Cinchona alkenes, asymmetric dihydroxylation

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 ... 

Since Sharpless discovery of asymmetric dihydroxylation reactions of al-kenes mediated by osmium tetroxide-cinchona alkaloid complexes, continuous efforts have been made to improve the reaction. It has been accepted that the tighter binding of the ligand with osmium tetroxide will result in better stability for the complex and improved ee in the products, and a number of chiral auxiliaries have been examined in this effort. Table 4 11 (below) lists the chiral auxiliaries thus far used in asymmetric dihydroxylation of alkenes. In most cases, diamine auxiliaries provide moderate to good results (up to 90% ee). 

These cinchona esters also effect asymmetric dihydroxylation of alkenes in reactions with an amine N-oxide as the stoichiometric oxidant and 0s04 as the catalyst. Reactions catalyzed by 1 direct attack to the re-face and those catalyzed by 2 direct attack with almost equal preference for the 5i-face. 

Polymer-supported [e.g. 8, 9] and silica-supported [10] cinchona alkaloids have been used in the asymmetric dihydroxylation of alkenes using osmium tetroxide. Enantiomeric excesses >90% have been achieved for diols derived from styrene derivatives. 

Other functionalized supports that are able to serve in the asymmetric dihydroxylation of alkenes were reported by the groups of Sharpless (catalyst 25) [88], Sal-vadori (catalyst 26) [89-91] and Cmdden (catalyst 27) (Scheme 4.13) [92]. Commonly, the oxidations were carried out using K3Fe(CN)g as secondary oxidant in acetone/water or tert-butyl alcohol/water as solvents. For reasons of comparison, the dihydroxylation of trons-stilbene is depicted in Scheme 4.13. The polymeric catalysts could be reused but had to be regenerated after each experiment by treatment with small amounts of osmium tetroxide. A systematic study on the role of the polymeric support and the influence of the alkoxy or aryloxy group in the C-9 position of the immobilized cinchona alkaloids was conducted by Salvadori and coworkers [89-91]. Co-polymerization of a dihydroquinidine phthalazine derivative with hydroxyethylmethacrylate and ethylene glycol dimethacrylate afforded a functionalized polymer (26) with better swelling properties in polar solvents and hence improved performance in the dihydroxylation process [90]. 

Canali, L., Song, C. E. and Sherrington, D. C. Polymer-supported bis-cinchona alkaloid ligands for asymmetric dihydroxylation of alkenes - a cautionary tale. Tetrahedron Asymmetry, 1998, 9, 1029-1034. 

The AA reaction is closely related to the asymmetric dihydroxylation (AD). Alkenes are enantioselectively converted to protected 3-aminoalcohols (Scheme 1) by syn-addition of osmium salts under the influence of the chirr 1 bis-Cinchona ligands known from the AD process (see Chap. 20.1). As for the AD reaction, a cooxidant is needed to regenerate the active osmium species. But in the AA process the cooxidant also functions as the nitrogen source. Since two different heteroatoms are transferred to the double bond, regioselectivity becomes an important selectivity issue in addition to enantioselectivity. Moreover, chemoselectivity has to be addressed due to the possible formation of the... 

The essential components of the catalyst for the asymmetric dihydroxylation process are osmium tetroxide (OSO4) and an ester of one or the other of the pseudoenantiomeiic cinchona alkaloids dihydro-quinidine (DH( D) and dihydroquinine (DHQ). An amine oxide, generally N-methylmorpholine N-oxide, serves as the oxidant for foe reaction. When an alkenic substrate is added very slowly to a... 

As in the dihydroquinidine series, the phthalazide cinchona derivative [(DHQ)2-PHAL] (1) is the best ligand for the asymmetric dihydroxylation of terminal, trans, 1,1-disubstituted, and trisubstituted alkenes, and enol ether, whereas the DHQ-IND ligand (2) turns out to be superior for c/i-alkenes (Table 1). The addition of Methanesulfonamide to enhance the rate of osmate(VI) ester hydrolysis is recommended for all nonterminal alkenes. 

Lohray, B. B., Singh, S. K., Bhushan, V. A mechanistically designed cinchona alkaloid ligand in the osmium catalyzed asymmetric dihydroxylation of alkenes. Indian J. Chem., Sect. B 2002, 41B, 1226-1233. 

The cinchona alkaloids have opened up the field of asymmetric oxidations of alkenes without the need for a functional group within the substrate to form a complex with the metal. Current methodology is limited to osmium-based oxidations. The power of the asymmetric dihydroxylation reaction is exemplified by the thousands (literally) of examples for the use of this reaction to establish stereogenic centers in target molecule synthesis. The usefulness of the AD reaction is augmented by the bountiful chemistry of cyclic sulfates and sulfites derived from the resultant 1,2-diols. 

Lohl996 Lohray, B.B., Nandanan, E. and Bhushan, V, Catalytic Asymmetric Dihydroxylation of Alkenes Using Silica Gel Supported Cinchona Alkaloid, Tetrahedron Asymmetry, 7 (19%) 2805-2808. 

Draw structures of ligands derived from the chiral framework of glucose, tartaric acid, binaphthol, and cinchona alkaloids that are used for efficient asymmetric hydrocyanation, epoxidation, hydroformylation, and alkene dihydroxylation reactions respectively. 

Table 6. Asymmetric Catalytic Dihydroxylation of Alkenes in the Presence of Cinchona Derived Ligands"...

In summary, the asymmetric osmylation of alkenes catalyzed by derivatives of cinchona alkaloids represents a very elegant method which enables the enantioselective cis dihydroxylation of several types of alkenes in high enantiomeric excess and with predictable selectivities. The design of specific chiral ligands for substrates that still do not afford enantiomeric excesses over 90% would be desirable for the near future. 

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