Asymmetric reactions aldol condensations

Asymmetric. syn-aldol condensation reactions employing chiral auxiliaries were reported in 1981 by both Masamune et al.2 and Evans et al.3 Masamune et al. introduced boron enolates obtained from (.S )-mandclic acid, which underwent... 

Aklavinone (70), which is the aglycone of aclacinomycin A, remains a popular synthetic target, and Kishi et al have now outlined an asymmetric synthesis of the molecule which is based on a slight modification of their earlier route. The synthesis starts with the acetal (67), which is first converted into the keto-ester (68). Treatment of (68) with potassium carbonate in methanol resulted then in smooth asymmetric crossed-aldol condensation, leading to (69), which was easily transformed into optically pure aklavinone. An alternative route to aklavinone is based on a key Diels-Alder reaction between (71) and (72). ... 

Scheme 5 details the asymmetric synthesis of dimethylhydrazone 14. The synthesis of this fragment commences with an Evans asymmetric aldol condensation between the boron enolate derived from 21 and trans-2-pentenal (20). Syn aldol adduct 29 is obtained in diastereomerically pure form through a process which defines both the relative and absolute stereochemistry of the newly generated stereogenic centers at carbons 29 and 30 (92 % yield). After reductive removal of the chiral auxiliary, selective silylation of the primary alcohol furnishes 30 in 71 % overall yield. The method employed to achieve the reduction of the C-28 carbonyl is interesting and worthy of comment. The reaction between tri-n-butylbor-... 

A key step in the synthesis of the spiroketal subunit is the convergent union of intermediates 8 and 9 through an Evans asymmetric aldol reaction (see Scheme 2). Coupling of aldehyde 9 with the boron enolate derived from imide 8 through an asymmetric aldol condensation is followed by transamination with an excess of aluminum amide reagent to afford intermediate 38 in an overall yield of 85 % (see Scheme 7). During the course of the asymmetric aldol condensation... 

Annual Volume 71 contains 30 checked and edited experimental procedures that illustrate important new synthetic methods or describe the preparation of particularly useful chemicals. This compilation begins with procedures exemplifying three important methods for preparing enantiomerically pure substances by asymmetric catalysis. The preparation of (R)-(-)-METHYL 3-HYDROXYBUTANOATE details the convenient preparation of a BINAP-ruthenium catalyst that is broadly useful for the asymmetric reduction of p-ketoesters. Catalysis of the carbonyl ene reaction by a chiral Lewis acid, in this case a binapthol-derived titanium catalyst, is illustrated in the preparation of METHYL (2R)-2-HYDROXY-4-PHENYL-4-PENTENOATE. The enantiomerically pure diamines, (1 R,2R)-(+)- AND (1S,2S)-(-)-1,2-DIPHENYL-1,2-ETHYLENEDIAMINE, are useful for a variety of asymmetric transformations hydrogenations, Michael additions, osmylations, epoxidations, allylations, aldol condensations and Diels-Alder reactions. Promotion of the Diels-Alder reaction with a diaminoalane derived from the (S,S)-diamine is demonstrated in the synthesis of (1S,endo)-3-(BICYCLO[2.2.1]HEPT-5-EN-2-YLCARBONYL)-2-OXAZOLIDINONE. 

The intermediate enolate or enol ether from the initial reduction of an enone may be alkylated in situ (Eq. 281).455 / -Substituted cyclopentenones may be asymmetrically reduced and alkylated459 (see section on asymmetric reductions of enones). Enolates may also be trapped with an aldehyde in a reductive aldol condensation of an enone with an aldehyde,455 permitting a regioselective aldol condensation to be carried out as shown in Eq. 282.455 This class of reductive aldol condensation reactions can also occur in a cyclic manner (Eq. 283).460... 

In the reductive aldol condensation of an ,/J-unsaturated ester and an aldehyde shown in Eq. 291, the initial step is believed to be the addition of an in situ formed rhodium hydride to the a,/Tunsaturated ester, followed by reaction of the resulting rhodium enolate with the aldehyde.470 The reaction has been carried out both inter-470 and intramolecularly471,472 as well as in an asymmetric fashion (Eq. 291). 

As with the above pyrrolidine, proline-type chiral auxiliaries also show different behaviors toward zirconium or lithium enolate mediated aldol reactions. Evans found that lithium enolates derived from prolinol amides exhibit excellent diastereofacial selectivities in alkylation reactions (see Section 2.2.32), while the lithium enolates of proline amides are unsuccessful in aldol condensations. Effective chiral reagents were zirconium enolates, which can be obtained from the corresponding lithium enolates via metal exchange with Cp2ZrCl2. For example, excellent levels of asymmetric induction in the aldol process with synj anti selectivity of 96-98% and diastereofacial selectivity of 50-200 116a can be achieved in the Zr-enolate-mediated aldol reaction (see Scheme 3-10). 

