Diastereoselectivity cyclohexanones

Imines with an electron-withdrawing group at the nitrogen atom are excellent acceptors for the acetate (1) or the carbonate (13) [36]. Thus, N-tosylimines (84) gave very good yields of pyrrolidines (85) under typical conditions. The strained cyclic imine (86) and a,/ -unsaturated imine (87) both participated smoothly in the cydoadditions. The hindered nitrimine (88) also reacts well with (1) (but not with 13) to produce the pyrrolidine (89) with a 17 1 diastereoselectivity. However, the unhindered nitrimines from cyclohexanone and 2-nonanone failed to react presumably due to enolization (Scheme 2.24). 

The stereochemical outcome of nucleophilic addition reactions to cyclic ketones is the subject of numerous experimental and theoretical studies, with substituted cyclohexanones and cy-clopcntanones having been intensively studied. In addition reactions to substituted cyclohexanones 1 the problem of simple diastereoselectivity is manifested in the predominance of cither axial attack of a nucleophile, leading to the equatorial alcohol 2 A. or equatorial attack of the nucleophile which leads to the axial alcohol 2B. 

Similar to cyclohexanones, substituted cyclopentanones also adopt a conformation with the substituents in a sterically favorable position. In the case of 2-substituted cyclopentanones 1 the substituent occupies a pseudoequatorial position and the diastereoselectivity of nucleophilic addition reactions to 1 is determined by the relative importance of the interactions leading to predominant fra s(equatorial) or cw(axial) attack of the nucleophile. When the nucleophile approaches from the cis side, steric interaction with the substituent at C-2 is encountered. On the other hand, according to Felkin, significant torsional strain between the pseudoaxial C-2—H bond and the incipient bond occurs if the nucleophile approaches the carbonyl group from the trans side. 

As observed with cyclohexanones, the diastereoselectivity of the addition reaction of trimeth-ylaluminum to 2-methylcyclopentanone depends on the stoichiometry of the reactants. Thus, addition of one equivalent of trimcthylaluminum proceeds via preferential tram attack whereas, due to the "compression effect , addition of an excess of the reagent leads to the formation of the equatorial alcohol via predominant attack from the cis side (Table 3)6. In contrast to the addition reactions with trimethylaluniinum, no reversal of the diastereoselectivity upon change of reagent stoichiometry was observed in the addition of triphenylaluminum to 2-methylcyclopentanone6. Even with an excess of the aluminum reagent trans attack predominates. However, the diastereoselectivity is lower than with the use of an equimolar amount of the reactants. 

Using 3-substituted cyclohexanones the /rans-diastereoselective synthesis of decalones and octahydro-1 //-indenones may be achieved 164 169. This method has been applied, for instance, in the synthesis of 19-norsteroids. In a related Michael addition the lithium enolate of (R)-5-trimethylsilyl-2-cyclohexenone reacts with methyl 2-propenoate selectively tram to the trimethylsilyl substituent. Subsequent intramolecular ring closure provides a single enantiomer of the bicyclo[2.2.2]octane170 (see also Section 1.5.2.4.4.). 

A diastereoselective route to d.v-2,3-disubstituted cyclohexanones is based on the kinetically controlled protonation of the enolate obtained via the addition of an arylacetonitrile to 2-sub-stituted 2-cycloalkenones in THF or in THF/HMPA mixtures at — 70-0 °C 299,30°, see also refs 301, 302 and 403. 

A further extension of the MIMIRC reaction is seen in the synthesis of enantiomerically pure cyclohexanones. A successful diastereoselective MIMIRC reaction with 2-(rer/-butyldimethylsi-lyloxy)-4-phenyl-l,3-butadiene and an optically pure (Z)-y-alkoxy-substituted enone was performed using catalytic amounts (5 mol%) of triphenylmethyl perchlorate at — 78 ,C 360,408 (for a further example see Section 1.5.2.4.4.1.). 

The lithium enolates of cyclopentanone and cyclohexanone undergo addition-elimination to the 2,2-dimethylpropanoic acid ester of ( )-2-nitro-2-hepten-l-ol to give 2-(l-butyl-2-nitro-2-propenyl)cycloalkanones with modest diastereoselection. An analogous reaction of the enolate ion of cyclohexanone with the 2,2-dimethylpropanoic acid ester of (Z)-2-nitro-3-phenyl-2-propenol to give 2-(2-nitro-l-phenyl-2-propenyl)cyclohexanones was also reported. The relative configuration of these products was not however determined6. 

The reaction of the enamines of cyclohexanones with a,ft-unsaluraled sulfones gives mixtures resulting from attack of the enamine at the a- and /(-carbons of the oc,/ -unsaturated sulfone. The ratio of x- and /1-adducts is dependent upon the reaction solvent, the geometry and structure of the sulfone1 4. The diastereoselectivity of these reactions is also poor. The reaction of lithium enolates of cyclic ketones with ( )-[2-(methylsulfonyl)ethenyl]benzene, however, gives bicyclic alcohols, as single diastereomers, that result from initial -attack on the oc,/ -unsaturated sulfone5. 

Nair and co-workers have demonstrated NHC-catalysed formation of spirocyclic diketones 173 from a,P-unsaturated aldehydes 174 and snbstitnted dibenzylidine-cyclopentanones 175. Where chalcones and dibenzylidene cyclohexanones give only cyclopentene products (as a result of P-lactone formation then decarboxylation), cyclopentanones 175 give only the spirocychc diketone prodncts 173 [73]. Of particular note is the formation of an all-carbon quaternary centre and the excellent level of diastereoselectivity observed in the reaction. An asymmetric variant of this reaction has been demonstrated by Bode using chiral imidazolium salt 176, obtaining the desymmetrised product with good diastereo- and enantioselectivity, though in modest yield (Scheme 12.38) [74],... 

