Chiral auxiliaries, diastereoselectivity, asymmetric cycloadditions

R)-(-)-2,2-Diphenylcyclopentanol (1) is a highly effective chiral auxiliary in asymmetric synthesis. Hydrogenation of chiral 0-acetamidocrotonates derived from this alcohol has afforded the corresponding 0-amido esters with high diastereoselectivity (96% de).6 In addition, (R)-1 has been used as a chiral auxiliary in Mn(lll)-based oxidative free-radical cyclizations to provide diastereomerically enriched cycloalkanones (60% de).7 Our interest in (R)-(-)-2,2-diphenylcyclopentanol is its utility as a chiral auxiliary in Lewis acid-promoted, asymmetric nitroalkene [4+2] cycloadditions. The 2-(acetoxy)vinyl ether derived from alcohol (R)-1 is useful for the asymmetric synthesis of 3-hydroxy-4-substituted pyrrolidines from nitroalkenes (96% ee).8 In a similar fashion, a number of enantiomerically enriched (71-97% ee) N-protected, 3-substituted pyrrolidines have been prepared in two steps from 2-substituted 1-nitroalkenes and (R)-2,2-diphenyl-1-ethenoxycyclopentane (2) (see Table).9... 

Asymmetric Pericyclic Reactions. Several reports illustrate the utility of fra/is-2,5-dimethylpyirolidine as a chiral auxiliary in asymmetric Claisen-type rearrangements, [4 + 2], and [2 + 2] cycloaddition reactions. The enantioselective Claisen-type rearrangement of N,0-ketene acetals derived from tram-2,5-dimethylpyrrolidine has been studied. For example, the rearrangement of the iV.O-ketene acetal, formed in situ by the reaction of A-propionyl-fra/w-(25,55)-dimethylpyrrolidine with ( )-crotyl alcohol, affords the [3,3]-rearrangement product in 50% yield and 10 1 diastereoselectivity (eq 9). 

The cycloaddition of ketene acetals to 3-formylchromone exhibits good diastereoselectivity and meihanolysis of the pyrano[4,3- ] -pyran affords the chromanone ester (21) without racemisation. The chiral auxiliary, the diol (22), can be recyclised and the overall process represents an asymmetric conjugate addition to the chromone (95 JCS(P1 )2293). 

In addition to being an efficient chiral controller in a number of stereoselective transformations of chiral acrylates, (i.e. the Diels-Alder reaction, the conjugate reduction, the asymmetric dihydroxylation, and the nitrile oxide cycloaddition ) the bomanesultam (11) has been shown to be an exceptionally efficient chiral auxiliary for stereoselective aldol condensations (eqs eq 3 and eq 4). Depending upon the reaction conditions, A -propionylsultam can produce either the syn or anti aldol product with an excellent diastereoselectivity, Furthermore, good diastereoselectiv-ities are also observed for the corresponding acetate aldol reaction (eq 5), ... 

DCP-hased Chiral Auxiliaries in Total Synthesis. DCP-based chiral auxiliaries have proven amenable to asymmetric total synthesis, including Denmark s syntheses of of the pyrrolizidine alkaloid (-)-rosmarinecine and the pentahydroxy pyrrolizidine alkaloid (+ )-casuarine. Denmark s synthesis of (+)-casuarine involves [4 + 2] cycloaddition of dienophile 15 with nitrobenzoate followed by [3 + 2] cycloaddition of the resulting nitronate 17 with a vinyl silane 18 (eq 10). During formation of the [4 + 2] cycloadduct, the relative configuration between C4 and C5 is a direct consequence of the vinyl ether geometry, while the stereochemistry at C6 is determined by the ability of the chiral auxiliary to differentiate the diastereotopic n faces (Re of Si) of the vinyl ether (termed internal diastereoselection). Thus, this tandem sequence... 

Related a,p-Unsaturated Esters. Similar a,p-unsaturated esters bearing a heterocyclic chiral auxiliary of a-amino acid origin at the p-position are known and have been utilized in asymmetric synthesis. Effective asymmetric conjugate additions of cuprates to (2), (3), and (5)J epoxidations of (3), and dipolar cycloadditions of (2) have been reported. Although oxazoli-dine (4) is only obtained as an 86 14 equilibrating mixture of stereoisomers, reactions with the lithium (Z)-enolate of methyl N-benzylideneglycinate (see Ethyl N-Benzylideneglycinate) are exclusively diastereoselective. 

Control of absolute asymmetry is a relatively untouched area for [2 + 2] photochemical cycloaddition reactions despite the recent advances in the field of asymmetric synthesis. The first example of the use of a removable chiral auxiliary was reported by Tolbert, who obtained impressive enantioselectivity in the photocycloaddition of bomyl fumarate to stilbenes (equation 37). More recently, Lange has shown that menthyl cyclohexenonecarboxylates are useful in control of absolute stereochemistry (equation 38). Baldwin and Meyers have also obtained excellent facial selectivity in systems where the stereogenic center which controls the diastereoselectivity can be excised to afford products of high enantiomeric purity (equations 39,40). 

In terms of versatility in asymmetric synthesis, chiral auxiliary methodology is often favored over a substrate-controlled process, since the preexisting stereogenicity can be removed (and recovered) subsequent to reaction. This leads, in end effect, to an enantioselective rather than diastereoselective transformation. This section discusses the advances achieved in chiral auxiliary technology for metal-mediated [3 + 2] cycloadditions to electron-deficient olefins68,69. 

Our initial improvement in the synthesis of pyrrolidine acid 3 relied on a racemic 1,3 dipolar cycloaddition followed by resolution. Attempts to devise asymmetric protocols of this reaction using chiral auxiliaries were not productive. The results from our laboratories were consistent with literature findings, with a moderate diastereoselectivity of 3 to 4 1 at best obtained even when double chiral auxiliaries were used. Several other approaches, such as Aza-Cope/Mannich reaction, intramolecular C-H insertion, and asymmetric aryl 1,4 addition, did not bear fruit. 

In the past Lewis acid-catalyzed [4+2] cycloaddition reactions of chiral alkyl acrylates have been systematically studied. Chiral auxiliaries derived from camphor, menthol and amino acids or from carbohydrates have been developed. Stereochemical and theoretical aspects of these chiral inductors have been intensively reviewed (see. Chapter 6). Asymmetric Diels-Alder reactions of chiral acrylamides derived from Ca-symmetrical secondary amines lead selectively to the cycloadducts in the presence of Lewis acids such as AICI3. In reactions of chiral auxiliaries derived from (iS)-proline and (iS)-prolinol excellent endo/exo selectivities and diastereoselectivities were obtained in the presence of catalytic amounts of Et2AlCl or TiCL. Cycloadducts of chiral crotonoyl derivatives derived from oxazolidinones 62, sultam 63 or for example (S)-lactate IS were obtained with high selectivities in the presence of Lewis acids such as Et2AICl. 

Since the last review in this series in 1993 (10) and the publication of Ojima s paper summarizing his approach to the / -lactam (237), a number of new approaches for the asymmetric synthesis of the / -lactam taxol side chain have emerged. For example, chiral sulfonamide esters have been used as chiral auxiliaries to achieve diastereoselective cycloaddition with N-TMS-imine, to give lactam 7.1.1 in 94% yield. Benzoylation of 7.1.1 yielded the ready-to-couple lactam 7.1.2 in 96% yield (238). 

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