Aziridines protonation

When a better leaving group than LiNSC R (e.g., OMe) is present at the a-position, retention of the potentially useful sulfonamide moiety occurs (e. g., in the conversion of aziridine 271 into the highly functionalized amino ether 272 Scheme 5.69) [98]. It should be noted that the analogous chemistry with epoxides of allylic diethers failed this could again (see above) be possibly due to the higher pKa of the epoxide proton relative to the aziridine proton. 

Transition metals have also been inserted into the aziridine ring affording derivatives (295). Stereochemical studies suggest that transfer of a proton is followed by bimolecular attack on the ring with subsequent closure on the carbonyl group (76AG(E)495). 

The present authors have found that the preparation of 7V-acetyl aziridine derivates provides the most secure method of differentiating aziridines from primary amines which are alternate reaction products in a number of cases. The infrared spectra of the former derivatives show only a peak at 1690 cm" for a tertiary amide peaks at ca. 3440 and 1530 cm" indicative of a secondary amide are absent. Acetylation also shifts the aziridine ring protons to a lower field in the NMR by ca. 1 ppm relative to the parent aziridine. The A"-acetyl aziridines are hydrolyzed with 3% methanolic potassium hydroxide. " Published NMR spectra of several 16j5,17j -aziridines reveal resonance patterns resembling those of the respective epoxides. " ... 

The formation of the tran -aziridine 281 as the major product of the conjugated addition of benzylamine to the furanone 280 was rationalized in terms of selective facial protonation of the initially formed enol 284 (Scheme 75) (00TL3061). 

The C-2 proton in an aziridine-2-carboxylate is acidic, due to the adjacent carboxylic group. Upon treatment with base, such aziridines may undergo ring-opening reactions to give a-amino-a, 3-unsaturated carboxylates [74, 94, 95]. As an example, treatment of 111 (Scheme 3.39) with TMSI/Et3N gave 116 in 64% yield [74]. 

The Gabriel-Cromwell aziridine synthesis involves nucleophilic addition of a formal nitrene equivalent to a 2-haloacrylate or similar reagent [29]. Thus, there is an initial Michael addition, followed by protonation and 3-exo-tet ring-closure. Asymmetric variants of the reaction have been reported. N-(2-Bromo)acryloyl camphor-sultam, for example, reacts with a range of amines to give N-substituted (azir-idinyl)acylsultams (Scheme 4.23) [30]. 

Williams and Johnston have reported the first use of proton catalysis in the aziridination of imines by diazoesters (Scheme 4.30) [38]. A range of aryl and ali-... 

It should be noted that the sense of asymmetric induction in the lithiation/ rearrangement of aziridines 274, 276, and 279 by treatment with s-butyllithium/ (-)-sparteine is opposite to that observed for the corresponding epoxides (i.e. removal of the proton occurs at the (S)-stereocenter) [102], If one accepts the proposed model to explain the selective abstraction of the proton at the (R) -stereo-center of an epoxide (Figure 5.1), then, from the large difference in steric bulk (and Lewis basicity) between an oxygen atom and a tosyl-protected nitrogen atom, it is obvious that this model cannot be applied to the analogous aziridines. 

Another circumstance that increases leaving-group power is ring strain. Ordinary ethers do not cleave at all and protonated ethers only under strenuous conditions, but epoxides are cleaved quite easily and protonated epoxides even more easily. Aziridines and episulfides, three-membered rings containing, respectively, nitrogen and sulfur, are also easily cleaved (see p. 458). ... 

The Swern oxidation was also employed by Davis and McCoull [251 for the synthesis of 2iT-azirinephosphonates 27 and 28 from the corresponding aziridines 26 (Scheme 14). Interestingly, in this case a mixture of the regioiso-meric azirines is obtained, whereby the proton abstraction adjacent to the phos-... 

These findings can be interpreted in terms of a normal ring-opening mechanism of intermediate 325 with proton transfer favored by protic solvent, whilst in aprotic solvent cycloreversion of the unstable aziridinium grouping in 325 followed by ring expansion prevails. Likewise, 2,3-disubstituted aziridines follow this reaction pattern, while N-substituted aziridines do not225. ... 

In the reaction of fused aziridines with alkene dipolarophiles, the opportunity for stereoselectivity as well as facial selectivity arises since exo- or entfo-isomers can be formed (Scheme 10). In practice, maleic anhydride 6, A-methyl maleimide and JV-phenyl maleimide each reacted exo-stereoselectively with TV-benzyl aziridine 69 to form adducts of type 71 (Scheme 10b), the stereochemistries of which were confirmed by NOE measurement between Hb and He. Similar reaction of the Y-phenyl aziridine 67 with N-Ph maleimide gave a 1 1 mixture of endo-adduct 72 and exo-adduct 73 (Scheme 10c). Adducts 68, 71-73 all exhibited a low-field methano-bridge proton (Ha) in the range 5 3.06-3.60 confirming the syn-facial stereochemistry of the two bridges. 

The aziridine 101 derived from pyrrole-2-carboxaldehyde was found to undergo a further unusual transformation when treated with trifluoroacetic acid (TFA) at room temperature, giving the 5//-pyrrolo[l,2-r ]imidazole 102 in good yield. The cyclization is initiated by protonation of the carbonyl group (Scheme 10) <2000TL4991>. 

The allenylindium intermediates are prepared by treatment of the aziridines with Pd(PPh3)4 in THF-HMPA containing 1 equivalent of water. In the presence of iso-butyraldehyde the expected adducts were formed with excellent diastereoselectivity (Tables 9.56 and 9.57). Interestingly, the reaction did not proceed in the absence of water. It is suggested that water is needed to protonate the sulfonamide anion of the initially formed allenyl palladium species (Eq. 9.150). 

Diazoesters 22 have an electronically unique a-carbon atom. (Scheme 9) They are commonly used for the formation of aziridines 23 from imines 24. The intermediate (25) resulting from the addition of a-diazoesters 22 to the latter (24) can undergo elimination of the proton at the a-position prior to extrusion of molecular nitrogen. This interrupted aza-Darzens reaction allows for the direct alkylation of diazoesters 22 via cleavage of a carbon-hydrogen bond. 

---