Cyanohydrin amino acid formation

Reaction of cyanohydrin 4 with ammonia leads to formation of a-amino nitrile 2, which can easily be hydrolyzed to give the corresponding a-amino acid 3 ... 

There are expressions of uncertainty concerning the mechanism of the first step of the Strecker amino acid synthesis13-17. The reaction can proceed via the formation of an imine and subsequent nucleophilic attack of cyanide (path ). Alternatively, it has been speculated that the reaction of the aldehyde with hydrogen cyanide furnishes a cyanohydrin (path ), which then is subjected to a nucleophilic displacement of the hydroxy group by the amino function. 

Like the Strecker synthesis, the Ugi reaction also involves a nucleophilic addition to an imine as the crucial step in which the stereogenic center of an a-amino acid derivative is formed4. The Ugi reaction, also denoted as a four-component condensation (A), is related to the older Passerini reaction5 (B) in an analogous fashion as the Strecker synthesis is to cyanohydrin formation. In both the Ugi and the Passerini reaction, an isocyanide takes the role of cyanide. 

Reactions of cyanide with the salts or esters of some amino acids (e.g., pyruvate, a-ketoglutarate, oxaloacetate) lead to formation of cyanohydrin intermediates and their incorporation into intermediary metabolism. 

Some insoluble organic macromolecules catalyze polar organic reactions (7). Asymmetric cyanohydrin formation is catalyzed by ami-nated cellulose with 22% optical yield and is an early example of this type of catalysis (8). Polypeptides that create a unique microenvironment through hydrogen bonding catalyze many organic reactions. Poly-[(S)-amino acids] accelerate the epoxidation of chalcone with alkaline... 

Four mechanisms have been advanced for the prebiotic formation of amino acids. The first involves a cyanohydrin (reaction 2) and a related route (reaction 3) can be invoked to account for the presence of hydroxy acids. These particular reactions have been studied in considerable detail both kinetically and in terms of thermodynamic quantities.347 An alternative route (4) involves the hydrolysis of a-aminonitriles, which are themselves formed directly in anhydrous CH4/NH3 mixtures.344 Cyanoacetylene, formed in CH4/N2 irradiations,349 yields significant amounts of asparagine and aspartic acids (reaction 5). Finally, a number of workers336,350"354 have proposed that HCN oligomers, especially the trimer aminoacetonitrile and the tetramer diaminomaleonitrile, could have been important precursors for amino acid synthesis. Reaction mixtures involving such species have yielded up to 12 amino acids. Table 11 indicates the range of amino acids produced in these kinds of sparking syntheses. Of some interest is the fact that close parallels between these kinds of experiments and amino acid contents of carbonaceous chondrite meteorites exist.331,355,356... 

The hydroxynitrile lyase (HNL) class of enzymes, also referred to as oxynitrilases, consists of enzymes that catalyze the formation of chiral cyanohydrins by the stereospecific addition of hydrogen cyanide (HCN) to aldehydes and ketones (Scheme 19.36).275 279 These chiral cyanohydrins are versatile synthons, which can be further modified to prepare chiral a-hydroxy acids, a-hydroxy aldehydes and ketones, acyloins, vicinal diols, ethanolamines, and a- and P-amino acids, to name a few.280 Both (R)- and (.S )-selective HNLs have been isolated, usually from plant sources, where their natural substrates play a role in defense mechanisms of the plant through the release of HCN. In addition to there being HNLs with different stereo-preferences, two different classifications have been defined, based on whether the HNL contains a flavin adenine dinucleotide (FAD) co-factor. 

The Strecker synthesis can form a large number of amino acids from appropriate aldehydes. The mechanism is shown next. First, the aldehyde reacts with ammonia to give an imine. The imine is a nitrogen analogue of a carbonyl group, and it is electrophilic when protonated. Attack of cyanide ion on the protonated imine gives the a-amino nitrile. This mechanism is similar to that for formation of a cyanohydrin (Section 18-14), except that in the Strecker synthesis cyanide ion attacks an imine rather than the aldehyde itself. 