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... 

At low temperatures, the Zn enolate derived from dimethyl 3-methylpent-2-endioate 39 reacts with aldehydes in a one-pot aldolisation and cyclisation to yield the syn-dihydropyran-2-one 40. At the higher temperatures necessary to achieve reaction with a-aminoaldehydes, the anri-products predominate indicating thermodynamic control (Scheme 22) <99T7847>. An aldol condensation features in the asymmetric synthesis of phomalactone. The key step is the reaction of the enolate of the vinylogous urethane 41 with crotonaldehyde which occurs with 99% syn-diastereoselectivity and in 99% ee (Scheme 23) <99TL1257>. 

Extensive stmcture activity relationship (SAR) studies in this series revealed that unsymmetrical substitution on the heterocyclic ring and hence the introduction of chirality on the central carbon atom led to increased potency. Such asymmetrical dihydro-pyridines can be prepared by stepwise variation of the Hantzsch synthesis, based on the hypothetical alternate route to nifedipine. Thus, aldol condensation of methyl acetoacetate with 2,3-dichlorobenzaldehyde (13-1) gives the cinnamyl ketone (13-2). Reaction of that with the enamine (13-3) from ethyl acetoacetate gives the calcium channel blocker felodipine (13-4) [14]. 

Aldol condensation of a-amino silyl ketene acetals (l).10 2-Dibenzylami-noketene trimethylsilyl acetals (1) react with aldehydes premixed with TiCl4 to give a-amino-p-hydroxy carboxylic esters (2) with moderate to high syn-selectivity. Surprisingly, TiCl4-catalyzed reaction of 1 with a chiral a-alkoxy aldehyde proceeds with low asymmetric induction. 

It has been reported that the chiral NMR shift reagent Eu(DPPM), represented by structure 19, catalyzes the Mukaiyama-type aldol condensation of a ketene silyl acetal with enantiose-lectivity of up to 48% ee (Scheme 8B1.13) [29-32]. The chiral alkoxyaluminum complex 20 [33] and the rhodium-phosphine complex 21 [34] under hydrogen atmosphere are also used in the asymmetric aldol reaction of ketene silyl acetals (Scheme 8BI. 14), although the catalyst TON is quite low for the former complex. 

Very recently, Belokon and North have extended the use of square planar metal-salen complexes as asymmetric phase-transfer catalysts to the Darzens condensation. These authors first studied the uncatalyzed addition of amides 43a-c to aldehydes under heterogeneous (solid base in organic solvent) reaction conditions, as shown in Scheme 8.19 [47]. It was found that the relative configuration of the epoxyamides 44a,b could be controlled by choice of the appropriate leaving group within substrate 43a-c, base and solvent. Thus, the use of chloro-amide 43a with sodium hydroxide in DCM gave predominantly or exclusively the trans-epoxide 44a this was consistent with the reaction proceeding via a thermodynamically controlled aldol condensation... 

Recently, a conceptually different synthesis of MeBmt using an asymmetric glycine aldol reaction was reported by Evans and Weber [29]. The key step consists in the stereochemically controlled condensation of the chiral glycine enolate synthon (23) with the (R)-aldehyde (24) mediated by stannous triflate (tin salt of trifluoromethanesulphonic acid). The desired syn-aldol adduct (25) was isolated in form of the heterocyclic compound (26). The sense of asymmetric induction in the aldol reaction was established by conversion of (26) over three steps into uniform MeBmt (3). 

In 1992 Ghosh and co-workers provided the first example of the utility of rigid cis-1 -amino-2-indanol-derived oxazolidinone 36 as the chiral auxiliary in the asymmetric. vv//-aldol reaction.60-61 Aldol condensation of the boron enolate of 37 with various aldehydes proceeded with complete diastereofacial selectivity. Effective removal and recovery of the chiral auxiliary was carried out under mild hydrolysis conditions (Scheme 24.6). As both enantiomers of the chiral auxiliary were readily available, both enantiomers of the. yyn-aldol could be prepared with equal asymmetric induction. 

A stereocontrolled synthesis of the biologically active neolignan (+)-dehydrodiconiferyl alcohol, which was isolated from several Taxus species, was achieved via Evans asymmetric aldol condensation [58] using ferulic acid amide derived from D-phenylalanine. The reaction steps are shown in Fig. 9. This stereocontrolled reaction is also useful for preparing the enantiomer of (+)-dehydroconiferyl alcohol using chiral auxiliary oxazolidinone prepared from L-phenylalanine. This reaction also enables the syntheses of other natural products that possess the same phenylcoumaran framework. 

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