Cross-benzoin condensation

P. Dtinkelmann, D. Kolter-Jung, A. Nitsche, A. S. Demir, P. Siegert, B. Lingen, M. Baumann, M. Pohl, M. Muller, Development of a donor-acceptor concept for enzymatic cross-coupling reactions of aldehydes, the first asymmetric cross-benzoin condensation. f Am. Chem. Soc. 2002, 124, 12084-12085. 

Starting from the findings of the racemic cross-benzoin condensation [66], and assuming that aldehydes not accepted as donor substrates might still be suitable acceptor substrates, and vice versa, a mixed enzyme-substrate screening was performed in order to identify a biocatalytic system for the asymmetric cross-carboligation of aromatic aldehydes. For this purpose the reactions of 2-chloro-(40a), 2-methoxy- (40b) and 2-methylbenzaldehyde (40c), respectively, were studied with different enzymes in combination with benzaldehyde (Scheme 2.2.7.23) [67]. The three ortho-substituted benzaldehyde derivatives 40a-40c were... 

The selective donor-acceptor concept can be transferred to other ThDP-dependent enzymes. For example, enantiopure mixed benzoins were obtained when 2-chlorobenzaldehyde reacted with a variety of selective donor aldehydes in the presence of BAL [67]. By performing various cross-benzoin condensation reactions with this enzyme, not only new selective donors but also additional aldehydes reacting selectively as acceptors, such as 2-iodobenzaldehyde or 2,6-difluorobenzaldehyde, could be identified. Again all the mixed benzoins generated exhibited an R-configuration and were obtained with high to excellent enantiomeric excesses [69]. 

The selectivity is caused not only by the electronic properties of the substrates which are dependent on the nature of their substituents, as is the case in the chemical cross-benzoin condensation. Rather, steric demands of the aldehyde substituents and interactions of these with the active site of the biocatalyst, which (obviously) is different for each enzyme used, are also of significance. 

Unfortunately, the chiral bicyclic triazolium salt that had been found to be an excellent catalyst for the enantioselective intermolecular benzoin condensation proved to be ineffective in the intramolecular reaction. In searching for alternative catalysts, we synthesized the novel triazolium salts 19 and 20, starting from easily accessible enantiopure polycyclic y-lactams (Schemes 9.4 and 9.5) that finally delivered good results in the enantioselective intramolecular cross-benzoin condensation [35]. 

The precatalyst 20 led to excellent results in the enantioselective intramolecular crossed benzoin condensation of the aldehyde ketones 24, as shown in Scheme 9.6. The quaternary stereocenter of the acyloins 25 was created with good to very good yields and excellent ee-values. (For experimental details see Chapter 14.20.1). The precatalyst 19 proved to be even more active, and the yields were consistently excellent, albeit accompanied by lower ee-values (63-84%). 

The substrates of the enantioselective intramolecular crossed benzoin condensation were varied to widen the scope of the reaction. Promising results were... 

Duenkelmann, P., Kolter-Jung, D., Nitsche, A., Demir, A. S., Siegert, P., Lingen, B., Baumann, M., Pohl, M., Mueller, M. Development of a Donor-Acceptor Concept for Enzymatic Cross-Coupling Reactions of Aldehydes The First Asymmetric Cross-Benzoin Condensation. J. 

From two conjugated carbonyl compounds the cross-benzoin condensation initiated by a chiral azolecarbene (199) sets up a sequence of oxy-Cope rearrangement, aldol reaction and decarboxylation/ ... 

Melchione s team reported the asymmetric catalysis of Diels-Alder reactions of IQDs (Scheme 11, equation 1) [69, 70], In addition to other nitro-substituted arylethenes, methyleneindolinones were employed as dienophiles. A limited selection of the compounds synthesized is shown in Scheme 11 (30-32). The third compound (32) is the result of a final cross-benzoin condensation. Chen and colleagues effected an asymmetric Diels-Alder reaction of IQDs (33) generated under mild acidic conditions from 2-methyl-3-indolemethanols and a,p-unsaturated aldehydes (equation 2) [71], Three representative indoles that were prepared in this fashion are 34 to 36. The IQD 33 is presumed to be in equilibrium with the 3-vinylindolenium species. A wide range of substituted trani-cinnamalde-hydes was successfully employed. Although other acids (HOAc, TFA, PhCO H, silica gel) effected the reaction, Montmorillonite KIO clay was superior in terms of yield, enantioselectivity, and diastereoselectivity. 

