3-diketone asymmetrical reduction

Much the same situation pertains to the asymmetric reduction of diketones and ketoesters. Thus, some years ago, a yeast reduction of the diketone (12) formed a key step in the preparation of important steroids (Scheme 9). Work in... 

The Ni/tartaric acid/NaBr catalyst system has been extensively studied. A variety of ketone substrates have been reduced with Ni/tartaric acid/NaBr catalysts with variable enantioselectivities, but the highest (>85% ee) are obtained for the reductions of P-keto esters and P-diketones (Schemes 12.60 and 12.61).5 Asymmetric reduction of diketones results in the formation of mesa and chiral diols. The highest meso chiral diol ratio of 2 98 and enantioselectivities of 98% ee are obtained with modified Raney nickel catalysts treated by sonication.5... 

LnCpa and Cp2LnCl complexes initiate the dehalogenation of aiyl and vinyl halides by NaH. Chemoselectivity is observed in the reduction of m-bromochloro-benzene and p-iodochlorobenzene to chlorobenzene [192], The asymmetric reduction of methylphenyl glyoxylate to methyl mandelate by NADH models is catalyzed by chiral lanthanide )6-diketonates [193],... 

Baker s yeast offers the synthetic chemist an enzymatic method for the asymmetric reduction of p-keto esters, a-hydroxyaldehydes and ketones, and p-diketones. Reviews (a) Rene Csuk, R. Glaenzer, B. 1. Chem. Rev. 1991, 91, 49-97. (b) Servi, S. Synthesis, 1990, 1-25. 

Our synthesis started from hydroxy ketone B (Figure 5.31), which was obtained by asymmetric reduction of prochiral diketone A with fermenting baker s yeast.38 The key step in the present synthesis was the ring formation by intramolecular alkylation of C to give D. To obtain C, the enfifo-hydroxy group of B was first epimerized via retro-aldol/aldol by treatment with p-toluenesulfonic acid in carbon tetrachloride. The tricyclic intermediate D was converted to (+)-pinthunamide (146), mp 187-189°C, [a]D215 = +60 (EtOH), which was identical with the natural product. Its absolute configuration was thus determined as depicted in 146.39... 

Asymmetric reduction of diketone is one of the easiest ways to obtain chiral di-ols. Bisoxazaborolidine having two catalytic centers seems to be especially good at catalyzing the enantioselective reduction of prochiral diketones. 1,6-Diphe-... 

Ohnishi Y, Numakunai T, Ohno A (1975b) Reduction by a model of NAD(P)H. Contribution of metal ion to asymmetric reduction of trifluoroacetophenone. Tetrahedron Lett 3813-3814 Ohnishi Y, Kagami M, Ohno A (1975c) Reduction by a model of NAD(P)H. Reduction of a-diketones and a-keto alcohols by 1-benzyl-1,4-dihydronicotinamide. Tetrahedron Lett 2437-2440 Ohnishi Y, Kagami M, Numakunai T, Ohno A (1976a) Reduction by a model of NAD(P)H. VIII. Effects of metal ion on the course and stereochemistry of the biomimetic reduction of olefin. Chem Lett 915-916... 

Asymmetric reductions of a-fiinctionalized ketones, such as a-hydroxy ketones, a-halo ketones, a-sulfonoxy ketones, 1,2-diketones, a-keto acetals or thio ketals, acyl cyanides and a-amino or imino ketones with boron-based chiral reducing agents in a stoichiometric or catalytic manner have been reviewed. The oxazaborolidine-catalyzed borane reduction of protected a-hydroxy ketones, a-keto acetals and a-sulfonoxy ketones has been discussed in more detail. 

Asymmetric reduction of unsymmetrically substimted 1,2-diketones with the chiral Ru catalyst gives a partly reduced chiral a-hydroxy ketone at 10°C, while at higher temperature, 40°C, chiral ann-1,2-diols with an excellent ee is obtainable (Fig. 5) [34]. This method can be applied to access (l/ ,2S)-l-(4 -methoxyphenyl)-1,2-propanediol (98% ee), which is a major metabolite of fran -anethole in the rat. 