Scheme 2-5 is one of such examples in which stereoelectronic control has to be taken into account in diastereoselective alkylation of substituted cyclohexanone enolates.12... 

Early work on the asymmetric Darzens reaction involved the condensation of aromatic aldehydes with phenacyl halides in the presence of a catalytic amount of bovine serum albumin. The reaction gave the corresponding epoxyketone with up to 62% ee.67 Ohkata et al.68 reported the asymmetric Darzens reaction of symmetric and dissymmetric ketones with (-)-8-phenylmenthyl a-chloroacetate as examples of a reagent-controlled asymmetric reaction (Scheme 8-29). When this (-)-8-phenyl menthol derivative was employed as a chiral auxiliary, Darzens reactions of acetone, pentan-3-one, cyclopentanone, cyclohexanone, or benzophenone with 86 in the presence of t-BuOK provided dia-stereomers of (2J ,3J )-glycidic ester 87 with diastereoselectivity ranging from 77% to 96%. 

The diastereoselective addition to imines proceeds well with aromatic enolsi-lanes (249). Propiophenone- and tetralone-derived enolsilanes provide good levels of diastereoselectivity (>95 5) and excellent enantioselectivity (>98% ee) with selective formation of the anti diastereomer. Nonaromatic enolsilanes are somewhat less selective although cyclohexanone enolsilane still provides useful levels of diastereoselectivity and enantioselectivity (92 8 anti/syn and 88% ee at -78°C). A one-pot procedure using glyoxylate, sulfonamide, and enolsilane as coupling partners was developed subsequently, leading to the product in comparable yields and selectivities (250, 251). 

The method involves a regioselective, trans-diastereoselective, and enantioselective three-component coupling, as shown in Scheme 7.26. In this case, the zinc enolate resulting from the 1,4-addition is trapped in a palladium-catalyzed allyla-tion [64] to afford trans-2,3-disubstituted cyclohexanone 96. Subsequent palladium-catalyzed Wacker oxidation [82] yields the methylketone 97, which in the presence of t-BuOK undergoes an aldol cyclization. This catalytic sequence provides the 5,6-(98) and 5,7- (99) annulated structures with ees of 96%. 

The potential application of this catalytic system was illustrated by Takemoto in the application to a tandem conjugate addition towards the asymmetric synthesis of (-)-epibatidine, a biologically active natural product [100, 101], The authors designed an enantioselective double Michael addition of an unsaturated functionalized P-ketoester to a p-aryl nitro-olefm. The asymmetric synthesis of the 4-nitro-cyclohexanones was achieved in both high diastereoselectivity and enantioselectivity, with the natural product precursor synthesized in 90% yield and 87.5 12.5 er (Scheme 49). The target (-)-epibatidine was subsequently achieved in six steps. 

The simplest case of substrate-controlled diastereoselection is the incorporation of the controlling stereocenter and the prostereogenic center into a cyclohexane or cyclopentane ring. In the classical example of nucleophilic attack on a conformationally anchored cyclohexanone, axial and equatorial attack are possible, leading to diastereomers 1 and 2, respectively. 

Steric control elements are also important for the diastereoselectivity in alkylations of mono-cyclic cyclohexanone enolates. However, electronic control becomes more evident in these systems compared to monocyclic cyclopentanone enolates The flexibility of the six-membered ring system, and the large number of possible ring conformations, makes predictions of the diastereoselectivity difficult. In general, one may conclude that the diastereoselectivity in alkylations of enolates derived from monocyclic cyclohexanones is not as high as in alkylations of cyclopentanone enolates. The syntheses of compounds 21-27 demonstrate the effect of substitution in each position of the six-membered ring49,61 -7°. 

Chiral sulfinimines 236 are very useful intermediates for the preparation of enantiomer-ically pure primary amines 237 (equation 158) . This reaction has been applied to the synthesis of a-amino acids . For sulfinimines obtained from simple ketones, lithium reagents are preferable for the addition , while for cyclic ketones organomagnesium compounds gave the best results. Addition of alkyl and aryl Grignard compounds to sulfinimines, derived from 3- and 4-substituted cyclohexanones, proceeds with excellent diastereoselectivity, depending on the stereochemistry of the ring substituents rather than the sulfinyl group . 

Cyclohexanones in which the chair inversion is constrained by substitution undergo diastereoselective nucleophilic addition, the nature of which (i.e., preferentially axial or preferentially equatorial) depends on the nature of the substituents. The explanation of this effect has been extensively explored [95, 189, 193-197]. The simplest explanation, shown in Figure 8.5, involves a distortion of the carbonyl group from planarity in such a way as to improve 71-type donation from the ring C— bond or the axial bond (often a C—H bond) in the a position, whichever is the better donor. A secondary effect is the improved interaction between the distorted n orbital and the HOMO of the... 

Complete details are available concerning stereoselective addition of these reagents to chiral aldehydes or ketones and of crotyltitanium compounds to carbonyl groups (12, 354).2 The most diastereoselective additions to cyclohexanones known to date are effected with organotitanium reagents. 

A series of 2-substituted cyclohexanones was studied over a wide range of temperature in an attempt to optimize the diastereoselectivity of diisobutylaluminium phenoxides in the reduction of ketones.161 Hydride transfer dominates at high temperature, but a Meerwein-Ponndorf-Verley-type interconversion of the aluminium alcoholate intermediates (via the reactant ketone) is an important factor in diastereoselection at low temperature. 

The diastereoselectivity of reduction of 2-substituted cyclohexanones with 4-substituted aluminium phenoxides has been investigated over a wide temperature range (—75 to +80 °C).276 Hydride transfer dominates at high temperature whereas an MPV-type reaction contributes at lower temperatures. 

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