Carbonyl compounds reductive alkylation

The prime functional group for constructing C-C bonds may be the carbonyl group, functioning as either an electrophile (Eq. 1) or via its enolate derivative as a nucleophile (Eqs. 2 and 3). The objective of this chapter is to survey the issue of asymmetric inductions involving the reaction between enolates derived from carbonyl compounds and alkyl halide electrophiles. The addition of a nucleophile toward a carbonyl group, especially in the catalytic manner, is presented as well. Asymmetric aldol reactions and the related allylation reactions (Eq. 3) are the topics of Chapter 3. Reduction of carbonyl groups is discussed in Chapter 4. 

Boranes have opened the door to asymmetric reduction of carbonyl compounds. The first attempt at modifying borane with a chiral ligand was reported by Fiaud and Kagan,75 who used amphetamine borane and desoxyephedrine borane to reduce acetophenone. The ee of the 1-phenyl ethanol obtained was quite low (<5%). A more successful borane-derived reagent, oxazaborolidine, was introduced by Hirao et al.76 in 1981 and was further improved by Itsuno and Corey.77 Today, this system can provide high stereoselectivity in the asymmetric reduction of carbonyl compounds, including alkyl ketones. 

The competition between insertion and hydrogen transfer is also crucial to the selectivity of the reaction of aluminium alkyls with carbonyl compounds. Aluminium alkyls, like organolithium compounds and Grignard reagents, can add to aldehydes and ketones to form secondary or tertiary alcohols, respectively. If the aluminium alkyl has a j -hydrogen, however, reduction of the carbonyl compound is a common side reaction, and can even become the main reaction [16]. Most authors seem to accept that reduction involves direct j5-hydrogen transfer to ketone. 

Hydroxymethylation of carbonyl compounds.3 Alkyl chloromethyl ethers react in the presence of Sml2 (2 equiv.) with ketones in THF to give adducts in 50-80% yield. The reaction with aldehydes is conducted in tetraethylene glycol dimethyl ether, which suppresses pinacol reduction. Hydroxymethylation of carbonyl compounds can be effected by use of benzyl chloromethyl ether followed by hydrogenolysis of the adduct. 

Dihydro-2-fluoromethyl-4,4,6-trimethyl-4/f-l,3-oxazine (86) can be deprotonated by treatment with butyllithium, and the anion then reacted with electrophiles such as alkyl halides and carbonyl compounds. Reduction and hydrolysis of the products destroy the heterocycle and releases the corresponding a-fluoroaldehydes. For example, reaction of the anion with 3-chloropropene yields the fluorobutenyl-l,3-oxazine (87), which on reduction and hydrolysis yields 2-fluoropent-4-enal (88) (Scheme 19) <90TL179>. 

Reactions.—A variety of interesting and useful syntheses have been published involving the reaction of dimsyl anion [MeS(0)CHa ] with esters and lactones,with disulphides, with chlorosilanes, with sulphinate esters, with organoboranes, and with stilbenes. Simple and functionalized a-sulphinyl carbanions can be condensed with carbonyl compounds or alkylated, often in a stereocontrolled manner, as in a nicely conceived synthesis of biotin. Considerable attention has been given to methods for the removal of the sulphoxide function following carbon-carbon bond formation. Among the methods used are reduction by aluminium amalgam (with j3-keto-sulphoxides), reduction with Raney nickel, pyrolytic elimination of sulphenic acid, elimination of sulphur dioxide from sultines, e.g. (64), and sulphoxide-... 

The Julia-Lythgoc olefination operates by addition of alkyl sulfone anions to carbonyl compounds and subsequent reductive deoxysulfonation (P. Kocienski, 1985). In comparison with the Wittig reaction, it has several advantages sulfones are often more readily available than phosphorus ylides, and it was often successful when the Wittig olefination failed. The elimination step yields exclusively or predominantly the more stable trans olefin stereoisomer. 

Oxaziridines are powerful oxidizing agents. Free halogen is formed from hydrobromic acid (B-67MI50800). Reduction by iodide in acidic media generally yields a carbonyl compound, an amine and two equivalents of iodine from an oxaziridine (1). With 2-alkyl-, 2-acyl and with N-unsubstituted oxaziridines the reaction proceeds practically quantitatively and has been used in characterization. Owing to fast competing reactions, iodide reduction of 2-aryloxaziridines does not proceed quantitatively but may serve as a hint to their presence. 

However, the 0-alkyl derivatives are potentially unstable with respect to thermal elimination of a carbonyl compound and consequent reduction to the corresponding lactam. A combination of steric and electronic factors may permit this decomposition, i.e., 133 -a- 134, to occur at quite moderate temperatures. The 0-methyl derivative of the benzalphthalimidine (132) undergoes slow loss of formaldehyde at 177° (Ti/a in dimethyl sulfoxide 40 minutes), but this elimination is much faster in certain thiohydroxamic acid derivatives, e.g., 135, which lose benzaldehyde readily at 139° in dimethyl sulfoxide (T1/2 6 minutes). The outstanding example of this decomposition, however,... 

By application of the Leuckart-Wallach reaction,amines 2 can be alkylated with a carbonyl compound 1 formic acid is used as reductive agent, and is in turn oxidized to give carbon dioxide. 

Some workers allow the amine and carbonyl compound to stand together some time before hydrogenation (i,59), but this procedure is not always necessary nor even desirable (ii). The delay technique is illustrated by reductive alkylation of ethyl-4-aminocyclohexane carboxylate (4) with benzaldehyde to S, a route that permitted an important improvement in the production of isoquinuclidine (8) (59). 

A variety of solvents have been used in reductive alkylations. In industrial practice, excess carbonyl compound is often used as both reactant and solvent. 

Reductive alkylations have been carried out successfully with compounds that are not carbonyls or amines, but which are transformed during the hydrogenation to suitable functions. Azides, azo, hydrazo, nitro and nitroso compounds, oximes, pyridines, and hydroxylamines serve as amines phenols, acetals, ketals, or hydrazones serve as carbonyls 6,7,8,9,12,17,24,41,42,58). Alkylations using masked functions have been successful at times when use of unmasked functions have failed (2). In a synthesis leading to methoxatin, a key... 

Reductive alkylation with chiral substrates may afford new chiral centers. The reaction has been of interest for the preparation of optically active amino acids where the chirality of the amine function is induced in the prochiral carbonyl moiety 34,35). The degree of induced asymmetry is influenced by substrate, solvent, and temperature 26,27,28,29,48,51,65). Asymmetry also has been obtained by reduction of prochiral imines, using a chiral catalyst 44). Prediction of the major configurational isomer arising from a reductive alkylation can be made usually by the assumption that amine formation comes via an imine, not the hydroxyamino addition compound, and that the catalyst approaches the least hindered side (57). 

Nitriles are similar in some respects to carboxylic acids and are prepared either by SN2 reaction of an alkyl halide with cyanide ion or by dehydration of an amide. Nitriles undergo nucleophilic addition to the polar C=N bond in the same way that carbonyl compounds do. The most important reactions of nitriles are their hydrolysis to carboxylic acids, reduction to primary amines, and reaction with organometallic reagents to yield ketones. 

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