Benzyl groups alcohol protection

The benzyl group has been widely used for the protection of hydroxyl functions in carbohydrate and nucleotide chemistry (C.M. McCloskey, 1957 C.B. Reese, 1965 B.E. Griffin, 1966). A common benzylation procedure involves heating with neat benzyl chloride and strong bases. A milder procedure is the reaction in DMF solution at room temperatiue with the aid of silver oxide (E. Reinefeld, 1971). Benzyl ethers are not affected by hydroxides and are stable towards oxidants (e.g. periodate, lead tetraacetate), LiAIH, amd weak acids. They are, however, readily cleaved in neutral solution at room temperature by palladium-catalyzed bydrogenolysis (S. Tejima, 1963) or by sodium in liquid ammonia or alcohols (E.J. Rcist, 1964). 

Methoxyphenyl (PMP) ethers find occasional use as hydroxy protecting groups. Unlike benzylic groups, they cannot be made directly from the alcohol. Instead, the phenoxy group must be introduced by a nucleophilic substitution.185 Mitsunobu conditions are frequently used.186 The PMP group can be cleaved by oxidation with CAN. 

As seen in the retro-synthetic Scheme 5.3, intermediate 15 is useful for both routes. The choice of benzyl protection group was made based on the robust stability of benzyl phenol ethers toward most reactions and several possible avenues to remove it, although it was reported from Medicinal Chemistry that benzyl group removal via hydrogenolysis posed challenges in this compound. The choice of iodide substitution was born out of the known high reactivity of iodides in the Ullmann-type coupling reaction with alcohols and the robust stability of aryl iodides in many other common reactions. 

The ketone 15 was eventually prepared by Grignard addition to Weinreb amide 21, as shown in Scheme 5.5. The Weinreb amide 21 was prepared from p-iodobenzoic acid (20). The phenol of readily available 3-hydroxybenzaldehyde (22) was first protected with a benzyl group, then the aldehyde was converted to chloride 24 via alcohol 23 under standard conditions. Preparation of the Grignard reagent 25 from chloride 24 was initially problematic. A large proportion of the homo-coupling side product 26 was observed in THF. The use of a 3 1 mixture of toluene THF as the reaction solvent suppressed this side reaction [7]. The iodoketone 15 was isolated as a crystalline solid and this sequence was scaled up to pilot plant scale to make around 50 kg of 15. 

Notes This is often used as a protecting group for alcohols, where it is observed that primary alcohols form more readily than secondary hydroxy groups, which in turn are more reactive than tertiary alcohols. As with most benzylic ethers, this protecting group can be removed by hydrogenolysis over Pd or by metal-ammonia reduction.1 Examples ... 

Notes An important functional group for protecting amines as carbamates and alcohols as benzyl carbonates. Notable for the protection of amino acids during peptide synthesis. 

The remaining three steps are accomplished without purification of the intermediate products. The secondary hydroxy group is protected by acetylation and the benzyl ether is removed by hydrogenolysis to provide a primary alcohol. The alcohol is oxidized to a carboxylic acid by ruthenium(III) chloride or pyridinium dichromate. This method has been applied to the synthesis of various enzyme inhibitors containing the 1-hydroxyethylene isostere. 

---