Cyanides, acyl formation

Other less commonly used coupling reagents include EEDQ (formation of mixed carboxylic carbonic anhydrides), Bop-Cl (formation of mixed carboxylic phosphinic anhydrides [52,53]), DPPA (formation of acyl azides), DECP (formation of acyl cyanides), MSNT (formation of mixed carboxylic sulfonic anhydrides), and benzisoxazo-lium salts (generation of phenyl esters [54]). 

Synthesis of the remaining half of the molecule starts with the formation of the monomethyl ether (9) from orcinol (8). The carbon atom that is to serve as the bridge is introduced as an aldehyde by formylation with zinc cyanide and hydrochloric acid (10). The phenol is then protected as the acetate. Successive oxidation and treatment with thionyl chloride affords the protected acid chloride (11). Acylation of the free phenol group in 7 by means of 11 affords the ester, 12. The ester is then rearranged by an ortho-Fries reaction (catalyzed by either titanium... 

The lithium enolate 2a (M = Li ) prepared from the iron propanoyl complex 1 reacts with symmetrical ketones to produce the diastercomers 3 and 4 with moderate selectivity for diastereomer 3. The yields of the aldol adducts are poor deprotonation of the substrate ketone is reported to be the dominant reaction pathway45. However, transmetalation of the lithium enolate 2a by treatment with one equivalent of copper cyanide at —40 C generates the copper enolate 2b (M = Cu ) which reacts with symmetrical ketones at — 78 °C to selectively produce diastereomer 3 in good yield. Diastereomeric ratios in excess of 92 8 are reported with efficient stereoselection requiring the addition of exactly one equivalent of copper cyanide at the transmetalation step45. Small amounts of triphcnylphosphane, a common trace impurity remaining from the preparation of these iron-acyl complexes, appear to suppress formation of the copper enolate. Thus, the starting iron complex must be carefully purified. 

The reaction between dialkyl phosphorocyanatidite and acyl cyanides in dichloro-methane at 0 °C parallels that between the same phosphite and 1,2-dicarbonyl compounds, and is probably initiated by attack of tervalent phosphorus on the carbonyl group the formation of O- and V-alkyl products, (30) and (29), is an indication of the probable nature (28) of an intermediate.25 The extension of the reaction (see Organophosphorus Chemistry , Vol. 7, pp. 108, 126) to include ethyl phosphorodicyanatidite and 1-keto-esters provides a route to the 5-phosphabicyclo-[3,2,0]heptanes (31) in high yields.26... 

The benzoin reaction dates back to 1832 when Wohler and Liebig reported that cyanide catalyzes the formation of benzoin 6 from benzaldehyde 5, a seminal example in which the normal mode of polarity of a functional group was reversed (Eq. 1) [26], This reversal of polarity, subsequently termed Umpolung [27], effectively changes an electrophilic aldehyde into a nucleophilic acyl anion equivalent. 

The most frequently used method for the preparation of isoquinoline Reissert compounds is treatment of an isoquinoline with acyl chloride and potassium cyanide in water or in a dichloromethane-water solvent system. Though this method could be successfully applied in a great number of syntheses, it has also some disadvantages. First, the starting isoquinoline and the Reissert compound formed in the reaction are usually insoluble in water. Second, in the case of reactive acyl halides the hydrolysis of this reaction partner may became dominant. Third, the hydroxide ion present could compete with the cyanide ion as a nucleophile to produce a pseudobase instead of Reissert compound. To decrease the pseudobase formation phase-transfer catalysts have been used successfully in the case of the dichloromethane-water solvent system, resulting in considerably increased yields of the Reissert compound. To avoid the hydrolysis of reactive acid halides in some cases nonaqueous media have been applied, e.g., acetonitrile, acetone, dioxane, benzene, while utilizing hydrogen cyanide or trimethylsilyl cyanide as reactants instead of potassium cyanide. 

Preparation of the anticonvulsant agent lamotigrine (91-3) illustrates an alternate approach to 1,2,4-triazines. Condensation of acyl cyanide (91-1) with dicyanamide gives imine (91-2) as the initial product. Treatment of that intermediate with a base leads to the addition of the guanidino anion to the nitrile and thus the formation of the triazine ring [92]. 

