Diels-Alder equivalents

Recently Desimoni et used the same bis(oxazoline) ligand in the magnesium(II) catalysed Diels-Alder reaction of the N-acyloxazolidinone depicted in Scheme 3.4. In dichloromethane a modest preference was observed for the formation of the S-enantiomer. Interestingly, upon addition of two equivalents of water, the R-enantiomer was obtained in excess. This remarkable observation was interpreted in terms of a change from tetrahedral to octahedral coordination upon the introduction of the strongly coordinating water molecules. 

We chose benzyli dene acetone (4.39, Scheme 4.11) as a model dienophile for our studies. The uncatalysed Diels-Alder reaction of this compound with cyclopentadiene is slow, justifying a catalytic approach. Reaction of 4.39 with paraformaldehyde and dimethyl amine under acidic conditions in an aqueous ethanol solution, following a literature procedure, produced the HCl salt of 4.42 (Scheme 4.11). The dienophile was liberated in situ by adding one equivalent of base. 

Because the Corey synthesis has been extensively used in prostaglandin research, improvements on the various steps in the procedure have been made. These variations include improved procedures for the preparation of norbomenone (24), alternative methods for the resolution of acid (26), stereoselective preparations of (26), improved procedures for the deiodination of iodolactone (27), alternative methods for the synthesis of Corey aldehyde (29) or its equivalent, and improved procedures for the stereoselective reduction of enone (30) (108—168). For example, a catalytic enantioselective Diels-Alder reaction has been used in a highly efficient synthesis of key intermediate (24) in 92% ee (169). 

The distinction between these two classes of reactions is semantic for the five-membered rings Diels-Alder reaction at the F/B positions in (269) (four atom fragment) is equivalent to 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition in (270) across the three-atom fragment, both providing the 47t-electron component of the cycloaddition. Oxazoles and isoxazoles and their polyaza analogues show reduced aromatic character and will undergo many cycloadditions, whereas fully nitrogenous azoles such as pyrazoles and imidazoles do not, except in certain isolated cases. 

With this foundation, Boger communicated the use of 1,2,4-triazines as a dependable, azadiene equivalent for Diels-Alder approaches to substituted pyridines. Electron rich olefin 19, prepared from the corresponding ketone, was allowed to... 

Another chiral titanium reagent, 11, was developed by Corey et al. [17] (Scheme 1.24). The catalyst was prepared from chiral ris-N-sulfonyl-2-amino-l-indanol and titanium tetraisopropoxide with removal of 2-propanol, followed by treatment with one equivalent of SiCl4, to give the catalytically-active yellow solid. This catalyst is thought not to be a simple monomer, but rather an aggregated species, as suggested by NMR study. Catalyst 11 promotes the Diels-Alder reaction of a-bro-moacrolein with cyclopentadiene or isoprene. 

Effect of water additive was examined in the asymmetric Diels-Alder reactions catalyzed by the J ,J -DBF0X/Ph-Ni(C104)2 complex. After addition of an appropriate amount of water to the anhydrous complex A, the reaction with an excess amount of cyclopentadiene was performed at room temperature. Enantioselectivity was as high as 93% ee for the endo cycloadduct up to five equivalents of water added and the satisfactory level of 88% ee was maintained when 10 equivalents were added. However, enantioselectivity gradually decreased with the increased amounts of water added 83 and 55% ee from 15 and 50 equivalents, respectively (Scheme 7.11). When the reaction temperature went down to -40 °C, the enantioselectivity as high as 98% ee resulted up to 15 equivalents of water additive. The effect of methanol at room temperature was even more surprising. In the presence of 15 and 100 equivalents of methanol, high levels of enantioselectivities of 88% and 83% ee, respectively, were recorded for the reactions at room temperature. 

The Diels-Alder reaction was thought for many years to be only slightly influenced by catalysts. However, in 1960, Yates and Eaton (6) clearly demonstrated that with certain dienophiles, the presence of a molar equivalent of aluminum chloride can cause a remarkable acceleration of the reaction. Providing the diene is not polymerized (7) or otherwise destroyed by the catalyst, the modification can be fruitfully employed to carry out the reaction at lower temperature and for shorter times. 

Functionalized nitroalkenes are important chenophiles in the Diels-Alder ri example, fE -methyl fi-nitroactylate is an impottant reagent in organic synthesis The nitre group can be readily eliminated the Diels-Alder reaction of fi-nitroactylate is equivalent to that of ethyl propiolate with an inverse regiochemistry fEq. 8.4. ... 

Benzoquinone is an excellent dienophile in the Diels-Alder reaction. What product would you expect from reaction of benzoquinone with 1 equivalent of 1,3-butadiene Prom reaction with 2 equivalents of 1,3-butadiene ... 

A key transformation in Corey s prostaglandin synthesis is a Diels-Alder reaction between a 5-(alkoxymethyl)-l,3-cyclopenta-diene and a ketene equivalent such as 2-chloroacrylonitrile (16). As we have already witnessed in Scheme 3, it is possible to bring about a smooth [4+2] cycloaddition reaction between 5-substituted cyclopentadiene 15 and 2-chloroacrylonitrile (16) to give racemic 14 as a mixture of epimeric chloronitriles. Under these conditions, the diastereomeric chloronitriles are both produced in racemic form because one enantiotopic face of dienophile 16 will participate in a Diels-Alder reaction with the same facility as the other enantiotopic face. In subsequent work, Corey s group demonstrated that racemic hydroxy acid 11, derived in three steps from racemic 14 (see Scheme 3), could be resolved in a classical fashion with (+)-ephe-... 

