Carboxamidate azetidinones

Although dirhodium(II) carboxamidates are less reactive toward diazo decomposition than are dirhodium carboxylates, and this has limited their uses with diazomalonates and phenyldiazoacetates, the azetidinone-ligated catalysts 11 cause rapid diazo decomposition, and this methodology has been used for the synthesis of the cyclopropane-NMDA receptor antagonist milnacipran (17) and its analogs (Eq. 2) [10,58]. In the case of R=Me the turnover number with Rh2(45-MEAZ)4 was 10,000 with a stereochemical outcome of 95% ee. 

Organoiron complexes (7) are converted in high yield into ammonium salts (8) these in turn undergo oxidatively induced ligand transfer and cyclization to give azetidinones (9) in moderate yields (Scheme 9). Formation of the trans product (9b) indicates a stereochemical sequence of trans addition to the olefin complex followed by carboxamidation with retention of configuration at the C—Fe bond. 

Two equivalents of the tertiary amine base are required, and a significant improvement in the diastereoselectivity was observed with TMEDA over DIPEA. Purification and further enrichment of the desired RRR isomer to >98% ee was achieved by crystallization. Oxidative removal of the chiral auxiliary followed by carbodiimide mediated amide formation provides (3-keto carboxamide 14 in good yield. Activation of the benzylic hydroxyl via PPha/DEAD, acylation, or phosphorylation, effects 2-azetidinone ring-closure with inversion of stereochemistry at the C4 position. Unfortunately, final purification could not be effected by crystallization and the side products and or residual reagents could only be removed by careful chromatography on silica. 

This procedure illustrates a general method for preparing aliphatic and, in certain cases, aromatic /3-lactarns containing a free NH group and substituted in either the 4 position or in both the-3 and 4 positions of the 2-azetidinone ring. The major byproduct of the cycloaddition step is a /3,7-unsaturated carbox-amide-N-sulfonyl chloride which, in the case of certain aromatic olefins, may predominate. Reactions of both /3-lactam-N-sulfonyl chlorides and the /3,y-unsaturated carboxamide-N-sulfonyl chlorides have been tabulated.3... 

The Passerini reaction between a-chloroketones, isocyanides, and carboxylic acids afforded a-acyloxy-jS-chlorocarboxamides 52, which, on treatment with an excess of powdered KOH in tetrahydrofuran, underwent O-deacylation followed by a Darzens-type O-alkylation to give the functionalized oxiranes 53. When carboxamides 52 were treated with an excess of CsF, with or without a phase-transfer catalyst, a different ring closure took place to afford 3-acyloxy-2-azetidinones 54 in high yields (Scheme 2.21) [46]. 

The two main families of catalysts used are the Davies/McKervey dirhodium car-boxylate catalysts (9.24a-c) and Doyle s carboxamidates, including Rh2(MEPY)4 (9.25), Rh2(MPPIM)4 (9.26) and the azetidinones such as Rh2(IBAZ)4 (9.27). ... 

Intramolecular nucleophilic substitution by an active methylene linked to the nitrogen atom of a-substituted carboxamides was first utilized in azetidinone synthesis by Sheehan and Bose in 1950 [27]. When 3-hydroxyethylazetidinones became an important research target, it was realized that L-threonine or D-allo-treonine, easily converted to bromohydrins 57,61 or to epoxyacid 64, are by this method one of the most convenient natural chiral source for penem and carbapenem synthesis. Shiozaki et al. [28] at Sankyo s laid down the fundaments of the threonine route . Early works from D-a//o-threonine-derived 2R-bromo-3R-hydroxybutyric acid 57 were run using malonate anions as the nucleophilic moiety, as shown in amide 58, which in presence of DBN cyclized to azetidinone 59a with complete inversion of configuration [28a, c]. 

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