Cycloaddition reactions method

Cossu S., Fabris F., De Lucchi O. Synthetic Equivalents of Cyclohexatriene in [4 + 2 Cycloaddition Reactions. Methods for Preparing Cycloaddncts to Benzene. Synlett W1 1327-1334... 

Chapters 9, 10 and 11 describe methods for substitution directly on the ring with successive attention to Nl, C2 and C3. Chapters 12 and 13 are devoted to substituent modification as C3. Chapter 12 is a general discussion of these methods, while Chapter 13 covers the important special cases of the synthesis of 2-aminoethyl (tryptaminc) and 2-aminopropanoic acid (tryptophan) side-chains. Chapter 14 deals with methods for effecting carbo cyclic substitution. Chapter 15 describes synthetically important oxidation and reduction reactions which are characteristic of indoles. Chapter 16 illustrates methods for elaboration of indoles via cycloaddition reactions. 

From Diazo Compounds via 1,3-Dipolar Cycloaddition. This method has been utilized widely in heterocychc chemistry. Pyrazohne (57) has been synthesized by reaction of ethyl diazoacetate (58) with a,P-unsaturated ester in the presence of pyridine (eq. 12) (42). 

A large number of pyridazines are synthetically available from [44-2] cycloaddition reactions. In one general method, azo or diazo compounds are used as dienophiles, and a second approach is based on the reaction between 1,2,4,5-tetrazines and various unsaturated compounds. The most useful azo dienophile is a dialkyl azodicarboxylate which reacts with appropriate dienes to give reduced pyridazines and cinnolines (Scheme 89). With highly substituted dienes the normal cycloaddition reaction is prevented, and, if the ethylenic group in styrenes is substituted with aryl groups, indoles are formed preferentially. The cycloadduct with 2,3-pentadienal acetal is a tetrahydropyridazine derivative which has been used for the preparation of 2,5-diamino-2,5-dideoxyribose (80LA1307). 

Another synthetically intriguing method of ring formation is based upon the intramolecular cycloaddition reaction formulated in Scheme 28 (82CC613). The initially formed adduct will undergo cleavage to the carbazole on heating. 

Burger s criss-cross cycloaddition reaction of hexafluoracetone-azine (76S349) is also a synthetic method of the [CNN + CC] class. In turn, the azomethines thus produced, (625) and (626) (79LA133), can react with alkenes and alkynes to yield azapentalene derivatives (627) and (628), or isomerize to A -pyrazolines (629) which subsequently lose HCF3 to afford pyrazoles (630 Scheme 56) (82MI40401). 

This chapter will try to cover some developments in the theoretical understanding of metal-catalyzed cycloaddition reactions. The reactions to be discussed below are related to the other chapters in this book in an attempt to obtain a coherent picture of the metal-catalyzed reactions discussed. The intention with this chapter is not to go into details of the theoretical methods used for the calculations - the reader must go to the original literature to obtain this information. The examples chosen are related to the different chapters, i.e. this chapter will cover carbo-Diels-Alder, hetero-Diels-Alder and 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition reactions. Each section will start with a description of the reactions considered, based on the frontier molecular orbital approach, in an attempt for the reader to understand the basis molecular orbital concepts for the reaction. 

According to the Woodw ard-Hofmann rules the concerted thermal [2n + 2n] cycloaddition reaction of alkenes 1 in a suprafacial manner is symmetry-forbidden, and is observed in special cases only. In contrast the photochemical [2n + 2n cycloaddition is symmetry-allowed, and is a useful method for the synthesis of cyclobutane derivatives 2. 

This process, named the Diels-Alder cycloaddition reaction after its discoverers, is extremely useful in organic synthesis because it forms two carbon-carbon bonds in a single step and is one of the few genera) methods available for making cyclic molecules. (As the name implies, a cycloaddition reaction is one in which two reactants add together to give a cyclic product.) The... 

The photochemical 2 t 2] cycloaddition reaction occurs smoothly and represents one of the best methods known for synthesizing cyclobutane rings. For example ... 

The intramolecular cycloaddition has proven to be the method of choice for the preparation of steroids. A diastereomeric mixture of 204, prepared from 191 and tosylate 203 has been cleanly converted to dl-estra-1,3,5(10)-trien-17-one (205) in 85% yield (equation 130). A second example of the intramolecular cycloaddition reaction is the formation of the cycloadduct (209), the key intermediate in a synthesis of the As-pidosperma alkaloid aspidospermine, upon heating 208 at 600 °C (equation 131)124. The sulfone 208 can be prepared by reaction of 3-ethyl-3,4,5,6-tetrahydropyridine (206) with the acid chloride 207. 

