Chiral synthesis reagent control

Asymmetric ylide reactions such as epoxidation, cyclopropanation, aziridination, [2,3]-sigmatropic rearrangement and alkenation can be carried out with chiral ylide (reagent-controlled asymmetric induction) or a chiral C=X compound (substrate-controlled asymmetric epoxidations). Non-racemic epoxides are significant intermediates in the synthesis of, for instance, pharmaceuticals and agrochemicals. 

Reagent-controlled asymmetric cyclopropanation is relatively more difficult using sulfur ylides, although it has been done. It is more often accomplished using chiral aminosulfoxonium ylides. Finally, more complex sulfur ylides (e.g. 64) may result in more elaborate cyclopropane synthesis, as exemplified by the transformation 65 66 ... 

In principle, asymmetric synthesis involves the formation of a new stereogenic unit in the substrate under the influence of a chiral group ultimately derived from a naturally occurring chiral compound. These methods can be divided into four major classes, depending on how this influence is exerted (1) substrate-controlled methods (2) auxiliary-controlled methods (3) reagent-controlled methods, and (4) catalyst-controlled methods. 

The poor diastereoselectivity of the reactions of chiral aldehydes and achiral allylboronates appeared to be a problem that could be solved by recourse to the strategy of double asymmetric synthesis.f Our studies thus moved into this new arena of asymmetric synthesis, our objective being the development of a chiral allylboron reagent capable of controlling the stereochemical outcome of reactions with chiral aldehydes independent of any diastereofacial preference on the part of the carbonyl reaction partner. 

The yields of the allenes and the enantioselectivities are not very high, and the method could possibly be further developed by the use of more rigid, e.g., bidentate ligands. Since no satisfactory reagent-controlled enantioselective synthesis of chiral allenes is known to date, this is a challenge for the future. 

The aldol reaction between a chiral a-amino aldehyde 16 and an acetate derived enolate 17 creates a new stereogenic center and two possible diastereomers. Several different methods for the synthesis of statine derivatives following an aldol reaction have been reported most of them lead to a mixture of the (35,45)- and (3/ ,45)-diastereomers 18 (Scheme 3), which have to be separated by laborious chromatographic methods.[17 211 Two distinct approaches for stereochemical control have been used substrate control and reagent control. 

Tanaka has shown that in his synthesis of a variety of diastereomeric annonac-eous acetogenins (9, Scheme 3) the carbinol stereocenter can be generated with predictable selectivity by reagent control of either enantiomer of the chiral ligand [24], He applied this method in the total synthesis of murisolin (9, n= 1), a member of family of over 350 natural polyketides isolated from various annon-aceaes plants (Scheme 4). 

Conversely, the addition of enantiomerically pure chiral dialkylboranes to enantiomerically pure chiral alkenes can also take place in such a way that substrate control and reagent control of diastereoselectivity act in the same direction. Then we have a matched pair. It reacts faster than the corresponding mismatched pair and with especially high diastereoselectivity. This approach to stereoselective synthesis is also referred to as double stereodifferentiation. 

Chiral synthesis, also called asymmetric synthesis, is synthesis which preserves or introduces a desired chirality. Principally, there are three different methods to induce asymmetry in reactions. There can be either one or several stereogenic centres embedded in the substrate inducing chirality in the reaction (i.e. substrate control) or an external source providing the chiral induction (i.e. reagent control). In both cases the obtained stereoselectivity reflects the energy difference between the diastereomeric transition states. 

For the preparation of aspartic proteinase inhibitors, Jones et al. [7] needed epimeric A -protected alcohols (see Table 1, entry 2). In this stereocontrolled synthesis of hydroxyethylene dipeptide isoteres, a chiral Grignard reagent was used in a reaction with a protected aminoaldehyde [7]. In this reaction, a 6 1 ratio of diastomers 4SAR) was obtained. The stereochemistry of the products was controlled by the complexation of the reagent with the protected amine the S-epimer predominates because of a chelation-controlled addition of the Grignard. 

Our synthesis of the C1-C7 fragment 227 of oleandolide started with a substrate-controlled tin-mediated aldol reaction of a-chiral ketone (5)-18 which afforded syn adduct 52 with 93% ds. This same transformation could also be achieved using reagent control with (Ipc)2BOTf, albeit with lower selectivity (90% ds). In a key step, treatment of the aldol adduct 52 with (-i-)-(Ipc)2BH led to controlled reduction of the C3 carbonyl together with stereoselective hydrobora-tion of the C -Cv olefin, affording the desired triol 228 with 90% ds. 

In general, as the aldehyde a-substituents become more sterically demanding, it becomes more difficult to obtain useful levels of diastereoselection for the product expected from reagent control in mismatched double asymmetric reactions between chiral aldehydes and chiral allyl- and crotylboronates [203]. For this reason, in natural product synthesis, mismatched double asymmetric reactions should be designed to occur early rather than late in a synthetic sequence. 

Kiyooka et al. have reported that stoichiometric use of chiral oxazaborolidines (e.g. (S)-47), derived from sulfonamides of a-amino acids and borane, is highly effective in enantioselective aldol reactions of ketene TMS acetals such as 48 and 49 (Scheme 10.39) [117]. The use of TMS enolate 49 achieves highly enantioselective synthesis of dithiolane aldols, which can be readily converted into acetate aldols without epimerization. The chiral borane 47-promoted aldol reaction proceeds with high levels of reagent-control (Scheme 10.40) [118] - the absolute configuration of a newly formed stereogenic center depends on that of the promoter used and not that of the substrate. 

We have already collected some powerful tools for use in stereocontrolled aldol reactions, but we have not finished. We shall see now in Paterson s synthesis of (+)-discodermolide, how reagent control is used not to enhance the intrinsic substrate selectivity, but to overturn it. The aldol reaction is undoubtedly one of the most powerful ways of making carbon-carbon bonds and nature thinks so too. There are numerous natural products that are replete with 1,3 related oxygen functionality. Many of these are acetate or propionate-derived in nature. The methods detailed above developed from studies into the syntheses of these natural products. The manipulations of chiral ethyl ketones of this kind are of particular interest when it comes to natural products that are polypropionate-derived. 

In a separate, elegant use of 165, Rychnovsky and coworkers have carried out a diastereoselective addition of methyl acetate-derived silyl ketene acetal to aldehyde 174 to afford adduct 175 in high diastereomeric purity (Scheme 15) [102]. Hydroxy ester 175 was subsequently employed as an intermediate in the total synthesis of the polyene macrolide antibiotic Roflamycoin. This work highlights a novel application of the chiral catalyst system in reagent-controlled coupling of chiral functionahzed substrates which by themselves display only mod-... 

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