Cyanohydrin formation, catalysis

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... 

An important role for Znl2 has been found in the catalysis of RsSiCN addition to ketones and aldehydes to afford silyl protected cyanohydrins. This is a very general reaction that is effective even with very hindered carbonyl compounds (eq 7). Diastere-oselective cyanohydrin formation has been reported when these reaction conditions are applied to asymmetric carbonyl substrates (eq... 

Historically, enzyme catalysis has played a highly prominent role, with the first enzyme-catalyzed asymmetric addition of HCN to aldehydes dating back to 1908 [167]. A wide range of both aromatic and aliphatic ketones are suitable substrates and produce cyanohydrins of high optical purity. The most readily available and hence most commonly employed enzyme for asymmetric cyanohydrin formation is (R)-hydroxynitrile lyase isolated from almonds. Recent cloning and over-expression techniques have also made a number of (S)-hydroxynitrile lyases available for organic synthesis [164, 165]. This was utilized in Griengl s synthesis of coriolic acid (255), a natural product that displays calcium ionophoric activity and acts as a prostacyclin mimic (Scheme 2.32) [168]. Thus, an (S)-hydroxynitrile lyase was cloned from rubber trees (Hevea brasiliensis), overexpressed in Pichia pastoris, and used to provide cyanohydrin 254 in 99 % ee. 

Shibasaki has described the use of bifunctional catalysis in asymmetric Strecker reactions, using BlNOL-derived Lewis acid-Lewis base catalyst 160 (Equation 24) [114]. The aluminum complex had previously been shown to catalyze enantioselective cyanohydrin formation (Chapter 2, Section 2.9) [115]. In the proposed catalytic cycle, the imine is activated by the Lewis acidic aluminum while TMSCN undergoes activation by association of the silyl group with the Lewis basic phosphine oxide. Interestingly, the addition of phenol as a putative proton source was beneficial in facilitating catalyst turnover. The nature of the amine employed for the formation of the N-substituted aldimine proved to be vital for enantioselectivity, with optimal results obtained for N-fluorenyl imines such as 159, derived from aliphatic, unsaturated, and aromatic aldehydes (70-96% ee) [114],... 

Cyanation of carbonyl compounds has one of the richest histories of any transformation in the field of asymmetric catalysis, and intensive research efforts have continued unabated since the editorial deadline for the first edition of Comprehensive Asymmetric Catalysis in 1998. This chapter will summarize all efforts in this area from 1998 to date, highlighting the most important catalytic systems from a synthetic and/or mechanistic standpoint. Significant advances in both the cyanation of aldehydes (formation of secondary cyanohydrins Section 28.2.1) and the cyanation of ketones (formation of tertiary cyanohydrins Section 28.2.2) will be addressed [1,2]. 

Carbonyl addition reactions include hydration, reduction and oxidation, the al-dol reaction, formation of hemiacetals and acetals (ketals), cyanohydrins, imines (Schiff bases), and enamines [54]. In all these reactions, some activation of the carbonyl bond is required, despite the polar nature of the C=0 bond. A general feature in hydration and acetal formation in solution is that the reactions have a minimum rate for intermediate values of the pH, and that they are subject to general acid and general base catalysis [121-123]. There has been some discussion on how this should be interpreted mechanistically, but quantum chemical calculations have demonstrated the bifunctional catalytic activity of a chain of water molecules (also including other molecules) in formaldehyde hydration [124-128]. In this picture the idealised situation of the gas phase addition of a single water molecule to protonated formaldehyde (first step of Fig. 5) represents the extreme low pH behaviour. 

A one-pot synthesis of optically active cyanohydrin acetates from aldehydes has been accomplished by lipase-catalyzed kinetic resolution coupled with in situ formation and racemization of cyanohydrins in an organic solvent. Racemic cyanohydrins, generated from aldehydes and acetone cyanohydrin in diisopropyl ether under the catalysis of basic anion-exchange resin, were acetylated stereoselectively by a lipase from Pseudomonas cepacia (Amano) with isopropenyl acetate as an acylating... 

The kinetic resolution of cyanohydrins via enantioselective acylation may be converted into a dynamic process by making use of the chemical instability of cyanohydrins (Scheme 3.15) [235], Thus, racemic cyanohydrins were generated from an aldehyde and acetone cyanohydrin (as a relatively safe source of hydrogen cyanide) under catalysis by an anion exchange resin. The latter also served as catalytic base for the in-situ racemization. Enantioselective acylation using PSL and tsopropenyl acetate led to the exclusive formation of the corresponding (S)-cyanohydrin acetates in 47-91% optical purity. 

---