Center of stereoisomerism

A second frequent cause for the reduction of stereoisomers is steric stress. In 1,4-epoxycyclohexan-2-one (24) we have two centers of stereoisomerism but... 

A second problem that has repeatedly concerned us is the inability of the Sequence Rule to provide descriptors for some elements of stereoisomerism. When Cahn et al. (16) first encountered this problem with the all-cis and all-trans isomers of inositol, they attributed it to the fact that the symmetry has become so high that they have no asymmetric, nor even a pseudo-asymmetric atom. This interpretation, we believe, is incorrect. If the two ring ligands of any carbon atom of m-inositol were not heteromorphic, their exchange could not yield an isomer, as it clearly does. Each atom is a center of stereoisomerism with a pair of enantiomorphic ligands (Cg+g hi) and indistinguishable from the traditional pseudoasymmetric atom. The description of cu-inositol as all-5 could be accomplished by the same device that would allow one to specify the configurations of C(l) and C(4) of 4-methylcyclohexanol. 

The polymerization of enantiomerically pure monomers presents no relevant stereochemical problems when the asymmetric carbon atom is not involved in the reaction and no new centers of stereoisomerism are formed. This is the case, for example, in polycondensation of chiral diacids with diamines (274) and in ring-opening polymerization of substituted lactams (275) and A -carboxyanhy-drides of a-amino acids (276). Interest here lies mainly in the properties of the polymer. Accidental racemization may sometimes occur but is not necessarily related to the mechanism of polymerization. 

A 1-substituted butadiene, such as piperylene, offers many possibilities for stereoregular polymers because the polymers can possess optical and geometrical isomerism. If one assumes that crystalline polymers can only occur if both centers of stereoisomerism are regular, then eleven crystalline polymers are possible. 

Clearly, the next step is the handling of a molecule as a real object with a spatial extension in 3D space. Quite often this is also a mandatory step, because in most cases the 3D structure of a molecule is closely related to a large variety of physical, chemical, and biological properties. In addition, the fundamental importance of an unambiguous definition of stereochemistry becomes obvious, if the 3D structure of a molecule needs to be derived from its chemical graph. The moleofles of stereoisomeric compounds differ in their spatial features and often exhibit quite different properties. Therefore, stereochemical information should always be taken into ac-count if chiral atom centers are present in a chemical structure. 

A key intermediate, 163, which possesses all but one chiral center of (+ )-brefeldin, has been prepared by the enantiocontrolled cycloaddition of the chiral fi,/3-unsaturated ester 162 to 154[107], Synthesis of phyllocladane skeleton 165 has been carried out by the Pd-catalyzed cycloaddition of the unsaturated diester 164 and cobalt-catalyzed cycloaddition of alkynes as key reactions[108]. Intramolecular cycloaddition to the vinylsulfone in 166 proceeds smoothly to give a mixture of the trans and cis isomers in a ratio of 2.4 1[109], Diastereocontrolled cycloaddition of the hindered vinylsulfone 167 affords a single stereoisomeric adduct, 168, which is used for the synthesis of the spirocarbocyclic ring of ginkgolide[l 10],... 

Fischer projection formulas can help us identify meso forms Of the three stereoisomeric 2 3 butanediols notice that only in the meso stereoisomer does a dashed line through the center of the Fischer projection divide the molecule into two mirror image halves... 

Once we grasp the idea of stereoisomerism in molecules with two or more chirality centers, we can explore further details of addition reactions of alkenes. 

The symmetry properties of the pentacoordinate stereoisomerizations have been investigated on the Berry processes. They have been analyzed by defining two operators Q and The operator / is the geometrical inversion about the center of the trigonal bipyramid. Since this skeleton has no inversion symmetry, / moves the skeleton into another position. Moreover, if the five ligands are different, it transforms any isomer into its enantiomer, as shown in Fig. 3. 

If a molecule contains more than one chiral center, there are other forms of stereoisomerism. As mentioned in Section 1.1, nonsuperimposable mirror images are called enantiomers. However, substances with the same chemical constitution may not be mirror images and may instead differ from one another... 

It has been shown that CD measurement is a proper tool to determine the absolute configuration of the C-3 stereo center in corynantheine and yohimbine alkaloids (300). The chiroptical properties of stereoisomeric yohimbanes and 17-ketoyohimbanes also have been studied. Cotton effects due to aromatic and ketone absorptions have been considered in terms of the appropriate sector and... 

Figure 3. Some major types of centers (X) and lines (X—X) of stereoisomerism. Different degrees of ligand diversity are possible for most of these types.

The operation that interconverts stereoisomeric planes can be viewed as a ir rotation of the plane that breaks the bond(s) between the plane and the extraplanar atom(s) and then restores it (or them) in a sterically different way. The axes of this rotation pass through the center of the unsaturated system. As they are infinite in number (46) they cover the plane and in a sense define it. Although several of these axes coincide with bonds, the operation differs profoundly from that characteristic of a line of torsion. Rotation of the plane causes a change in bonding, whereas torsion about a line alters the torsional angles between the ligands that are attached to the terminal atoms of the bond that defines the line. 

A third type of configurational interdependence exists if two elements are so interrelated that a change in the configuration of one automatically alters that of the other. This characterization applies to the two centers of 1,4-cyclohexanediol of the type Cg+g hi (5,51). Consequently only two isomers exist and a single pair of descriptors suffices for their distinction. We can remove the mutual dependence of the two elements by waiving the requirement that a line of stereoisomerism be occupied by bonds. The H and OH ligands have different distributions in the isomers about the line between C(l) and C(4), and the usual terms cis and trans express this relationship. Undoubtedly this is the most convenient description and the only one now available, but should we go further and say that the proper element of stereoisomerism in this case is this achiral line of torsion, and that its further factorization into two graphochiral centers is unwarranted ... 

Even this brief list may suffice to show that it would be a formidable task to develop a system of factorization free of avoidable redundancies, and that such a system would not be satisfactory even if it avoids arbitrary choices. It would require a rule disqualifying certain centers or lines of stereoisomerism on the basis of their relationships to other potential elements in the same molecule. Such definitions would not be self-contained. Moreover, the products of factorization that would take the place of those dropped cannot be limited to points or lines that are merely differently defined. There would have to be a virtually open-ended proliferation of new elements. This highly undesirable feature would not be offset by a major benefit of the revised system such as a correlation between the numbers of elements and of stereoisomers, because a complete elimination of all redundancies does not seem possible. We conclude that the system of choice is the one based on the principle that the elements of stereoisomerism allow no further factoring. Accordingly we think it best to retain the definitions given in Sects. IV and VI and their strictures that all centers and lines be occupied by atoms or bonds. 

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