Condensation Robinson annulation

Fig. 13.71. Tandem reaction I, consisting of a Michael addition and an aldol condensation Robinson annulation reaction for the synthesis of six-membered rings that are condensed to an existing ring.

The structural feature of an a, 3-unsaturated ketone or a (3-hydroxy ketone in a six-member ring suggests a double disconnection coupled with functional group interconversions [Michael addition followed by intramolecular aldol condensation Robinson annulation)]. 

In Summary -Dicarbonyl anions, like ordinary enolate anions, undergo Michael additions to a,/8-unsaturated carbonyl componnds. Addition of a /8-ketoester to an enone gives a diketone, which can generate six-membered rings by intramolecular aldol condensation (Robinson annulation). 

Robinson Annulation Sequential Michael addition/aldol condensation between a ketone enolate and an alkyl vinyl ketone (i.e. MVK) to give a cyclohex-2-en-l-one... 

The synthesis of cyclohexenone derivatives by Michael addition followed by intramolec ular aldol condensation is called the Robinson annulation, after Sir Robert Robinson who popularized its use By annulatwn we mean the building of a ring onto some start mg molecule (The alternative spelling annelation is also often used)... 

Robinson annulation (Section 18.13) A combination of conjugate addition of an enolate anion to an a,p-unsaturated ketone with subsequent intramolecular aldol condensation. 

Robinson annulation (Section 18.13) The combination of a Michael addition and an intramolecular aldol condensation used as a synthetic method for ring formation. 

Davis and co-workers have carried out the first examples of the Knoevenagel condensation and Robinson annulation reactions [61] in the ionic liquid [HMIM][PFg] (HMIM = l-hexyl-3-methylimidazolium) (Scheme 5.1-33). The Knoevenagel condensation involved the treatment of propane-1,3-dinitrile with a base (glycine) to generate an anion. This anion added to benzaldehyde and, after loss of a water molecule, gave l,l-dicyano-2-phenylethene. The product was separated from the ionic liquid by extraction with toluene. 

Scheme 5.1-33 The Knoevenagel condensation and the Robinson annulation in [HMIM][PFg],...

Carbonyl condensation reactions are perhaps the most versatile methods available for synthesizing complex molecules. By putting a few fundamental reactions together in the proper sequence, some remarkably useful transformations can be carried out. One such example is the Robinson annulation reaction for tire synthesis of polycyclic molecules. The word annulation comes from the Latin annulus, meaning "ring," so an annulation reaction builds a new ring onto a molecule. 

The first step of the Robinson annulation is simply a Michael reaction. An enamine or an enolate ion from a jS-keto ester or /3-diketone effects a conjugate addition to an a-,/3-unsaturated ketone, yielding a 1,5-diketone. But as we saw in Section 23.6,1,5-diketones undergo intramolecular aldol condensation to yield cyclohexenones when treated with base. Thus, the final product contains a six-membered ring, and an annulation has been accomplished. An example occurs during the commercial synthesis of the steroid hormone estrone (figure 23.9). 

In this example, the /3-diketone 2-methyJ-l,3-cyclopentanedione is used to generate the enolate ion required for Michael reaction and an aryl-substituted a,/3-unsaturated ketone is used as the acceptor. Base-catalyzed Michael reaction between the two partners yields an intermediate triketone, which then cyclizes in an intramolecular aldol condensation to give a Robinson annulation product. Several further transformations are required to complete the synthesis of estrone. 

The condensation of an ester enolate and a ketone can be used as part of a Robinson annulation-like sequence (see 16-38). 

One-pot syntheses of diaryl-a-tetralones by Michael condensation and subsequent Robinson annulation reactions of isophorone with chalcones were performed efficiently in a solvent-free PTC system under the action of MW irradiation. Compared with conventional heating substantial rate enhancements were observed, within very short reaction times, by use of microwaves (Eq. 59 and Tab. 5.31). They were far better than those achieved by the classical method (NaOEt in EtOH under reflux for 24 h 40-56%). 

