Cyanohydrins intramolecular reactions

Takahashi and coworkers have employed intramolecular reactions of anions of unsaturated protected cyanohydrins to produce unsaturated carbocyclic systems containing 10-, 14- and 16-membered rings which are convertible into natural products. These reactions occur regiospecifically at the a-position and usually do not involve ( ) — ( isomerization of P,7-double bonds. The preparation of 2-cyclopen-tadecenone (155), which is convertible into the macrocyclic perfumes muscone and exaltone, is illustrative of this methodology (Scheme 76). 

The intramolecular formation of 18-cyano-20-ketones in 30-50% yield from 20-cyanohydrins in the hypoiodite reaction is particularly interesting. The reaction is considered to occur through the following steps ... 

The Reforrnatsku reaction of a-halogenated carboxylic esters with silylated cyanohydrins combined with an intramolecular acylation reaction gives fluorinated derivatives of tetronic acid [28] (equation 17) It is noteworthy to mention that this particular reaction sequence only proceeds with ultrasonic irradiation A very... 

Pyrrole and indole rings can also be constructed by intramolecular addition of nitrogen to a multiple bond activated by metal ion complexation. Thus, 1-aminomethyl-l-alkynyl carbinols (obtained by reduction of cyanohydrins of acetylenic ketones) are cyclized to pyrroles by palladium(II) salts. In this reaction the palladium(II)-complexed alkyne functions as the electrophile with aromatization involving elimination of palladium(II) and water (Scheme 42) (81TL4277). 

This type of reaction has some precedence i.e., cyanohydrin formation (KCN, DMSO), followed by intramolecular displacement of a tosylate by the incipient alkoxide leads to the formation of a 2-cyano oxetane system. Furthermore, KCN in MeOH results in the addition of methanol across a nitrile group. Nerdel, F. Weyerstahl, P. Lucas, K. Tetrahedron Lett. 1965, 5751. 

The reactions of perfluoroolefins with hexafluoroacetone cyanohydrin under conditions of nucleophilic catalysis yield 3-iminotetrahydrofuran. The latter evidently forms via the intermediate carbanion involved in the intramolecular nucleophilic cyclization (91JFC(54)401). This is an example of synthesis following route f. 

Aldehydes, ketones, and acetals react with allyltrimethylsilane in the presence of a catalytic amount of BiX3 (X = C1, Br, OTf) to give homoallyl alcohols or homoallyl alkyl ethers (Equation (52)).91-93 The BiX3-catalyzed allylation of aldehydes and sequential intramolecular etherification of the resulting homoallylic silyl ethers are involved in the stereoselective synthesis of polysubstituted tetrahydropyrans (Equation (53)).94,95 Similarly, these Lewis acids catalyze the cyanation of aldehydes and ketones with cyanotrimethylsilane. When a chiral bismuth(m) catalyst is used in the cyanation, cyanohydrines are obtained in up to 72% ee (Equation (54)). a-Aminonitriles are prepared directly from aldehydes, amines, and cyanotrimethysilane by the BiCl3-catalyzed Strecker-type reaction. 

Introduction. Ti-TADDOLates are a,a,a, a -tetraaryl-2,2-disubstituted l,3-dioxolane-4,5-dimethanolatotitanium derivatives. The most common substituents are R, R = Me/Me and Ph/Me, Ar=Ph and 2-naphthyl, X, Y = C1/C1, t-PrO/Cl, Cp/Cl, and i-PrO/i-PtO. The corresponding TADDOLs (2) are available in both enantiomeric forms from tartrate esters which are acetalized (R R CO) and allowed to react with aryl Grignard reagents. The reactions performed in the presence of Ti-TADDOLates or with Ti-TADDOLate derivatives include nucleophilic additions to aldehydes - - and nitroalkenes of alkyl, aryl, and allylic - groups aldol additions hydrophosphonylations and cyanohydrin reactions of aldehydes inter- and intramolecular Diels-Alder additions ... 

Trimethylsiloxy cyanohydrins (9) derived from an a,3-unsaturatied aldehyde form ambident anions (9a) on deprotonation. The latter can react with electrophiles at the a-position as an acyl anion equivalent (at -78 C) or at the -y-position as a homoenolate equivalent (at 0 C). The lithium salt of (9) reacts exclusively at the a-position with aldehydes and ketones. The initial kinetic product (10) formed at -78 C undergoes an intramolecular 1,4-silyl rearrangement at higher temperature to give (11). Thus the initial kinetic product is trapped and only products resulting from a-attack are observed (see Scheme 11). The a-hydroxyenones (12), -y-lactones (13) and a-trimethylsiloxyenones (11) formed are useful precursors to cyclopentenones and the overall reaction sequence constitutes a three-carbon annelation procedure. 

Reports of five-membered ring formation involving this mechanism remain unauthenticated. Formation of an oxazolidinone product from Ritter reaction of cyclohexanone and cyclohexanone cyanohydrin has been shown by Ducker to result from an alternative pathway. Although 4-methyl-3-pentenonitrile did undergo intramolecular cyclization, this did not involve pyrrolidone formation. Rather a novel dimeric process took place, leading to formation of a monocyclic (74) and a bi-cyclic (75) product. The latter was readily ring opened to (74) using silver oxide and water (Scheme 37). 

Our first approach to 1 is based on a retrosynthetic analysis depicted in Fig (8). The crucial step to construct the cw-fused bicyclic ring skeleton of 1 is the intramolecular allylic amination of a cw-allylic carbonate 25. The paUadium-catalyzed allylation takes place with retention of the configuration [76] and requires the c/s-isomer 25 for the ring closure. Compound 25 may be derived from keto acid 24 through a sequence of reactions including esterification, O-methoxycarbonylation, removal of the Boc and benzylidene groups, dehydrative cyclization, reductive alkylation and ureido formation. The last five transformations are to be conducted in a successive manner, i.e., without isolation of the intermediates. The 4-carboxybutyl chain of 1 may be installed by the reaction of O-trimethylsilyl (TMS) cyanohydrin 23 with a di-Grignard... 

Amines. Chiral a-amino acids are obtained from cyanohydrins via a Mitsunobu reaction employing A-f-butoxycarbonyl-A-(2-trimethylsilyl)ethylsulfonamide as the nucleophile. The a-aminonitrile derivatives thus generated are hydrolyzed with acid. By means of an intramolecular displacement (3-hydroxy acids are transformed into (3-amino acids. Thus, subjecting the derived 0-benzylhydroxamides to Mitsunobu reaction conditions leads to (3-lactams which are readily processed (LiOH H, Pd/C). 

Compound 57 reacts with NaCN to produce the cyanohydrin ion shown, and its epimer, in a reaction that is probably reversible. The anion is converted into 58 in an intramolecular exo-cyclic nucleophilic displacement, as shown. The wrong epimer cannot react to give 58, but if the initial reaction is reversible, the right epimer (below) will be formed and this will give 58. 

Reaction of (50) with alkyl halides gives exclusive a-alkylation. With aldehydes and ketones, a-addi-tion again takes place to give (52) via intramolecular silyl transfer with concomitant loss of lithium cyanide (c/. 25 Scheme 30). Treatment of (52) with p-Ts0H H20 gives the cyclopentenone annelation product. The allylic cyanohydrin anion (53) also gives a-adducts upon treatment with aldehydes and ketones at -78 °C, whereas reaction with electrophiles at 0 C affords -y-adducts (c/. 25). 

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