Dipole structures intramolecular cycloadditions

The importance of the 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition reaction for the synthesis of five-membered heterocycles arises from the many possible dipole/dipolarophile combinations. Five-membered heterocycles are often found as structural subunits of natural products. Furthermore an intramolecular variant makes possible the formation of more complex structures from relatively simple starting materials. For example the tricyclic compound 10 is formed from 9 by an intramolecular cycloaddition in 80% yield ... 

A number of intramolecular cycloadditions of alkene-tethered nitrile oxides, where the double bond forms part of a ring, have been used for the synthesis of fused carbocyclic structures (18,74,266-271). The cycloadditions afford the cis-fused bicyclic products, and this stereochemical outcome does not depend on the substituents on the alkene or on the carbon chain. When cyclic olefins were used, the configuration of the products found could be rationalized in terms of the transition states described in Scheme 6.49 (18,74,266-271). In the transition state leading to the cis-fused heterocycle, the dipole is more easily aligned with the dipolarophile if the nitrile oxide adds to the face of the cycloolefin in which the tethering chain resides. In the trans transition state, considerable nonbonded interactions and strain would have to be overcome in order to achieve good parallel alignment of the dipole and dipolarophile (74,266). 

Mejla-Oneto and Padwa have explored intramolecular [3+2] cycloaddition reactions of push-pull dipoles across heteroaromatic jr-systems induced by microwave irradiation [465]. The push-pull dipoles were generated from the rhodium(II)-cata-lyzed reaction of a diazo imide precursor containing a tethered heteroaromatic ring. In the example shown in Scheme 6.276, microwave heating of a solution of the diazo imide precursor in dry benzene in the presence of a catalytic amount of rhodium I) pivalate and 4 A molecular sieves for 2 h at 70 °C produced a transient cyclic carbonyl ylide dipole, which spontaneously underwent cydoaddition across the tethered benzofuran Jt-system to form a pentacyclic structure related to alkaloids of the vindoline type. 

A recent example of this intramolecular tandem transformation is the Rh(ii)-catalyzed reaction of diazo keto ester 71. Depending on the structure of the diazo compound, a push-pull dipole intermediate derived from 71 can be trapped either by a tethered vinyl group (when n = 0) or by an indole 7r-bond (when n=l) (Equation (11)). This result clearly demonstrates a critical role of the conformation of the cycloaddition transition state. 

Over the last 25 years both nitrile ylides and nitrile imines have continued to provide fascinating and synthetically useful chemistry. In both cases, the exploitation of [3 + 2]-cycloaddition chemistry with an increasing range of dipolarophiles has continued as a key route to five-membered heterocycles. The major development of new chemistry, however, has been in the extensive exploration of intramolecular reactions both in cycloaddition chemistry and in the electrocycliza-tion of 1,3-dipoles with extended conjugation. Such chemistry harnesses the unique reactivity of 1,3-dipoles in the synthesis of relatively elaborate structures but does require the design and preparation of quite complex reactants containing both the 1,3-dipole precursor and the dipolarophilic component. However, access to this chemistry is becoming much easier via the application of new synthetic procedures... 

Scheme 10.7 gives some other examples of 1,3-DPCA reactions. Entries 1 to 3 are typical intermolecular 1,3-DPCA. The 1,3-dipoles in each instance are isolatable compounds. Entries 4 and 5 are intramolecular nitrone cycloadditions. The product from Entry 5 was used in the synthesis of the alkaloid pseudotropine. The proper stereochemical orientation of the hydroxyl group is ensured by the structure of the isoxazoline from which it is formed. 

Ciufolini and co-workers demonstrated the use of 1,3-dipolar azide-olefin cycloaddition reactions in the total synthesis of ( )-FR66979 (52) [25], an antitiunor agent which is structurally related to the mitomycins [26]. Thus, the triazoline 50 was obtained as a single diastereomer by smooth cycloaddition of the activated double bond and the dipole in 49 by heating in toluene. Brief photolysis of 50 provided aziridine 51, which fragmented to 52 (Scheme 8B). Other intramolecular azide-alkene cycloaddition in natural product synthesis is illustrated by a munber of examples [27-32]. 

As a further extension of push-pull dipole cycloaddition chemistry, the Rh (I I)-catalyzed cycHzation/cycloaddition cascade was applied toward the hexacyclic framework of the kopsifoline alkaloids. The kopsifolines 14 are structurally intriguing compounds, related to and possibly derived from an aspidosperma-type alkaloid precursor 12. A possible biogenetic pathway to the kopsifolines from 12 could involve an intramolecular epoxide-ring opening followed by loss of H2O as shown in Scheme 4. The interesting biological activity of these compounds, combined with their... 

Even with considerable experimentation, the inability to easily remove the cyano group in structures 189 and 190 necessitated an alternate route to the key azomethine yUde intermediate. Ultimately, Martin and coworkers setded on the intramolecular reaction of the imino group in compound 191 with the critical carbenoid intermediate being obtained by a rhodium(II)-catalyzed decomposition of the diazo group in 191 so as to provide dipole 192 (Scheme 39) (2013T7592). Subsequent cycloaddition of the resulting azomethine yhde with the tethered alkene aflbrded 193 in 75% yield. Tricycle 193 was... 

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