Carboxylic esters with aromatic rings

Woydowski, K. Liebscher, J. Synthesis of optically active 1,4-benzoxazinones and 1,5-ben-zoxazepinones by regiocontrolled ring transformations of oxirane carboxylic acids and esters with aromatic o-hydroxyarylamines. Tetrahedron 1999, 55, 9205-9220. 

Zeneca market a herbicide for broad leaved crops, Fusilade28 (fluazifop butyl) 113. This is a carboxylic ester with two ether linkages, one between two aromatic rings. 

Notable examples of general synthetic procedures in Volume 47 include the synthesis of aromatic aldehydes (from dichloro-methyl methyl ether), aliphatic aldehydes (from alkyl halides and trimethylamine oxide and by oxidation of alcohols using dimethyl sulfoxide, dicyclohexylcarbodiimide, and pyridinum trifluoro-acetate the latter method is particularly useful since the conditions are so mild), carbethoxycycloalkanones (from sodium hydride, diethyl carbonate, and the cycloalkanone), m-dialkylbenzenes (from the />-isomer by isomerization with hydrogen fluoride and boron trifluoride), and the deamination of amines (by conversion to the nitrosoamide and thermolysis to the ester). Other general methods are represented by the synthesis of 1 J-difluoroolefins (from sodium chlorodifluoroacetate, triphenyl phosphine, and an aldehyde or ketone), the nitration of aromatic rings (with ni-tronium tetrafluoroborate), the reductive methylation of aromatic nitro compounds (with formaldehyde and hydrogen), the synthesis of dialkyl ketones (from carboxylic acids and iron powder), and the preparation of 1-substituted cyclopropanols (from the condensation of a 1,3-dichloro-2-propanol derivative and ethyl-... 

Electrophilic substitution of the ring hydrogen atom in 1,3,4-oxadiazoles is uncommon. In contrast, several reactions of electrophiles with C-linked substituents of 1,3,4-oxadiazole have been reported. 2,5-Diaryl-l,3,4-oxadiazoles are bromi-nated and nitrated on aryl substituents. Oxidation of 2,5-ditolyl-l,3,4-oxadiazole afforded the corresponding dialdehydes or dicarboxylic acids. 2-Methyl-5-phenyl-l,3,4-oxadiazole treated with butyllithium and then with isoamyl nitrite yielded the oxime of 5-phenyl-l,3,4-oxadiazol-2-carbaldehyde. 2-Chloromethyl-5-phenyl-l,3,4-oxadiazole under the action of sulfur and methyl iodide followed by amines affords the respective thioamides. 2-Chloromethyl-5-methyl-l,3,4-oxadia-zole and triethyl phosphite gave a product, which underwent a Wittig reation with aromatic aldehydes to form alkenes. Alkyl l,3,4-oxadiazole-2-carboxylates undergo typical reactions with ammonia, amines, and hydrazines to afford amides or hydrazides. It has been shown that 5-amino-l,3,4-oxadiazole-2-carboxylic acids and their esters decarboxylate. 

Conversion of MEM ethers to esters. 2-Methoxyethoxymethyl (MEM) ethers are converted into carboxylic esters by reaction with an anhydride in the presence of FeCl3 (0.4 equiv.) (equation I). Selective cleavage is possible in the presence of a benzyl ether but not in the presence of a f-butyl ether. Aromatic rings, if present, can undergo acylation. 

Salicylic acid, upon reaction with amyl alcohol and sodium, reduces to a ring-opened aliphatic dicarboxylic acid, ie, pimelic acid (eq. 5). The reaction proceeds through the intermediate cyclohexanone-2-carboxylic acid. This novel reaction involves the fission of the aromatic ring to tfj-hexahydrosalicylic acid when salicylic acid is heated to 310°C in an autoclave with strong alkali. Pimelic acid is formed in 35—38% yield and is isolated as the diethyl ester. 

Both structures nicely illustrate the different characteristic oxygenation patterns in aromatic rings derived from the acetate or shikimate pathways. With the stilbenes, it is noted that the terminal ester function is no longer present, and therefore hydrolysis and decarboxylation have also taken place during this transformation. No intermediates, e.g. carboxylated stilbenes, have been detected, and the transformation from cinnamoyl-CoA/malonyl-CoA to stilbene is catalysed by the single enzyme. Resveratrol has assumed greater relevance in recent years as a constituent of grapes and wine, as well as other food products, with antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, anti-platelet, and cancer preventative properties. Coupled with... 

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