric catalytic reactions with impressive catalytic activities and enantioselectivities have been reported, the mechanistic details at a molecular level have been firmly established for only a few. Asymmetric isomerization, hydrogenation, epoxidation, and alkene dihydroxylation are some of the reactions where the proposed catalytic cycles could be backed with kinetic, spectroscopic, and other evidence. In all these systems kinetic factors are responsible for the observed enantioselectivities. In other words, the rate of formation of one of the enantiomers of the organic product is much faster than that of its mirror image. 

Like the synthesis of L-DOPA by asymmetric hydrogenation, the manufacture of L-menthol hy Takasago Company is also one of the early examples of an industrial process where asymmetric isomerization is a key step. The desired isomerization reaction is one of the steps of the overall synthetic scheme. The synthesis of L-menthol from diethyl geranylamine is shown by 9.2. The formal electron pair pushing mechanism for the isomerization of the allylic amine to the enamine proceeds according to reaction 9.3. 

A simplified proposed catalytic cycle is shown in Fig. 9.6. The precatalyst, an analogue of 9.14 with S-BINAP, undergoes reaction 9.3 to generate 9.32, where the enamine acts as a chelating ligand. Note that in 9.32 asymmetric isomerization has already taken place. How this may come about will be dis-... 

What are the similarities and differences in the behavior of a-acetamido-cinamic acid and allyl amine as ligands in asymmetric hydrogenation and isomerization reactions, respectively ... 

In summary, chiral solvents have only induced limited enantioselectivity into different types of photochemical reactions as pinacolization, cyclization, and isomerization reactions. These studies are nevertheless very important, because they are among the early examples of chiral induction by an asymmetric environ ment. Based on our classification of chiral solvents as chiral inductors that only act as passive reaction matrices, effective asymmetric induction by this means seems to be intrinsically difficult. From the observed enantioselectivities it can be postulated that defined interactions with the prochiral substrate during the conversion to the product are a prerequisite for effective template induced enantioselectivity. 

An asymmetric variant of this kind of allylic amination, based on their phenylcyclohexanol-derived chiral N-sulfinyl carbamates, was developed by Whitesell et al. (see also Sect. 3.2) (Scheme 34) [85]. After the asymmetric ene reaction with Z-configured olefins (not shown) had occurred, nearly di-astereomerically pure sulfinamides 127 were obtained which were found to be prone to epimerization. Their rapid conversion via O silylation and [2,3]-a rearrangement dehvered the carbamoylated allyhc amines 128 with around 7 1 diastereoselectivity as crystalline compounds that can be recrystallized to enhance their isomeric purity to 95 5. Obviously the imiform absolute configuration at Cl in the ene products 127 was difficult to transfer completely due to the already mentioned ease of epimerization. Unhke the sulfonamides of Delerit (Scheme 33) [84], the carbonyl moiety can easily be cleaved by base treatment. 

There is a strong tendency for 1 to undergo isomerization to isolaulimalide (2) even under mildly acidic conditions. Therefore it was decided to apply a Sharpless asymmetric epoxidation reaction to deoxylaulimalide 32 in the hope that the reagent control of this procedure would suffice to bring about the desired regioselectivity of... 

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