Chiral phase-transfer catalysts alkylations

The first practical and efficient asymmetric alkylation by use of chiral phase-transfer catalysts was the alkylation of the phenylindanone 15 (R1=Ph), reported by the Merck research group in 1984.114-161 By use of the quaternary ammonium salt 7 (R=4-CF3i X=Br) derived from cinchonine, the alkylated products 16 were obtained in excellent yield with high enantiomeric excess, as shown in... 

W. Nerinckx, M. Vandewalle, Asymmetric Alkylation of a-Aryl Substituted Carbonyl Compounds by Means of Chiral Phase Transfer Catalysts. Applications for the Synthesis of (+)-Podocarp-8(14)-en-13-one and of (-)-Wy-16,225, A Potent Analgesic Agent , Tetrahedron Asymmetry 1990,1, 265-276. 

Catalytic asymmetric methylation of 6,7-dichloro-5-methoxy-2-phenyl-l-indanone with methyl chloride in 50% sodium hydroxide/toluene using M-(p-trifluoro-methylbenzyDcinchoninium bromide as chiral phase transfer catalyst produces (S)-(+)-6,7-dichloro-5-methoxy-2-methyl-2--phenyl-l-indanone in 94% ee and 95% yield. Under similar conditions, via an asymmetric modification of the Robinson annulation enqploying 1,3-dichloro-2-butene (Wichterle reagent) as a methyl vinyl ketone surrogate, 6,7 dichloro-5-methoxy 2-propyl-l-indanone is alkylated to (S)-(+)-6,7-dichloro-2-(3-chloro-2-butenyl)-2,3 dihydroxy-5-methoxy-2-propyl-l-inden-l-one in 92% ee and 99% yield. Kinetic and mechanistic studies provide evidence for an intermediate dimeric catalyst species and subsequent formation of a tight ion pair between catalyst and substrate. 

Figure 3. Asymmetric alkylations with chiral phase transfer catalysts.

There are only a few reports on chiral phase transfer mediated alkylations". This approach, which seems to offer excellent opportunities for simple asymmetric procedures, has been demonstrated in the catalytic, enantioselective alkylation of racemic 6,7-dichloro-5-methoxy-2-phenyl-l-indanone (1) to form ( + )-indacrinone (4)100. /V-[4-(tnfluoromethyl)phenylmethyl]cinchoninium bromide (2) is one of the most effective catalysts for this reaction. The choice of reaction variables is very important and reaction conditions have been selected which afford very high asymmetric induction (92% cc). A transition state model 3 based on ion pairing between the indanone anion and the benzylcinchoninium cation has been proposed 10°. 

Quaternary ammonium salts of heterocyclic compounds have been used in liquid-liquid phase-transfer syntheses. When these compounds are achiral, they show a behavior very similar to that of other quaternary ammonium salts. For example, 2-dialkylamino-l-alkylpyridinium tetrafluoroborates have been used by Tanaka and Mukayama282 in the alkylation of active methylene compounds PhCH2CN, PhCH(Et)CN, and PhCH(Me)COPh. However, comparative studies of the efficiency of the catalysts show that alkylpyridinium bromides283 or N-alkyl-Af-benzyl-piperidinium chloride284 have a smaller catalytic activity compared to tetraalkylammonium halides. McIntosh285 has described the preparation of azapropellane salts 186 as potential chiral phase transfer catalysts. 

P-Hydroxyammonium salts can react under the strongly basic reaction conditions present in many phase-transfer reactions and the newly formed products could, in principle, serve either as effective or ineffective catalysts (Scheme 10.1) [9c]. The development of a new class of chiral phase-transfer catalysts, the W-alkyl-O-alkyl cinchona quats (Bactjve in Scheme 10.1 and 30 in Scheme 10.2), resulted from detailed mechanistic studies of these systems [5p,12], These catalysts are formed by in situ deprotonation of 28 to the alkoxide 29 followed by alkylation to form the active catalyst 30. Such catalysts offer an important second site of variation (R-, in 30) for catalyst development, which has been rapidly utilized for the preparation of more effective catalysts. 

While alkyl halides are typically employed as an electrophile for this transformation, Takemoto developed palladium-catalyzed asymmetric allylic alkylation of 1 using allylic acetates and chiral phase-transfer catalyst 4k, as depicted in Scheme 2.5 [ 2 3 ]. The choice of triphenyl phosphite [(PhO)3P] as an achiral palladium ligand was crucial to achieve high enantioselectivity. 

Takemoto and coworkers extended their palladium-catalyzed asymmetric allylic alkylation strategy using allyl acetate and chiral phase-transfer catalyst to the quaternization of 13 [23b]. A correct choice of the achiral palladium ligand, (PhO P, was again crucial to achieve high enantioselectivity and hence, without chiral phosphine ligand on palladium, the desired allylation product 15 was obtained with 83% ee after hydrolysis of the imine moiety with aqueous citric acid and subsequent benzoylation (Scheme 2.12). 

