Carbonyl groups polarity reversal

Review. Seebach and Corey have published a general paper on the preparation and metalation of 1,3-dithianes and examples of the reaction of 2-lithio-l,3-dithianes with electrophilic reagents (alkyl halides, carbonyl compounds, acids, and oxides). The value of these sulfur-stabilized anionic reagents is that they are equivalent to acyl anions (a), in which the normal polarity of the carbonyl group is reversed (reversible umpolung). 

A new class of synthetic aldehyde reactions involves effectively reversing the polarity of the carbonyl group by forming a dithiane intermediate. 

When analytes lack the selectivity in the new polar organic mode or reversed-phase mode, typical normal phase (hexane with ethanol or isopropanol) can also be tested. Normally, 20 % ethanol will give a reasonable retention time for most analytes on vancomycin and teicoplanin, while 40 % ethanol is more appropriate for ristocetin A CSP. The hexane/alcohol composition is favored on many occasions (preparative scale, for example) and offers better selectivity for some less polar compounds. Those compounds with a carbonyl group in the a or (3 position to the chiral center have an excellent chance to be resolved in this mode. The simplified method development protocols are illustrated in Fig. 2-6. The optimization will be discussed in detail later in this chapter. 

Polar C=Y double bonds (Y = NR, O, S) with electrophilic carbon have been added to suifinic acids under formation of sulfones. As in the preceding section one must distinguish between carbonyl groups and their derivatives on the one hand, and carboxylic acids (possessing leaving groups at the electrophilic carbon) on the other. Aldehydes " of sufficient reactivity—especially mono-substituted glyoxals - —and their aryl or arylsulfonyl imines have been added to suifinic acids (in a reversible equilibrium) to yield a-hydroxy or a-amino sulfones the latter could also be obtained from the former in the presence of primary amines (equation 26). 

In proton-catalyzed hydrolysis (specific acid catalyzed hydrolysis), protonation of the carbonyl O-atom leads to polarization of the carbonyl group, facilitating addition of the nucleophile, i. e., a H20 molecule (Fig. 3.1, Pathway a). The acid-catalyzed hydrolysis of esters is reversible because the neutral alcohol or phenol released is nucleophilic, whereas hydrolysis of amides is irreversible because the amine released is protonated in the acidic medium and, hence, has considerably reduced nucleophilicity. 

Umpolung The reversal of polarity of the carbonyl carbon atom is termed umpolung (German for polarity reversal). Normally the carbonyl carbon atom of an aldehyde (or a ketone) is partially positive i.e., electrophilic and therefore it reacts with nucleophiles. When the aldehyde is converted to a dithiane by reaction with 1,3-propanedithiol and reacted with butyl lithium the same carbon now becomes negatively charged to react with electrophiles. This reversed polarity of the carbonyl carbon is termed umpolung which increases the versatility of the carbonyl group in synthesis. The sulphur atoms stabilize... 

The term Umpolung is most often used to describe the reversal of the carbon polarity when going from a carbonyl group to the carbanion of a dithioacetal. 

The formation of imine or Schiff base metal complexes can be effected very readily by arranging for reaction of the amine with the carbonyl compound to take place in the presence of the metal ion. Nucleophilic attack of the amine on the carbonyl group is enhanced by polarization of the carbonyl group by coordination of the oxygen atom to the metal ion. Furthermore, the reaction is reversible unless steps are taken to effect dehydration of the intermediate hydroxy amine, and coordination of the product imine is an important factor in the promotion of the reaction by suitable metal ions. 

Carbonic anhydrase is a zinc(II) metalloenzyme which catalyzes the hydration and dehydration of carbon dioxide, C02+H20 H+ + HC03. 25 As a result there has been considerable interest in the metal ion-promoted hydration of carbonyl substrates as potential model systems for the enzyme. For example, Pocker and Meany519 studied the reversible hydration of 2- and 4-pyridinecarbaldehyde by carbonic anhydrase, zinc(II), cobalt(II), H20 and OH. The catalytic efficiency of bovine carbonic anhydrase is ca. 108 times greater than that of water for hydration of both 2- and 4-pyridinecarbaldehydes. Zinc(II) and cobalt(II) are ca. 107 times more effective than water for the hydration of 2-pyridinecarbaldehyde, but are much less effective with 4-pyridinecarbaldehyde. Presumably in the case of 2-pyridinecarbaldehyde complexes of type (166) are formed in solution. Polarization of the carbonyl group by the metal ion assists nucleophilic attack by water or hydroxide ion. Further studies of this reaction have been made,520,521 but the mechanistic details of the catalysis are unclear. Metal-bound nucleophiles (M—OH or M—OH2) could, for example, be involved in the catalysis. 

In particular, 1,3-dithiane prepared from dimethoxymethane (methylal) and pro pane-1,3-dithiol in the presence of boron trifluoride-etherate,237 and 2-alkyl-1,3-dithianes prepared similarly from aldehydes,2383 are important acyl anion equivalents. These and other uses are discussed in Sections 5.7.5, p. 596, and 6.6.1, p. 909. A wide-ranging review of the reversal of polarity of the carbonyl group through the formation of these sulphur-containing reagents has emphasised their value in organic synthesis.2388... 

The reaction mechanism is similar to many NADH reductions (Fig. 13-24) it is approximately the reverse of steps 2 and 3 of Figure 14-7. The transition state involves a strongly polarized carbonyl group of the pyruvate molecule as shown below ... 

In all of the reactions that have been presented until this one, a carbonyl carbon has always reacted as an electrophile. An acyl anion, however, has a nucleophilic carbonyl carbon. Thus, the use of a nucleophile obtained by deprotonation of a dithiane provides an example of the formal reversal of the normal polarity of a functional group. Such polarity reversal is termed umpolimg, using the German word for reversed polarity. 

The malic acid derivative 12 reacted with benzaldehyde to yield the oxetanes 13a,b with a diastereomeric excess of 80% (Scheme 4) [10]. It should also be mentioned that the regioselectivity and the exo/endo selectivity are complete. The favored formation of 13a is explained by the dominant conformation depicted in A, B. The syn approach of benzaldehyde excited in the 3n,7r state with respect to the alkoxy substituent (transition state A) is hindered by electrostatic repulsion between the substituent and the carbonyl group having a reversed polarity in the excited state. The addition of benzophenone to the furan derivative 14 was stereospecific [11]. In this case, however, the attack of the 3n,TT excited ketone occurred in a syn manner with respect to the hydroxy function to yield 15. The conformation indicated in the transition state C was supported by calculations. 

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