1.3- Dipolar cycloaddition reactions nitrile oxides

A -Isoxazolines are readily available from the 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition of nitrile -oxides with alkenes and from the condensation reaction of ehones with hydroxylamine. Therefore, methods of conversion of -isoxazolines into isoxazoles are of particular interest and of synthetic importance. 

A variety of 1-azirines are available (40-90%) from the thermally induced extrusion (>100 °C) of triphenylphosphine oxide from oxazaphospholines (388) (or their acyclic betaine equivalents), which are accessible through 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition of nitrile oxides (389) to alkylidenephosphoranes (390) (66AG(E)1039). Frequently, the isomeric ketenimines (391) are isolated as by-products. The presence of electron withdrawing functionality in either or both of the addition components can influence the course of the reaction. For example, addition of benzonitrile oxide to the phosphorane ester (390 = C02Et) at... 

Zinc-tartrate complexes were applied for reactions of both nitrones and nitrile oxides with allyl alcohol and for both reaction types selectivities of more than 90% ee were obtained. Whereas the reactions of nitrones required a stoichiometric amount of the catalyst the nitrile oxide reactions could be performed in the presence of 20 mol% of the catalyst. This is the only example on a metal-catalyzed asymmetric 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition of nitrile oxides. It should however be no-... 

As discussed in Section 6.2, nitro compounds are good precursors of nitrile oxides, which are important dipoles in cycloadditions. The 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition of nitrile oxides with alkenes or alkynes provides a straightforward access to 2-isoxazolines or isoxazoles, respectively. A number of ring-cleaving procedures are applicable, such that various types of compounds may be obtained from the primary adducts (Scheme 8.18). There are many reports on synthetic applications of this reaction. The methods for generation of nitrile oxides and their reactions are discussed in Section 6.2. Recent synthetic applications and asymmetric synthesis using 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition of nitrile oxides are summarized in this section. 

Compared with the related reactions of nitrones, there have only appeared a few publications of metal-assisted or metal-catalyzed 1,3-dipolar cycloadditions of nitrile oxides. This is due to... 

It has recently been found that Et2Zn promotes the 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition of nitrile oxides to allyl alcohol in the presence of catalytic amounts of diisopropyl tartrate (DIPT). By this method, 2-isoxazlines are obtained in good yields and up to 96% ee (Eq. 8.73).124a A positive nonlinear effect (amplification of ee of the product) has been observed in this reaction. There is an excellent review on positive and negative nonlinear effects in asymmetric induction.124b... 

The conversion of the polystyrene-supported selenyl bromide 289 into the corresponding acid 290 allowed dicyclohexylcarbodiimide (DCC)-mediated coupling with an amidoxime to give the 1,2,4-oxadiazolyl-substituted selenium resin 291 (Scheme 48). Reaction with lithium diisopropylamide (LDA) and allylation gave the a-sub-stituted selenium resin 292, which was then used as an alkene substrate for 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition with nitrile oxides. Cleavage of heterocycles 293 from the resin was executed in an elegant manner via selenoxide syn-elimination from the resin <2005JC0726>. 

Intermolecular Cycloaddition at the C=C Double Bond Addition at the C=C double bond is the main type of 1,3-cycloaddition reactions of nitrile oxides. The topic was treated in detail in Reference 157. Several reviews appeared, which are devoted to problems of regio- and stereoselectivity of cycloaddition reactions of nitrile oxides with alkenes. Two of them deal with both inter- and intramolecular reactions (158, 159). Important information on regio-and stereochemistry of intermolecular 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition of nitrile oxides to alkenes was summarized in Reference 160. 

Formation of mixtures of the above type, which is common with internal olefins, do not occur with many functionalized alkenes. Thus, tertiary cinnamates and cinnamides undergo cycloadditions with benzonitrile oxides to give the 5-Ph and 4-Ph regioisomers in a 25-30 75-70 ratio. This result is in contrast to that obtained when methyl cinnamate was used as the dipolarophile (177). 1,3-Dipolar cycloaddition of nitrile oxides to ethyl o -hydroxycinnamate proceeds regiose-lectively to afford the corresponding ethyl fra s-3-aryl-4,5-dihydro-5-(2-hydro-xyphenyl)-4-isoxazolecarboxylates 36 (178). Reaction of 4-[( )-(2-ethoxycarbo-nylvinyl)] coumarin with acetonitrile oxide gives 37 (R = Me) and 38 in 73% and 3% yields, respectively, while reaction of the same dipolarophile with 4-methoxy-benzonitrile oxide affords only 37 (R = 4-MeOCr>H4) (85%) (179). 