In 1999, in consideration of the readily structural modifications and fine-tuning of catalysts to attain sufficient reactivity and selectivity, Maruoka and coworkers designed and prepared the structurally rigid, chiral spiro ammonium salts of type 1 derived from commercially available (S)- or (R)-1,1 -bi-2-naphthol as a new C2-symmetric chiral phase-transfer catalyst, and successfully applied this to the highly efficient, catalytic enantioselective alkylation of N-(diphenylmethylene)glycine tert-butyl ester under mild phase-transfer conditions (Scheme 5.1) [7]. 

The salient feature of le as a chiral phase-transfer catalyst is its ability to catalyze the asymmetric alkylation of glycine methyl and ethyl ester derivatives 4 and 5 with excellent enantioselectivities. Since methyl and ethyl esters are certainly more susceptible towards nucleophilic additions than tert-butyl ester, the synthetic advantage of this process is clear, and highlighted by the facile transformation of the alkylation products (Scheme 5.3) [8],... 

On the other hand, Maruoka and coworkers were intrigued with the preparation of symmetrical N-spiro-type catalysts to avoid the independent synthesis of two different binaphthyl-modified subunits required for 1. Along this line, 4,4, 6,6 -tetra-arylbinaphthyl-substituted ammonium bromide (S, S)-13 was assembled through the reaction of aqueous ammonia with bis-bromide (S)-14 on the basis of previous studies on the substituent effect of this type of salt. The evaluation of (S,S)-13 as a chiral phase-transfer catalyst in the alkylation of 2 uncovered its high catalytic and chiral efficiency (Scheme 5.9) [9]. 

The Maruoka group s further efforts toward simplification of the catalyst have led to the design of new, polyamine-based chiral phase-transfer catalysts of type 15, with expectation of the multiplier effect of chiral auxiliaries, as illustrated in Scheme 5.10 [13]. The chiral efficiency of such polyamine-based chiral phase-transfer catalysts (S)-15 was examined by carrying out an asymmetric alkylation of glycine derivative 2 under phase-transfer conditions. Among various commercially available polyamines, spermidine- and spermine-based polyammonium salts were found to show moderate enantioselectivity. In particular, the introduction of a 3,4,5-trifluor-ophenyl group at the 3,3 -positions of chiral binaphthyl moieties showed excellent asymmetric induction. 

The enantioselective synthesis of a-amino acids employing easily available and reusable chiral catalysts or reagents presents clear advantages for large-scale applications. Accordingly, recyclable fluorous chiral phase-transfer catalyst 31 has been developed by the authors group, and its high chiral efficiency and reusability demonstrated in the asymmetric alkylation of 2. After the reaction, 31 could be easily recovered by simple extraction with FC-72 (perfluorohexanes) as a fluorous solvent and used for the next run, without any loss of reactivity and selectivity (Scheme 5.17) [23]. 

Upon facing the difficulty of stereochemical control in peptide alkylation events, Maruoka and coworkers envisaged that the chiral phase-transfer catalyst should play a crucial role in achieving an efficient chirality transfer, and consequently examined the alkylation of the dipeptide, Gly-L-Phe derivative 57 (Scheme 5.28) [31]. When a mixture of 57 and tetrabutylammonium bromide (TBAB, 2 mol%) in toluene was treated with a 50% KOH aqueous solution and benzyl bromide at 0°C for 4h, the corresponding benzylation product 58 was obtained in 85% yield with the diastereo-meric ratio (DL-58 LL-58) of 54 46 (8% de). In contrast, the reaction with chiral quaternary ammonium bromide (S,S)-lc under similar conditions gave rise to 58 with 55% de. The preferential formation of LL-58 in lower de in the reaction with (R,R)-lc indicated that (R,R)-lc is a mismatched catalyst for this diastereofacial differentiation of 57. Changing the 3,3 -aromatic substituent (Ar) of the catalyst 1 dramatically increased the stereoselectivity, and almost complete diastereocontrol was realized with (S,S)-lg. 

The highly enantioselective alkylation of a-substituted a-cyanoacetates was achieved using chiral phase-transfer catalysts of type le and lh to afford a,a-disubstituted a-cyanoacetates possessing an asymmetric quaternary carbon center with high enantioselectivity, as shown in Table 5.9 [34]. 

