Asymmetric synthesis chiral lithium amide reactions

The interest in chiral lithium amides and their structures was sparked in the beginning of the 1990s when they proved useful in asymmetric synthesis. Over the years several chiral lithium amides have been structurally characterized. In this section the chiral lithium amides are discussed separately, depending on their structural basis. The chiral lithium amides with chelating groups constitute a central class of chiral amides widely used in various enantioselective reactions. 

This volume, which complements the earlier one, contains 9 chapters written by experts from 7 countries. These include a chapter on the dynamic behavior of organolithium compounds, written by one of the pioneers in the field, and a specific chapter on the structure and dynamics of chiral lithium amides in particular. The use of such amides in asymmetric synthesis is covered in another chapter, and other synthetic aspects are covered in chapters on acyllithium derivatives, on the carbolithiation reaction and on organolithi-ums as synthetic intermediates for tandem reactions. Other topics include the chemistry of ketone dilithio compounds, the chemistry of lithium enolates and homoenolates, and polycyclic and fullerene lithium carbanions. 

Simpkins and co-workers were the first to use an asymmetric catalytic process in (-)-anatoxin-a synthesis (Newcombe and Simpkins, 1995) instead of resorting to the chiral pool strategy. Their total synthesis of (-)-anatoxin-a relied on an enantioselective enolisation reaction of a readily available ( )-3-tropinone (33), by a chiral lithium amide base (34) (Bunn et al. 1993a, 1993b) and subsequent cyclopropanation/ring expansion reaction giving the ketone 37 (Scheme 7.8). 

Takahashi, T., Muraoki, M., Capo, M., Koga, K. Enantioselective Darzens reaction asymmetric synthesis of trans-glycidic esters mediated by chiral lithium amides. Chem. Pharm. Butt. 1995,43,1821-1823. 

Aggarwal and Olofsson have developed a direct asymmetric a-arylation of prochiral ketones using chiral lithium amide bases and diaryliodonium salts [881]. In a representative example, the deprotonation of cyclohexanone derivative 684 using chiral Simpkins (/ ,/ )-base followed by reaction with the pyridyl iodonium salt gave the arylated product 685 in 94% ee (Scheme 3.275). This reaction has been employed in a short total synthesis of the alkaloid (-)-epibatidine [881]. 

The Evans asymmetric alkylation [127] and aldol reactions were also effectively applied to the synthesis of the C10-C19 top segment 230 (Scheme 33). The starting chiral unit 223 was synthesized via the Evans asymmetric alkylation of 218a. The subsequent Evans aldol reaction of 223 with 224 followed by trans-amidation yielded 2,3-sy -diol derivative 225 with complete stereoselectivity. Addition of alkyl lithium 226 to the Weinreb amide 225 produced ketone 227, which was stereoselectively reduced and methylated to give dimethyl ether 228. The standard functional group manipulation afforded thioacetal 229, which was converted into phosphine oxide 230. 

Oxaziridines. Davis has developed the use of chiral 2-sulfonyloxaziridines derived from camphorsulfonic acid as chiral auxiliaries in the asymmetric oxidation reactions. Although other oxaziridines may be preferable, the camphor-derived oxaziridines can be used for the oxidation of sulfides and disulfides to sulfoxides and thiosulfinates as well as for the epoxidation of alkenes. On the other hand, the camphoryloxaziridines are the preferred reagents for hydroxylation of lithium enolates of esters, amides, and ketones, as utilized in the synthesis of kjellmanianone (eq 17). ... 

---