Carboxylic acid derivatives biomimetic

Intramolecular catalyses of cleavage reactions at carboxylic acid derivatives are well known, and outside the scope of this book. However, cleavage reactions can also be catalyzed by species that bind to the substrate and carry out a selective reaction that depends on the geometry of the mixed complex. Since this is in the spirit of the rest of what has been described, it will be briefly included here. Such reactions imitate enzymatic cleavage processes, so they are biomimetic in the same sense that selective functionalizations within mixed complexes are biomimetic [1]. The work using cyclodextrin binding has been extensively reviewed recently [30]. 

The biomimetic phosphoric acid mixed anhydride concept stimulated further search for activating reagents that produce derivatives of acylamino acids (and peptides) in more simple ways than the ones mentioned earlier in the Chapter (on p. 78) An interesting attempt in this direction is the so called Bates reagent [47] which on reaction with carboxylic acids yields acyloxyphosphonium salts. 

Alkyl-1,4-dihydropyridines on reaction with peracids undergo either extensive decomposition or biomimetic oxidation to A-alkylpyridinum salts (98JOC10001). However, A-methoxycarbonyl derivatives of 1,4- and 1,2-dihydro-pyridines (74) and (8a) react with m-CPBA to give the methyl tmns-2- 2>-chlorobenzoyloxy)-3-hydroxy-1,2,3,4-tetrahydropyridine-l-carboxylate (75) and methyl rran.s-2-(3-chlorobenzoyloxy)-3-hydroxy-l,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine-l-carboxylate (76) in 65% and 66% yield, respectively (nonbiomimetic oxidation). The reaction is related to the interaction of peracids with enol ethers and involves the initial formation of an aminoepoxide, which is opened in situ by m-chlorobenzoic acid regio- and stereoselectively (57JA3234, 93JA7593). 

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