As vinylbenzofurans allow a large variety of substituted dibenzofurans to be synthesized, 2- and 3-vinylbenzo[b]thiophenes allow an easy entry, by Diels Alder reaction with the appropriate dienophiles, to substituted dibenzo-thiophenes which are not easily accessible by other methods. Vinylbenzo-[bjthiophenes are less reactive than the corresponding vinylbenzo[b]furans. Some cycloaddition reactions of 2-vinylbenzo[b]thiophene (82) with various dienophiles are reported [83] in Scheme 2.34. 

Silylthioaldehydes 103, reactive dienophiles formed in situ from acetals according to a general method, are directly trapped with dienes to afford sulfur-containing heterocyclic compounds in good yield (Equation 2.29). Silylthioaldehydes are quite reactive in comparison with the aliphatic ones [102] which are rather inert in the cycloaddition reactions. 

Diels Alder reaction of tosylimine 108 obtained by thermal [2+2] cycloaddition of p-toluensulphonylisocyanate and methylglioxylate [108] provides a method for synthesizing nitrogen-containing heterocycles. The tosylimine was not isolated but was used directly in situ in several cycloaddition reactions (Scheme 2.45) which were completely regioselective [109]. In the case... 

Oxetanes are present in several biologically active natural compounds as, for example, the taxol ring skeleton. An interesting method used to obtain this particular ring is the thermal [2 -i- 2] cycloaddition reaction. Longchar and co-workers reported a novel [2-1-2] cycloaddition of /1-formil enamides 5, often used in other cycloaddition and condensation processes, with acetylenic dienophiles 6 under microwave irradiation (in a domestic oven) to afford ox-etenes 7 in 80% yields [29]. This reaction was directed towards the synthesis of D-ring annelated heterosteroids (Scheme 2). 

Shao reported the microwave-assisted hetero-Diels-Alder cycloaddition reaction of a series of acetylenic pyrimidines to introduce a fused lactone/lactam ring, with no degradation of either reactants or products typical for the harsh thermal conditions (150-190°C, 15-144h) [131]. In contrast to the results reported when conventional heating was applied, the Diels-Alder cycloaddition under microwave irradiation gave a high yield of the desired fused lactones or lactams [132]. This reaction provided a practical and general method for the preparation of fused bicyclic pyridines 205 (Scheme 74). 

It has been shown that cross-coupling reactions constitute a very mild method to introduce different alkyl and aryl groups to the most active C-3 position of the pyrazinone ring [26]. The broadly functionahzed 2-azadiene system of the title compounds was studied in cycloaddition reactions with various electron-reach and electron-poor dienophiles to provide highly substituted heterocycles [24]. 

Cycloaddition reactions result in the formation of a new ring from two reactants. A concerted mechanism requires that a single transition state, and therefore no intermediate, lie on the reaction path between reactants and adduct. The most important example of cycloaddition is the Diels-Alder (D-A) reaction. The cycloaddition of alkenes and dienes is a very useful method for forming substituted cyclohexenes.1... 

Given their extraordinary reactivity, one might assume that o-QMs offer plentiful applications as electrophiles in synthetic chemistry. However, unlike their more stable /tora-quinone methide (p-QM) cousin, the potential of o-QMs remains largely untapped. The reason resides with the propensity of these species to participate in undesired addition of the closest available nucleophile, which can be solvent or the o-QM itself. Methods for o-QM generation have therefore required a combination of low concentrations and high temperatures to mitigate and reverse undesired pathways and enable the redistribution into thermodynamically preferred and desired products. Hence, the principal uses for o-QMs have been as electrophilic heterodienes either in intramolecular cycloaddition reactions with nucleophilic alkenes under thermodynamic control or in intermolecular reactions under thermodynamic control where a large excess of a reactive nucleophile thwarts unwanted side reactions by its sheer vast presence. 

As expected, other enol ethers work well in these procedures. For example, Jones and Selenski find that implementation of method F, which occurs by addition of MeMgBr to benzaldehyde 5 in the presence of dihydropyran (DHP) at 78 °C affords a 66% yield of the corresponding tricyclic ketal 59 with better than 50 1 endo diastereoselectivity (Fig. 4.31).27 On the contrary, Lindsey reports use of method H with the benzyl alcohol 35 and diethylketene acetal. The cycloaddition reaction occurs almost instantaneously upon deprotonation of the benzyl alcohol 35 by f-butyl-magnesium bromide in the presence of the ketene acetal and yields the corresponding benzopyran ortho ester 60 in a 67% yield.29... 

Several enamines also participate in these cycloaddition reactions. For example, the addition of methyl lithium to benzaldehyde 5 and the sequential introduction of the vinylogous amide and magnesium bromide results in the cycloaddition elimination product chromene 63 (method G, Fig. 4.33).27 The introduction of methyl magnesium bromide to a solution of the benzaldehyde 5 and two equivalents of the morpholine enamine produces the cycloadduct 64 in 70% yield with better than 50 1 diastereoselectivity (method F). Less reactive enamides, such as that used by Ohwada in Fig. 4.4, however, fail to participate in these conditions. 

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