Chiral sulphoxides synthesis

Chiral sulphoxides are the most important group of compounds among a vast number of various types of chiral organosulphur compounds. In the first period of the development of sulphur stereochemistry, optically active sulphoxides were mainly used as model compounds in stereochemical studies2 5 6. At present, chiral sulphoxides play an important role in asymmetric synthesis, especially in an asymmetric C—C bond formation257. Therefore, much effort has been devoted to elaboration of convenient methods for their synthesis. Until now, optically active sulphoxides have been obtained in the following ways optical resolution, asymmetric synthesis, kinetic resolution and stereospecific synthesis. These methods are briefly discussed below. 

A closely related asymmetric synthesis of chiral sulphoxides, which involves a direct oxidation of the parent sulphides by t-butylhydroperoxide in the presence of metal catalyst and diethyl tartrate, was also reported by Modena and Di Furia and their coworkers-28-7,288 jjje effect 0f the reaction parameters such as metal catalyst, chiral tartrate and solvent on the optical yield does not follow a simple pattern. Generally, the highest optical purities (up to 88%) were observed when reactions were carried out using Ti(OPr-i)4 as a metal catalyst in 1,2-dichloroethane. 

The Andersen sulphoxide synthesis is general in scope and a large number of chiral alkyl aryl and diaryl sulphoxides became available from (—)-(S)-276 and other optically active sulphinates343-346 (Table 16). 

Further utility of the Andersen sulphoxides synthesis is demonstrated by the preparation of optically active unsaturated sulphoxides which were first prepared by Stirling and coworkers359 from sulphinate 276 and the appropriate vinylic Grignard reagents. Later on, Posner and Tang360 prepared in a similar way a series of ( )-l-alkenyl p-tolyl sulphoxides. Posner s group accomplished also the synthesis of (+)-(S)-2-(p-tolylsulphinyl)-2-cyclopentenone 287, which is a key compound in the chiral synthesis of various natural products361 (equation 159). 

The chiral sulphoxide, (S)-(+)-2-(4-tolylsulphinyl)-2-cyclopentenone, has been used as a ring D component to effect an asymmetric Michael addition with 91-94% diastereoselectivity by reaction in the chelated form with the a,a-disubstituted lithium enolate from 2-bromo-6-methoxytetral-1-one while the (R)-(-) antipode reacts in a non-chelated form with the a-monosubstituted lithium enolate of 6-methoxytetralone (ref. 147). This synthesis makes use of earlier experience in the use of a-mono and a,a-disubstituted lithium enolates in the ethyl acetoacetate series with the non-chelated and chelated forms respectively of a p-ketosulphoxide (ref. 148). Eight futher steps were involved to produce (+)-estrone methyl ether in an overall yield of 6.3%. 

E-a,6-unsaturated esters possessing a chiral sulphoxide substituent at the -position has been developed for the enantioselective synthesis of E-Y-hydroxy-a,8-unsaturated esters.11 The asymmetric cyclization of 7,7-dimethyl-6-7-unsaturated aldehydes to chiral... 

Conjugate addition of the chiral sulphoxide (108) to the enone (82 R =Me) features as the key step in the asymmetric synthesis of the aldehyde (109), a precursor of 11-deoxy-ent-prostanoids. ... 

Baldwin et al. have provided some useful information about the relationships between reaction conditions and substrate structure in conjugative isomerisations of 0-unsaturated esters to the corresponding o,3-unsaturated isomers. A new asymmetric synthesis of cyclohexylidene esters (198) relies on the presence of a chiral sulphoxide function which allows the... 

Asymmetric synthesis based on chiral sulphoxides is a rapidly developing field. Two syntheses of (-)-raethyl jasmonate have been accomplished starting from the chiral alkenyl sulphoxide (216 Ar a... 

In view of their importance in asymmetric synthesis new routes have been developed to chiral sulphoxides and related species. Sulphinates, useful as precursors of chiral sulphoxides, have been prepared in 40-70% enantiomeric excess and the synthesis and dieno-philic properties of the isomeric sulphinyl acrylates (2l8) and (219) (Ar = 4-MeCgH ) have been described. ( )-Vinyl sulphoxides have been prepared in high optical purity via 1-alkynyl... 