Strecker reactions are among the most efficient methods of synthesis of a-amino nitriles, useful intermediates in the synthesis of amino acids [73] and nitrogen-containing heterocycles such as thiadiazoles, imidazoles, etc. [74]. Although classical Strecker reactions have some limitations, use of trimethylsilyl cyanide (TMSCN) as a source of cyano anion provides promising and safer routes to these compounds [73b,75]. TMSCN is, however, readily hydrolyzed in the presence of water, and it is necessary to perform the reactions under strictly anhydrous conditions. BusSnCN [76], on the other hand, is stable in water and a potential source of cyano anion, and it has been found that Strecker-type reactions of aldehydes, amines, and BuaSnCN proceed smoothly in the presence of a catalytic amoimt of Sc(OTf)3 in water [77]. No surfactant was needed in this reaction. The reaction was assumed to proceed via imine formation and successive cyanation (it was confirmed that imine formation was much faster than cyanohydrin ether formation under these reaction conditions) again the dehydration process (imine formation) proceeded smoothly in water. 

Lyase C-C formation Amino acid Acyloin Cyanohydrin... 

In an acetonitrile suspension, the intermediate a-cyanoalkoxide can be trapped by acyl chlorides to give cyanohydrin esters. In a preparation of synthetic pyrethroids, the comparison between the sonicated reaction and its PTC equivalent gave an advantage to the latter in terms of reaction time and yield. i A modest change in stereoselectivity is observed in some cases. The same reaction in the presence of ammonium chloride leads to a-amino nitriles, the first step of the Strecker amino acid synthesis.4 72 xhe procedure is more efficient in the presence of alumina. The formation of by-products, cyanohydrins or benzoins, is avoided. From an experimental viewpoint, the work-up is considerably easier than with conventional procedures, and consists mostly of a simple filtration. With ketones, and in the presence of ammonium carbonate, a hydantoin is formed (Eq. 21)7 ... 

The formation of cyanohydrins using CyanotrimethylsUane and Isoselenocyanatotrimethylsilane has been effectively catalyzed by ZnCl2 (eq 30),as has Strecker amino acid synthesis via the treatment of imines with Me3SiCN/ZnCl2. The combination of carbonyl compounds with Acetyl Chloride or Acetyl Bromide may be promoted by ZnCb to afford protected vicinal halohydrins (eq... 

Cyanohydrin Synthesis. Another synthetically useful enzyme that catalyzes carbon—carbon bond formation is oxynitnlase (EC 4.1.2.10). This enzyme catalyzes the addition of cyanides to various aldehydes that may come either in the form of hydrogen cyanide or acetone cyanohydrin (152—158) (Fig. 7). The reaction constitutes a convenient route for the preparation of a-hydroxy acids and P-amino alcohols. Acetone cyanohydrin [75-86-5] can also be used as the cyanide carrier, and is considered to be superior since it does not involve hazardous gaseous HCN and also virtually eliminates the spontaneous nonenzymatic reaction. (R)-oxynitrilase accepts aromatic (97a,b), straight- (97c,e), and branched-chain aUphatic aldehydes, converting them to (R)-cyanohydrins in very good yields and high enantiomeric purity (Table 10). 

Usually the products of Cj-elongation are intermediates, rather than the target amino sugars. The elongation can be repeated iteratively [20]. Cyanohydrin formation belongs to the most typical C,-elongation processes. Addition of trimethylsilyl cyanide to a-amino aldehydes of type 1 in the presence of Lewis acid yielded a mixture of diastereoisomers 2 and 3 [21] (Scheme 3). 

The addition of hydrogen cyanide to a carbonyl group results in the formation of an a-hydroxy nitrile, a so-called cyanohydrin (A, Scheme 6.1) [1]. Compounds of this type have in many instances served as intermediates in the synthesis of, e.g., a-hydroxy acids B, a-hydroxy aldehydes C, fS-amino alcohols D, or a-hydroxy ketones E (Scheme 6.1) [1], In all these secondary transformations of the cyanohydrins A, the stereocenter originally introduced by HCN addition is preserved. Consequently, the catalytic asymmetric addition of HCN to aldehydes and ketones is a synthetically very valuable transformation. Besides addition of HCN, this chapter also covers the addition of trimethylsilyl cyanide and cyanoformate to car-... 

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