Cyanohydrin ethers reactions with carbonyl compounds

Diketones often are protected as enol ethers or enamines and these selectively functionalized compounds may be subjected to complementary transformations (Scheme 94). Also silylenes can be prepared from diketones and -hydroxycarbonyl compounds by reaction with dimethyldicyanosilane. Naturally, these blocking groups are relatively sensitive to hydrolysis. On the other hand, partial solvolysis can open a route to monoprotected derivatives (e.g. 101), usually blocked at the sterically less demanding carbonyl function as 0-silyl cyanohydrins (see Scheme 95). Deprotection is finally achieved with silver fluoride in THF. 

The 1,2-addition of a cyanide ion to a carbonyl compound to form a cyanohydrin is a fundamental carbon-carbon bond-forming reaction in organic chemistry, and has frequently been at the forefront of advances in chemical transformations. In 2000, Belokon and North developed a catalytic system based on a vanadium-salen complex (Scheme 9.1). The synthesis of vanadium(iv) complex 1 was accomplished by refluxing a mixture of the corresponding Schiff base with vanadium(iv) sulfate and pyridine in ethanol under an argon atmosphere. A very low catalyst loading of 0.1 mol% was employed to convert aromatic and aliphatic aldehydes to cyanohydrin silyl ethers 3 with enantioselectivities of 68-95% after 24 h. Further investigations... 

Silyl cyanides react enantioselectively with such electrophiles as aldehydes, ketones, imines, activated azines, or,/ unsaturated carbonyl compounds, epoxides, and aziridines in the presence of chiral Lewis acid catalysts to give functionalized nitriles, versatile synthetic intermediates for hydroxy carboxylic acids, amino acids, and amino alcohols (Tables 3-6, 3-7, 3-8, and 3-9, Figures 3-6, 3-7, and 3-8, and Scheme 3-154). ° Soft Lewis acid catalytst, the reaction of epoxides with trimethylsilyl cyanide often leads to isonitriles, which are derived from silylisonitrile spiecies (Schemes 3-155 and 3-156). Soft Lewis base such as phosphine oxide also catalyzes the reaction and cyanohydrin silyl ethers of high ee s are isolated. 

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