Diketone formation, aldol reactions

The aldol reactions we ve seen thus far have all been intermolecular, meaning that they have taken place between two different molecules. When certain r/zcar-bonyl compounds are treated with base, however, an mtramolecular aldol reaction can occur, leading to the formation of a cyclic product. For example, base treatment of a 1,4-diketone such as 2,5-hexanedione yields a cyclopcntenone... 

A total synthesis of functionalized 8,14-seco steroids with five- and six-membered D rings has been developed (467). The synthesis is based on the transformation of (S)-carvone into a steroidal AB ring moiety with a side chain at C(9), which allows the creation of a nitrile oxide at this position. The nitrile oxides are coupled with cyclic enones or enol derivatives of 1,3-diketones, and reductive cleavage of the obtained cycloadducts give the desired products. The formation of a twelve-membered ring compound has been reported in the cycloaddition of one of the nitrile oxides with cyclopentenone and as the result of an intramolecular ene reaction, followed by retro-aldol reaction. 

In the majority of dehydration reactions, heterocyclic compounds are formed, rather than carbocyclic compounds. Many possibilities for formation of carbocyclic compounds exist, but these are important only if (a) the heterocyclic or acyclic tautomers cannot undergo further elimination reactions, or (b) the conditions of reaction greatly favor the formation of an acyclic tautomer capable of affording only the carbocyclic compound. Both five- and six-membered carbocyclic compounds have been isolated, with reductic acid being the compound most frequently reported. Ring closure occurs by an inter-molecular, aldol reaction that involves the carbonyl group and an enolic structure. Many examples of these aldol reactions that lead to formation of carbocyclic rings have been studied.47 As both elimination and addition of a proton are involved, the reaction occurs in both acidic and basic solutions. As examples of the facility of this reaction, pyruvic acid condenses spontaneously to a dibasic acid at room temperature in dilute solution, and such 8-diketones as 29 readily cyclize to form cyclohexenones, presumably by way of 30, either in acid or base. 

Conseqnently, the magnesinm chelate 71 can also react as a nucleophilic donor in aldol reactions. In the chemistry involving magnesium chelates, these two aspects model their mode of action as nucleophilic partners in aldol condensations. This is exemplified in aldol condensations of y-diketones . Thus, sodium hydroxyde catalyzed cyclization of diketone 73 to give a mixtnre of 3,5,5-trimethyl-cyclopent-2-enone 74 and 3,4,4-trimethyl-cyclopent-2-enone 75 in a 2.2/1 isomeric ratio (equation 100). When treated with magnesinm methanolate, the insertion of a a-methoxy carbonyl group as control element, as in 76, allows the formation of a chelated magnesium enolate 77, and the major prodnct is now mainly the aldol 78. This latter treated with aqueous NaOH provides the trimethylcyclopent-2-enones 74 and 75 in a 1/49 ratio. 

Step, aldol condensation to form the benzylidene derivative (12-3). Conjugate addition of a second mole of acetoacetate would then afford the 1,5-diketone (12-4). Reaction of the carbonyl groups with ammonia will lead to the formation of the dihydropyridine ring. Alternatively, acetoacetate may go on to form the imine (12-5) reaction of this with the aldol product (13-3) will give the same dihydropyridine. The product, nifedipine (12-6) [13], has been used extensively for the treatment of angina and hypertension. 

Desymmetrization via proline-catalyzed asymmetric intramolecular aldol reaction can, however, also be performed with acydic diketones of type 109 as has been reported by the Agami group [106], In the first step a prochiral acyclic diketone reacts in the presence of L-proline as catalyst (22-112 mol%) with formation of the aldol adduct 111 (Scheme 6.49). In this step reaction products with two stereogenic centers, 110, are formed. These chiral hydroxyketones 110 are subsequently converted, via dehydration, into the enones 111, by treatment with p-toluenesulfonic acid. 

Base-catalysed conjugate addition of nitropropane to methyl vinyl ketone occurred smoothly to give the nitroketone. Formation of the salt with sodium methoxide was followed by oxidative cleavage of the C-N linkage with ozone. The product was a 1,4-diketone which was isolated without further aldol reaction by this route. 

Apart form the aforementioned highly enantioselective hetero-Diels-Alder reactions, that proceed with very low catalyst loadings, the catalytically accessible enolates have also been used for related intramolecular Michael reactions (Philips et al. 2007) and for the desym-metrization of 1,3-diketones yielding cyclopentenes via an intramolecular aldol reaction (Wadamoto et al. 2007). The formation of cyclopentenes, however, presents a special case, so—depending on the stereochemical nature of the enone substrates (s-cis or s-trans) and the stereochemistry of the final products—two different mechanisms are discussed in the literature. Whereas /ran.v-cycl open (cries are proposed to be available upon conjugate addition of a homoenolate to chalcones,... 

Aldol and Mannich reactions. Formation of cyclopentenones is readily achieved by a twofold Mukaiyama aldol reaction between l,3-bis(trimethylsiloxy)-1,3-dienes and 1,2-diketones. ... 

The Wacker reaction provides a method for the preparation of 1,4-dicarbonyl compounds, by formation of an enolate, allylation with an allyl halide, followed by palladium-catalysed oxidation of the terminal alkene. The product 1,4-dicarbonyl compounds can be treated with base to promote intramolecular aldol reaction (Robinson annulation - see Section 1.1.2) to give cyclopentenones. Thus, in a synthesis of pentalenene, Wacker oxidation of the 2-aUyl ketone 115 gave the 1,4-diketone 116, which was converted to the cyclopentenone 117 (5.115). ... 

Regioselective photocycloaddition of enol carbonate 59 with allene results in the formation of adduct 60 in 83% yield. The protecting group is removed under palladium-catalyzed conditions, and the resulting alcohol undergoes retro-aldol reaction and olefin isomerization to give the 1,5-diketone 62 in excellent yield. This compound contains the AB ring system of the taxane skeleton. 

The aldol reaction plays a key role in biosynthesis of poly-ketide natural products. It is also one of the most used transformations for stereoselective C—C bond formation. Deslongchamps and co-workers described one of the early examples of transannular aldol reactions in the synthesis of (it)-ryanodol, a compact and highly functionalized polycyclic diterpenoid isolated from Ryania speciosa The 1,5-diketone 48 that was requisite for the transannular aldol reaction was generated in situ from 47 by ozonolysis of its alkene (Scheme 20.14). Conformational equilibration of 48 to the less strained conformer B was followed by a transannular aldol reaction to give 49 in 90% yield. The polycyclic molecular framework provided the conformational bias for stereoselective formation of 49, which was converted to ryanodol after additional transformations. 

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