Diastereoselective synthesis chiral building blocks

Asymmetric Mannich reactions provide useful routes for the synthesis of optically active p-amino ketones or esters, which are versatile chiral building blocks for the preparation of many nitrogen-containing biologically important compounds [1-6]. While several diastereoselective Mannich reactions with chiral auxiliaries have been reported, very little is known about enantioselective versions. In 1991, Corey et al. reported the first example of the enantioselective synthesis of p-amino acid esters using chiral boron enolates [7]. Yamamoto et al. disclosed enantioselective reactions of imines with ketene silyl acetals using a Bronsted acid-assisted chiral Lewis acid [8]. In all cases, however, stoichiometric amounts of chiral sources were needed. Asymmetric Mannich reactions using small amounts of chiral sources were not reported before 1997. This chapter presents an overview of catalytic asymmetric Mannich reactions. 

In the last decade, optically pure cyanohydrins (a-hydroxynitriles) have become a versatile source for the synthesis of a variety of chiral building blocks. Diverse methods for the enantioselective synthesis of cyanohydrins have been published and reviewed111. Besides enzyme catalyzed methods, hydrocyanation or silylcyanation of aldehydes or ketones controlled by chiral metal complexes or cyclic dipeptides, as well as diastereoselective hydrocyanation of chiral carbonyl compounds, have been applied with moderate success. 

This synthesis is remarkable because mayor parts of it are carried out at the Cr(CO)3-complexed ligand and several new bonds are formed with high diaster-eoselectivity under the stereochemical influence of the planar-chiral n-complex moiety. The chiral building block 80 is obtained in enantiomerically pure form either by resolution (via imine formation with 1-valinol) or by diastereoselective complexation of a chiral cyclic aminal according to the procedure of Alexakis... 

The synthesis of PS-5 was achieved by treatment of silylimine of 0-protected (S) lactic aldehyde with the lithium enolate of /-butyl butanoate. The reaction is highly diastereoselective affording almost completely the trans a2etidinone with the natural configuration at C3. This azetidinone was converted, by sequential Jones and Baeyer-Villiger oxidation of hydroxyethyl side chain to the 4-acetoxy doivative that represents a most useful chiral building block fcv the synthesis of final carbapenem PS-5 via the Merck procedure (Scheme 8). 

Another auxiliary that proved to be useful as a base for enolate alkylations is cis-l-amino-2-indanol 37 developed by researchers at Merck, Sharp, and Dhome. Both enantiomers of the amino alcohol are commercially available in bulk. The alkylation method was elaborated for a synthesis of indinavir, the orally active HIV protease inhibitor that emerged as a major drug for treatment of AIDS. Thus, N-acylated Af,0-acetal 38 was converted into the lithium enolate and subsequently treated with allyl bromide to give the alkene 39 in excellent chemical yield and diastereoselectivity. The conversion into indinavir reveals that the amino alcohol 37 functions both as auxiliary and chiral building block (Scheme 4.8) [26]. 

Emil Fischer s result involving cyanide additions to carbohydrates had demonstrated the power of diastereoselective synthesis early as the 1890s (Equation 1) [4, 34,162]. The corresponding enantioselective formation of cyanohydrins has been the subject of immense efforts. It has long been appreciated that optically active cyanohydrins are synthetically useful intermediates that can be elaborated into a number of chiral building blocks, such as hydroxy acids. In general, there are three main classes of catalysts for the preparation of chiral cyanohydrins enzymes, cyclic dipeptides, and transition metal complexes [163-166]. 

The examples from the preceding discussion catalog the development of the field, which has largely led to increasing sophistication in the implementation of dipolar cycloadditions in target-specific molecule synthesis. The development of diastereoselective substrate-controlled methods as a general synthesis of chiral building blocks by use of nitrile-oxide dipolar cycloaddition reactions has only recently been heralded by the work of Kanemasa and Carreira. 

In conclusion, we have learned a lot from studying chiral dendrimers, about the behavior of such large chiral molecules and about the contributions of the different building blocks to the whole structure. It remains a great challenge to rationalize the origin of the dramatic diastereoselectivity effects observed in the synthesis of certain chiral dendrimers. 

Control of the diastereoselectivity in the singlet oxygen ene reaction can be achieved by the use of chiral auxiliaries. Success in this field would open up promising prospects in the preparation of optically active building blocks for asymmetric synthesis, since the oxygenation reaction could be followed by the removal of the chiral auxiliary. Unfortunately,... 

The chiral organocopper compound (186) adds diastereoselectively to 2-methyl-2-cyclopentenone, allowing the preparation of optically active steroid CD-ring building blocks (Scheme 68).202-204 A related method was applied to a synthesis of the steroid skeleton via an intramolecular (transannular) Diels-Alder reaction of a macrocyclic precursor.203 Chiral acetone anion equivalents based on copper azaeno-lates derived from acetone imines were shown to add to cyclic enones with good selectivity (60-80% ee, after hydrolysis).206-208 Even better ee values are obtained with the mixed zincate prepared from (187) and dimethylzinc (Scheme 69). Other highly diastereoselective but synthetically less important 1,4-additions of chiral cuprates to prochiral enones were reported.209-210... 

The (diastereoselective) conjugate addition of silylcuprate reagents to a variety of chiral derivatives of a,(3-unsaturated carboxylic acids can be used to prepare optically active p-silyl esters.258 259 Best results are obtained with substrates of type (25). The (related) p-silyl ketones, which also constitute valuable building blocks for (acyclic) stereoselective synthesis, are now accessible in high ee via palladium-catalyzed enantioselective 1,4-disiiylation of a,p-unsaturated ketones (Scheme 76).260... 

Use of an organocatalyst in a highly diastereoselective nitroaldol reaction was reported by the Corey group in the synthesis of 123 [128]. This compound is a key building block in the synthesis of the HIV-protease inhibitor amprenavir. The alkaloid-based fluoride salt, 122, was used as an efficient chiral phase-transfer catalyst (this type of catalyst was developed by the same group [129-131]) and led to formation of the (2R,3S) diastereomer (2H,3S)-123 in 86% yield and with a diastereo-meric ratio of d.r. = 17 1 (Scheme 6.53) [128], It is worthy of note that a much... 

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