Azomethine, 1,3 dipolar cycloaddition reaction

The first report on metal-catalyzed asymmetric azomethine ylide cycloaddition reactions appeared some years before this topic was described for other 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition reactions [86]. However, since then the activity in this area has been very limited in spite of the fact that azomethine ylides are often stabilized by metal salts as shown in Scheme 6.40. 

Grigg et al. have found that chiral cobalt and manganese complexes are capable of inducing enantioselectivity in 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition reactions of azomethine... 

Although the first metal-catalyzed asymmetric 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition reaction involved azomethine ylides, there has not been any significant activity in this area since then. The reactions that were described implied one of more equivalents of the chiral catalyst, and further development into a catalytic version has not been reported. 

Dipolar [3 + 2] cycloadditions are one of the most important reactions for the formation of five-membered rings [68]. The 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition reaction is frequently utihzed to obtain highly substituted pyrroHdines starting from imines and alkenes. Imines 98, obtained from a-amino esters and nitroalkenes 99, are mixed together in an open vessel microwave reactor to undergo 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition to produce highly substituted nitroprolines esters 101 (Scheme 35) [69]. Imines derived from a-aminoesters are thermally isomerized by microwave irradiation to azomethine yhdes 100,... 

Dipolar cycloaddition reaction of azomethine ylides to alkynes or alkenes followed by oxidation is one of the standard methods for the preparation of pyrroles.54 Recently, this strategy has been used for the preparation of pyrroles with CF3 or Me3Si groups at the (3-positions.55 Addition of azomethine ylides to nitroalkenes followed by elimination of HN02 with base gives pyrroles in 96% yield (Eq. 10.48).56... 

Dipolar cycloaddition reaction of suitable dipolarophiles to azomethine imines is a well-known method leading to the pyrazolo[l,2-tf]pyrazole ring system and the methodology was duly reviewed in CHEC-II(1996) <1996CHEC-II(8)747>. During the covered period, some new applications have appeared. 

High levels of asymmetric induction (97-74% ee) along with high diastereoselectivity (>99 1-64 36) were reported for asymmetric 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition reactions of fused azomethine imines 315 and 3-acryloyl-2-oxazolidinone 709 leading to 711 using a chiral BINIM-Ni(n) complex 710 as a chiral Lewis acid catalyst (Equation 100) <20070L97>. 

Dipolar cycloaddition reaction of benzo(A)thiophene-l,1-dioxide 282 with nonstabilized azomethine ylides gave high overall yield of new pyrrolo derivatives 5 and 6 with low stereoselectivity (Scheme 50) <2006TL5139>. 

In 1995, Boyd and co-workers <95TL7971 > covalently linked a porphyrin to fullerene Cgo through a 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition reaction involving the porphyrinic azomethine ylide 28 (Scheme 8). The ylide was generated in situ from befa-formyl-meso-tetraphenylporphyrin 27 and A -methylglycine, and provided the porphyrin-C6o diad 29 in good yield. 

The 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition reactions to unsaturated carbon-carbon bonds have been known for quite some time and have become an important part of strategies for organic synthesis of many compounds (Smith and March, 2007). The 1,3-dipolar compounds that participate in this reaction include many of those that can be drawn having charged resonance hybrid structures, such as azides, diazoalkanes, nitriles, azomethine ylides, and aziridines, among others. The heterocyclic ring structures formed as the result of this reaction typically are triazoline, triazole, or pyrrolidine derivatives. In all cases, the product is a 5-membered heterocycle that contains components of both reactants and occurs with a reduction in the total bond unsaturation. In addition, this type of cycloaddition reaction can be done using carbon-carbon double bonds or triple bonds (alkynes). 

In 1985, Padwa et al. (45) reported the first asymmetric 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition reaction of an azomethine ylide. The treatment of a-cyanoaminosilanes with AgF has already been detailed as one of the primary methods for the generation of azomethine ylides (Section 3.1.1). Treatment of the optically active precursor 174... 

This chapter deals mainly with the 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition reactions of three 1,3-dipoles azomethine ylides, nitrile oxides, and nitrones. These three have been relatively well investigated, and examples of external reagent-mediated stereocontrolled cycloadditions of other 1,3-dipoles are quite limited. Both nitrile oxides and nitrones are 1,3-dipoles whose cycloaddition reactions with alkene dipolarophiles produce 2-isoxazolines and isoxazolidines, their dihydro derivatives. These two heterocycles have long been used as intermediates in a variety of synthetic applications because their rich functionality. When subjected to reductive cleavage of the N—O bonds of these heterocycles, for example, important building blocks such as p-hydroxy ketones (aldols), a,p-unsaturated ketones, y-amino alcohols, and so on are produced (7-12). Stereocontrolled and/or enantiocontrolled cycloadditions of nitrones are the most widely developed (6,13). Examples of enantioselective Lewis acid catalyzed 1,3-dipolar cycloadditions are summarized by J0rgensen in Chapter 12 of this book, and will not be discussed further here. 