Conditions Ru cat = RuCI[(S, S)-Tsdpen](p-cymene), HCOOH/N(C2H5)3 = 4.4/2. Fig. 5 Asymmetric reduction of imsymmetrically substituted 1.2-diketone... 

The power of Noyori s Ru -BINAP system in ketone reductions has been amply demonstrated in numerous complex molecule syntheses. Schreiber, for example, has disclosed a route to the macrolide antibiotic mycoticin A (221, Scheme 2.27) [139] that relies on a strategy involving two-directional chain synthesis [140]. Catalytic asymmetric reduction of diketone 216 affords the C2-symmetric diol 217. Conversion of 217 into bis(ketoester) 218 then allows double ketone reduction to furnish 219, which was subsequently elaborated into the skipped polyol chain 220 of mycoticin A (221). 

Asymmetrical reduction of some bridged bicyclic p-diketones 58, 60, 62, and 64 yielded ketols 59 [26], 61 [74], 63 [74], and 65 [74], respectively, as shown in Fig. 28. The hydroxy ketones 5 and 59 were the building blocks for the synthesis of glycinoeclepin A (Fig. 29), a degraded triterpenoid with remarkable hatch-stimulating activity against the... 

Acetoxy-l,7-octadiene (40) is converted into l,7-octadien-3-one (124) by hydrolysis and oxidation. The most useful application of this enone 124 is bisannulation to form two fused six-membered ketonesfl 13], The Michael addition of 2-methyl-1,3-cyclopentanedione (125) to 124 and asymmetric aldol condensation using (5)-phenylalanine afford the optically active diketone 126. The terminal alkene is oxidi2ed with PdCl2-CuCl2-02 to give the methyl ketone 127 in 77% yield. Finally, reduction of the double bond and aldol condensation produce the important intermediate 128 of steroid synthesis in optically pure form[114]. 

The first experiments made by Neuberg and Nord with the simplest diketone, diacetyl, showed at once that this substance can be hydrogenated phytochemically with comparitive ease. Acetylmethylcarbinol appears as an intermediate (see below), and the end product of reduction is asymmetric and levorotatory. Reduction was effected by the action of fermenting yeast on diacetyl. The 2,3-butanediol that is formed can be isolated by alcohol-ether extraction of the fermentation mixture after concentration in the Faust-Heim apparatus or by steam distillation in an atmosphere of carbon dioxide under ordinary pressure it is then carefully concentrated with the birectifier and obtained in the pure state by final fractionation. 

Recently, List has described a cascade reaction promoted by phosphoric acid 1 in combination with stoichiometric amounts of achiral amine, which transforms various 2,6-diketones to the corresponding ds-cyclohexylamines (Scheme 5.28) [50]. This three-step process involves initial aldolization via enamine catalysis to give conjugate iminium ion intermediate A. Next, asymmetric conjugate reduction followed by a diastereoselective 1,2 hydride addition completes the catalytic cycle. 

The transformations that use asymmetric heterogeneous catalysis will be highlighted P-keto esters and diketone reductions by Raney nickel catalyst modified with R,R-tartaric acid and NaBr. a-Keto acid reductions with cinchona modified Pt catalysts are discussed in Chapter 18. 

Diamine 264 is made from the a-diketone benzil by a simple but multiple cyclisation to give the heterocycle 265. Stereoselective dissolving metal reduction gives anti-266 and hence racemic 264 on aminal hydrolysis. Resolution with tartaric acid brings down crystals of the tartrate of one enantiomer. With l-(+)-tartaric acid, the salt with (.S, .S )-264 is less soluble while (R,R)-264 requires treatment with d-(—)-tartaric acid. One important application is the asymmetric Lewis acid46 267. 

Similar reduction of a prochiral diketone C with another yeast, Pichia terricola afforded D, which was converted to JH I,28 JH II,28 JH 029 and 4-methyl JH I.30 In the case of (+)-4-methyl JH I, asymmetric hydrolysis of dimethyl 3-methylglutarate with pig-liver esterase (PLE) was also employed for its... 

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