Aziridine reactions

Aziridination remains less well developed than epoxidation. Nevertheless, high selectivity in inline aziridination has been achieved through the use of chiral sulfi-nimines as auxiliaries. Highly successful catalytic asymmetric aziridination reactions employing either sulfur ylides or diazo esters and chiral Lewis acids have been developed, although their scope and potential applications in synthesis have yet to be established. 

More recently, Tardella and co-workers reported that treatment of 2-trifluorome-thyl acrylate 36 (Scheme 3.12) with the anion generated from nosyloxycarbamate 37 gave rise to aziridine-2-carboxylate 38 in 96% yield and 72% de with undetermined stereochemistry [40]. Aza-MIRC (Michael-initiated ring closure) was used to account for this transformation. A number of other hydroxylamine derivatives have been employed successfully in this type of aziridination reaction, includ-... 

In 1999, Bob Atkinson wrote [1] that aziridination reactions were epoxida-tion s poor relation , and this was undoubtedly true at that time the scope of the synthetic methods available for preparation of aziridines was rather narrow when compared to the diversity of the procedures used for the preparation of the analogous oxygenated heterocycles. The preparation of aziridines has formed the basis of several reviews [2] and the reader is directed towards those works for a comprehensive analysis of the area this chapter presents a concise overview of classical methods and focuses on modern advances in the area of aziridine synthesis, with particular attention to stereoselective reactions between nitrenes and al-kenes on the one hand, and carbenes and imines on the other. 

Although an efficient reaction, the Rees-Atkinson aziridination method suffers from two drawbacks the necessity for an N-phthalimido or N-quinazolinonyl substituent and the use of a highly toxic oxidant. Thus, recent efforts (especially in these green times) have focussed upon more benign methods for generation of the key nitrenoids. Yudin demonstrated the power of electrochemistry with a novel method that removes the need for an added metal oxidant, demonstrating an unusually and impressively broad substrate tolerance compared to many alkene aziridination reactions (Scheme 4.14) [10]. 

The metal catalyst is not absolutely required for the aziridination reaction, and other positive nitrogen sources may also be used. After some years of optimization of the reactions of alkenes with positive nitrogen sources in the presence of bromine equivalents, Sharpless et al. reported the utility of chloramine-T in alkene aziridinations [24]. Electron-rich or electron-neutral alkenes react with the anhydrous chloramines and phenyltrimethylammonium tribromide in acetonitrile at ambient temperature, with allylic alcohols being particularly good substrates for the reaction (Schemes 4.18 and 4.19). 

Probably the most widely applicable asymmetric imine aziridination reaction reported to date is that of Wulff et al. These workers approached the reaction from a different perspective, utilizing the so-called vaulted , axially chiral boron Lewis acids VANOL and VAPOL [35] to mediate reactions between ethyl diazoacetate and N-benzhydrylimines (Scheme 4.29) [36]. The reactions proceed with impressive enantiocontrol, but there is a requirement that the benzhydryl substituent be present since this group is not an aziridine activator there is, therefore, a need for deprotection and attachment of a suitable activating group. Nonetheless, this method is a powerful one, with great potential for synthesis, as shown by the rapid synthesis of chloroamphenicol by the methodology [37]. 

Diazoester aziridinations may be carried out in ionic liquids [39]. Other carbene equivalents have been investigated in aziridination reactions, though not to the same extent as diazocarbonyl compounds. Dibromo(tert-butyldimethylsilyl)me-thyllithium, for example, aziridinates N-arylimines to give l-bromo-2-aryl-3-silyla-ziridines these compounds function as useful synthetic intermediates, reacting... 

One interesting effect observed in these aziridination reactions was the increase in percentage ee with reaction time, both in homogeneous and heterogeneous phases [66]. The origin of this effect was thoroughly studied in a series of experiments that demonstrated that the aziridine products were able to react with sulfonamide byproducts and with nitrene donors, in the... 

In the case of the Diels-Alder reaction [68] (Scheme 12), several soUds (AlSBA-15, MCM-41, MSU-2 and zeolite HY) were tested as supports for the bis(oxazoline)-copper complexes. The best enantioselectivity results were obtained with the zeolite HY, although the yield was the poorest (16% yield, 41% ee). As happened with the aziridination reaction, the enantioselectivity changed with time. Short reaction times led to the same major enantiomer as observed in homogeneous reactions. However, at higher conversions, i.e., longer reaction times, the opposite major enantiomer was obtained. 