Enhanced reactivity as well as high endo-selectivity based on the rigid transition structure of N-metalated azomethine ylides is attractive for asymmetric 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition reactions. There are several reports known for the design of effective chiral nucleophiles in asymmetric cycloadditions. 

Chiral exocyclic alkenes such as 112, also having the chiral center two bonds away from the reacting alkene moiety, have been used in highly diastereoselective reactions with azomethine ylides, and have been used as the key reaction for the asymmetric synthesis of (5)-(—)-cucurbitine (Scheme 12.37) (169). The aryl sulfone 113 was used in a 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition reaction with acyclic nitrones. In 113, the chiral center is located four bonds apart from alkene, and as a result, only moderate diastereoselectivities of 36-56% de were obtained in these reactions (170). 

The most commonly applied ot,p-unsaturated ester auxiliary is the menthol group. It is inexpensive and easy to handle. Several different menthyl 2-alkenoates (157), in particular acrylates, have been applied in 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition reactions (Scheme 12.51). The major drawback of the menthyl ester auxiliary in 1,3-dipolar cycloadditions are the poor selectivities often associated with these reactions, except for reactions with azomethine ylides. 

An intramolecular [3 + 2] dipolar cycloaddition reaction has also been exploited in the design of a concise, stereospecific synthesis of ( )-a-lycorane (57) (119). Thus, cyclization of the azomethine ylide 145, which was produced in situ by the reaction of 144 with IV-benzylglycine, in refluxing toluene furnished the cw-hydroindole 146 as the exclusive product (Scheme 14). The transformation of 146 to racemic a-lycorane (57) was then achieved by N-debenzylation via catalytic, transfer hydrogenation and subsequent Pictet-Spengler cyclization. 

Thermolysis of oxazolidinone 82 gives the reactive azomethine ylide 83 (Equation 7) which readily takes part in 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition reactions (see Section 2.04.6.3). 

A one-pot, double intramolecular 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition reaction of azomethine ylides was developed by reaction of 4 equiv of an O-allyl salicyl-adehyde with a fluorous amino ester under microwave heating to generate a novel hexacyclic ring system 13 that contains seven stererocenters (Scheme 15) [45]. 

Several organofullerene donor-acceptor molecular material hybrid systems have been synthesized via 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition reactions of azomethine ylides, via Bingel cyclopropanation and methanofullerene formation intermediates as well as via cycloaddition reactions, that have already been discussed in previous sections. The majority of such hybrid systems possess always as acceptor unit the fullerene core and as donor moieties porphyrins, tetrathiafulvalenes, ferrocenes, quinones, or electron-rich aromatic compounds that absorb visible light [190-193]. The most active research topic in this particularly technological field relies (i) on the arrangement of several redox-active building blocks in... 

Azine approach. Examples of this heterocyclic ring system have been prepared from 3,4-dihydroisoquinoline azomethine imines (706) and sulfenes by 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition reactions. The products are l,5,6,10b-tetrahydro-3H-[l,2,3]thiadiazolo[4,3-a]isoquinoline 2,2-dioxide derivatives (707) (75JOC2260). 

The concept of intramolecular 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition reaction has been extended to include azides, azomethine imines, nitrile oxides, nitrile imines and azomethine ylides. Such reactions are summarized in Table 1. 

The cyclodehydration of 2-substituted-A/-acylthiazolidine-4-carboxylic acids yields bicyclic munchnones. This mesoionic ring system acts as a cyclic azomethine ylid and can undergo 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition reactions with dipolarophiles. A range of chiral pyrrolo[l,2-c]thiazoles have been prepared by this method both intermolecularly and intramolecularly. 

An interesting spirocyclic thiazolidine ring system has been reported. Starting from the thiazolethione 67 and the aziridine 68, which when heated to 100 °C forms the azomethine ylid 69, undergoes a 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition reaction to afford the cycloadduct 70 as the sole regioisomer <02H393>. 

Application of azomethine ylides in dipolar cycloaddition reactions with alkenes provides a route to pyrrolidine derivatives, as illustrated by the generation of the intermediate 12, and its subsequent conversion to the target system 13 (Scheme 16) <1995TL9409, CHEC-III(3.03.9)327>. 

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