A review of the asymmetric Stetter and asymmetric benzoin reactions focuses mainly on two classes of highly successful catalysts NHCs and metallophosphites. A new NHC, pyrido[l,2-a]-2-ethyl[l,2,4]triazol-3-ylidene (99), is a powerful catalyst of benzoin condensation in the presence of potassium f-butoxide. A DFT study of the mechanism suggests that the f-butanol solvent is explicitly involved. o-Phthalaldehyde chalcones (100) undergo intramolecular aldehyde-ketone crossed-benzoin condensation to naphthalenone tertiary alcohols (101) in yields up to 94%, in 20 min, using NHC catalysis. ... 

In 2012, Melchiorre et al. reported a novel stereoselective access to chiral frans-fused tetracyclic indole-based products having four stereogenic centres on the basis of a multicatalytic tandem Diels-Alder-benzoin reaction involving JV-Boc protected 3-(2-methyl-indol-3-yl)acrylaldehyde derivative and fra s-l,2-dibenzoylethylene derivative as substrates." As shown in Scheme 2.32, the process was successively induced by chiral diphenylproli-nol trimethylsilyl ether in the presence of bullgr 2,4,6-trimethylbenzoic acid (TMBA) as co-catalyst for the Diels-Alder reaction (trienamine catalysis), and an AT-heterocyclic carbene for the following cross-benzoin condensation... 

The cross-benzoin reaction between two different aldehydes typically produces a statistical mixture of products, although in some cases a single thermodynamic product predominates. A number of approaches have been developed to circumvent the limitations of the cross-benzoin reaction. In one approach, a thiamine diphosphate-dependent enzyme is used to promote a selective cross-benzoin reaction, often with high levels of asymmetric induction. In other approaches, one aldehyde coupling partner is replaced with a selective acyl donor. Cyanohydrin derivatives have proven to be ideal preformed acyl donors, and their use constitutes a stepwise benzoin condensation that is stoichiometric in cyanide. The discovery that acylsilanes can serve as cyanohydrin precursors has led to the development of a highly selective cyanide-catalyzed cross-benzoin condensation. By employing a chiral metallophosphite catalyst instead of potassium cyanide, good to excellent levels of asymmetric induction are possible. 

Modified benzoin condensations in which the acyl acceptor is not an aldehyde constitute a variation of the classical cross-benzoin condensation. Aldehydes and ketones can be coupled in an intramolecular annulation reaction to give tertiary a-hydroxyketones. The selective cross-coupling of... 

The cross-benzoin condensation often results in the production of mixtures of products, although a small number of specific aldehyde pairs have been identified to participate in selective cross-benzoin condensations. Eor example, the reaction of 3-ethoxy-4-methoxybenzaldehyde (11) and 2-chlorobenzaldehyde (12) in 1 1 stoichiometry provides 2 -chloro-3-ethoxy-4-methoxybenzoin 13 in high yield. These selective reactions are generally believed to be under thermodynamic control, with the predominant product containing the electron-rich aryl ring adjacent to the ketone. Investigations... 

Chiral metallophosphites were found to be effective catalysts of the acylsilane/aldehyde cross-benzoin condensation in work reported by Johnson and co-workers. The TADDOL-derived catalyst 21 is very effective for the preparation of aryl-aryl cross benzoin products, with yields from 65-87% and enantiomeric purities from 81-91% ee. The more difficult aryl-alkyl, and alkyl-aryl cross-benzoin products can also be generated, with yields from 72-88% and enantiomeric purities from 41-73% ee. 

Later, the same group expanded this chemistry further by developing a cascade Michael addition/cross-benzoin condensation sequence of enolizable aldehydes 43 and activated enones 44 [27]. The reaction proceeded by means of enamine activation of aliphatic aldehydes to induce an asymmetric Michael addition to activated enones followed by an intramolecular cross-benzoin condensation (Scheme 9.30). Compared with their previous work, complex cyclopentanones with complementary substitution patterns were observed. Screening of the reaction parameters revealed that the chiral triazolium catalyst was necessary to ensure a satisfactory stereochemical outcome. Further mechanistic insights indicated that the high diasteroselectivity observed attributed to the secondary amine-induced epimerizing of the a-position of intermediate aldehyde 89. 

The generation and NMR spectroscopic characterization of diverse Breslow intermediates (121), that is, 2,2-diaminoenols, have been reported/or the first time by noixing stoichiometric amounts of the saturated carbene and an aldehyde. The reactivity, as acyl anion equivalents, of the so-generated Breslow intermediates (121) has been further demonstrated in cross-benzoin condensation reactions. 

---