1.4- Diketones, selective protection

In the second synthesis, 8a-methyltestosterone (I48b) was prepared from the previously reported 8a-methyl-5a-pregn-9(l l)-ene-3)3.20-diol (149). Catalytic hydrogenation of (149) gave the saturated diol, which was successively oxidized to the diketone, selectively protected as the C-3 dimethyl ketal, reduced at C-20, and hydrolysed to the hydroxy-ketone (150). This in turn was transformed into the 8 -methylprogesterone (151), 8a-methyltestosterone (I48b), and 8a-methyl-oestradiol (152) analogues by conventional methods. ... 

MONOPROTECTION OF DICARBONYL COMPOUNDS Selective Protection of a- and /3-Diketones... 

Thioketals are readily formed by acid-catalyzed reaction with ethane-dithiol. Selective thioketal formation is achieved at C-3 in the presence of a 6-ketone by carrying out the boron trifluoride catalyzed reaction in diluted medium. Selective protection of the 3-carbonyl group as a thioketal has been effected in high yield with A" -3,17-diketones, A" -3,20-diketones and A" -3,l 1,17-triones in acetic acid at room temperature in the presence of p-toluenesulfonic acid. In the case of thioketals the double bond remains in the 4,5-position. This result is attributed to the greater nucleophilicity of sulfur as compared to oxygen, which promotes closure of intermediate (66) to the protonated cyclic mercaptal (67) rather than elimination to the 3,5-diene [cf. ketal (70) via intermediates (68) and (69)]." " ... 

In certain cases, the selective protection of the closely similar sites offers an opportunity to achieve a reversal in selectivity from a common precursor. Thus, the monoketal derivative 228 (Scheme 2.94) can easily be prepared from the respective diketone owing to the steric shielding of the C-17 carbonyl. The opportunity, now, to reduce the non-protected carbonyl in 228 to form alcohol 229 should not be a surprise. However, it is truly remarkable that a selective reduction can also be achieved at the C-3 protected carbonyl. This paradoxical result is due to the utilization of the reagent H2Sil2, which selectively attacks the ketal moiety and induces its removal coupled with a reduction to form the iodo derivative 230. A successful and nearly quantitative reductive conversion at either C-17 or at C-3 is achieved in this manner. In this example, the protected carbonyl functionality served as a non-conventional functional group with a pattern of reactivity sharply differing from that of the unprotected group,... 

Protection of 1,2-diols. These reagents are prepared from the diketones and HC(OMe)j in methanol containing a little sulfuric acid. By an acid-catalyzed exchange reaction, 2,3-dimethoxy-l,4-dioxane derivatives are formed in the reaction with 1,2-diols. Diequatorial diols are selectively protected. Actually, the protection can be performed directly by the reaction of a 1,2-diol with an a-diketone, trimethyl orthoformate, in methanol in the presence of camphorsulfonic acid. ... 

The alkylation of O-silylated dienolates with 1,3-dithienium tetrafluoroborate shows useful y-selectivity [equation (59)]. The y-alkylated products are selectively protected 1,5-dicarbonyl compounds. Unsaturated 1,5-diketones, precursors of various heterocycles, can be prepared by the reaction of the potassium enolates of methyl ketones with acyl keten dithioacetals [equation (60)]. ... 

The most commonly used protected derivatives of aldehydes and ketones are 1,3-dioxolanes and 1,3-oxathiolanes. They are obtained from the carbonyl compounds and 1,2-ethanediol or 2-mercaptoethanol, respectively, in aprotic solvents and in the presence of catalysts, e.g. BF, (L.F. Fieser, 1954 G.E. Wilson, Jr., 1968), and water scavengers, e.g. orthoesters (P. Doyle. 1965). Acid-catalyzed exchange dioxolanation with dioxolanes of low boiling ketones, e.g. acetone, which are distilled during the reaction, can also be applied (H. J. Dauben, Jr., 1954). Selective monoketalization of diketones is often used with good success (C. Mercier, 1973). Even from diketones with two keto groups of very similar reactivity monoketals may be obtained by repeated acid-catalyzed equilibration (W.S. Johnson, 1962 A.G. Hortmann, 1969). Most aldehydes are easily converted into acetals. The ketalization of ketones is more difficult for sterical reasons and often requires long reaction times at elevated temperatures. a, -Unsaturated ketones react more slowly than saturated ketones. 2-Mercaptoethanol is more reactive than 1,2-ethanediol (J. Romo, 1951 C. Djerassi, 1952 G.E. Wilson, Jr., 1968). 

Selectivity in formation of protective groups may also be achieved by a proper choice of reaction conditions and catalyst. Thus formation of the 3-monothioketal from 3,6-diketones is achieved by dilution of the ethane-dithiol-boron trifluoride reaction mixture with acetic acid. 3-Monocyanohydrins are obtained in good yield from 3,20-diketo-(5a)-pregnanes by diluting the exchange reaction with ethanol. Similarly, dilution of the... 