Butenolides substituted with a chiral sulphoxide moiety are also good substrates, as shown by the short asymmetric synthesis of (-)-podorhizon (91), a lignan natural product.t35]... 

G. Solladie, Asymmetric Synthesis using Nucleophilic Reagents Containing Chiral Sulphoxide Groups , Synthesis, 1981, 185. 

The chiral oxathiazolidine-2-oxide (82), readily prepared from L-ephedrine, finds utility in a new synthesis of chiral sulphoxides (Scheme 163) interchange of steps (i) and (iii) allows preparation of either enantiomer, both of these steps proceeding with virtually complete inversion. 

Acyclic Alditols.- A new approach to the synthesis of optically pure polyhydroxylated compounds by i) the stereospecific reduction of chiral -ketosulphoxides and ii) the stereospecific liydroxylation of chiral allylic /9-hydroxysulphoxides has been described. Thus the unsaturated ester (1) gave the chiral sulphoxide (2), which was sequentially reduced, hydtoxylated, and further reduced as outlined in Scheme 1 to give the L-arabinitol derivative (3) and hence penta-0-acetyl-L-arabinitol in high yield enantiomers are available by appropriate choice of the sulphoxide reagent. ... 

The purpose of the present chapter is to provide an up-to-date review of methods which may be applied for the synthesis of both achiral and chiral (racemic and optically active) sulphoxides as well as their derivatives. Since the synthesis of optically active sulphoxides is based on many special procedures, it was found necessary to separate the syntheses of achiral and racemic sulphoxides from those of optically active ones. 

Chiral alcohols have also been used in an asymmetric synthesis of sulphoxides based on halogenation of sulphides. Johnson and coworkers have found319 that the reaction of benzyl p-tolyl sulphide with JV-chlorobenzotriazole (NCBT) followed by addition of (—) menthol and silver tetrafluoroborate afforded diastereoisomeric menthoxysulphonium salts 267 which, upon recrystallization and hydrolysis, gave benzyl p-tolyl sulphoxide with 87% optical purity (equation 145). More recently, Oae and coworkers reported320 that optically active diaryl sulphoxides (e.e. up to 20%) were formed either by hydrolysis or thermolysis of the corresponding diaryl menthoxysulphonium salts prepared in situ from diaryl sulphides using ( —) menthol and t-butyl hypochlorite. 

The synthesis of chiral dialkyl sulphoxides of high optical purity from dia-stereoisomeric alkanesulphinates has a serious limitation because the sulphinates are not... 

Durst and coworkers were the first to report the condensation of chiral a-sulphinyl carbanions with carbonyl compounds477. They found that metallation of ( + )-(S)-benzyl methyl sulphoxide 397 followed by quenching with acetone gives a mixture of dia-stereoisomeric /i-hydroxy sulphoxides 398 in a 15 1 ratio (equation 233). The synthesis of optically active oxiranes was based on this reaction (equation 234). In this context, it is interesting to point out that condensation of benzyl phenyl sulphoxide with benzaldehyde gave a mixture of four / -sulphinyl alcohols (40% overall yield), the ratio of which after immediate work-up was 41 19 8 32478. 

Posner and coworkers have published a series of papers in which they described a successful application of the Michael reaction between a variety of carbanionic reagents and chiral cycloalkenone sulphoxides 557 to the synthesis of chiral organic compounds (for reviews see References 257, 649, 650). In several cases products of very high optical purity can be obtained. Subsequent removal of the sulphinyl group, serving as a chiral adjuvant, leads to optically active 3-substituted cycloalkenones 558 (equation 356 Table 27). 

Amino acids, sulphoxide, radiolysis of 909 a-Amino acids, reactions of 776, 777 a-Aminosulphones, synthesis of 176 Aminosulphonyl radicals 1093 Aminosulphoxides rearrangement of 740 synthesis of 336 Andersen synthesis 60 / -Anilinosulphoxides, synthesis of 334, 335 Anion radicals 1048-1050 ESR spectra of 1050-1054 formation of during electrolysis 963 during radiolysis 892-897, 899, 903 Annulation 778, 781, 801, 802 Antibiotics, synthesis of 310 Arenesulphenamides 740 Arenesulphenates 623 reactions of 282 rearrangement of 719 Arenesulphinates 824, 959 chiral 618... 

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