Cuprate reagents

The most frequently used organocuprates are those m which the alkyl group is pri mary Steric hindrance makes secondary and tertiary dialkylcuprates less reactive and they tend to decompose before they react with the alkyl halide The reaction of cuprate reagents with alkyl halides follows the usual 8 2 order CH3 > primary > secondary > tertiary and I > Br > Cl > F p Toluenesulfonates are somewhat more reactive than halides Because the alkyl halide and dialkylcuprate reagent should both be primary m order to produce satisfactory yields of coupled products the reaction is limited to the formation of RCH2—CH2R and RCH2—CH3 bonds m alkanes... 

Suggest a combination of organic halide and cuprate reagent... 

The methodology used in the preparation of RU 486 (84) and other ll -steroids is shown. Conjugate addition of a cuprate reagent to the a,P-unsaturated epoxide (85) provides the liP-substituted steroid (86) stereospecificaHy (131). Subsequent steps lead to the synthesis of RU 486 (84). 

Since this original synthesis, a great number of improvements (191—201) have been made in the stereoselective preparation and derivatization of the CO-chain precursor, in cuprate reagent composition and preparation, in protecting group utilization, and in the preparation and resolution of hydroxycyclopentenones. Illustration of some of the many improvements are seen in a synthesis (202) of enisoprost, a PGE analogue. The improvements consist of a much more efficient route to the enone as well as modifications in the cuprate reactions. Preparation of the racemic enone is as follows ... 

Michael addition of dialkyl cuprate reagents to optically active 4-phenyl-l,3,4,6,7,8-hexahydropyrido[2,l-c][l,4]oxazin-l-one afforded stereoselec-tively 9-alkylperhydro derivatives 228 in a mixture Et20 and THF at -40 °C in the presence of Cul in good yields (99TL3699). 

Betlz has subsequently developed aniido [195] and phosphido [195, 196] mixed cuprate reagents featuring increased reactivity and greater thernial stability A use-... 

The synthetic problem is now reduced to cyclopentanone 16. This substance possesses two stereocenters, one of which is quaternary, and its constitution permits a productive retrosynthetic maneuver. Retrosynthetic disassembly of 16 by cleavage of the indicated bond furnishes compounds 17 and 18 as potential precursors. In the synthetic direction, a diastereoselective alkylation of the thermodynamic (more substituted) enolate derived from 18 with alkyl iodide 17 could afford intermediate 16. While trimethylsilyl enol ether 18 could arise through silylation of the enolate oxygen produced by a Michael addition of a divinyl cuprate reagent to 2-methylcyclopentenone (19), iodide 17 can be traced to the simple and readily available building blocks 7 and 20. The application of this basic plan to a synthesis of racemic estrone [( >1] is described below. 

The optically active iodide 153 (Scheme 43) can be conveniently prepared from commercially available methyl (S)-(+)-3-hydroxy-2-methylpropionate (154) (see Scheme 41). At this stage of the synthesis, our plan called for the conversion of 153 to a nucleophilic organometallic species, with the hope that the latter would combine with epoxide 152. As matters transpired, we found that the mixed higher order cuprate reagent derived from 153 reacts in the desired and expected way with epoxide 152, affording alcohol 180 in 88% yield this regioselective union creates the C12-C13 bond of rapamycin. 

The conversion of a thiolactone to a cyclic ether can also be used as a key step in the synthesis of functionalized, stereochemically complex oxacycles (see 64—>66, Scheme 13). Nucleophilic addition of the indicated higher order cuprate reagent to the C-S double bond in thiolactone 64 furnishes a tetrahedral thiolate ion which undergoes smooth conversion to didehydrooxepane 65 upon treatment with 1,4-diiodobutane and the non-nucleophilic base 1,2,2,6,6-pentamethylpiperidine (pempidine).27 Regio- and diastereoselective hydroboration of 65 then gives alcohol 66 in 89 % yield after oxidative workup. Versatile vinylstannanes can also be accessed from thiolactones.28 For example, treatment of bis(thiolactone) 67 with... 

It will be recalled that lactone-derived enol triflate 102 was expected to serve as a substrate for a Murai coupling37 with the mixed cuprate reagent derived from iodo ortho ester 103 (see Scheme 17c). If successful, this C-C bond forming process would accomplish the introduction of the remaining carbon atoms needed for the annulation of the seven-membered D-ring lactone. 

As well as the modified cuprate reagents, Grignard reagents in the presence of the highly sterically demanding methylaluminum bis(2,4,6-tri-fcrr-butylphenoxide) (MAT, 8) also show considerable anti-Cram selectivity35 36 (Table 9). 

The /J-amino aldehyde 1. readily available from aspartic acid, is configurationally very stable. No epimerization of the stereocenter is observed upon addition of Grignard Or cuprate reagents and the transformations display relatively high levels of 1,3-asymmetric induction73. This C-3-directing effect is superimposed upon the 1,2-directing effects of the C-2-substituents (Rl). 

Excellent selectivities are also observed with (CH,)2CuZnCl, Bti2CiiTi[OCH(CH3)2], and BnCu BF3. The reaction of a standard cuprate reagent, e.g., lithium dibutylcuprate, with ( )-l in tetrahydrofuran gives predominantly the SN2 product. 

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