Azomethine derivatives metallated

Epoxidation also proceeds (Eq. 141) under mild conditions and with high stereoselectivity (95 5 erythro threo) despite the deactivating effect of the fluorine atom [361]. At a higher oxidation level, the Lausanne group described chemistry of a metallated azomethine derived from a,/Lunsaturated-a-fluoroaldehydes [362]. Highly flexible chemistry allowed alkylation at nitrogen, or at the (fluori-nated) -position, or at the -position (Fig. 8). 

Similarly, the enamine salt 15 is obtained by lithiation of 14 (equation 5). In both cases the lower steric hindrance leads to higher stability of the enaminic system33 where the double bond is formed on the less substituted carbon. The Af-metalated enamines 11 and 15 are enolate analogs and their contribution to the respective tautomer mixture of the lithium salts of azomethine derivatives will be discussed below. Normant and coworkers34 also reported complete regioselectivity in alkylations of ketimines that are derived from methyl ketones. The base for this lithiation is an active dialkylamide—the product of reaction of metallic lithium with dialkylamine in benzene/HMPA. Under these conditions ( hyperbasic media ), the imine compound of methyl ketones 14 loses a proton from the methyl group and the lithium salt 15 reacts with various electrophiles or is oxidized with iodine to yield, after hydrolysis, 16 and 17, respectively (equation 5). 

Metal chelates are preser t in the complexes of Schiff bases of amino-(X = NR2), hydroxy- (X = O), and mercapto- (X = S) derivatives of monoheteroaromatic five-membered systems, azoles, and azines. A few publications on the complexes of azomethines of the monoheteroaromatic five-membered systems have appeared only recently. The X-ray structural study of copper(II) bis(2-N-n-octyliminomethyl)benzo[ 7]thio-phene-3-olate) 199 (04ZNK1696) is interesting in the sense that its square-planar structure is complemented by an extended octahedral one due to the intermolecular contacts of the thiophene sulfur with the copper site. Among the azole complexes, azomethine derivatives of p3Tazole (Equation (32)) prevail (05RCR193). There are several types of coordination units (N,N-, N,0-, N,S-, N,Se-) created by variation of the donor sites X in position 5 of the pyrazole ring. When X = O, S, Se, tautomer b is realized, whereas when X = NR, tautomer a predominates (Equation (32)). However, irrespective of the type of tautomer, in the chelates the coordination units have practically equalized bonds. 

Aziridines have been synthesized, albeit in low yield, by copper-catalyzed decomposition of ethyl diazoacetate in the presence of an inline 260). It seems that such a carbenoid cyclopropanation reaction has not been realized with other diazo compounds. The recently described preparation of 1,2,3-trisubstituted aziridines by reaction of phenyldiazomethane with N-alkyl aldimines or ketimines in the presence of zinc iodide 261 > most certainly does not proceed through carbenoid intermediates rather, the metal salt serves to activate the imine to nucleophilic attack from the diazo carbon. Replacement of Znl2 by one of the traditional copper catalysts resulted in formation of imidazoline derivatives via an intermediate azomethine ylide261). 

The regiospecific synthesis of substituted azine derivatives by the use of heteroatom directed lithiation has also become a common occurrence in recent years, and this route has led to the successful synthesis of a wide variety of substituted derivatives [87MI1 88AHC(44)199 90CRV879 91AHC(52)187]. The activation and stabilization provided by the heteroatom substituent mean that deprotonation can occur at lower temperatures, and thus the problem of addition to the azomethine double bond is minimized. The utility of this method, and of the different substituent groups involved in the directed metalation process, is detailed in the following sections. 