Regio- and diastereoselectivity in 1,3-dipolar cycloadditions of nitrile oxides to 4-substituted cyclopent-2-enones was studied (238, 239). The reactions are always regioselective, while the diastereofacial selectivity depends on the nature of the substituents. Thus, 4-hydroxy-4-methylcyclopent-2-enone (75) gives preferably adducts 76a, the 76a 76b ratio warying from 65 35 to 85 15 (Scheme 1.22). 

Aldimines, Ketimines, and Related Compounds as Dipolarophiles Reactions of aldimines with nitrile oxides proceed readily to give 1,2,4-oxadiazolines independently of the nature of substituents both in dipole and dipolarophile molecules. 1,2,4-Oxadiazolines were prepared by the regiospe-cihc 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition of nitrile oxides with fluoro-substituted aldimines (295). Phosphorylnitrile oxides gave with azomethines, PhCH NR, phosphory-lated 1,2,4-oxadiazolines 129 (296). Expected 1,2,4-oxadiazolines were also obtained from azomethines, derived from 4-formylcoumarine (179) and 1,3-diphenylpyrazole-4-carbaldehyde (297). 

Dipolar cycloaddition of nitrile oxide at the C=N bond of indole imino esters 130, followed by elimination of the alcohol moity gives oxadiazole derivatives 131 (Scheme 1.26) (298). Reaction of N-arylbenzamidines with arenenitrile N-oxides (generated in situ from oximoyl chlorides) produce unstable 5-amino-4,5-dihydro-1,2,4-oxadiazoles which, on aqueous acidic treatment hydrolyze to open-chain N-benzoyloxy-N -arylareneamidines (299). 

Poly(ethylene glycol) supported liquid-phase syntheses by both the reaction of (polyethylene glycol (PEG))-supported imines with nitrile oxides, generated in situ from aldoximes, (300) and 1,3-dipolar cycloadditions of nitrile oxide, generated in situ on soluble polymers with a variety of imines (301, 302) have been described. The solid-phase synthesis of 1,2,4-oxadiazolines via cycloaddition of nitrile oxide generated in situ on solid support with imines has also been elaborated (303). These syntheses of 1,2,4-oxadiazolines provide a library of 1,2,4-oxadiazolines in good yields and purity. 

A rapid access to carbocyclic nucleosides, containing a fused isoxazoline ring has been proposed, starting from cyclopentadiene. The route involves a het-ero Diels-Alder cycloaddition reaction of nitrosocarbonylbenzene followed by a 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition of nitrile oxides, cleavage of the N-0 tether and transformation of the heterocyclic aminols into nucleosides via construction of purine and pyrimidine heterocycles (457). 

The ability of nitrile oxides to undergo addition and cycloaddition reactions makes it possible to use them in polymer chemistry and technology. Major trends might be synthesis, modification, cross-linking of polymers, addition of nucleophiles, and 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition of nitrile oxides. Taking into account the scarcity of reviews devoted to this topic, not only recent but also previous references will be cited in this subsection. 

A previous review has highlighted the following methods of ring synthesis intramolecular cyclization of oximes, nitro alkenes, and nitrones, and [4+2] cycloaddition reactions <1996CHEC-II(6)279>. In addition to that, this review includes the intramolecular cyclization of hydroxylamines, hydroxamates, hetero-Diels-Alder [4+2], 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition of nitrile oxides to alkenes, and [3+3] cycloaddition reactions. This review does not cover cycloaddition reactions of the [4+2] [3+2] and [4+2] [3+2] [3+2] types which primarily led to heterocycle-fused oxazine ring systems. 

Fluoro-substituted chiral vinyl sulfoxides such as 103 have been used in 1,3-dipolar cycloadditions with various benzonitrile oxides (Scheme 12.34) (158). The reaction proceeded slowly at room temperature, however, after 5-10 days the isoxazoline (104) was obtained with excellent de in good yield. In some cases, the product tends to eliminate the 5-methoxy substituent of the isoxazoline, thus, after loss of two chiral centers, an isoxazole is obtained (158,159). Other chiral suMnyl derivatives have also been used in 1,3-dipolar cycloadditions with nitrile oxides (160,161), and in one case a racemic vinyl phosphine was used in reactions with various nitrile oxides, but with moderate selectivities (151). 

