Cinchona hydroxylated amines

Together with cinchona-PTC-mediated a-alkylations, the asymmetric nucleophilic a-substitution of carbonyl derivatives by using cinchona alkaloids as organocatalysts in nonbiphasic homogeneous conditions also have been extensively studied (e.g., arylation, hydroxylation, amination, hydroxyamination, and sulfenylation). 

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... 

In particular, it is not only the cinchona alkaloids that are suitable chiral sources for asymmetric organocatalysis [6], but also the corresponding ammonium salts. Indeed, the latter are particularly useful for chiral PTCs because (1) both pseudo enantiomers of the starting amines are inexpensive and available commercially (2) various quaternary ammonium salts can be easily prepared by the use of alkyl halides in a single step and (3) the olefin and hydroxyl functions are beneficial for further modification of the catalyst. In this chapter, the details of recent progress on asymmetric phase-transfer catalysis are described, with special focus on cinchona-derived ammonium salts, except for asymmetric alkylation in a-amino acid synthesis. 

The catalytic properties of the natural cinchona alkaloids are related to the presence of a basic tertiary amine function (of the quinucUdtne ring) and the hydrogen bonding properties of the hydroxyl group of the C9 site. In addition, the conformational behavior of these molecules is essential for their reactivily as bifunctional catalysts [12]. Four low-energy conformers were identified with NMR spectroscopy and computational techniques and shown to be interrelated by rotations about the C4 -C9 and C9-C8 bonds (Figure 6.4) [13,14]. 

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