The double bonds in certain heterocyclic compounds, such as furans, Af-acylpyrroles and A-acylindoles are also susceptible to photoaddition of carbonyl compounds to form oxetanes (equation 106) (77JHC1777). A wide range of carbonyl compounds can be used, including quinones, a-diketones, acyl cyanides, perfluorinated aldehydes and ketones and esters. A remarkable case of asymmetric induction in oxetane formation has been reported from optically active menthyl phenylglyoxylate and 2,3-dimethyl-2-butene the oxetane product obtained after hydrolysis of the ester group had an optical purity of 53% (79AG(E)868). 

The apparent fickleness of the acyl-pyrroles and -indoles in their reaction with carbanions to form new C—C bonds arises from the contribution made by the zwitterionic structure, e.g. (410b), to the resonance hybrid and the choice of the reaction conditions is critical for a successful nucleophilic reaction. Thus, formyl-pyrroles and -indoles do not normally undergo the Cannizzaro reaction nor do they form stable cyanohydrins or undergo benzoin-type reactions. However, surprisingly, 2-formylpyrrole reacts with arylaldehydes in the presence of potassium cyanide to yield (428), which is easily oxidized to (429) (B-77MI30505). It is noteworthy that the presence of an ester substituent adjacent to the formyl group modifies the mesomeric interaction to such an extent to allow the formation of (430) in low yield, as a result of an initial benzoin-type self-condensation (Scheme 76) (68BSF637). 

The versatility of 5-nitrosopyrimidines in pteridine syntheses was noticed by Pachter (64MI21603) during modification of the Timmis condensation between (262) and benzyl methyl ketone simple condensation leads to 4-amino-7-methyl-2,6-diphenylpteridine (264) but in the presence of cyanide ion 4,7-diamino-2,6-diphenylpteridine (265) is formed (equation 90). The mechanism of this reaction is still uncertain (63JOC1187) it may involve an oxidation of an intermediate hydroxylamine derivative, nitrone formation similar to the Krohnke reaction, or nucleophilic addition of the cyanide ion to the Schiff s base function (266) followed by cyclization to a 7-amino-5,6-dihydropteridine derivative (267), oxidation to a quinonoid-type product (268) and loss of the acyl group (equation 91). Extension of these principles to a-aryl- and a-alkyl-acetoacetonitriles omits the oxidation step and gives higher yields, and forms 6-alkyl-7-aminopteridines, which cannot be obtained directly from simple aliphatic ketones. 

Not surprisingly, active M11O2 is able to oxidize unsaturated cyanohydrins, resulting in the generation of acyl cyanides. Interestingly, both the formation of the cyanohydrins by reaction of aldehydes with cyanide, and the hydrolysis of acyl cyanides with MeOH, resulting in the formation of methyl esters, can be carried out in situ with the MnC>2 oxidation. Thus, Corey et al. proved68 that aldehydes can be directly transformed into methyl esters by treatment with NaCN and active MnC>2 in a mixture of acetic acid and methanol. This represents a useful protocol for the oxidation of unsaturated aldehydes to esters. 

Cyanohydrin derivatives have also been widely used as acyl anion synthons. They are prepared from carbonyl compounds by addition of hydrogen cyanide. A very useful variant is to use trimethylsilyl cyanide with an aldehyde to produce a trimethylsilyloxy cyanide. The cyano group acidifies the a position (pKA 25) and the a proton can be removed by a strong base. Alkylation of the anion and unmasking of the hydroxy group cause elimination of cyanide and re-formation of the carbonyl group. 

Because the iron-catalyzed formation of diaryl ketones oftengives low yields, Knochel s group tackled this problem by introducing aroyl cyanides as alternative acylation agents [61]. These types of compounds are more powerful in acylation... 

Simple /V-a Iky I a ted imines, e.g. V-methylaldimine (18, R1 = aryl, alkyl), undergo nucleophilic addition using a masked acyl cyanide reagent [19, where the masked group = —C(CN)2—O—] with C-C bond formation to give an a-amido ester (20).78 This mild conversion does not require pre-activation (i.e. incorporation of an activating group in the substrate) or post-activation (i.e. Brpnsted or Lewis acid, or metallic species). 

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