The use of lithium amides to metalate the a-position of the N-substituent of imines generates 2-azaallyl anions, typically stabilized by two or three aryl groups (Scheme 11.2) (48-62), a process pioneered by Kauffmann in 1970 (49). Although these reactive anionic species may be regarded as N-lithiated azomethine ylides if the lithium metal is covalently bonded to the imine nitrogen, they have consistently been discussed as 2-azaallyl anions. Their cyclization reactions are characterized by their enhanced reactivity toward relatively unactivated alkenes such as ethene, styrenes, stilbenes, acenaphtylene, 1,3-butadienes, diphenylacetylene, and related derivatives. Accordingly, these cycloaddition reactions are called anionic [3+2] cycloadditions. Reactions with the electron-poor alkenes are rare (54,57). Such reactivity makes a striking contrast with that of N-metalated azomethine ylides, which will be discussed below (Section 11.1.4). 

One problem in the anti-selective Michael additions of A-metalated azomethine ylides is ready epimerization after the stereoselective carbon-carbon bond formation. The use of the camphor imines of ot-amino esters should work effectively because camphor is a readily available bulky chiral ketone. With the camphor auxiliary, high asymmetric induction as well as complete inhibition of the undesired epimerization is expected. The lithium enolates derived from the camphor imines of ot-amino esters have been used by McIntosh s group for asymmetric alkylations (106-109). Their Michael additions to some a, p-unsaturated carbonyl compounds have now been examined, but no diastereoselectivity has been observed (108). It is also known that the A-pinanylidene-substituted a-amino esters function as excellent Michael donors in asymmetric Michael additions (110). Lithiation of the camphor... 

The above azomethine ylide cycloadditions have been extended to an enantioselective version involving amino alcohols both as chiral ligands and amine bases. Thus, reactions of the N-metalated azomethine yhdes derived from achiral methyl 2-(arylmethyleneamino)acetates, cobalt(II) chloride [or manganese(II) bromide], and chiral amino alcohols, 1 and 2 equiv each, with methyl acrylate as solvent have been performed to provide the enantiomer-enriched pyrrolidine-2,4-dicarboxylates with the enantioselectivities of up to 96% enantiomeric excess (ee) (128,129). However, a large excess of the metal ions and the chiral source (ligand and base) have to be employed. 

The amino acid derived chiral oxazolidinone 188 is a very commonly used auxiliary in Diels-Alder and aldol reactions. However, its use in diastereoselective 1,3-dipolar cycloadditions is less widespread. It has, however, been used with nitrile oxides, nitrones, and azomethine ylides. In reactions of 188 (R = Bn, R =Me, R = Me) with nitrile oxides, up to 92% de have been obtained when the reaction was performed in the presence of 1 equiv of MgBr2 (303). In the absence of a metal salt, much lower selectivities were obtained. The same observation was made for reactions of 188 (R = Bn, R = H, R = Me) with cyclic nitrones in an early study by Murahashi et al. (277). In the presence of Znl2, endo/exo selectivity of 89 11 and up to 92% de was observed, whereas in the absence of additives, low selectivities resulted. In more recent studies, it has been shown for 188 (R =/-Pr, R = H, R =Me) that, in the presence of catalytic amounts of Mgl2-phenanthroline (10%) (16) or Yb(OTf)3(20%) (304), the reaction with acyclic nitrones proceeded with high yields and stereoselectivity. Once again, the presence of the metal salt was crucial for the reaction no reaction was observed in their absence. Various derivatives of 188 were used in reactions with an unsubstituted azomethine ylide (305). This reaction proceeded in the absence of metal salts with up to 60% de. The presence of metal salts led to decomposition of the azomethine ylide. 

Grigg and co-workers (383) found that chiral cobalt and manganese complexes are capable of inducing enantioselectivity in 1,3-dipolar cycloadditions of azomethine ylides derived from arylidene imines of glycine (Scheme 12.91). This work was published in 1991 and is the first example of a metal-catalyzed asymmetric 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition. The reaction of the azomethine yhde 284a with methyl acrylate 285 required a stoichiometric amount of cobalt and 2 equiv of the chiral ephedrine ligand. Up to 96% ee was obtained for the 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition product 286a. 

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