Chiral dopa synthesis

We have called these catalysts man-made but this is not strictly true. We have not violated the general principal that, if you want chiral molecules, you will have to get them with the assistance of previously formed natural products. Our asymmetry was obtained from the (-)-menthol used in the chiral phosphane synthesis, but being a catalyst, a small amount of (-)-menthol could lead to a large amount of chiral product. CAMP worked equally well for the L-dopa precursor (Fig. 2), and it made no difference whether the amine-blocking group was benzoyl or acetyl. 

An early success story in the field of catalytic asymmetric synthesis is the Monsanto Process for the commercial synthesis of l-DOPA (4) (see Scheme 1), a rare amino acid that is effective in the treatment of Parkinson s disease.57 The Monsanto Process, the first commercialized catalytic asymmetric synthesis employing a chiral transition metal complex, was introduced by W. S. Knowles and coworkers and has been in operation since 1974. This large-scale process for the synthesis of l-DOPA (4) is based on catalytic asymmetric hydrogenation, and its development can be... 

Table 3.12 surveys current industrial applications of enantioselective homogeneous catalysis in fine chemicals production. Most chiral catalyst in Table 3.12 have chiral phosphine ligands (see Fig. 3.54). The DIP AMP ligand, which is used in the production of L-Dopa, one of the first chiral syntheses, possesses phosphorus chirality, (see also Section 4.5.8.1) A number of commercial processes use the BINAP ligand, which has axial chirality. The PNNP ligand, on the other hand, has its chirality centred on the a-phenethyl groups two atoms removed from the phosphorus atoms, which bind to the rhodium ion. Nevertheless, good enantio.selectivity is obtained with this catalyst in the synthesis of L-phenylalanine. 

A classical example is the development of soluble chiral catalysts for homogenous asymmetric hydrogenation. The story began with the discovery of Wilkinson s catalyst [4]. In 1968, Horner [5] and Knowles [6], independently, reported the feasibility of asymmetric hydrogenations in the presence of optically active Wilkinson-type catalyst. Although the optical yields were rather low, further studies in this direction were the basis of the success of Monsanto s asymmetric synthesis of the anti-Parkinson s drug L-DOPA. The key steps of the synthesis are outlined in Scheme 11.1. 

An important application of these precursors is the asymmetric synthesis of aminoacids, the key step being an enantioselective benzylation using a chiral auxiliary (route A, Scheme 25) [155] or a chiral phase transfer catalyst (PTC) [156] (route B, Scheme 25). This latter approach avoiding the use of dry reagents is particularly adapted to automated synthesis and enables the production of more than 7.4 GBq (200 mCi) of [6- F]fluoro-L-DOPA from 55.5 GBq (1.5 Ci) of starting [ F] fluoride [157]. 

Direct condensation of 4, 5-dimethoxy-[2- F]fluorobenzaldehyde with an asymmetric chiral inductor [170] followed by L-selectride reduction of the olefinic double bond and hydrolysis leads to [6- F]fluoro-L-DOPA in 3 % radiochemical yield and an ee higher than 90% (total synthesis time 125 min) (Scheme 34). This method avoids the preparation of F-fluorobenzylhalides. 

Multi-step syntheses of a radiopharmaceutical involving an aromatic nucleophilic radiofluorination An example of a multi-step radiosynthetic pathway is the no-carrier-added synthesis of 6-[ F]fluoro-L-DOPA (Scheme 45). The first step involves the preparation of 4,5-dimethoxy-2-[ F]fluorobenzaldehyde from the corresponding nitro-substituted benzaldehyde. The following steps involve its condensation with an asymmetric chiral inductor [206] followed by L-selectride reduction of the... 

C. Lemaire, A. Plevenaux, R. Cantineau, L. Christiaans, M. Guillaume, D. Comar, Nucleophilic enantioselective synthesis of 6-[ F]fluoro-L-DOPA via two chiral auxiliaries, Appl. Radiat. Isot. 44 (1993) 737-744. 

C. Lemaire, S. Gillet, S. Guillouet, A. Plenevaux, J. Aerts, A. Luxen, Highly enantioselective synthesis of no-carrier-added 6-[ F]fluoro-L-DOPA by chiral phase-transfer alkylation, Eur. J. Org. Chem. 13 (2004) 2899-2904. 

