Conjugate Michael/aldol reaction

The asymmetric conjugate additions with thiol nucleophiles was further expanded to 2-mercaptobenzaldehydes [98]. Wang had previously developed a domino Michael-aldol reaction promoted by Cinchona alkaloids, and now illustrated the utihty of cyclohexane-diamine bifunctionalized catalysts for the domino... 

Michael-aldol reactions.1 In the presence of (C6H5)3CC104, the conjugate adducts of silyl enol ethers to enones can undergo aldol reactions to provide y-acy 1-8-hydroxy ketones. 

In another study Feringa et al. [20] reported a catalytic enantioselective three-component tandem conjugate addition-aldol reaction of dialkyl zincs. Here, zinc enolates were generated in situ via catalytic enantioselective Michael addition of dialkylzinc compounds to cydohexenone in the presence of a chiral Cu catalyst. Their diastereoselective reaction with an aldehyde then gave trans-2,3-disubstituted cyclohexanones in up to 92% yields and up to >99% ees (Scheme 9.11). 

Michael-aldol reaction as an alternative to the Morita-Baylis-Hillman reaction 14 recent results in conjugate addition of nitroalkanes to electron-poor alkenes 15 asymmetric cyclopropanation of chiral (l-phosphoryl)vinyl sulfoxides 16 synthetic methodology using tertiary phosphines as nucleophilic catalysts in combination with allenoates or 2-alkynoates 17 recent advances in the transition metal-catalysed asymmetric hydrosilylation of ketones, imines, and electrophilic C=C bonds 18 Michael additions catalysed by transition metals and lanthanide species 19 recent progress in asymmetric organocatalysis, including the aldol reaction, Mannich reaction, Michael addition, cycloadditions, allylation, epoxidation, and phase-transfer catalysis 20 and nucleophilic phosphine organocatalysis.21... 

This sequential process of Michael-aldol reaction leading to a new six-membered ring is known as the Robinson annelation. It was, in fact, Robinson who invented the idea of using a Mannich product in conjugate additions because he wanted to develop this important reaction. There are now thousands of examples used to make all kinds of compounds, especially steroids (Chapter 49). 

Michael-aldol reaction tandem. Addition of lithium benzenethiolate to conjugated esters in the presence of aldehydes is followed by an aldol reaction in a stereoselective manner. 

Cinchona-alkaloid-catalysed conjugate cyanation of enones has enabled the synthesis of trifluoromethyl-substituted diarylpyrroles with ee<96%P° Thiochro-manes have been formed by asymmetric domino sulfa-Michael-aldol reactions of 2-mercaptobenzaldehyde with a,/ -unsaturated A-acylpyrazoles. Asymmetric organocatalysed oxy-Michael addition to y-hydroxy a,/ -unsaturated thioesters on reaction with t-BuCHO has been used to form -hydroxy carbonyl compounds HOCH2C H(OH)CH2CO.SAr via cyclic hemiacetal intermediates. 

The reaction of a cyclic ketone—e.g. cyclohexanone 1—with methyl vinyl ketone 2 resulting in a ring closure to yield a bicyclic a ,/3-unsaturated ketone 4, is called the Robinson annulation This reaction has found wide application in the synthesis of terpenes, and especially of steroids. Mechanistically the Robinson annulation consists of two consecutive reactions, a Michael addition followed by an Aldol reaction. Initially, upon treatment with a base, the cyclic ketone 1 is deprotonated to give an enolate, which undergoes a conjugate addition to the methyl vinyl ketone, i.e. a Michael addition, to give a 1,5-diketone 3 ... 

After the initial two reports of Rh- and Co-catalyzed reductive aldol couplings, further studies did not appear in the literature until the late 1990s. Beyond 1998, several stereoselective and enantioselective reductive aldol reactions were developed, which are catalyzed by a remarkably diverse range of metal complexes, including those based upon Pd, Cu, Ir, and In. In this chapter, transition metal-catalyzed aldol, Michael, and Mannich reactions that proceed via transition metal hydride-promoted conjugate reduction are reviewed. 

Hydroxycoumarin can be considered as an enol tautomer of a 1,3-dicarbonyl compound conjugation with the aromatic ring favours the enol tautomer. This now exposes its potential as a nucleophile. Whilst we may begin to consider enolate anion chemistry, no strong base is required and we may formulate a mechanism in which the enol acts as the nucleophile, in a simple aldol reaction with formaldehyde. Dehydration follows and produces an unsaturated ketone, which then becomes the electrophile in a Michael reaction (see Section 10.10). The nucleophile is a second molecule of 4-hydroxycoumarin. 

The reaction is considered as a combination of a Michael reaction, the conjugate addition of an enolate anion on to an unsaturated carbonyl compound, plus an aldol reaction followed by elimination of water. 

Enamine nucleophiles react readily with soft conjugated electrophiles, such as a, 3-unsaturated carbonyl, nitro, and sulfonyl compounds [20-22], Both aldehydes and ketones can be used as donors (Schemes 27 and 28). These Michael-type reactions are highly useful for the construction of carbon skeletons and often the yields are very high. The problem, however, is the enantioselectivity of the process. Unlike the aldol and Mannich reactions, where even simple proline catalyst can effectively direct the addition to the C = O or C = N bond by its carboxylic acid moiety, in conjugate additions the charge develops further away from the catalyst (Scheme 26) ... 