Norbornadienes, norbornenones and their homologs have been prepared [23, 24] by cycloaddition of cyclopentadiene (21) and cyclohexadiene (22) with l-benzenesulfonyl-2-trimethylsilylacetylene (23) and l-ethoxy-2-carbomethox-yacetylene (24). Both were efficient dienophiles in the cycloaddition processes and dienophile 23 acted as an effective acetylene equivalent (Scheme 2.12). Norbornanes and their homologs can also be attained by Diels-Alder reaction... 

Diels-Alder reactions of 1-(phenylseleno)-2-(p-toluensulphonyl)ethyne a novel die-nophile and ketene equivalent [138]... 

As an approach to biomimetic catalysis, Sanders and colleagues [67] synthesized a series of 1,1,2-linked cyclic porphyrin trimers that allow the stereo- and regiochemistry of the Diels-Alder reaction of 84 and 85 within the molecular cavity to be controlled, thereby producing prevalently or exclusively the endo 86 or the exo 87 adduct. Two examples are illustrated in Scheme 4.18. At 30 °C and in the absence of 88, the reaction furnishes a mixture of diastereoisomers, while the addition of one equivalent of trimer 88 accelerates the reaction 1000-fold and the thermodynamically more stable exo adduct 87 is the sole detectable product. 

The substituents at C-2, C-3 within diene 97 and those at C-1, C-2 within dienophiles 98-100 are electronically and/or sterically equivalent with respect to diene and dienophile reaction centers, respectively, and therefore cycloaddition should not display regiochemical bias in the absence of orientational effects. The Diels-Alder reactions of 97 prepared in situ with 98-100 gave an excess of 101 (Scheme 4.19) [70b], which are the expected regioisomers if the reagents react in their preferred orientations within a mixed micelle with an ammonium head group at the aggregate-water interface and the remainder in the micelle interior. 

Wada E., Yasuoka H., Pei W., Chin U., Kanemasa S. Lewis Add-Catalyzed Stereoselective Hetero Diels-Alder Reactions of (E)-l-Phenylsulfonyl-3-Alken-2-Ones With Vinyl Ethers. Synthetically Equivalent to Stereoselective Michael Type... 

In fl-trimethylsilylcarboxylic acids the non-Kolbe electrolysis is favored as the carbocation is stabilized by the p-effect of the silyl group. Attack of methanol at the silyl group subsequently leads in a regioselective elimination to the double bond (Eq. 29) [307, 308]. This reaction has been used for the construction of 1,4-cyclohexa-dienes. At first Diels-Alder adducts are prepared from dienes and P-trimethylsilyl-acrylic acid as acetylene-equivalent, this is then followed by decarboxylation-desilyl-ation (Eq. 30) [308]. Some examples are summarized in Table 11, Nos. 12-13. 

Antioxidant capacities of common individual curcuminoids were determined in vitro by phosphomolybdenum and linoleic acid peroxidation methods. Antioxidant capacities expressed as ascorbic acid equivalents (pmol/g) were 3099 for curcumin, 2833 for demethoxycurcumin, and 2677 for bisdemethoxycurcumin at concentrations of 50 ppm. The same order of antioxidant activity (curcumin > demethoxycurcumin > bisdemethoxycurcumin) was observed when compared with BHT (buty-lated hydroxyl toluene) in linoleic peroxidation tests. The antioxidant activity of curcumin in the presence of ethyl linoleate was demonstrated and six reaction products were identified and structurally characterized. The mechanism proposed for this activity consisted of an oxidative coupling reaction at the 3 position of the curcumin with the lipid and a subsequent intramolecular Diels-Alder reaction. ... 

Many other examples of synthetic equivalent groups have been developed. For example, in Chapter 6 we discussed the use of diene and dienophiles with masked functionality in the Diels-Alder reaction. It should be recognized that there is no absolute difference between what is termed a reagent and a synthetic equivalent group. For example, we think of potassium cyanide as a reagent, but the cyanide ion is a nucleophilic equivalent of a carboxy group. This reactivity is evident in the classical preparation of carboxylic acids from alkyl halides via nitrile intermediates. 

Diels-Alder reactions are attractive for synthetic application because of the predictable regio- and stereochemistry. There are, however, limitations on the types of compounds that can serve as dienophiles or dienes. As a result, the idea of synthetic equivalence has been exploited by development of dienophiles and dienes that meet the reactivity requirements of the Diels-Alder reaction and can then be converted to the desired structure. For each of the dienophiles and dienes given below, suggest a Diels-Alder reaction and subsequent transformation(s) that would give a product not directly attainable by a Diels-Alder reaction. Give the structure of the diene or dienophile synthetic equivalent and indicate why the direct Diels-Alder reaction is not possible. 

Release and Reactivity of tf-o-QMs Although the r 2-o-QM Os complexes 11 are stable when exposed to air or dissolved in water, the quinone methide moiety can be released upon oxidation (Scheme 3.8).16 For example, reaction of the Os-based o-QM 12 with 1.5 equivalents of CAN (ceric ammonium nitrate) in the presence of an excess of 3,4-dihydropyran led to elimination of free o-QM and its immediate trapping as the Diels-Alder product tetrahydropyranochromene, 14. Notably, in the absence of the oxidizing agent, complex 12 is completely unreactive with both electron-rich (dihydropyran) and electron-deficient (A-methylmaleimide) dienes. 

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