The chiral phase-transfer catalysis of le was further applied to the facile synthesis of L-Dopa ester and its analogue, which usually have been prepared by either asymmetric hydrogenation of eneamides or enzymatic processes, and tested as potential drugs for the treatment of Parkinson s disease. Phase-transfer-catalyzed alkylation of 2 with the requisite benzyl bromide 35a in toluene-50% KOH aqueous solution proceeded smoothly at 0 °C under the influence of (R,R)-le to furnish fully protected L-Dopa tert-butyl ester this was subsequently hydrolyzed to afford the corresponding amino ester 36a in 81% yield with 98% ee. Debenzylation of 36a under... 

Enantioselective synthesis is particularly important in the pharmaceutical industry, because only one enantiomer of a chiral drug is likely to have the desired effect. For example, levodopa [(- )-dopa or Z-dopa] is used in patients with Parkinson s disease to counteract a deficiency of dopamine, one of the neurotransmitters in the brain. Dopamine... 

Another example of how catalysis plays a key role in enabling our lives is in the synthesis of pharmaceuticals. Knowles s development, at Monsanto in the early 1970s, of the enantioselective hydrogenation of the enamide precursor to L-DOPA (used to treat Parkinson s disease), using a Rh-chiral phosphine catalyst (Section 3.5), led to a share in the Nobel prize. His colaureates, Noyori and Sharpless, have done much to inspire new methods in chiral synthesis based on metal catalysis. Indeed, the dramatic rise in the demand for chiral pharmaceutical products also fuelled an intense interest in alternative methodologies, which led to a new one-pot, enzymatic route to L-DOPA, using a tyrosine phenol lyase, that has been commercialized by Ajinomoto. 

Rhodium compounds and complexes are also commercially important catalysts. The hydroformylation of propene to butanal (a precursor of hfr(2-ethyUiexyl) phthalate, the PVC plasticizer) is catalyzed by hydridocarbonylrhodium(I) complexes. Iodo(carbonyl)rhodium(I) species catalyze the production of acetic acid from methanol. In the flne chemical industry, rhodium complexes with chiral ligands catalyze the production of L-DOPA, used in the treatment of Parkinson s disease. Rhodium(II) carboxylates are increasingly important as catalysts in the synthesis of cyclopropyl compounds from diazo compounds. Many of the products are used as synthetic, pyrethroid insecticides. Hexacyanorhodate(III) salts are used to dope silver halides in photographic emulsions to reduce grain size and improve gradation. 

What two steps are needed to convert A to L-dopa, an uncommon amino aoid that is effective in treating Parkinson s disease These two steps are the key reactions in the first oommercial asymmetrio synthesis using a chiral transition metal catalyst. This process was developed at Monsanto in 1974. 

L-dopa has one chiral center. Until the 1970s, only enzymes could produce chiral molecules. In the 1970s, workers at Monsanto developed the first nonbiological cataly.st for the synthesis of chiral molecules. The Monsanto group shnv etl tluit catalj sis of the type ... 

The methodologies for asymmetric synthesis have now matured to the extent that they form the basis for commercial syntheses of several chiral compounds (14). Two such examples involve the preparation of pharmaceuticals. Shown in Fig. 3 are the key chirality-introducing steps in the synthesis of L-dopa [8] and cUastatin [11]. 

C. Wiese and co-workers have synthesized 5-fluoro-D/L-dopa and the corresponding [ F]5-Fluoro-L-dopa starting from 5-nitrovanillin via malonic ester synthesis, the Balz-Schiemann reaction, and the separation of the racemic mixture [ F]5-fluoro-D/L-dopa utilizing a chiral FIPLC system. The inactive 5-fluoro-D/L-dopa was obtained in an eight-step synthesis with an overall yield of 10%. 

Lemaire, C., Guillouet, S., Plenevaux, A., et al. (1999) The synthesis of 6-[18F]fluoro-L-dopa by chiral catalytic phase-transfer alkylation. J Labeled Comp. Radiopharm., 42, S113-S115. 

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