Carbenoid insertion reaction

Interestingly, [Ee(F20-TPP)C(Ph)CO2Et] and [Fe(p2o-TPP)CPh2] can react with cyclohexene, THF, and cumene, leading to C-H insertion products (Table 3) [22]. The carbenoid insertion reactions were found to occur at allylic C-H bond of cyclohexene, benzylic C-H bond of cumene, and ot C-H bond of THF. This is the first example of isolated iron carbene complex to undergo intermolecular carbenoid insertion to saturated C-H bonds. 

Cyclic epoxides such as 124 can react in two ways with strong bases (a) via abstraction of a /3-proton to form allylic alcoholates 125 or (b) by deprotonation at the epoxide carbon atom forming the intermediate 126 and, after electrophilic substitution, the epoxides 128. If there is a suitable C—H bond in the vicinity of the C-Li moiety, intramolecular carbenoid insertion reactions to 127 may take place (equation 27) ° . ... 

A 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition using oxime derivatives yielded the tetrahydroquinoline derivative 25 (Equation 58) <2005S3423>. It was advantageous that the product precipitated out of the aqueous reaction medium in excellent yield. Carbenoid-insertion reactions have been demonstrated to produce the ring-extended quinolone structure 26 from simple substituted anilines (Equation 59) <2003TL7433>. The C-H insertion onto the aromatic ring can vary. 

Since the observation that Rh(II) carboxylates are superior catalysts for the generation of transient electrophilic metal carbenoids from a-diazocar-bonyls compounds, intramolecular carbenoid insertion reactions have assumed strategic importance for C-C bond construction in organic synthesis [1]. Rhodium(ll) compounds catalyze the remote functionalization of carbon-hydrogen bonds to form carbon-carbon bonds with good yield and selectivity. These reactions have been particularly useful in the intramolecular sense to produce preferentially five-membered rings. 

Indoles, when treated with methyl diazomalonate 1035 under catalysis by rhodium(ll) acetate, undergo C-H and N-H carbenoid insertion reactions regioselectively depending on the substitution pattern on the indole moiety (Equations 242-244) <2002JOC6247>. Indoles in which the nitrogen is unprotected yield varying degrees of N-H insertion (Equation 242). 

In the laboratory of G.A. Sulikowski, an enantioselective synthesis of a 1,2-aziridinomitosene, a key substructure of the mitomycin antitumor antibiotics, was developed. Key transformations in the synthesis involved the Buchwald-Hartwig cross-coupling and chemoselective intramolecular carbon-hydrogen metal-carbenoid insertion reaction. 

Two groups have reported syntheses of the bicyclo[3.2.1]octane ring system found in certain tetracyclic diterpenes in which the key step is an intramolecular carbenoid insertion reaction. Thus decomposition of the diazoketone (4) in the presence of copper(II) sulfate gives the cyclopropyl ketone (5) in 48% yield. Acid hydrolysis of the acetal grouping is accompanied by concomitant fragmentation to the substituted bicyclo[3.2.1]octanone derivative (6).3... 

It is well established that the reaction of carbenoids with At-alkylindoles delivers zwitterionic intermediates. The reason why this scenario is favored can be ascribed to the fact that the positive charge of the intermediate is stabilized by the electron-rich indole while the negative charge is stabilized by the carbenoid component. In other words, the site of C3 is highly reactive in metal carbenoid insertion reactions. In 2010, Lian and Davies described such a process in their seminal work on Rh-catalyzed [3 + 2] annulation of indoles. In the presence of 1,2-dimethylindole 53, Rh2(S-DOSP)4 induced the decomposition of methyl a-phenyl-a-diazoacetate la and C—H bond insertion of indole, providing the C3 functionalization product 54 in 95% yield but negligible asymmetric induction (<5% ee). It is proposed that the poor chiral induction in the formation of C—H bond insertion product 54 can be attributed to the rapid proton transfer from the zwitterionic intermediate A to the achiral enol B, which can further tautomerize into the observed C—H bond insertion product 54 (Scheme 1.18). 

Following the publication of work of the Merck group, Kametani et al have shown that their functionalized azetidinone can also be converted to the [3.2.0]bicyclic ring system by the carbene-insertion method (149) - (150). It has also been reported that ( )-thienamycin may be prepared by a method adaptable to large scale operation. This route involves the formation of the highly functionalized amino-alcohol (151) by stereoselective reduction, efficient carbodi-imide assisted -lactam formation, and the carbenoid-insertion reaction. 

---