Carbanions, condensation reactions with

Inductive and resonance stabilization of carbanions derived by proton abstraction from alkyl substituents a to the ring nitrogen in pyrazines and quinoxalines confers a degree of stability on these species comparable with that observed with enolate anions. The resultant carbanions undergo typical condensation reactions with a variety of electrophilic reagents such as aldehydes, ketones, nitriles, diazonium salts, etc., which makes them of considerable preparative importance. 

Carbanions formed after proton abstraction from alkyl substituents a. to the ring nitrogen are inductively and resonance stabilized and undergo typical condensation reactions with a variety of electrophilic reagents. 

Although condensation reactions with cyano-activatcd methylene compounds under basic conditions constitute a classical synthetic approach, few diastereoselective protonations of cyano-stabilized carbanions are known. From kinetic58 and structural data36 it is concluded that... 

The particular acidity of the protons of pyridine a- and 7-alkyl groups is echoed by quinoline-2- and 4-alkyl groups and by alkyl at the isoquinoline 1-position, but to a much lesser extent by alkyl at isoquinoline C-3. Condensation reactions with alkyl groups at these activated positions can be achieved in either basic or acidic media the key nucleophilic species in the latter cases is probably an enamine, or enamide, and in the former, a side-chain carbanion. ... 

Derivatives of the type 29 have also proved to be more suitable starting materials than the corresponding 0-analog for condensation reactions with carbanions like malodinitrile, ultimately enabling the formal replacement of O by... 

Insertion reactions of diazomethane with 1-chlorothioisochroman lead to 2-chloro-l,2,4,5-tetrahydro-3-benzothiepin and 1-chloromethyIthioiso-chroman. Other thioisochroman derivatives have been prepared by condensation reactions with the carbanion derived from 1-cyanothioiso-chroman. " A 1,4-disubstituted thioisochroman is postulated as the unstable intermediate involved in the conversion of o-divinylbenzene (67) into the benzo[c]thiophen derivative (68)." ... 

A classical way to achieve regioselectivity in an (a -i- d -reaction is to start with a-carbanions of carboxylic acid derivatives and electrophilic ketones. Most successful are condensations with 1,3-dicarbonyl carbanions, e.g. with malonic acid derivatives, since they can be produced at low pH, where ketones do not enolize. Succinic acid derivatives can also be de-protonated and added to ketones (Stobbe condensation). In the first example given below a Dieckmann condensation on a nitrile follows a Stobbe condensation, and selectivity is dictated by the tricyclic educt neither the nitrile group nor the ketone is enolizable (W.S. Johnson, 1945, 1947). 

Although most of the reactions of preparative importance involving the a-alkyl carbanions are usually carried out under controlled conditions with NHa /NHs being used as the base, a number of reactions using less severe conditions are known, both in the pyrazine and quinoxaline series. In the case of alkylquinoxalines, where an increased number of resonance possibilities exist, mildly basic conditions are usually employed in condensation reactions. 

Chapters 1 and 2. Most C—H bonds are very weakly acidic and have no tendency to ionize spontaneously to form carbanions. Reactions that involve carbanion intermediates are therefore usually carried out in the presence of a base which can generate the reactive carbanion intermediate. Base-catalyzed condensation reactions of carbonyl compounds provide many examples of this type of reaction. The reaction between acetophenone and benzaldehyde, which was considered in Section 4.2, for example, requires a basic catalyst to proceed, and the kinetics of the reaction show that the rate is proportional to the catalyst concentration. This is because the neutral acetophenone molecule is not nucleophihc and does not react with benzaldehyde. The much more nucleophilic enolate (carbanion) formed by deprotonation is the reactive nucleophile. 

The thenyl cyanides are of great importance for the preparation of thiophene derivatives. Because of the acidifying effects of both the thienyl and of the cyano groups, carbanions are easily obtained through the reaction with sodamide or sodium ethoxide, which can be alkylated with halides, carbethoxylated with ethyl carbonate, or acylated by Claisen condensation with ethyl... 

Optically pure (S)-benzyl methyl sulfoxide 139 can be converted to the corresponding a-lithio-derivative, which upon reaction with acetone gave a diastereomeric mixture (15 1) of the /S-hydroxysulfoxide 140. This addition reaction gave preferentially the product in which the configuration of the original carbanion is maintained. By this reaction, an optically active epoxy compound 142 was prepared from the cyclohexanone adduct 141181. Johnson and Schroeck188,189 succeeded in obtaining optically active styrene oxide by recrystallization of the condensation product of (+ )-(S)-n-butyl methyl sulfoxide 143 with benzaldehyde. 

Crossed Claisen reactions with two different esters, each of which has a-H atoms, are seldom useful synthetically as there are, of course, four possible products. Crossed Claisen reactions are, however, often useful when one of the two esters has no a-H atoms, e.g. HCOzEt, ArC02Et, (C02Et)2, etc., as this can act only as a carbanion acceptor. Such species are in fact good acceptors, and the side reaction of the self-condensation of the other, e.g. RCH2C02Et, ester is not normally a problem. Intramolecular Claisen reactions, where both C02Et groups are part of the same molecule [e.g. (123)], are referred to as Dieckmann cyclisations. These work best, under simple conditions, for the formation of the anions of 5-, 6- or 7-membered cyclic / -ketoesters... 

CHS orchestrates the condensation, cyclization, and aromatization of one p-coumaroyl-CoA and three malonyl-CoA molecules to produce chalcone (Fig. 12.2).22 Transfer of the p-coumaroyl moiety from the CoA-linked starter molecule to Cys 164 within the active site initiates the reaction sequence. Next, the sequential condensation of three acetate units, derived from malonyl-CoA, with the enzyme-bound coumaroyl moiety forms a tetraketide intermediate. Inherent in the condensation reaction is decarboxylation of malonyl-CoA to an acetyl-CoA carbanion that serves as a nucleophile during the successive chain elongation... 

The carbanions thus produced in situ have only a transient existence because of the more acidic materials present, such as the ketones, acids, and condensation products produced. However, they are effective for a reaction with a relatively large driving force, such as limonene dehydrogenation. 

Miscellaneous Compounds. A saturated spirocychc pyrrohdine serves as the nucleus for a diamine that has been described as a hypohpemic agent. Treatment of the carbanion of the substituted cylcohexane carboxyhc ester (20-1) with methyl bromoacetate leads to the alkylation and formation of the diester (20-2). Saponification of the ester groups followed by reaction with acetic anhydride leads to ring closure of the succinic anhydride (20-3). Condensation with ammonia leads to the succinimide (20-4). The side chain is then added by alkylation of the anion on nitrogen with l-bromo-4-dimethylaminobutane (20-5). Reaction of this last intermediate with lithium aluminum hydride leads to the reduction of the carbonyl groups to methylene. This affords the pyrrolidine (20-6) atiprimod [22]. 

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