While nitrogen sources such as chloramine-T and PhI=NTs have been used for aziridination reactions, TsNC12 has not been explored until now. The reaction of TsNCL, with Pd(OAc)2 and K2C03 provides the expected N-tosyl aziridines in good yields <06TL7225>. This reaction presumably proceeds through an initial amidohalogenation reaction catalyzed by palladium. The chloroamide is then converted to the aziridine via an intramolecular substitution reaction. 

Gold-based catalysis has attracted considerable attention in recent years. A gold-catalyzed aziridination reaction has recently been reported <06JOC5876>. A series of gold catalysts were examined for their ability to catalyze the aziridination of styrene with p-nitrophenylsulfonamide (NsNH2). Styrene and phenyl-substituted styrenes provided the N-nosyl aziridines in good to excellent yields. Cinnamate however provided the aziridine product in only 25% yield. The use of other sulfonamides (e.g. tosyl, trichloroethyl) gave much lower yields of the aziridine product. 

Diphenylphosphorylazide (DPPA) has also been shown to be an excellent nitrene source in aziridination reactions <06JOC6655>. The reaction of styrene and substituted styrenes with DPPA and tetraphenylporphyrin cobalt (CoTPP) provided the A-diphenylphosphinyl aziridines in moderate yields. 

The asymmetric oxidation of organic compounds, especially the epoxidation, dihydroxylation, aminohydroxylation, aziridination, and related reactions have been extensively studied and found widespread applications in the asymmetric synthesis of many important compounds. Like many other asymmetric reactions discussed in other chapters of this book, oxidation systems have been developed and extended steadily over the years in order to attain high stereoselectivity. This chapter on oxidation is organized into several key topics. The first section covers the formation of epoxides from allylic alcohols or their derivatives and the corresponding ring-opening reactions of the thus formed 2,3-epoxy alcohols. The second part deals with dihydroxylation reactions, which can provide diols from olefins. The third section delineates the recently discovered aminohydroxylation of olefins. The fourth topic involves the oxidation of unfunc-tionalized olefins. The chapter ends with a discussion of the oxidation of eno-lates and asymmetric aziridination reactions. 

Unlike the catalytic epoxidation or aziridination reactions of simple alkenes, where enantiocontrol is the only stereochemical differentiation, synthetically effective intermolecular cyclopropanation requires both diastereocontrol and enantiocontrol. High diastereoselectivity for the trans-isomer can be achieved with the use of bulky diazoacetates such as BDA" 187 or DCM97 188. 

A number of other bis(oxazolines) have been applied as ligands in the copper-catalyzed aziridination reaction. Knight and co-workers (80) examined tartrate-derived ligands. Diastereomeric bis(oxazolines) 110 and 111 were each found to be poorly effective in mediating the asymmetric aziridination of styrene, Eq. 63. 

In a study published concurrently with the Evans bis(oxazoline) results, Jacobsen and co-workers (82) demonstrated that diimine complexes of Cu(I) are effective catalysts for the asymmetric aziridination of cis alkenes, Eq. 66. These authors found that salen-Cu [salen = bis(salicylidene)ethylenediamine] complexes such as 88b Cu are ineffective in the aziridination reaction, in spite of the success of these ligands in oxo-transfer reactions. Alkylation of the aryloxides provided catalysts that exhibit good selectivities but no turnover. The optimal catalyst was found to involve ligands that were capable only of bidentate coordination to copper. 

Further, a comparison of the effects of ligand on enantioselectivity in the cyclo-propanation and aziridination reactions revealed a linear relationship. Jacobsen argues that this reinforces the mechanistic analogy between these group-transfer reactions and suggests that the transition states are subject to similar selectivity determining factors. Finally, Jacobsen observed ligand acceleration with the diimines in this reaction. 

M. T. Bilodeau, Ph.D. Thesis I. Studies on the Direct Formation of Chlorotitanium Enolates. II. The Development of the Copper-Catalyzed Aziridination Reaction, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, 1993. 

Intramolecular rhodium-catalyzed carbamate C-H insertion has broad utility for substrates fashioned from most 1° and 3° alcohols. As is typically observed, 3° and benzylic C-H bonds are favored over other C-H centers for amination of this type. Stereospecific oxidation of optically pure 3° units greatly facilitates the preparation of enantiomeric tetrasubstituted carbinolamines, and should find future applications in synthesis vide infra). Importantly, use of PhI(OAc)2 as a terminal oxidant for this process has enabled reactions with a class of starting materials (that is, 1° carbamates) for which iminoiodi-nane synthesis has not proven possible. Thus, by obviating the need for such reagents, substrate scope for this process and related aziridination reactions is significantly expanded vide infra). Looking forward, the versatility of this method for C-N bond formation will be advanced further with the advent of chiral catalysts for diastero- and enantio-controlled C-H insertion. In addition, new catalysts may increase the range of 2° alkanol-based carbamates that perform as viable substrates for this process. 