Selective reduction of ketones.1 This reagent can be used to effect selective reduction of the more hindered of two ketones by DIBAH or dibromoalane. Thus treatment of a 1 1 mixture of two ketones with 1-2 equiv. of 1 results in preferential complexation of the less hindered ketone with 1 reduction of this mixture of free and complexed ketones results in preferential reduction of the free, originally more hindered, ketone. An electronic effect of substituents on a phenyl group can also play a role in the complexation. This method is not effective for discrimination between aldehydes and ketones, because MAD-complexes are easily reduced by hydrides. MAD can also serve as a protecting group for the more reactive carbonyl group of a diketone. The selectivity can be enhanced by use of a more bulky aluminum reagent such as methylaluminum bis(2-f-butyl-6-( 1,1-diethylpropyl)-4-methylphenoxide). 

Marchand and co-workers ° synthesis of 5,5,9,9-tetranitropentacyclo[5.3.0.0 .0 °.0 ] decane (52) reqnired the dioxime of pentacyclo[5.3.0.0 .0 °.0 ]decane-5,9-dione (49) for the incorporation of the four nitro groups. Synthesis of the diketone precursor (48) was achieved in only five steps from cyclopentanone. Thus, acetal protection of cyclopentanone with ethylene glycol, followed by a-bromination, and dehydrobromination with sodium in methanol, yielded the reactive intermediate (45), which underwent a spontaneous Diels-Alder cycloaddition to give (46). Selective acetal deprotection of (46) was followed by a photo-initiated intramolecular cyclization and final acetal deprotection with aqueous mineral acid to give the diketone (48). Derivatization of the diketone (48) to the corresponding dioxime (49) was followed by conversion of the oxime groups to gem-dinitro functionality using standard literature procedures. 

Preussomerin I 697 and ( )-preussomerin G 698 were obtained from 620 with a five- and six-steps sequence in 15% and 12% overall yield, respectively, through modifications of substituents of the dioxocin ring. Thus, attack of lithium methoxide from the less hindered face of the enone 620, followed by protection of the phenolic oxygen as its methyl ether provided the methoxy adduct 692. The ketone 693 was obtained through a benzylic bromination-solvolysis-oxidation protocol, which required only a single purification. The C(2)-C(3) olefin was introduced by selective silylation of the C-l carbonyl of diketone 693 and oxidation of the silyl enol ether with Pd(OAc)2. Enone... 

The concept of in situ protection of the less hindered or more Lewis basic of two ketones to enable selective reduction of the usually less reactive groups has been successfully developed. The sterically hindered Lewis acid MAD (78) derived from BHT and trimethyl aluminum was used to coordinate preferentially to the less hindered ketone and DIBAL-H reduced the more hindered ketone that remained un-complexed. An approximate order of comparative reactivity for various classes of ketones has been established. The selectivity was improved by using the more hindered Lewis acid MAB (79) and/or di-bromoalane as the reducing agent. The discrimination between aromatic ketones is good but less successful between two dialkyl ketones. The chemoselectivity was demonstrated in the reduction of diketone (80) to keto alcohol (81) in 87% yield and excellent selectivity (equation 20). 

The plant bufadienolide scillarenin (500) has been synthesized. The starting material was 15a-hydroxycortexone (501), which was converted into the diketone ketal (502) by cupric acetate oxidation at C(21), followed by selective ketalization and tosylate elimination. Protection at C(3) as the dienol ether, oxiran formation at C(20) with dimethylsulphonium methylide, and regeneration of the C(3)- and C(21)-oxo-groups by acid hydrolysis then provided (503). Selective reaction at C(21) with the sodium salt of diethyl methoxycarbonyl-methylphosphonate, and boron trifluoride rearrangement of the epoxide ring to the aldehydo-unsaturated ester (504), was followed by enol lactonization to the bufadienolide (505). This was converted, in turn, to scillarenin (500) via the 14,15-bromohydrin, by standard reactions. Unsubstituted bufadienolides have also been prepared by the same method. 

Diketones often are protected as enol ethers or enamines and these selectively functionalized compounds may be subjected to complementary transformations (Scheme 94). Also silylenes can be prepared from diketones and -hydroxycarbonyl compounds by reaction with dimethyldicyanosilane. Naturally, these blocking groups are relatively sensitive to hydrolysis. On the other hand, partial solvolysis can open a route to monoprotected derivatives (e.g. 101), usually blocked at the sterically less demanding carbonyl function as 0-silyl cyanohydrins (see Scheme 95). Deprotection is finally achieved with silver fluoride in THF. 

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