Cyclopropanes, asymmetric synthesis

The powerful influence of an oxygen substituent on the rate and stereoselectivity of cyclopropanation augured well for the development of a chiral auxiliary based approach to asymmetric synthesis [54]. The design of the chiral auxiliary would take into account ... 

The Rh2(DOSP)4 catalysts (6b) of Davies have proven to be remarkably effective for highly enantioselective cydopropanation reactions of aryl- and vinyl-diazoacetates [2]. The discovery that enantiocontrol could be enhanced when reactions were performed in pentane [35] added advantages that could be attributed to the solvent-directed orientation of chiral attachments of the ligand carboxylates [59]. In addition to the synthesis of (+)-sertraline (1) [6], the uses of this methodology have been extended to the construction of cyclopropane amino acids (Eq. 3) [35], the synthesis of tricyclic systems such as 22 (Eq. 4) [60], and, as an example of tandem cyclopropanation-Cope rearrangement, an efficient asymmetric synthesis of epi-tremulane 23 (Eq. 5) [61]. 

The asymmetric synthesis of dihydrochrysanthemolactone 217 by intramolecular cyclopropanation of diazoacetate 216 in the presence of chiral salicylaldimine/... 

Another example is the asymmetric synthesis of ( )-pinidine 208 and its isomers. These syntheses are achieved via asymmetric enolization, stereoselective cyclopropanation, and oxidative ring cleavage of the resulting cyclopropanol system (Scheme 5-68).123... 

Chapter 2 to 6 have introduced a variety of reactions such as asymmetric C-C bond formations (Chapters 2, 3, and 5), asymmetric oxidation reactions (Chapter 4), and asymmetric reduction reactions (Chapter 6). Such asymmetric reactions have been applied in several industrial processes, such as the asymmetric synthesis of l-DOPA, a drug for the treatment of Parkinson s disease, via Rh(DIPAMP)-catalyzed hydrogenation (Monsanto) the asymmetric synthesis of the cyclopropane component of cilastatin using a copper complex-catalyzed asymmetric cyclopropanation reaction (Sumitomo) and the industrial synthesis of menthol and citronellal through asymmetric isomerization of enamines and asymmetric hydrogenation reactions (Takasago). Now, the side chain of taxol can also be synthesized by several asymmetric approaches. 

Strained molecules such as cyclopropanes and cyclobutanes have emerged as important intermediates in organic synthesis. We have already demonstrated here that cyclobutane derivatives can indeed serve as starting materials for the synthesis of natural as well as unnatural products. Unlike cyclopropanes, which can be prepared asymmetrically in a number of ways 175 -182>, the asymmetric synthesis of cyclobutane derivative has received less attention, and, to our best knowledge, very few reports were recorded recently 183). Obviously, the ready availability of chiral cyclobutane derivatives would greatly enhance their usefulness in the enantioselective synthesis of natural products. The overcome of this last hurdle would allow cyclobutane derivatives to play an even more important role in synthetic organic chemistry. 

The use of chiral copper complexes in asymmetric synthesis was inaugurated in 1966 when the first homogeneous asymmetric metal-catalyzed reaction was reported a copper catalyzed cyclopropanation (2). At the end of 1999, more than 25 distinct reactions were reported wherein the use of a chiral copper complex had induced an enantioselective transformation. The field grew quickly and the best is most likely yet to come. 

A very convenient asymmetric synthesis of cyclopropane or epoxide systems developed by Johnson (184) is based on the use of chiral sulfur ylides as the agents that induce optical activity. Generally, this method consists of the asymmetric addition of a chiral sulfur ylide to the C=C or C=0 bond and subsequent cyclization of the addition product to form a chiral cyclopropane or epoxide system together with chiral sulfinamide. A wide range of chiral... 

A second example of the use of ionic chiral auxiliaries for asymmetric synthesis is found in the work of Chong et al. on the cis.trans photoisomerization of certain cyclopropane derivatives [33]. Based on the report by Zimmerman and Flechtner [34] that achiral tmns,trans-2,3-diphenyl-l-benzoylcyclopropane (35a, Scheme 7) undergoes very efficient (0=0.94) photoisomerization in solution to afford the racemic cis,trans isomer 36a, the correspondingp-carboxylic acid 35b was synthesized and treated with a variety of optically pure amines to give salts of general structure 35c (CA=chiral auxiliary). Irradiation of crystals of these salts followed by diazomethane workup yielded methyl ester 36d, which was analyzed by chiral HPLC for enantiomeric excess. The results are summarized in Table 3. 

The vinylcyclopropane 10 is a useful chiral building block for organic synthesis, as the vinyl group can be oxidatively cleaved if desired and further functionahzed (Scheme 14.1). Either diastereomer 20 or 21 of the cyclopropane analog of phenylalanine can be readily prepared from 10 [40]. Corey has reported another elegant appHcation of the vinylcyclopropane 10 in the asymmetric synthesis of the antidepressant (-i-)-sertraline 22 [52]. 