Strategies based on two consecutive specific reactions or the so-called "tandem methodologies" very useful for the synthesis of polycyclic compounds. Classical examples of such a strategy are the "Robinson annulation" which involves the "tandem Michael/aldol condensation" [32] and the "tandem cyclobutene electrocyclic opening/Diels-Alder addition" [33] so useful in the synthesis of steroids. To cite a few new methodologies developed more recently we may refer to the stereoselective "tandem Mannich/Michael reaction" for the synthesis of piperidine alkaloids [34], the "tandem cycloaddition/radical cyclisation" [35] which allows a quick assembly of a variety of ring systems in a completely intramolecular manner or the "tandem anionic cyclisation approach" of polycarbocyclic compounds [36]. 

The reactions described in this chapter include some of the most useful synthetic methods for carbon-carbon bond formation the aldol and Claisen condensations, the Robinson annulation, and the Wittig reaction and related olefination methods. All of these reactions begin by the addition of a carbon nucleophile to a carbonyl group. The product which is isolated depends on the nature of the substituent (X) on the carbon nucleophile, the substituents (A and B) on the carbonyl group, and the ways in which A, B, and X interact to control the reaction pathways available to the addition intermediate. 

The sequence that follows illustrates how a conjugate aldol addition (Michael addition) followed by a simple aldol condensation may be used to build one ring onto another. This procedure is known as the Robinson annulation (ring forming) reaction (after the English chemist Sir Robert Robinson, who won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1947 for his research on naturally occurring compounds). 

Aldol reactions are often used to close five- and six-membered rings. Because of the favorable entropy (p. 211), such ring closures generally take place with ease, even where a ketone condenses with a ketone. An important example is the Robinson annulation reaction which has often been used in the synthesis of steroids and terpenes. In this reaction a cyclic ketone is converted to another cyclic ketone, with one additional six-membered ring containing a double bond. The substrate is treated with methyl vinyl ketone (or a simple derivative of methyl vinyl ketone) and a base.551 The enolate ion of the substrate adds to the methyl vinyl ketone in a Michael reaction (5-17) to give a diketone that undergoes or... 

A much more generally useful process was developed by Robinson to prepare cyclohexenones from ketones and methyl vinyl ketone or its derivatives. Again, because good compilations of the Robinson annulation exist,8 only a few examples are given here. The first step of this process, the Michael addition, is carried out by normal base catalysis, while the second step, the aldol condensation, is best accomplished by the use of a secondary amine to form the enamine of the acyclic ketone, which then cyclizes... 

The aldol condensation is the second step of the Robinson Annulation. 

The Robinson Annulation is a useful reaction for the formation of six-membered rings in polycyclic compounds, such as steroids. It combines two reactions the Michael Addition and the Aldol Condensation... 

Enolate D of Figure 13.71 can undergo an aldol reaction with the C=0 double bond of the ketone. The bicyclic compound A is formed as the condensation product. It is often possible to combine the formation and the consecutive reaction of a Michael adduct in a one-pot reaction. The overall reaction then is an annulation of a cyclohexenone to an enolizable ketone. The reaction sequence of Figure 13.71 is the Robinson annulation, an extraordinarily important synthesis of six-membered rings. 

The Michael reaction in combination with an aldol condensation provides a useful method for the construction of six-membered rings in a process termed the Robinson annulation. In the following example a tertiary amine is used as the base to catalyze the conjugate addition. Then, treatment with sodium hydroxide causes an intramolecular aldol condensation to occur. 

This is an example of a Robinson annulation. The mechanism for the Robinson annulation involves a sequence of conjugate addition reactions and aldol condensations. As illustrated, the first step is deprotonation of cyclohexanedione with sodium hydride. The resulting anion then participates in a 1,4-addition to methyl vinyl ketone. The resulting enolate anion then tautomerizes through... 

It is not difficult to predict the products of the Robinson annulation and to draw the mechanisms if you remember that the Michael addition is first, followed by an aldol condensation with dehydration to give a cyclohexenone. 

Formation of a cyclohexenone ring by condensation of methyl vinyl ketone (MVK) or a substituted MVK derivative with a ketone. Robinson annulation proceeds by Michael addition to MVK, followed by an aldol condensation with dehydration, (p. 1088)... 

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