Consequently, Dehmlow and coworkers modified the cinchona alkaloid structure to elucidate the role of each ofthe structural motifs of cinchona alkaloid-derived chiral phase-transfer catalysts in asymmetric reactions. Thus, the quinoline nucleus of cinchona alkaloid was replaced with various simple or sterically bulky substituents, and the resulting catalysts were screened in asymmetric reactions (Scheme 7.2). The initial results using catalysts 8-11 in the asymmetric borohydride reduction of pivalophenone, the hydroxylation of 2-ethyl-l-tetralone and the alkylation of SchifF s base each exhibited lower enantiomeric excesses than the corresponding cinchona alkaloid-derived chiral phase-transfer catalysts [14]. 

The asymmetric alkylation of SchifPs base ester using a chiral phase-transfer catalyst to produce a-amino adds is one of the most widely studied reactions. This reaction is generally used as a test reaction to design new, effident chiral... 

Dehmlow and coworkers [17] compared the efficiency of monodeazadnchona alkaloid derivatives 14a-c in the enantioselective epoxidation of naphthoquinone 50 with that of cinchona alkaloid-derived chiral phase-transfer catalysts 15a-c (Table 7.7) (for comparison of the alkylation reaction, see Table 7.1). Interestingly, the non-natural cinchona alkaloid analogues 14a-c afforded better results than natural cinchona alkaloids 15a-c. The deazacinchonine derivatives 14a,b produced epoxidation product 51 in higher enantioselectivity than the related cinchona alkaloids 15a,b. Of note, catalyst 14c, which possessed a bulky 9-anthracenylmethyl substituent on the quaternary nitrogen, afforded the highest enantioselectivity (84% ee). 

The intramolecular alkylation of the enolate derived from phenylalanine derivatives 22a,b to form P-lactams 23a,b has also been achieved using Taddol as a chiral phase-transfer catalyst (Scheme 8.11) [23]. In this process, the stereocenter within enantiomerically pure starting material 22 is first destroyed and then regenerated, so that the Taddol acts as a chiral memory relay. Taddol was found to be superior to other phase-transfer catalysts (cinchona alkaloids, binol, etc.) in this reaction, and under optimal conditions (50 mol % Taddol in acetonitrile with BTPP as base), P-lactam 23b could be obtained with 82% et. The use of other amino acids was also studied, and the... 

The first example of the use of an alkaloid-based chiral phase-transfer catalyst as an efficient organocatalyst for enantioselective alkylation reactions was reported in 1984 [3, 4]. Researchers from Merck used a cinchoninium bromide, 8, as a catalyst... 

The Maruoka group recently reported an alternative concept based on a one-pot double alkylation of the aldimine of glycine butyl ester, 44a, in the presence of the chiral ammonium salt 29 as chiral phase-transfer catalyst (the principal concept of this reaction is illustrated in Scheme 3.18, route 2) [58], Under optimized reaction conditions products of type 43 were obtained in yields of up to 80% and with high enantioselectivity (up to 98% ee). A selected example is shown in Scheme 3.20. 

The asymmetric alkylation of cyclic ketones, imines of glycine esters, and achiral, enolizable carbonyl compounds in the presence of chiral phase-transfer organoca-talysts is an efficient method for the preparation of a broad variety of interesting compounds in the optically active form. The reactions are not only highly efficient, as has been shown impressively by, e.g., the synthesis of enantiomerically pure a-amino acids, but also employ readily available and inexpensive catalysts. This makes enantioselective alkylation via chiral phase-transfer catalysts attractive for large-scale applications also. A broad range of highly efficient chiral phase-transfer catalysts is also available. 

A procedure for alkylation of C=0 double bonds in the presence of (metal-free) organocatalysts and non-metallic nucleophiles has been reported by the Iseki group for trifluoromethylation of aldehydes and ketones [185]. On the basis of a previous study of the Olah group [186, 187] which showed the suitability of non-chiral phase-transfer catalysts for trifluoromethylation of carbonyl compounds, Iseki et al. investigated the use of N-benzylcinchonium fluoride, 182, as a chiral catalyst. The reaction has been investigated with several aldehydes and aromatic ketones. Trifluoromethyltrimethylsilane, 181, was used as nucleophile. The reaction was, typically, performed at —78 °C with a catalytic amount (10-20 mol%) of 182, followed by subsequent hydrolysis of the siloxy compound and formation of the desired alcohols of type 183 (Scheme 6.82). 

Compared with boranes, borohydrides are inexpensive and easy to handle. As early as 1978 Colonna and Fornasier reported that aryl alkyl ketones such as acetophenone can be reduced asymmetrically by sodium borohydride by use of an aqueous-organic two-phase system and chiral phase transfer catalysts [20], In this study, the best enantiomeric excess (32%) was achieved when pivalophenone (11) was reduced in the presence of 5 mol% benzylquininium chloride (12) (Scheme 11.4) [20]. Other chiral phase-transfer catalysts, for example ephedrinium salts, proved less effective. 

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