1.3- Dioxane-4,6-diones aldehydes

The methyl substituent of 2-methyl-4,8-dihydrobenzo[l,2- 5,4-. ]dithiophene-4,8-dione 118 undergoes a number of synthetic transformations (Scheme 8), and is therefore a key intermediate for the preparation of a range of anthraquinone derivatives <1999BMC1025>. Thus, oxidation of 118 with chromium trioxide in acetic anhydride at low temperatures affords the diacetate intermediate 119 which is hydrolyzed with dilute sulfuric acid to yield the aldehyde 120. Direct oxidation of 118 to the carboxylic acid 121 proceeded in very low yield however, it can be produced efficiently by oxidation of aldehyde 120 using silver nitrate in dioxane. Reduction of aldehyde 120 with sodium borohydride in methanol gives a 90% yield of 2-hydroxymethyl derivative 122 which reacts with acetyl chloride or thionyl chloride to produce the 2-acetoxymethyl- and 2-chloromethyl-4,8-dihydrobenzo[l,2-A5,4-3 ]-dithiophene-4,8-diones 123 and 124, respectively. 

In the second method (Scheme 26) a 3-oxo ester is synthesized from an acid chloride and 2,2-dimethyl-l,3-dioxane-4,6-dione. Then, reductive amination of the 3-oxo ester with a-methyl(phenyl)methylamine provides a 3-amino- 3-alkyl propionic acid ester. This compound is then converted into the corresponding aldehyde, which is condensed with an eno-late to afford the final product. A representative synthetic procedure of this method is given in detail. 

These reactions employ microwave heating and water as the reaction medium at 100 °C for 7-9 min. The mechanism for diastereoselectivity was confirmed by density functional theory (DFT) (B3LYP) calculations. Subsequently, new multicomponent domino reactions of Meldrum s acid 159, aromatic aldehydes 69, and electron-rich heteroaryl-amines 80 have been established for the synthesis of spiro pyrazolo[l,3]dioxanes-pyridine -4,6-diones and spirojisoxazolo [l,3]dioxanes-pyridine -4,6-diones 160 in aqueous solution under microwave irradiation (Scheme 12.64) [88]. A total of 26 examples were examined to show the broad substrate scope and high overall yields (76-93%). A new mechanism was proposed to explain the reaction process and the resulting chemo-, regio-, and stereoselectivity. 

Reactions of carbon suboxide with oxo compounds 5-Alkylidene-l,3-dioxane-4,6-diones from aldehydes Furans from y-diketones... 

Singh et al. [247] reported a multicomponent one-pot protocol for synthesis of 7-phenyl-l,4,6,7-tetrahydrothiazolo [5,4-d]pyrimidine-2,5-diones 144 by reaction of thiazolidine-2,4-dione (TZD), aromatic aldehyde, and urea at 80 C using IL [BMIM][Br] as solvent as well as catalyst (Scheme 82). In comparison to other organic solvents such as dioxane, DMF, CH3CN, DMSO, toluene, the IL furnished the best yield of products. The methodology demonstrated many advantages in terms of short reaction time, simple workup, and no by-products. 

On another occasion, Barbas s group developed the first organocatalytic diastereospecific and enantioselective direct asymmettic domino Knoevenagel/ Diels-Alder reactions that produce highly substituted spiro[5,5]undecane-l,5,9-triones 57 from commercially available 54, aldehydes 55, and 2,2-dimethyl-l,3-dioxane-4,6-dione 56 (Scheme 1.16) [18]. Among the catalysts screened, 5,5-dimethyl thiazolidinium-4-carboxylate (DMTC) proved to be the optimal catalyst with respect to yield, and provided 57 in 88% yield and 86% ee. Up to 93% yield and 99% ee were observed when the reaction was extended to other substrates. It is noteworthy that the product 57 was accompanied by a trace amount of the unexpected symmetric spirocyclic ketone 58. 

The mechanism proposed is summarized in Schane 1.17. Knoevenagel reaction between aldehyde 55 and 2,2-dimethyl-l,3-dioxane-4,6-dione 56 will provide the dienophile for subsequent Diels-Alder reaction with the reactive diene produced from 54. Then the intermediate 60 was hydrolyzed to produce the product desired and to release the catalyst. 

---