Enantioselective organocatalytic conjugate additions such as Michael and aldol reactions have been intensely studied under new catalysts. However, only a few organocatalyzed Michael reactions have been developed. The reaction involves construction of a new C-N bond that is very attractive for syntheses of molecules with biological properties. 

Wang identified a series of Michael/Michael and Michael/aldol sequences catalysed by diarylprolinol ethers that led directly to densely functionalised five-mem-bered rings [172-174]. For example, highly diastereoselective and enantioselective double Michael addition reactions were achieved by treatment of a,p-unsaturated aldehydes with triester 113 catalysed by 30 (Scheme 45). Initial conjugate addition... 

Scheme 4.15 Examples of promiscuous enzymatic reactions conducted with the oxyanion hole of Candida antarctica lipase B (a) the aldol reaction [104] (b) the conjugate addition reaction (Michael addition) [105] (c) the epoxidation reaction [106],...

A good example is the first step in a synthesis of the natural product himalchene by Oppolzer and Snowden. Even though the ester and the aldehyde are both crowded with substituents, the aldol reaction works well with the lithium enoiate of the ester. The cyclic mechanism ensures that the enoiate adds directly to the carbonyl group of the aldehyde and not in a conjugate (Michael) fashion. 

Conditions for aldol reactions are very similar to those required for conjugate addition so that it is not unusual for conjugate addition and cyclization to occur sequentially without isolation of any intermediates. When we described one Michael addition a few pages back, we were not telling you the whole truth. The product isolated from this reaction was actually the enone from cyclization. 

This catalytic cascade was first realized using propanal, nitrostyrene and cinnamaldehyde in the presence of catalytic amounts of (9TMS-protected diphenylprolinol ((.S )-71,20 mol%), which is capable of catalyzing each step of this triple cascade. In the first step, the catalyst (S)-71 activates component A by enamine formation, which then selectively adds to the nitroalkene B in a Michael-type reaction (Hayashi et al. 2005). The following hydrolysis liberates the catalyst, which is now able to form the iminium ion of the a, 3-unsaturated aldehyde C to accomplish in the second step the conjugate addition of the nitroalkane (Prieto et al. 2005). In the subsequent third step, a further enamine reactivity of the proposed intermediate leads to an intramolecular aldol condensation. Hydrolysis returns the catalyst for further cycles and releases the desired tetrasubstituted cyclohexene carbaldehyde 72 (Fig. 8) (Enders and Hiittl 2006). 

Apart form the aforementioned highly enantioselective hetero-Diels-Alder reactions, that proceed with very low catalyst loadings, the catalytically accessible enolates have also been used for related intramolecular Michael reactions (Philips et al. 2007) and for the desym-metrization of 1,3-diketones yielding cyclopentenes via an intramolecular aldol reaction (Wadamoto et al. 2007). The formation of cyclopentenes, however, presents a special case, so—depending on the stereochemical nature of the enone substrates (s-cis or s-trans) and the stereochemistry of the final products—two different mechanisms are discussed in the literature. Whereas /ran.v-cycl open (cries are proposed to be available upon conjugate addition of a homoenolate to chalcones,... 

The process mechanism as shown in Figure 2.23 consists of an initial activation of the aldehyde (66) by the catalyst [(5)-67] with the formation of the corresponding chiral enamine, which then, selectively, adds to nitroalkene (65) in a Michael-type reaction. The following hydrolysis liberates the catalyst, which forms the iminium ion of the a,(3-unsaturated aldehyde (62) to accomplish the conjugate addition with the nitroalkane A. In the third step, another enamine activation of the intermediate B leads to an intramolecular aldol condensation via C. Finally, the hydrolysis of it returns the catalyst and releases the desired chiral tetra-substituted cyclohexene carbaldehyde (68). 

Because of the stability of iron tricarbonyl diene complexes, conjugated dienals are protected from polymerization when complexed, while other reactions can be carried out at the aldehyde functionaUty. A number of synthetically attractive nucleophilic transformations of the aldehyde can be performed on these complexes. These include, aldol reactions, Michael additions, reactions with organozinc, -silicon, -boron, and -tin... 

The RuH2(PPh3)4-catalyzed addition of active methylene compounds can also be applied to conjugate additions to a,/3-unsaturated carbonyl compounds (Michael additions). In 1989, Murahashi reported the first example of the transition metal-catalyzed Michael addition of active methylene compounds [74]. One of the notable advances of this catalytic reaction is that the addition of C-H bonds to a,/3-unsaturat-ed carbonyl compounds give Michael adducts without contamination by the corresponding aldol products (Eq. 9.56) [74]. Recently, Murahashi applied their aldol and Michael addition reactions to a solid-phase synthesis using polymer-supported nitriles (Scheme 9.12) [76]. In this case, four component reactions took place with high diastereoselectivity. 

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