The final example of the intramolecular 1,3-dipolar cycloadditions of nitrile oxides is the formation of the norbornadiene-derived tetracyclic adducts 146, described by Tam and co-workers (240,241). The nitrile oxide 145, formed from 144 by dehydration, can in principle give rise to four different cycloaddition products (three [2,3]-cycloaddition products). In practice, only diastereomer 146 was obtained. The reaction was used on substrates with a variety of different substituents (R=H, Me, hexyl. Cl, Br, C02Me, CH20Me), and in these cases, yields ranging between 66-89% were obtained (Scheme 12.48). 

The auxihary acrylates 161 and 162 have been used in 1,3-dipolar cycloadditions with nitrile oxides. The camphor-derived acrylate 161 underwent a 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition with benzonitrile oxide with up to 56% de (Scheme 12.51) (263). The auxiliary in acrylate 162 is derived from naturally occurring L-quebrachitol, and provided an effective shielding of the re-face of the alkene in the reaction with benzonitrile oxide, as 90% de was obtained (273). Compound 163 was used in a reaction with the nitrone 1-pyrrole-1-oxide, and the reaction proceeded to give a complex mixture of products (274). 

The a,p-unsaturated amides 180-188a have all been used in 1,3-dipolar cycloadditions with nitrile oxides, and some of them represent the most diastereoselective reactions of nitrile oxides. The camphor derivative 180 of Chen and co-workers (294), the sultam 181 of Oppolzer et al. (295), and the two Kemp s acid derived compounds 186 (296) and 187 (297) described by Curran et al. (296) are excellent partners for diastereoselective reactions with nitrile oxides, as very high diastereos-electivities have been observed for all of them. In particular, compound 186 gave, with few exceptions, complete diastereoselection in reactions with a wide range of different nitrile oxides. Good selectivities were also observed when using compounds 183 (298) and 184 (299-301) in nitrile oxide cycloadditions, and they have the advantage that they are more readily available. Curran and co-workers also studied the 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition of 187 with silyl nitronates. However, compared to the reactions of nitrile oxides, lower selectivities of up to 86% de were obtained (302). 

In three separate papers, the use of chiral boronic esters in 1,3-dipolar cycloadditions with nitrile oxides have been described (316-318). The reaction of 203 with nitrile oxides proceeded with low diastereoselectivities (Scheme 12.58). 

The reaction of nitrile oxides with 4-arylmethylene-5(4//)-oxazolones 675 to give the corresponding spiroisoxazoline oxazolones 676 is also well known.The regiochemistry of this cycloaddition reaction was initially incorrectly assigned but a careful study of the reaction showed that the regiochemistry of the 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition of nitrile oxides is the same as that observed with nitrile imines (Scheme 7.213). Examples of spiroisoxazoline oxazolones are shown in Table 7.49 (Fig. 7.60). 

Dipolar cycloaddition of nitrile oxides to olefins and acetylenes is among the most widely exploited synthetic routes towards isoxazoles and isoxazolines. It is well-known that microwave irradiation in cycloaddition reactions considerably reduces reaction times. Indeed, the use of dielectric heating (microwave-heated reactions were performed in a flask with a reflux condenser mounted outside the apparatus) allowed for a remarkable reduction of the cycloaddition reaction time from 6-12 hours to merely 3 minutes [69]. Simple aqueous workup provided the target isoxazoles and isoxazolines. The requisite nitrile oxides for the cycloaddition reaction were generated in situ from the corresponding nitroalkanes, 4-(4,6-dimethoxy [1,3,5]triazin-2-yl)-4-methylmorpholinium chloride (DMTMM) and 4-dimethylaminopyridine (DMAP) (Scheme 22). 

Figures 15.45 and 15.46 illustrate impressively that the significance of 1,3-dipolar cycloadditions extends beyond the synthesis of five-membered heterocycles. In fact, these reactions can provide a valuable tool in the approach to entirely different synthetic targets. In the cases at hand, one can view the 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition of nitrile oxides to alkenes as a ring-closure reaction and more specifically, as a means of generating interestingly functionalized five- and six-membered rings in a stereochemically defined fashion.

Reactions of 3,5-dichloro-2,4,6-trimethyl benzonitrile oxide 241 with fluoro-methyl substituted alkenes 242, bearing a chiral sulfinyl group at -position of the double bond, afford diastereoisomeric 4,5-dihydroisoxazoles 243 and 244 [180] with a stereoselectivity lower than 2 1 (Scheme 110). The authors conclude that the efficiency of allyl sulfoxides to control diastereoselectivity of 1,3-dipolar cycloadditions with nitrile oxides is lower than that of vinyl sulfoxides. 

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