Chelated amino acid esters

Co(III)-chelated amino acid ester reactant and/or peptide product (Scheme 1). This basic difficulty was quickly pointed out (5), and has subsequently been examined and commented upon by others (6, 7). Such criticisms are well-founded since epimerization (or racemization) is a common problem, at least to some degree, in all chemical methods of synthesis where acyl-activation is employed. As a result, metal-activation methods have received little attention. However, since 1981 we have refined the Co(III) method such that very fast, clean, couplings can now be carried out using A-[Co(en)2((S)-AAOMe)]3+ reagents, which involve minimal (<2%) epimerization/racemization provided experimental conditions are strictly adhered to. 

Rate Constants (km0, kon) for Intermolecular Hydrolysis of Some Free and Co(III)-Chelated Amino Acid Esters at 25°C, I = 1.0 M... 

The rapid aminolysis of cobalt(llI)-chelated glycine esters in aprotic solvents (Scheme 10 N4 = (en)2 or trien, R = Me, Et, R = H, CHR"C02Et) could be of value in peptide synthesis. The cobalt atom acts as both an N-protecting and an activating group. The synthesis of the chelated amino acid esters has presented some difficulties.207 A recent paper208 describes the use of methyl trifluoromethanesulfonate for the alkylation of chelated amino acids using dry trimethyl phosphate... 

Figure 3-11. The reaction of a chelated amino acid ester with an amine, R NH2, to yield an amino acid amide complex.

There are a number of useful synthetic applications of these reactions of chelated amino acid esters (Fig. 3-12). For example, if the attacking nucleophile is not a simple amine, but is another amino acid ester or an O-protected amino acid, then peptide or polypeptide esters are formed in excellent yields. This may be developed into a general methodology for the metal-directed assembly (and, in the reverse reaction, the hydrolysis) of polypeptides. 

We saw in Chapter 3 that the hydrolysis of chelated amino acid esters and amides was dramatically accelerated by the nucleophilic attack of external hydroxide ion or water and that cobalt(m) complexes provided an ideal framework for the mechanistic study of these reactions. Some of the earlier studies were concerned with the reactions of the cations [Co(en)2Cl(H2NCH2C02R)]2+, which contained a monodentate amino acid ester. In many respects these proved to be an unfortunate choice in that a number of mechanisms for their hydrolysis may be envisaged. The first involved attack by external hydroxide upon the monodentate A-bonded ester (Fig. 5-62). This process is little accelerated by co-ordination in a monodentate manner. 

The enhanced reactivity of chelated amino acid esters towards attack by other nucleophiles has been used to advantage in the sequential synthesis of small peptides equation (4l).225 Formation of the amide bond takes only seconds to minutes at room temperature in DMSO as solvent, and the peptide can be easily recovered by reducing the metal to the Co" state. Recent studies have shown that the A and A diastereoisomeric reactants are selective in their couplings to (2 ) and (S) amino acid esters and that mutarotation at the asymmetric centre of the chelated ester reactant varies from 0-6%.226 Isied and coworkers have described the use of the Co(NH3)3+ as a C-terminal protecting group for the sequential synthesis of peptides (equation 42).227 This procedure has advantages over other methods in some cases. 

Kazmaier, U. Reactions of chelated amino acid ester enolates and their application to natural product synthesis. Bioorg. Chem. 1999, 201-206. 

The hydrolysis of chelated amino acid esters, H2NCHRCO2R, is known to be accelerated by metal ions, most notably cobalt(III). Dramatic enhancements are also observed with copper(II). Mechanistic studies of the hydrolysis of amino acid esters with copper(II) complexes of glycyl-DL-valine and dien (H2HCH2CH2NHCH2CH2NH2) have been reported/ The hydrolysis of benzyl-penicillin (30) by copper(II) salts to give (31) has been further investigated, and it is proposed that the key step involves intramolecular attack by metal-coordinated hydroxide in an intermediate of type (32). 

It has been found - that chelated amino acid esters are activated so that they are useful for peptide synthesis, as shown in reaction (3.57). 

Transition Metal-Catalyzed Allylie Alkylation. Chelated amino acid ester enolates were found to be suitable nucleophiles for palladium-catalyzed allylie alkylations (eq 25). They were conveniently prepared by deprotonation of a glycine derivative with LHMDS followed by transmetallation with zinc chloride. The palladium-catalyzed allylie alkylation then takes place in the presence of allyl carbonates to produce the desired anti amino acid derivative. ... 

Amino acid esters act as chelates to Co111 for example, the /3-alanine isopropyl ester is known as both a chelate and as an /V-bonded monodentate,983 and the mechanism of hydrolysis of the ester, which is activated by coordination, to yield chelated /3-alanine has been closely examined. 

Typical syntheses of Co(III)-amino acid, amino acid ester, and dipeptide ester chelates are described below. The NMR spectra of the isolated products were in accord with expectation. The procedures given here are generally applicable, except for that given for [Co(en)2((iS)-GluOBzl)]I2. If this method is used to coordinate amino acids that are only partially soluble in Me2SO, more forcing conditions (extended reaction times, 1-5 h, 50-60°C) may be required. Dipeptide ester complexes are not always as amenable as [Co(en)2 (Val-GlyOEt)]I3 to crystallization from water. 

On the basis of this evidence it was postulated that a 1 to 1 complex is formed between the metal ion and the amino acid ester, in which the metal ion chelates with the amino group and the carbonyl oxygen of the ester, and that this chelate is attacked by hydroxide ion to give the products of reaction through the intermediate formation of a tetrahedral addition compound. 

These chelates are structurally similar to that postulated above for the metal ion-catalyzed hydrolysis of oj-amino esters the position of the protons in the transition state is different, but this is a completely arbitrary distinction. A further distinction is that the metal ion is facilitating attack in this instance not by a polarization of the substrate molecule, but rather by the positioning and fixation of the hydroxide ion at the reaction site. It is not clear which of these two representations—for the amino acid esters involving polarization or for the carboxylate esters involving fixation of the hydroxide ion—is the correct interpretation. It is conceivable that both are correct. A similar explanation will account for the large effect of calcium ions on the alkaline hydro ysis of acetylcitric and benzoyl-citric acids (53). 

Reaction 3, the intramolecular counterpart of reaction 2, has been observed for amino acid esters,156 amides157 and nitriles,158 where five- and six-membered chelate rings can be formed. In the case of the aminoacetonitrile complex (37) a rate enhancement of ca. 1011 occurs at pH 7, and this may be compared with an acceleration of ca. 106 for the reaction 1 analogue.159 For reaction 3, AH values become of considerable significance. 

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