Che has reported that both achiral and chiral rhodium catalysts function competently for intramolecular aziridination reactions of alkyl- and arylsulfonamides (Scheme 17.29) [59, 97]. Cyclized products 87 are isolated in 90% yield using 2 mol% catalyst, PhI(OAc)2, and AI2O3. Notably, reactions of this type can be performed with catalyst loadings as low as 0.02 mol% and display turnover numbers in excess of 1300. In addition, a number of chiral dimeric rhodium systems have been examined for this process, with some encouraging results. To date, the best data are obtained using Doyle s Rh2(MEOX)4 complex. At 10 mol% catalyst and with a slight excess of Phl=0, the iso-... 

C in 88% yield, the pyrrolidine analogue [300, R, R = ( 112)3] had to be heated for 1-2 days in polar solvents. The corresponding acyclic diazoamide (300, R = R = H) possessed a half-life of >10 days at ambient temperamre. The intramolecular aziridination reaction, however, could be readily achieved under catalysis using Rh2(OAc)4. 

Diazoamides of type 300 rapidly cyclize to form aziridines 302 (342) (Scheme 8.73). It is conceivable that this reaction proceeds through a 1,2,3-triazoline intermediate 301, which is the consequence of a LUMO(dipole)— HOMO(dipolarophile) controlled intramolecular [3 + 2] cycloaddition. Some remarkable steric effects were encountered for this cyclization. While the piperidine derivative [300, R R2 = (CH2)4] readily cyclized by diazo group transfer at 0 °C in 88% yield, the pyrrolidine analogue [300, R, R2 = (CH2)3] had to be heated for 1-2 days in polar solvents. The corresponding acyclic diazoamide (300, R1 = R2 = H) possessed a half-life of >10 days at ambient temperature. The intramolecular aziridination reaction, however, could be readily achieved under catalysis using Rh2(OAc)4. 

Asymmetric epoxidation, dihydroxylation, aminohydroxylation, and aziridination reactions have been reviewed.62 The use of the Sharpless asymmetric epoxidation method for the desymmetrization of mesa compounds has been reviewed.63 The conformational flexibility of nine-membered ring allylic alcohols results in transepoxide stereochemistry from syn epoxidation using VO(acac)2-hydroperoxide systems in which the hydroxyl group still controls the facial stereoselectivity.64 The stereoselectivity of side-chain epoxidation of a series of 22-hydroxy-A23-sterols with C(19) side-chains incorporating allylic alcohols has been investigated, using m-CPBA or /-BuOOH in the presence of VO(acac)2 or Mo(CO)6-65 The erythro-threo distributions of the products were determined and the effect of substituents on the three positions of the double bond (gem to the OH or cis or trans at the remote carbon) partially rationalized by molecular modelling. 

The first reports on iron-catalyzed aziridinations date back to 1984, when Mansuy et al. reported that iron and manganese porphyrin catalysts were able to transfer a nitrene moiety on to alkenes [90]. They used iminoiodinanes PhIN=R (R = tosyl) as the nitrene source. However, yields remained low (up to 55% for styrene aziridination). It was suggested that the active intermediate formed during the reaction was an Fev=NTs complex and that this complex would transfer the NTs moiety to the alkene [91-93]. However, the catalytic performance was hampered by the rapid iron-catalyzed decomposition of PhI=NTs into iodobenzene and sulfonamide. Other reports on aziridination reactions with iron porphyrins or corroles and nitrene sources such as bromamine-T or chloramine-T have been published [94], An asymmetric variant was presented by Marchon and coworkers [95]. Biomimetic systems such as those mentioned above will be dealt with elsewhere. 

The asymmetric aziridination of a, P-unsaturated carboxylic acid derivatives is a direct route to optically active aza-cyclic a-amino acids, and this class of chiral aziridines can also be used as chiral building blocks for the preparation of other amino acids, P-lactams, and alkaloids. Prabhakar and coworkers carried out an asymmetric aziridination reaction of tert-butyl acrylate with O-pivaloyl-N-arylhydroxylamine 25 in the presence of cinchonine-derived chiral ammonium salt 2e under phase-transfer conditions, which furnished the corresponding chiral N-arylaziridine 26 with moderate enantioselectivity (Scheme 2.24) [46],... 

Murugan and Siva developed a new procedure for such asymmetric aziridination reactions to achieve an excellent level of enantioselectivity using new chiral phase-transfer catalysts 2f and 4m derived from cinchonidine and cinchonine, respectively (Scheme 2.25) [47]. 

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