Cinchona alkaloids, enantioselective addition

Table 4.1 Influence of reaction temperature on enantioselectivity in the cinchona alkaloid catalyzed addition of diethylzinc to benzaldehyde.

One of the most significant developmental advances in the Jacobsen-Katsuki epoxidation reaction was the discovery that certain additives can have a profound and often beneficial effect on the reaction. Katsuki first discovered that iV-oxides were particularly beneficial additives. Since then it has become clear that the addition of iV-oxides such as 4-phenylpyridine-iV-oxide (4-PPNO) often increases catalyst turnovers, improves enantioselectivity, diastereoselectivity, and epoxides yields. Other additives that have been found to be especially beneficial under certain conditions are imidazole and cinchona alkaloid derived salts vide infra). 

Another important reaction associated with the name of Sharpless is the so-called Sharpless dihydroxylation i.e. the asymmetric dihydroxylation of alkenes upon treatment with osmium tetroxide in the presence of a cinchona alkaloid, such as dihydroquinine, dihydroquinidine or derivatives thereof, as the chiral ligand. This reaction is of wide applicability for the enantioselective dihydroxylation of alkenes, since it does not require additional functional groups in the substrate molecule ... 

Arai and co-workers have used chiral ammonium salts 89 and 90 (Scheme 1.25) derived from cinchona alkaloids as phase-transfer catalysts for asymmetric Dar-zens reactions (Table 1.12). They obtained moderate enantioselectivities for the addition of cyclic 92 (Entries 4—6) [43] and acyclic 91 (Entries 1-3) chloroketones [44] to a range of alkyl and aromatic aldehydes [45] and also obtained moderate selectivities on treatment of chlorosulfone 93 with aromatic aldehydes (Entries 7-9) [46, 47]. Treatment of chlorosulfone 93 with ketones resulted in low enantioselectivities. 

Pt/Al2C>3-cinchona alkaloid catalyst system is widely used for enantioselective hydrogenation of different prochiral substrates, such as a-ketoesters [1-2], a,p-diketones, etc. [3-5], It has been shown that in the enantioselective hydrogenation of ethyl pyruvate (Etpy) under certain reaction conditions (low cinchonidine concentration, using toluene as a solvent) achiral tertiary amines (ATAs triethylamine, quinuclidine (Q) and DABCO) as additives increase not only the reaction rate, but the enantioselectivity [6], This observation has been explained by a virtual increase of chiral modifier concentration as a result of the shift in cinchonidine monomer - dimer equilibrium by ATAs [7],... 

Catalytic enantioselective nucleophilic addition of nitroalkanes to electron-deficient alke-nes is a challenging area in organic synthesis. The use of cinchona alkaloids as chiral catalysts has been studied for many years. Asymmetric induction in the Michael addition of nitroalkanes to enones has been carried out with various chiral bases. Wynberg and coworkers have used various alkaloids and their derivatives, but the enantiomeric excess (ee) is generally low (up to 20%).199 The Michael addition of methyl vinyl ketone to 2-nitrocycloalkanes catalyzed by the cinchona alkaloid cinchonine affords adducts in high yields in up to 60% ee (Eq. 4.137).200... 

The enantioselective hydrogenation of prochiral substances bearing an activated group, such as an ester, an acid or an amide, is often an important step in the industrial synthesis of fine and pharmaceutical products. In addition to the hydrogenation of /5-ketoesters into optically pure products with Raney nickel modified by tartaric acid [117], the asymmetric reduction of a-ketoesters on heterogeneous platinum catalysts modified by cinchona alkaloids (cinchonidine and cinchonine) was reported for the first time by Orito and coworkers [118-121]. Asymmetric catalysis on solid surfaces remains a very important research area for a better mechanistic understanding of the interaction between the substrate, the modifier and the catalyst [122-125], although excellent results in terms of enantiomeric excesses (up to 97%) have been obtained in the reduction of ethyl pyruvate under optimum reaction conditions with these Pt/cinchona systems [126-128],... 

Several examples exist of the application of chiral natural N-compounds in base-catalyzed reactions. Thus, L-proline and cinchona alkaloids have been applied [35] in enantioselective aldol condensations and Michael addition. Techniques are available to heterogenize natural N-bases, such as ephedrine, by covalent binding to mesoporous ordered silica materials [36]. 

Alcoholysis of meso-cycYic anhydrides offers a versatile route to succinate and glu-tarate half-esters. Although a number of stoichiometric approaches to this problem have been investigated, a successful catalytic version of this reaction appeared as recently as 2003. ° Bolm and coworkers have developed a protocol for the metha-nolysis of a variety of succinic anhydrides using cinchona alkaloids [Eq. (10.50)]. The reaction may be made catalytic in alkaloid when pentamethylpiperidine is used as a stoichiometric additive. A moderate decrease in enantioselectivity is observed in a number of cases, although excellent selectivities are still attainable. More problematic is the reaction time (6 days under catalytic conditions) ... 

