Chiral compounds activation

Table 12.11 Indices of prediction accuracy for the best strategy of chiral compound activity...

Chirality and Optical Activity. A compound is chiral (the term dissymmetric was formerly used) if it is not superimposable on its mirror image. A chiral compound does not have a plane of symmetry. Each chiral compound possesses one (or more) of three types of chiral element, namely, a chiral center, a chiral axis, or a chiral plane. 

Optically Inactive Chiral Compounds. Although chirality is a necessary prerequisite for optical activity, chiral compounds are not necessarily optically active. With an equal mixture of two enantiomers, no net optical rotation is observed. Such a mixture of enantiomers is said to be racemic and is designated as ( ) and not as dl. Racemic mixtures usually have melting points higher than the melting point of either pure enantiomer. 

Analytically, the inclusion phenomenon has been used in chromatography both for the separation of ions and molecules, in Hquid and gas phase (1,79,170,171). Peralkylated cyclodextrins enjoy high popularity as the active component of hplc and gc stationary phases efficient in the optical separation of chiral compounds (57,172). Chromatographic isotope separations have also been shown to occur with the help of Werner clathrates and crown complexes (79,173). 

V. M. L. Wood, Crystal science techniques in the manufacture of chiral compounds in Chirality and Industry II. Developments in the Manufacture and applications of optically active compounds, A. N. Collins, G. N. Sheldrake, J. Crosby (Eds.), John Wiley Sons, New York (1997) Chapter 7. 

Derivatization of a racemic compound with an achiral group may play an important role in the analysis of a chiral compound (Fig. 7-15). In the case of substances with low or no UV-activity, the compounds can be rendered detectable by introducing an UV-absorbing or fluorescent group. If the racemate itself shows selectivity on a chiral stationary phase (CSP), this method can be applied to reduce the limit of detection. Examples have been reported in the literature, especially for the derivatization of amino acids which are difficult to detect using UV detection. Different derivatization strategies can be applied (Fig. 7-16). 

The quality of a drug substance is controlled by its specification. An internationally harmonized guideline on specifications and tests for chemical substances as active ingredients and in drug products makes reference to chiral compounds. This has recently been finalized and is discussed in Section 13.5.2. 

The development of a single enantiomer as a new active substance should be described in the same manner as for any other new chemical entity. Studies should be carried out with the single enantiomer, but if development began with the race-mate then these studies may also be taken into account. Chiral conversion should be considered early on so that enantiospecific bioanalytical methods may be developed. These methods should be described in chemistry and pharmacy part of the dossier. If the opposite enantiomer is formed in vivo, then it should be evaluated in the same way as other metabolites. For endogenous human chiral compounds, enantiospecific analysis may not be necessary. The enantiomeric purity of the active ingredient used in preclinical and clinical studies should be stated. 

Enantiomers have identical chemical properties, except when they react with other chiral compounds. Because many biochemical substances are chiral, one consequence of this difference in reactivity is that enantiomers may have different odors and pharmacological activities. The molecule has to fit into a cavity, or slot, of a certain shape, either in an odor receptor in the nose or in an enzyme. Only one member of the enantiomeric pair may be able to fit. 

They react at different rates with other chiral compounds. These rates may be so close together that the distinction is practically useless, or they may be so far apart that one enantiomer undergoes the reaction at a conveni t rate while the other does not react at all. This is the reason that many compounds are biologically active while their enantiomers are not. Enantiomers react at the same rate with achiral compounds. ... 

Chiral compounds are sometimes configurationally stable as solids and configurationally labile in solution. When optically active samples of these deriv-... 

The advantages of such biotransformation processes are (1) the relatively high yields which can be achieved with specific enzymes, (2) the formation of chiral compounds suitable for biopharmaceuticals, and (3) the relatively mild reaction conditions. Key issues in industrial-scale process development are achieving high product concentrations, yields and productivities by maintaining enzyme activity and stability under reaction conditions while reducing enzyme production costs. 

Synthesis of optically pure compounds via transition metal mediated chiral catalysis is very useful from an industrial point of view. We can produce large amounts of chiral compounds with the use of very small quantities of a chiral source. The advantage of transition metal catalysed asymmetric transformation is that there is a possibility of improving the catalyst by modification of the ligands. Recently, olefinic compounds have been transformed into the corresponding optically active alcohols (ee 94-97%) by a catalytic hydroxylation-oxidation procedure. 

The above results are valuable in that an optically active compound is produced in bulk from achiral material. Only a few successful examples of photochemical conversion of achiral into chiral material in the absence of a chiral source have been reported hitherto 49, and in these cases the conversion was carried out on a fragment of a chiral crystal. In our case, chiral crystals are available in bulk, and mass production of the chiral compound is possible. 

Most of the physical properties (e.g., boiling and melting point, density, refractive index, etc.) of two enantiomers are identical. Importantly, however, the two enantiomers interact differently with polarized light. When plane polarized light interacts with a sample of chiral molecules, there is a measurable net rotation of the plane of polarization. Such molecules are said to be optically active. If the chiral compound causes the plane of polarization to rotate in a clockwise (positive) direction as viewed by an observer facing the beam, the compound is said to be dextrorotatory. An anticlockwise (negative) rotation is caused by a levorotatory compound. Dextrorotatory chiral compounds are often given the label d or ( + ) while levorotatory compounds are denoted by l or (—). 

In reactions of chiral aldehydes, TiIV compounds work well as both activators and chelation control agents, a- or A-oxygcnated chiral aldehydes react with allylsilanes to afford chiral homoallylic alcohols with high selectivity (Scheme 22).85 These chiral alcohols are useful synthetic units for the synthesis of highly functionalized chiral compounds. Cyclic chiral 0,0- and A/O-acetals react with allylsilanes in the same way.86,87 Allenylsilanes have also been reported as allylation agents. 

Sulfoximines are an example of a tetracoordinated chiral compound, and their optical isomers have been isolated. Their stereochemistry was also studied approximately 30 years ago.43 Endocyclic sulfoximines are an example of chiral heteroaromatics. Endocyclic sulfoximines 26 were optically resolved on a chiral column for the first time by Allenmark and co-workers in 1995.44 The stereoisomers were obtained by amination and subsequent cyclodehydration of optically active o-carboxyphenyl sulfoxide with hydrazoic acid or 0-(me-sitylenesulfonyl) hydroxylamine (Scheme 14). 

As already mentioned, the most important industrial application of homogeneous hydrogenation catalysts is for the enantioselective synthesis of chiral compounds. Today, not only pharmaceuticals and vitamins [3], agrochemicals [4], flavors and fragrances [5] but also functional materials [6, 7] are increasingly produced as enantiomerically pure compounds. The reason for this development is the often superior performance of the pure enantiomers and/or that regulations demand the evaluation of both enantiomers of a biologically active compound before its approval. This trend has made the economical enantioselective synthesis of chiral performance chemicals a very important topic. 

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