Carboxylic derivs., reactions steric effects

Correlations with o in carboxylic acid derivative reactions have been most successful for variations in the acyl portion, R in RCOX. Variation in the alkyl portion of esters, R in RCOOR, has not led to many good correlations, although use of relative rates of alkaline and acidic reactions, as in the defining relation, can generate linear correlations. The failure to achieve satisfactory correlations with cr for such substrates may be a consequence of the different steric effects of substituents in the acyl and alkyl locations. It has been shown that solvolysis rates of some acetates are related to the pA", of the leaving group, that is, of the parent alcohol. The pK of alcohols has been correlated with but this relationship... 

Carboxylic mixed anhydrides are very important for the rapid synthesis of peptides by the stepwise procedure,however the use of carboxylic mixed anhydrides,e.g.those derived from pivalic acid and a protected amino acid (1),suffers from two disadvantages. Firstly,regiospecificity of attack at the desired carboxyl function is largely determined by steric effects and will not be 100% for all coupling reactions.Secondly,such mixed anhydrides have a propensity towards disproportionation to symmetric anhydrides which is highly undesirable in terms of reaction efficiency.This latter process can be depressed by operation of the reaction at -15 °C, but with the concurrent decrease in reaction rate and,on large scale manufacture,increased costs. 

Use of the relatively small cyclopropane ring drastically reduces the potential for deleterious steric bulk effects and adds only a relatively small lipophilic increment to the partition coefficient of the drug. One of the clever elements of the rolicyprine synthesis itself is the reaction of d,l tranylcypromine (67) with L-5-pyrrolidone-2-carboxylic acid (derived from glutamic acid) to form a highly crystalline diastereomeric salt, thereby effecting resolution. Addition of dicyclohexylcarbodiimide activates the carboxyl group to nucleophilic attack by the primary amine thus forming the amide rolicyprine (68). 

The main problem a peptide chemist has to tackle with CMetrasubstituted a-amino acids is their rather poor reactivity in peptide-bond formation due to steric hindrance at the a-carbon. In addition, during the activation process of the carboxylic function of peptides and urethane or amide N-protected derivatives, an intramolecular reaction leading to the oxazoI -5 (4 //) -on e heterocyclic skeleton is greatly favored by the gem-dialkyl effect (Scheme... 

Asymmetric alkylation of carboxylic acid derivatives has been studied intensively for about 20 years. [1] Numerous auxiliaries, tailor-made structures with high steric demands for effective RelSi face differentiation, have been synthesized and their efficiency tested. [1, 2] In recent years besides the preparative aspects of enolates, physico-chemical investigations into their structure-reactivity relationships have gained interest. [3] Crystal structure analyses, osmometric measurements, and NMR studies in solution are helpful in the investigation of the factors that may control enolate reactions. [3-5]... 

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