The majority of the Michael-type conjugate additions are promoted by amine-based catalysts and proceed via an enamine or iminium intermediate species. Subsequently, Jprgensen et al. [43] explored the aza-Michael addition of hydra-zones to cyclic enones catalyzed by Cinchona alkaloids. Although the reaction proceeds under pyrrolidine catalysis via iminium activation of the enone, and also with NEtj via hydrazone activation, both methods do not confer enantioselectivity to the reaction. Under a Cinchona alkaloid screen, quinine 3 was identified as an effective aza-Michael catalyst to give 92% yield and 1 3.5 er (Scheme 4). 

Highly enantioselective organocatalytic Mannich reactions of aldehydes and ketones have been extensively stndied with chiral secondary amine catalysts. These secondary amines employ chiral prolines, pyrrolidines, and imidazoles to generate a highly active enamine or imininm intermediate species [44], Cinchona alkaloids were previonsly shown to be active catalysts in malonate additions. The conjngate addition of malonates and other 1,3-dicarbonyls to imines, however, is relatively nnexplored. Snbseqnently, Schans et al. [45] employed the nse of Cinchona alkaloids in the conjngate addition of P-ketoesters to iV-acyl aldimines. Highly enantioselective mnltifnnctional secondary amine prodncts were obtained with 10 mol% cinchonine (Scheme 5). 

Another type of Cinchona alkaloid catalyzed reactions that employs azodicarbo-xylates includes enantioselective allylic amination. Jprgensen [51-53] investigated the enantioselective electrophilic addition to aUyhc C-H bonds activated by a chiral Brpnsted base. Using Cinchona alkaloids, the first enantioselective, metal-free aUyhc amination was reported using alkylidene cyanoacetates with dialkyl azodi-carboxylates (Scheme 12). The product was further functionalized and used in subsequent tandem reactions to generate useful chiral building blocks (52, 53). Subsequent work was applied to other types of allylic nitriles in the addition to a,P-unsaturated aldehydes and P-substituted nitro-olefins (Scheme 13). 

The efficiency with which modified Cinchona alkaloids catalyze conjugate additions of a-substituted a-cyanoacetates highlights the nitrile group s stereoselective role with the catalyst. Deng et al. [60] utilized this observation to develop a one-step construction of chiral acyclic adducts that have non-adjacent, 1,3-tertiary-quatemary stereocenters. Based on their mechanistic studies and proposed transition state model, the bifimctional nature of the quinoline C(6 )-OH Cinchona alkaloids could induce a tandem conjugate addition-protonation reaction to create the tertiary and quaternary stereocenters in an enantioselective and diastereoselective manner (Scheme 18). 

Cinchona alkaloids, naturally ubiquitous /3-hydroxy tertiary-amines, are characterized by a basic quinuclidine nitrogen surrounded by a highly asymmetric environment (12). Wynberg discovered that such alkaloids effect highly enantioselective hetero-[2 -I- 2] addition of ketene and chloral to produce /3-lactones, as shown in Scheme 4 (13). The reaction occurs catalytically in quantitative yield in toluene at — 50°C. Quinidine and quinine afford the antipodal products by leading, after hydrolysis, to (S)- and (/ )-malic acid, respectively. The presence of a /3-hydroxyl group in the catalyst amines is not crucial. The reaction appears to occur... 

Recently, chiral phase-transfer-catalyzed asymmetric Michael addition has received much attention, and excellent enantioselectivity (up to 99% ee) has been reported using cinchona alkaloid-derived chiral phase-transfer catalysts [40]. Among noncinchona alkaloid-derived chiral phase-transfer catalysts Shibasaki s tartrate derived C2-symmetrical two-center catalyst provided a Michael adduct with up to 82% ee [41]. 

The Cinchona alkaloid-derived thiourea (112), has been developed as an organocat-alyst for conjugate addition of a wide range of nucleophilic enol species to enones. The reaction is characterized by high enantioselectivities and mild reaction condition.160... 

Cinchona alkaloids and their derivatives have been reported to catalyse the Michael addition of (V-heterocycles, such as benztriazole, to nitroalkenes in moderate to high enantioselectivities (<94% ee) 15 The thiourea derivative (149) catalysed Michael addition of thioacetic acid to a range of frafts-/f-nitrostyrenes to afford RCH(SAc)- CH2NO2 (<70% ee) 16 The thiourea derivative (149) and its congeners have been identified as efficient organocatalysts for the Michael addition of a-substituted cyano-acetates RCH(CN)C02Et to vinyl sulfones CH2=C(R)S02Ph (72-96% ee) 17 ... 

The highest enantioselectivity (up to >99%) yet achieved in the addition of S-nucleophiles to enones was reported in 2002 by Deng et al. [59]. By systematic screening of monomeric and dimeric cinchona alkaloid derivatives they identified the dihydroquinidine-pyrimidine conjugate (DHQD PYR (72, Scheme 4.35) as the most effective catalyst. This material is frequently used in the Sharpless asymmetric dihydroxylation and is commercially available. Screening of several aromatic thiols resulted in the identification of 2-thionaphthol as the nucleophile giving best yields and enantioselectivity. Examples for the (DHQD PYR-catalyzed addition of 2-thionaphthol to enones are summarized in Scheme 4.35. 

Michael addition of nitromethane to chalcones can be catalysed by cinchona alkaloid-derived chiral bifunctional thiourea (142) (0.5-10 mol%) to give the corresponding products at 25-100 °C in high chemical yields and high enantioselectivity ... 

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