Boron-mediated aldol condensation

Paterson, I., Delgado, O., Florence, G.J., Lyothier, I., Scott, J.P., Sereinig, N. (2003) 1,6-Asymmetric Induction in Boron-Mediated Aldol Condensations Application to a Practical Total Synthesis of (-F)-Discodermolide. Organic Letters, 5, 35-38. 

TABLE 9.7. Lewis Acid Mediated Aldol Condensations of Boron Enolate 100b... 

Boron-mediated asymmetric aldol condensation methodology developed by Evans [90] served as an inspiration for preparation of daunosamine starting from chiral oxazoUdinones. It appeared that the choice of chiral auxiUary is quite important for the stereochemical outcome of planned reactions [91]. A successful series of reactions started from N -succinoylation of (R)-3-(l-oxo-3-carbomethoxypropyl)-4-diphenylmethyl)oxazolidin-2-one as a novel chiral auxihary. The chain extension was achieved in aldol condensation with protected lactaldehyde and the key intermediate 132 was converted into the target aminosugar 135, via Curtius rearrangement of carboxyhc acid azide, and reduction of lactone to lactol, as depicted in Scheme 24 [58]. Unexpectedly, boron catalysts were rather ineffective in the aldol condensation step and had to be replaced with more reactive lithiiun enolates (which proved to be non-Evans syn selective). 

As described for similar boron compounds, the AI derivatives (67) and Bu2A10Ph are efficient mediators of aldol condensations. Each generates an enoxyalane in the latter case, the reaction has been applied to an intramolecular cyclization, ultimately leading to a synthesis of muscone. 

Other reports deal with a pyrrolidine-catalysed homo-aldol condensation of aliphatic aldehydes (further accelerated by benzoic acid), a diastereoselective aldol-type addition of chiral boron azaenolates to ketones,the use of TMS chloride as a catalyst for TiCU-mediated aldol and Claisen condensations, a boron-mediated double aldol reaction of carboxylic esters, gas-phase condensation of acetone and formaldehyde to give methyl vinyl ketone, and ab initio calculations on the borane-catalysed reaction between formaldehyde and silyl ketene acetal [H2C=C(OH)OSiH3]. ... 

The aldol reaction has long been recognized as one of the most useful synthetic tools. Under classical aldol reaction conditions, in vhich basic media are usually employed, dimers, polymers, self-condensation products, or a,j5-unsaturated carbonyl compounds are invariably formed as byproducts. The lithium enolate-mediated aldol reaction is regarded as one useful synthetic means of solving these problems. Besides the vell-studied aldol reaction based on lithium enolates, very versatile regio- and stereoselective carbon-carbon bond forming aldol-type reactions have been established in our laboratory by use of boron enolates (1971), silicon enolates-Le vis acids (1973), and tin(II) enolates (1982). Here we describe the first t vo topics, boron and silicon enolate-mediated crossed aldol reactions, in sequence. 

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