1.3- dithiane acidity

Methylthiomethyl ethers are quite stable to acidic conditions. Most ethers and 1,3-dithianes are stable to the neutral mercuric chloride used to remove the MTM group. One problem with the MTM group is that it is sometimes difficult to introduce. 

A carbonyl group can be protected as a sulfur derivative—for example, a dithio acetal or ketal, 1,3-dithiane, or 1,3-dithiolane—by reaction of the carbonyl compound in the presence of an acid catalyst with a thiol or dithiol. The derivatives are in general cleaved by reaction with Hg(II) salts or oxidation acidic hydrolysis is unsatisfactory. The acyclic derivatives are formed and hydrolyzed much more readily than their cyclic counterparts. Representative examples of formation and cleavage are shown below. 

This method has also been used to cleave dithianes and dithiolanes. 5,5 -dibutyl group is stable to acids (e.g., HOAc/HjO-THF, 45 TSOH/CH2CI2, 0°, 0.5 h)."... 

Acyclic monothio acetals and ketals can be prepared directly from a carbonyl compound or by transketalization, a reaction that does not involve a free carbonyl group, from a 1,3-dithiane or 1,3-dithiolane. They are cleaved by acidic hydrolysis or Hg(II) salts. 

The Dim ester was developed for the protection of the carboxyl function during peptide synthesis. It is prepared by transesterification of amino acid methyl esters with 2-(hydroxymethyl)-l,3-dithiane and Al(/-PrO)3 (reflux, 4 h, 75°, 12 torr, 75% yield). It is removed by oxidation [H2O2, (NH4)2Mo04 pH 8, H2O, 60 min, 83% yield]. Since it must be removed by oxidation it is not compatible with.sulfur-containing amino acids such as cysteine and methionine. Its suitability for other, easily oxidized amino acids (e.g., tyrosine and tryptophan) must also be questioned. It is stable to CF3CO2H and HCl/ether. - ... 

Intermediate 10 must now be molded into a form suitable for coupling with the anion derived from dithiane 9. To this end, a che-moselective reduction of the benzyl ester grouping in 10 with excess sodium borohydride in methanol takes place smoothly and provides primary alcohol 14. Treatment of 14 with methanesulfonyl chloride and triethylamine affords a primary mesylate which is subsequently converted into iodide 15 with sodium iodide in acetone. Exposure of 15 to tert-butyldimethylsilyl chloride and triethylamine accomplishes protection of the /Mactam nitrogen and leads to the formation of 8. Starting from L-aspartic acid (12), the overall yield of 8 is approximately 50%, and it is noteworthy that this reaction sequence can be performed on a molar scale. 

To create a setting favorable for the formation of the E-ring of ginkgolide B, it is first necessary to modify the reactivity potential of ring F in 23. Exposure of a solution of 23 in methylene chloride to 1,3-propanedithiol and titanium(iv) chloride at 0°C results in the formation of dithiane 24 in quantitative yield. Oxidation of the primary alcohol with PDC in the presence of acetic acid gives aldehyde 25 in a yield of 75 %. 

When a solution of 25 in a 1 1 mixture of methanol and methylene chloride is exposed to periodic acid, the dithiane group is cleaved oxidatively to give, after treatment of the crude product with camphorsulfonic acid (CSA) in methanol, bisacetal 12 as a 2 1 mixture of C-12 anomers in a yield of 80% (Scheme 3). Although the conversion of 12 into 10 could be carried out on the mixture of anomers, it was found to be more convenient to carry each isomer forward separately. When 12 is treated with lithium diethylamide, the methine hydrogen adjacent to the lactone carbonyl is removed as a proton to give an enolate which is then oxidized in a completely diastereoselective fashion with Davis s oxaziridine18 to afford 11. 

In total synthesis, model studies are frequently performed on simpler systems prior to the final assault on the target molecule. In the synthesis of zaragozic acid A (1), 2-methyl-1,3-dithiane (92) was employed as a simple model for the more elaborate dithiane 67. Deprotonation of 92 with n-butyllithium under standard conditions47 and addition of the aldehyde provides a mixture of two diastereoisomers, 93 and 94 (Scheme 22), in approximately equal amounts. One of the diastereoisomers (93) lacks the TMS group,... 

