Carboxylic acids enantioselective hydrogenation

In a related report, ruthenium-catalyzed enantioselective hydrogenation of 3-keto esters was utilized to prepare the crucial alcohol intermediate 36 (Scheme 14.16). The required (3-keto ester 49 was readily prepared from commercial thiophene carboxylic acid 40. Hydrogenation of 49 then led to the desired (S)-alcohol 50 in quantitative yield and 90% enantiomeric excess, catalyzed by a chiral diphosphine-ruthenium complex generated in situ. Catalyst-substrate ratios used were as low as 1/20,000, rendering this approach amenable to industrial application. Alcohol 50 was then converted to known intermediate 36 in three steps and 60% overall yield. 

A more eflicient and general synthetic procedure is the Masamune reaction of aldehydes with boron enolates of chiral a-silyloxy ketones. A double asymmetric induction generates two new chiral centres with enantioselectivities > 99%. It is again explained by a chair-like six-centre transition state. The repulsive interactions of the bulky cyclohexyl group with the vinylic hydrogen and the boron ligands dictate the approach of the enolate to the aldehyde (S. Masamune, 1981 A). The fi-hydroxy-x-methyl ketones obtained are pure threo products (threo = threose- or threonine-like Fischer formula also termed syn" = planar zig-zag chain with substituents on one side), and the reaction has successfully been applied to macrolide syntheses (S. Masamune, 1981 B). Optically pure threo (= syn") 8-hydroxy-a-methyl carboxylic acids are obtained by desilylation and periodate oxidation (S. Masamune, 1981 A). Chiral 0-((S)-trans-2,5-dimethyl-l-borolanyl) ketene thioketals giving pure erythro (= anti ) diastereomers have also been developed by S. Masamune (1986). 

In the early 1990s, Burk introduced a new series of efficient chiral bisphospholane ligands BPE and DuPhos.55,55a-55c The invention of these ligands has expanded the scope of substrates in Rh-catalyzed enantioselective hydrogenation. For example, with Rh-DuPhos or Rh-BPE as catalysts, extremely high efficiencies have been observed in the asymmetric hydrogenation of a-(acylamino)acrylic acids, enamides, enol acetates, /3-keto esters, unsaturated carboxylic acids, and itaconic acids. 

Enantioselective Hydrogenation of Unsaturated Acids and Esters 26.3.5.1 a,/ -Unsaturated Carboxylic Acids... 

Limited progress has been achieved in the enantioselective hydrogenation of a,/ -unsaturated carboxylic acid esters, amides, lactones, and ketones (Scheme 26.10). The Ru-BINAP system is efficient for the hydrogenation of 2-methy-lene-y-butyrolactone, and 2-methylene-cyclopentanone [98]. With a dicationic (S)-di-t-Bu-MeOBIPHEP-Ru complex under a high hydrogen pressure, 3-ethoxy pyr-rolidinone could be hydrogenated in isopropanol to give (R)-4-ethoxy-y-lactam in 98% ee [39]. 

A wide range of a,fi-unsaturated carboxylic acids, including substituted acrylic acids, undergo enantioselective homogeneous hydrogenation when catalyzed by... 

The BINAP-Rh catalyzed hydrogenation of functionalized olefins has a mechanistic drawback as described in Section 1.2.1. This problem was solved by the exploitation of BINAP-Ru(ll) complexes.Ru(OCOCH3)2(binap) catalyzes highly enantioselective hydrogenation of a variety of olefinic substrates such as enamides, a, (3- and (3,y-unsaturated carboxylic acids, and allylic and homoallylic alcohols (Figure 1.9). " " Chiral citronellol is produced in 300 ton quantity in year by this reaction. ... 

Momiyama and Yamamoto have recently demonstrated that acid cocatalysts can even influence the outcome of enamine-mediated reactions [63]. In their studies of the acid-catalyzed O- and A-nitroso aldol reaction, they found that the nature of the acid catalyst dictates the regioselectivity of the reaction between preformed enamine species A carboxylic acid catalyst promoted the 0-nitroso aldol reaction whereas a hydrogen bonding catalyst catalyzed the formation of an A-adduct, both in high enantioselectivities(Scheme 10). 

Ll-Rh complex was employed for the enantioselective synthesis of (S)-2-(4-fluorophe-nyl)-3-mefhylbutanoic acid (98% ee) [107], while the Pr-DuPhos-Rh complex was utilized for the enantioselective hydrogenation of a,/ -unsaturated carboxylic acids, as exemplified by tiglic acid [29]. 

Perindopril (A), an orally active pharmaceutical for the treatment of hypertension, is an important commercial target compound that has a cyclic a-amino acid as an intermediate in its synthetic route. The bicyclic a-amino acid building block is synthesized by reduction of the chiral indoline-2-carboxylic acid (B, R=R =H) shown in Figure 1.4. This chiral cyclic amino acid has so far proven very difficult to synthesize in a highly enantioselective manner using chiral hydrogenation. 

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