Electrophilic addition epoxidation

Partial ergot alkaloid substrates of 5 and related, conformationally fixed styrenes 6-8 have been found to undergo electrophilic additions (epoxidation, HOBr addition and... 

The most common method of epoxidation is the reaction of olefins with per-acids. For over twenty years, perbenzoic acid and monoperphthalic acid have been the most frequently used reagents. Recently, m-chloroperbenzoic acid has proved to be an equally efficient reagent which is commercially available (Aldrich Chemicals). The general electrophilic addition mechanism of the peracid-olefin reaction is currently believed to involve either an intra-molecularly bonded spiro species (1) or a 1,3-dipolar adduct of a carbonyl oxide, cf. (2). The electrophilic addition reaction is sensitive to steric effects. 

Double bonds in a,/3-unsaturated keto steroids can be selectively oxidized with alkaline hydrogen peroxide to yield epoxy ketones. In contrast to the electrophilic addition mechanism of peracids, the mechanism of alkaline epoxidation involves nucleophilic attack of hydroperoxide ion on the con-... 

Another method for the synthesis of epoxides is through the use of halo-hydrins, prepared by electrophilic addition of HO-X to alkenes (Section 7.3). When a halohydrin is treated with base, HX is eliminated and an epoxide is produced. 

The second part of lanosterol biosynthesis is catalyzed by oxidosqualene lanosterol cyclase and occurs as shown in Figure 27.14. Squalene is folded by the enzyme into a conformation that aligns the various double bonds for undergoing a cascade of successive intramolecular electrophilic additions, followed by a series of hydride and methyl migrations. Except for the initial epoxide protonation/cyclization, the process is probably stepwise and appears to involve discrete carbocation intermediates that are stabilized by electrostatic interactions with electron-rich aromatic amino acids in the enzyme. 

Protonation on oxygen opens the epoxide ring and gives a tertiary carbocation at C4. Intramolecular electrophilic addition of C4 to the 5,10 double bond then yields a tertiary monocyclic carbocation at C10. 

In contrast with the behaviour of typical vinylphosphonic acid derivatives, the carbon-carbon double bond in the 1,2-oxa-phospholene (167) is remarkably unreactive towards a broad spectrum of reagents including electrophiles, most epoxidizing and organometallic reagents, as well as to dipolar addition reactants. Exceptional reagents are, however, N-bromoacetamide (NBA), ozone, dimethyllithiumcuprate, and sodium-naphthalene. 

The electrophilic addition of I2 to 2,3-allenols 340 in Et20 was highly regioselec-tive with respect to the terminal C=C bond, leading to the diiodination products 341 with a preponderance of the Z-isomer. The diiodide 341 may be further converted to trans/cis vinylic epoxide 342upon the treatment with a base (Scheme 10.137) [159]. 

The origin of stereofacial selectivity in electrophilic additions to methylene-cyclohexanes (2) and 5-methylene-l,3-dioxane (3) has been elucidated experimentally (Table 2) and theoretically. Ab initio calculations suggest that two electronic factors contribute to the experimentally observed axial stereoselectivity for polarizable electrophiles (in epoxidation and diimide reduction) the spatial anisotropy of the HOMO (common to both molecules) and the anisotropy in the electrostatic potential field (in the case of methylenedioxane). The anisotropy of the HOMO arises from the important topological difference between the contributions made to the HOMO by the periplanar p C-H a-bonds and opposing p C—O or C—C cr-bonds. In contrast, catalytic reduction proceeds with equatorial face selectivity for both the cyclohexane and the dioxane systems and appears to be governed largely by steric effects. ... 

Carbocation formation is initiated by epoxide ring opening in squalene oxide, giving a tertiary carbocation, and this is transformed into the four-ring system of the protosteryl cation by a series of electrophilic addition reactions (see Box 8.3). 

A general type of chemical reaction between two compounds, A and B, such that there is a net reduction in bond multiplicity (e.g., addition of a compound across a carbon-carbon double bond such that the product has lost this 77-bond). An example is the hydration of a double bond, such as that observed in the conversion of fumarate to malate by fumarase. Addition reactions can also occur with strained ring structures that, in some respects, resemble double bonds (e.g., cyclopropyl derivatives or certain epoxides). A special case of a hydro-alkenyl addition is the conversion of 2,3-oxidosqualene to dammara-dienol or in the conversion of squalene to lanosterol. Reactions in which new moieties are linked to adjacent atoms (as is the case in the hydration of fumarate) are often referred to as 1,2-addition reactions. If the atoms that contain newly linked moieties are not adjacent (as is often the case with conjugated reactants), then the reaction is often referred to as a l,n-addition reaction in which n is the numbered atom distant from 1 (e.g., 1,4-addition reaction). In general, addition reactions can take place via electrophilic addition, nucleophilic addition, free-radical addition, or via simultaneous or pericycUc addition. 

Electron-deficient alkenes generally require the use of some other epoxidation procedure, owing to their low reactivity under electrophilic addition conditions. Within this categoiy, o,P-unsaturated ketones tend to be the substrates of interest, and basic oxygen transfer reagents are fiequently encountered, such as HjOj/NaOH, t-BuOOH/NaOH, and NaOCl. Much activity has centered around the modification of these traditional conditions to accommodate asymmetric induction. In this regard, variously substituted Cinchona alkaloids (e.g., 39 - 41) have received a fair amount of attention over the past year. 

Halohydrins, formed by electrophilic addition of HO—Cl(Br) to alkenes (Problem 6.33), are treated with base to give epoxides. 

The most important method of preparation involves oxidation, or epoxidation, of an alkene with a peroxycarboxylic acid, RC03H. This reaction achieves suprafacial addition of oxygen across the double bond, and is a type of electrophilic addition to alkenes (see Exercise 15-53) ... 

Hyperconjugation appears to be the dominant factor governing the diastereoselectivity of the hydrochlorination of 5-substituted 2-methyleneadamantanes 3 (Table 2)36. However, the product distribution for epoxidation suggests that the stereochemical course of electrophilic additions not mediated by carbocations is most likely regulated by direct field effects36. Note that, unlike in the previous reactions, the facial selectivity in this case reflects the preference for the nucleophilic attack on the corresponding carbocation. 

Epoxidation is an electrophilic addition oxygen is transferred to the more electron-rich, more highly substituted double bond. A tetrasubstituted double bond reacts faster than a disubstituted one. 

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