Retro-cyclization

Another category Ic indole synthesis involves cyclization of a-anilino aldehydes or ketones under the influence of protonic or Lewis acids. This corresponds to retro.synthetic path d in Scheme 4.1. Considerable work on such reactions was done in the early 1960s by Julia and co-workers. The most successful examples involved alkylation of anilines with y-haloacetoacetic esters or amides. For example, heating IV-substituted anilines with ethyl 4-bromoacetoacetate followed by cyclization w ith ZnClj gave indole-3-acetate esterfi]. Additional examples are given in Table 4.3. 

The ratio of products 15 and 16 is dependent on the structures, base, and the solvent. The kinetics of the reaction is likewise dependant on the structures and conditions of the reaction. Thus addition or cyclization can be the rate-determining step. In a particularly noteworthy study by Zimmerman and Ahramjian, it was reported that when both diastereomers of 20 were treated individually with potassium r-butoxide only as-epoxy propionate 21 was isolated. It is postulated that the cyclization is the rate-limiting step. Thus, for these substrates, the retro-aldolization/aldolization step reversible. ... 

The Pictet-Spengler condensation has been of vital importance in the synthesis of numerous P-carboline and isoquinoline compounds in addition to its use in the formation of alkaloid natural products of complex structure. A tandem retro-aldol and Pictet-Spengler sequence was utilized in a concise and enantioselective synthesis of 18-pseudoyohimbone. Amine 49 cyclized under acidic conditions to give the condensation product 50 in good yield. Deprotection of the ketone produced the indole alkaloid 51. 

The yield of the cyclization step under the influence of a metal template can be increased when the corresponding dialdehyde 19 of the tetrapyrrole 16 is used. The reaction sequence is initiated by insertion of palladium(II) or nickel(II) into the tetrapyrrole to give 20 followed by Michael addition of one acrylaldehyde side chain to the other yielding the macrotetracycle 21 from which in a retro-Michael reaction acetaldehyde is eliminated to give 22. 

The synthesis takes advantage of the well-documented sulfoxide - sulfenate rearrangement , as well as of its retro-process, leading to cyclization and formation of the desired four-membered ring sulfoxide system (i.e. 211, 212). A closely related ring enlargement is based on the reversibility of this rearrangement and has found wide use in penicillin chemistry . 

Oxazolium oxides, which can be generated by cyclization of a-amido acids, give pyrroles on reaction with acetylenic dipolarophiles.144 These reactions proceed by formation of oxazolium oxide intermediates. The bicyclic adduct can then undergo a concerted (retro 4 + 2) decarboxylation. 

Ring D inversion seems to be a crucial step in biogenetic transformations of protoberberines to related alkaloids such as rhoeadine, retroprotoberberine, spirobenzylisoquinoline, and indenobenzazepine alkaloids. 8,14-Cyclober-bin-13-ol 478 derived from berberine (15) was successively treated with ethyl chloroformate, silver nitrate, and pyridinium dichromate (PDC) in dimethyl-formamide to give the keto oxazolidinone 479 (Scheme 98). Heating of 479 with 10% aqueous sodium hydroxide in ethanol effected hydrolysis, retro-aldol reaction, cyclization, and dehydration to provide successfully the... 

A remarkable combination of a photochemical [2+2] cycloaddition with a retro-aldol reaction and cyclization is the so-called de Mayo reaction. Biichi and coworkers have used this method for the total synthesis of loganin (5-35). Thus, reac-... 

It can be assumed that, upon irradiation, tautomer 5-40-II reacts with the alkene 5-41 in a highly regioselective [2+2] cycloaddition to give the cyclobutane 5-42 as an intermediate. Subsequent retro-aldol-type reaction and hemiacetal formation produces 5-44 via 5-43. After addition of the Lewis acid (BF3-Et20), cyclization takes place to give the desired products. It should be noted that the excess of alkene must be removed under reduced pressure before addition of the Lewis acid in order to avoid polymerization. 

The epimerization likely occurs through an enamine retro-aAAol reaction after formation of the initial cyclized product (92) (Scheme 6.16) [47]. First, a ring opening of 92 forms the enamine-aldehyde (93a). Rotation about the C-C a-bond in 93a provides intermediate 93b in which enamine addition to the aldehyde to reclose the ring would give 93c. After protonation of the enolate, 91 would result with an overall epimerization of the spirocyclic carbon. In addition to the 2D NMR data, we also planned a complement of experiments to support the epimerization assignment. 

Fig. 16 (a) Comparison of potential energy profile for the formal Cope rearrangement of 3,4-difluorohexa-l,5-diyne-3-ene with that of (Z)-hexa-l,5-diyne-3-ene, (b) Rehybridization in the C(F) bond along the reaction path. EDI = 3,4-difluoro-hex- 3-ene-l,5-diyne ED2 = 1,6-di-fluoro-hex-3-ene-l,5-diyne BZY = difluoro-l,4-didehydrobenzezne TSBC = the transition state for the Bergman cyclization TSRBC = the transition state for the retro Bergman cyclization. 

Treatment of the ketone (105) with methanolic KOH led to hydrolysis of the acetate group, retro-aldol reaction and aldol cyclization, which eventually afforded a mixture of epimeric alcohols (106) 33). This strategy was used to construct the basic skeletons of various alkaloids, e.g. talatisamine 34), atisine 35) and chasmanine36). 

Other researchers have reported that the cyclization step is believed to be rate determining in the cycloaromatization (Bergman) reaction of aliphatic enediynes." It has been found that the rate-limiting step is hydrogen abstraction by benzannelation. This effect should be attributable to the faster rate of retro-Bergman cyclization from the aromatic ring-condensed 1,4-didehydrobenzene diradicals and/or the slower rate of hydrogen abstraction by them. 

Photochemical cyclization of enones with olefins is followed by a retro-aldol reaction to give 1,5-diketones. 

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