Covalent template

Shanzer and Mayer-Shochet have utilized disubstituted stannoxanes as covalent templates for the formation of tetralactones. In this procedure, a dialkyl stannoxane is condensed with a glycol to form a cyclic-distannoxane as illustrated below. In a typical preparation, the distannoxane (i) was dissolved in CCI4 (ca. 0.04 At) at reflux and sebacoyl chloride (2 eq) was added dropwise at reflux. After heating for 20 h, the solution was concentrated to a solid. Chromatography afforded the tetralactone in 30% yield. ... 

Macrocyclic tetralactones. A method for preparation of these lactones (2) uses a stannoxane (1) as a covalent template (equation I). Formation of dilactones is not observed. 

Cryptophane synthesis is accomplished by one of two methods. Initial procedures employed a covalent template effect in which one CTV-derived bowl preorganised the cyclisation of the second under high dilution conditions (Scheme 6.16a). More recently, a much more straightforward procedure has been developed in which cryptophanes are formed directly in a double trimerisation reaction (Scheme 6.16b). 

In contrast, use of metalloid elements, such as silicon, tin antimony or boron, which can form weak covalent bonds with oxygen, nitrogen or sulfur substituents during the course of the reaction, results in templated products that may be obtained metal-free by simple hydrolysis. These covalent template reactions (the M—X bond is essentially covalent in these cases) also have the advantage that the... 

Scheme 10.2 Covalent template synthesis of an 18-membered macrocycle.

Preparation of the first rotaxanes was also accomplished by means of statistical threading of a chain through a cycle with following attaching of bulky substituents to the loose ends of the threaded chain [5], Statistical means of molecular threading were pushed out by much more efficient covalent templation procedures developed by Schill etal. [6,7],... 

It was not only for the basic scientific knowledge but also for the new challenges in the synthesis and the beauty of the final structures that nearly half a century ago, chemists started to investigate intertwined macrocyclic supramolecules such as rotaxanes and catenanes [4], Earlier, when the syntheses of such structures were at their infancy, the routes to such systems were troublesome. The statistical methods [5] proved to be low-yield processes. Multistep procedures [6] involving a covalent junction which is formed between two parts that are needed to stay together until the structure is complete were not convenient as well. The use of non-covalent templates thus provided a more straightforward and high-yield approach to the problem. 

These results show unambiguously that templates are an attractive alternative to the tedious precursor synthesis commonly used for the preparation of shape-persistent macrocydes. They allow the preparation of symmetrically and even of nonsymmetrically functionalized PAMs in high yields. Moreover, the increased amount of the shape-persistent macrocyde in the crude product simplifies the purification procedure in most cases. However, both the supramolecular and the covalent template approach require the presence of appropriate functional groups that bind (are bound) to the template. 

Fig. 8 The two applied approaches to catenane synthesis prior to 1983. (a) The first statistical synthesis [58] relied upon the macrocyclization of a linear compound (7) in the presence of a deuterated cycloalkane (III) to achieve small amounts of the catenane V. (b) The first example [59] of directed synthesis by covalent templation was a catenane that formed after cleaving the covalent bonds around the aromatic core in compound 16. Reproduced with permission from [58] (copyright 1960 American Chemical Society), [59] (copyright 1964 Wiley-VCH)...

Conventionally, MlPs are obtained by bulk co-polymerization from a mixture consisting of a functional monomer, cross-linker, chiral template, and a porogenic solvent mixture. Nowadays, imprinting via non-covalent template binding is preferred over the covalent mode and involves three major steps (see Fig. 9.9). (i) Functional monomers (e.g. methacrylic acid, MAA) and a cross-linker (e.g. ethyleneglycol dimethacrylate, EDMA) assemble around the enantiomeric print molecule, e.g. (S)-phenylalanine anilide (1), driven by non-covalent intermolecular interactions, e.g. ionic interactions, hydrogen bonding, dipole-dipole interaction. Tr-rt-interaction. (ii) By thermally or photochemi-... 

The breakthrough in catenane synthesis occurred when the statistical and covalent template methods were abandoned in favor of approaches that relied... 

Schwartz and Shanzer have used silicon as a metaloid template for the one-step synthesis of biomimetric macrocycles (Lifson et al., 1987). Silicon functions as a covalent template by forming weak bonds to the heteroatoms and can be easily removed using mild cpnditions. Silicon tetraisocyanate was reacted with ethylene glycol followed by carbonyl diimidazole to give a polycyclic product that was desiliconated with water. 

The use of a boron atom as a covalent template for intramolecularizing the Diels-Alder reaction has been relatively little investigated [20-22]. However Narasaka et al. have reported the use of a boronate template to control regio- and stereoselectivity in an IMDA reaction between anthrone 50 and methyl 4-hydroxybut-2-enoate 3 [20a]. Formation of the boronate tether was achieved by simply heating an equimolar mixture of phenylboronic acid with the diene and dienophile at reflux in pyridine with azeotropic removal of water. After 5 h, a single cycloadduct 51 was obtained in 81% yield. The tether was readily removed oxidatively affording the corresponding diol 52 in excellent yield (Scheme 10-19). 

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