Diastereomeric atoms

In cyclic sulfoxides Che diastereomeric product ratio is even higher, and the chirality of the sulfur atom has been efficiently transferred to the carbon atom in synthesis. 

Enby 6 is an example of a stereospecific elimination reaction of an alkyl halide in which the transition state requires die proton and bromide ion that are lost to be in an anti orientation with respect to each odier. The diastereomeric threo- and e/ytAra-l-bromo-1,2-diphenyl-propanes undergo )3-elimination to produce stereoisomeric products. Enby 7 is an example of a pyrolytic elimination requiring a syn orientation of die proton that is removed and the nitrogen atom of the amine oxide group. The elimination proceeds through a cyclic transition state in which the proton is transferred to die oxygen of die amine oxide group. 

The concept of heterotopic atoms, groups, and faces can be extended from enantiotopic to diastereotopic types. If each of two nominally equivalent ligands in a molecule is replaced by a test group and the molecules that are generated are diaster-eomeric, then the ligands are diastereotopic. Similarly, if reaction at one face of a trigonal atom generates a molecule diastereomeric with that produced at the alternate face, the faces are diastereotopic. 

Asymmetric induction by sulfoxide is a very attractive feature. Enantiomerically pure cyclic a-sulfonimidoyl carbanions have been prepared (98S919) through base-catalyzed cyclization of the corresponding tosyloxyalkylsulfoximine 87 to 88 followed by deprotonation with BuLi. The alkylation with Mel or BuBr affords the diastereomerically pure sulfoximine 89, showing that the attack of the electrophile at the anionic C-atom occurs, preferentially, from the side of the sulfoximine O-atom independently from the substituent at Ca-carbon. The reaction of cuprates 90 with cyclic a,p-unsaturated ketones 91 was studied but very low asymmetric induction was observed in 92. 

When 2-lithio-2-(trimethylsilyl)-l,3-dithiane,9 formed by deprotonation of 9 with an alkyllithium base, is combined with iodide 8, the desired carbon-carbon bond forming reaction takes place smoothly and gives intermediate 7 in 70-80% yield (Scheme 2). Treatment of 7 with lithium diisopropylamide (LDA) results in the formation of a lactam enolate which is subsequently employed in an intermolecular aldol condensation with acetaldehyde (6). The union of intermediates 6 and 7 in this manner provides a 1 1 mixture of diastereomeric trans aldol adducts 16 and 17, epimeric at C-8, in 97 % total yield. Although stereochemical assignments could be made for both aldol isomers, the development of an alternative, more stereoselective route for the synthesis of the desired aldol adduct (16) was pursued. Thus, enolization of /Mactam 7 with LDA, as before, followed by acylation of the lactam enolate carbon atom with A-acetylimidazole, provides intermediate 18 in 82% yield. Alternatively, intermediate 18 could be prepared in 88% yield, through oxidation of the 1 1 mixture of diastereomeric aldol adducts 16 and 17 with trifluoroacetic anhydride (TFAA) in... 

When a cold (-78 °C) solution of the lithium enolate derived from amide 6 is treated successively with a,/ -unsaturated ester 7 and homogeranyl iodide 8, intermediate 9 is produced in 87% yield (see Scheme 2). All of the carbon atoms that will constitute the complex pentacyclic framework of 1 are introduced in this one-pot operation. After some careful experimentation, a three-step reaction sequence was found to be necessary to accomplish the conversion of both the amide and methyl ester functions to aldehyde groups. Thus, a complete reduction of the methyl ester with diisobutylalu-minum hydride (Dibal-H) furnishes hydroxy amide 10 which is then hydrolyzed with potassium hydroxide in aqueous ethanol. After acidification of the saponification mixture, a 1 1 mixture of diastereomeric 5-lactones 11 is obtained in quantitative yield. Under the harsh conditions required to achieve the hydrolysis of the amide in 10, the stereogenic center bearing the benzyloxypropyl side chain epimerized. Nevertheless, this seemingly unfortunate circumstance is ultimately of no consequence because this carbon will eventually become part of the planar azadiene. 

The influence of 1,2-asymmctric induction on the exchange of diastereotopic bromine atoms has also been investigated22,23. Thus, treatment of the / -silyloxydibromo compound 15 with butyllithium at — 110°C in the presence of 2-methylpropana led to products 17-19 after the reaction mixture was warmed to 20 °C. The distribution of the products indicates that the diastereomeric lithium compounds 16 A and 16B were formed in a ratio of 84 16, with 16A being kinetically favored by 1,2-asymmetric induction. Formation of the m-configurated epoxide (cis,anti-18) was slowed to such an extent that its formation was incomplete and a substantial amount of the parent bromohydrin 17 remained. The analogous m.yyn-configurat-ed epoxide was not observed. Presumably for sterie reasons, the parent bromohydrin did not cyclize to the epoxide but instead led to the ketone 1923. 

When chloromethylsulfinylmethane is reacted with unsymmetrical ketones in the presence of potassium rm-butoxide in fert-butanol, diastereomeric mixtures of oxiranes are formed, showing that the asymmetric induction at the prostereogenic carbonyl carbon atom is low21. 

Sulfonic peracids (66) have also been applied recently to the preparation of acid sensitive oxiranes and for the epoxidation of allylic and homoallylic alcohols, as well as relatively unreactive a, p - unsaturated ketones. These reagents, prepared in situ from the corresponding sulfonyl imidazolides 65, promote the same sense of diastereoselectivity as the conventional peracids, but often to a higher degree. In particular, the epoxidation of certain A -3-ketosteroids (e.g., 67) with sulfonic peracids 66 resulted in the formation of oxirane products (e.g., 68) in remarkably high diastereomeric excess. This increased selectivity is most likely the result of the considerable steric requirements about the sulfur atom, which enhances non-bonded interactions believed to be operative in the diastereoselection mechanism <96TET2957>. 

As an alternative, Harpp and coworkers reacted benzenesulfinyl chloride with the trimethylsilyl derivative of menthol to form the diastereomeric esters in 91% yield the epimer of configuration R could be isolated by crystallization in unspecified yield. Grossert and coworkers prepared ester 19 in 51% yield as a mixture of diastereomers by treating p-toluenesulfonyl chloride with sodium p-toluenesulfinate in DMF containing menthol. It was postulated that initial nucleophilic attack by the sulfinate oxygen on the sulfonyl sulfur atom gave the mixed sulfonate-sulfinate anhydride 21, which then reacted... 

One interesting observation deduced from the data of Table 13 is that, despite the same diastereomeric ratio, the absolute configuration around the carbon atom of the major diastereomer changed with the electrophile used. In other words, the reactions of a-lithiobenzyl sulfoxides with 020 - and its carbonylation and carbonation proceeded with retention of configuration, while methylation with CHjl resulted in inversion . The stereochemical study of these reactions was conducted with optically active benzyl sulfoxides 42 and 39 as shown in Scheme i - - nd an interesting... 

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