Another application of this chemistry is the asymmetric synthesis of the cyclopropane analog 25 of the breast cancer treatment agent tamoxifen 26 (Scheme 14.2) [53]. The Rh2(S-DOSP)4-catalyzed reaction of phenyldiazoacetate 3 with diarylethylene 23 at... 

The reaction of vinylcarbenoids with allylic C-H bonds leads to a remarkable transformation, a combined C-H insertion/Cope rearrangement, which is reminiscent of the tandem cyclopropanation/Cope rearrangement of vinylcarbenoids. An interesting application of this chemistry is the asymmetric synthesis of the antidepressant (-i-)-ser-traline 191 (Scheme 14.26) [134]. The Rh2(S-DOSP)4-catalyzed reaction of the vinyldia-zoacetate 189 with 1,3-cyclohexadiene generates the 1,4-cyclohexadiene 190 in 99% enantiomeric excess. The further conversion of 190 to (-t)-sertraline 191 is then achieved using conventional synthetic transformations. 

Starting from optically active 1-chlorovinyl p-tolyl sulfoxide derived from 2-cyclohex-enone, the asymmetric synthesis of cyclopropane derivative (85) was realized (equation 23) . Addition reaction of lithium enolate of tert-butyl acetate to 83 gave the adduct (84) in 96% yield with over 99% ee. Treatment of the latter with i-PrMgCl in a similar way as described above afforded optically pure (15,6/ )-bicyclo[4.1.0]hept-2-ene (85) in 90% yield. 

Asymmetric Synthesis of Functionalized Fluorinated Cyclopropanes and its Application to Fluoromethano Amino Acids ... 

Treatment of diethyl malonate and related compounds with 1,2-dihaloethane in the presence of base constitutes a classical method of cyclopropane synthesis296"300. The reaction can be conveniently carried out under PTC conditions. An improved method utilizing solid-liquid phase transfer catalysis has been reported298. The reaction of dimethyl or diethyl malonate with 1,2-dibromoalkanes except for 1,2-dibromethane tends to give only low yields of 2-alkylcyclopropane-l, 1-dicarboxylic esters. By the use of di-tm-butyl malonate, their preparations in satisfactory yields are realized (equation 134)297. The 2-alkylcyclopropane derivatives are also obtained from the reaction of dimethyl malonate and cyclic sulfates derived from alkane-1,2-diols (equation 135)301. Asymmetric synthesis... 

There are several possibilities for asymmetric synthesis in catalysed cyclopropanation and very substantial progress has already been made especially with catalyst development. The option of covalently attaching chiral auxiliaries to diazo compounds or to substrates, e.g. alkenes for cyclopropanation, has been discussed above in the subsection on diastere-oselectivity. The fact that many of the processes require metal catalysis makes the alternative option of using chiral catalysts particularly attractive and potentially more rewarding for commercial exploitation. The double option of combining the use of a chiral catalyst with a diazo compound carrying a chiral auxiliary is also available. For convenience, the double option is also included in this subsection. 

Well-known is the cyclopropanation of various alkenes. As shown by 329, cyclopropanation starts by electrophilic attack to the alkene. Electron-rich alkenes have higher reactivity. Numerous applications of intramolecular cyclopropanation to syntheses of natural products have been reported. Optically active cyclopropanes are prepared by enantioselective cyclopropanation [100], As the first successful example, asymmetric synthesis of chrysanthemic acid (331) was carried out by cyclopropanation of 2,5-dimethyl-2,4-hexadiene (330) with diazoacetate, catalysed by the chiral... 

Insecticides of the pyrethroid class, such as trans-chrysanthemic acid (190), have significant commercial value (see Chapter 31).241 An asymmetric synthesis of 190 has been achieved through the use of a chiral copper carbenoid reaction (Scheme 12.77).242 243 With ethyl diazoacetate, equal amounts of the cis- and trans-cyclopropanes were formed. However, when the size of the alkyl... 

Enantiopure allylic alcohols are employed widely as building blocks for asymmetric synthesis, and particularly as substrates for various diasteroselective allcene functionalization reactions such as cyclopropanation and epoxidation directed by the hydroxyl group [129]. 

Chiral non-racemic cyclopropanes are a common motif in natural and synthetic biologically active compounds [85]. They represent an important target in asymmetric synthesis, and a range of catalytic methods have been developed for their synthesis [6, 47, 86-90]. Many of the existing methods make use of a chiral metal complex as catalyst [6], but organocatalytic methods have also been developed. In this section we will review methods using a substoichiometric amount of a chiral ylide as a catalyst for cyclopropanation [91]. 

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