In ( )-[2-(l-propenyl)-l, 3-dithian-2-yl]lithium, no problem of EjZ selectivity arises. It is easily prepared by deprotonation of the allylic dithiane87,88 with butyllithium in THF, whereas deprotonation of the 2-propylidene-l, 3-dithiane requires the assistance of HMPA. The addition to saturated aldehydes proceeds with excellent y-regioseleetivity and anti selectivity88,89. As often observed in similar cases, aldehydes which bear an, p2-carbon atom adjacent to the carbonyl group give lower selectivities. The stereoselectivity decreases with ketones (2-bu-tanone y/a 84 16, antiisyn 77 23)88. The reaction with ethyl 2-oxopropanoate is merely nonstereoselective90, but addition of zinc chloride improved the syn/anti ratio to 96 4, leading to an efficient synthesis of ( )-crobarbatic acid. 

Propenyl)-1,3-dithiane, after lithiation and addition of zinc chloride, reacts with ethyl 2-oxopropanoate to give preferentially the. vvn-adduct37, which is an intermediate in the synthesis of racemic /ra .s-tetrahydro-2,3-dimethyl-5-oxo-2-furancarboxylic acid. It is assumed, that the ethoxycarbonyl group is brought to a pseudoaxial position in the cyclic transition state by the chelating zinc cation. 

The pivotal step in this sequence is an electrophilic substitution on indole. Although the use of l,3-dithian-2-yl carbanions is well documented, it has been shown only recently that 1,3-dithian-2-yl carbenium ions can be used in a Priedel-Crafts type reaction. This was accomplished initially using 2-methoxy-l,3-dithiane [1,3-Dithiane, 2-methoxy-] or 2-metlioxy-l,3-dithiolane [1,3-Dithiolane, 2-methoxy-] and titanium tetrachloride [Titanate(l —), tetrachloro-] as the Lewis acid catalyst.9 2-Substituted lysergic acid derivatives and 3-substituted indoles have been prepared under these conditions, but the method is limited in scope by the difficulties of preparing substituted 2-methoxy-1,3-dithianes. l,3-Dithian-2-yl carbenium ions have also been prepared by protonation of ketene dithioacetals with trifluoroacetic acid,10 but this reaction cannot be used to introduce 1,3-dithiane moieties into indole. 

Methoxytrimethylsilane, 123 Methyl acetoacetate, 92 Methyl bromoacetate, 107 Methyl 11-hydroxyundecanoate, 58 Methyl lithium, 27,28 Methyl 10-undecenoate, 58 2-Methyl-l, 3-dithiane, 81 (fl/ ,5 )-Methyl-3-phenyldiniethyl-silyl-3-phenylpropionic acid, 53-4 2-Methyl-3-Phenylprop-2-cnal, 111 2-Methyl 2-lrimethylsilyl-1,3-dithiane, 81 2-Methyl-l-(trimcthylsilyloxy)cyclo-hex-l-ene, 100,109 2-Melhyl-l-lrimethylsilyloxy)cyclo-hcx-6-enc, 100 2-Methyl-2-trimethylsilyloxy-pentan-3-one, 132 2-Methylacetophenone, 42-3 2-Methylbutyraldehyde, 85 2-Methylcyclohexanone, 99,100 2-Methylcyclohexanone, 131 4-Methyldec-4-ene, 67-8 Methylenation, 63 2-Methylpropen-l-ol, 131 Methyltriphenylphosphonium bromide, 27 Michael addition, 85 Monohydridosilanes, 128 Monohydroalumination, 29... 

It is noteworthy that, based on the sulfoxide- sulfenic acid rearrangement, the readily accessible 1,3-dithiolane systems (316) may be utilized (equation 116) as an efficient entry into the 1,4-dithiane series303, including the construction of carbocyclic fused systems304. The oxidation of the dithienes 318 to the corresponding sulfoxides (319 and 320) and sulfones is a simple, straightforward process. 

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