Electrophilic carbonyl groups

The Grignard reagent RMgX is nucleophilic by virtue of the potential car banion (alkyl anion) R. It will react with the electrophilic carbonyl group as follows ... 

Hydantoins can react with electrophiles at both nitrogen atoms and at C-5. The electrophilic carbonyl groups can be attacked by nucleophiles, leading to hydrolysis of the ring or to partial or total reduction of the carbonyl system. Other reactions are possible, including photochemical cleavage of the ring. 

Scheme 4 shows in a general manner cyclocondensations considered to involve reaction mechanisms in which nucleophilic heteroatoms condense with electrophilic carbonyl groups in a 1,3-relationship to each other. The standard method of preparation of pyrazoles involves such condensations (see Chapter 4.04). With hydrazine itself the question of regiospecificity in the condensation does not occur. However, with a monosubstituted hydrazine such as methylhydrazine and 4,4-dimethoxybutan-2-one (105) two products were obtained the 1,3-dimethylpyrazole (106) and the 1,5-dimethylpyrazole (107). Although Scheme 4 represents this type of reaction as a relatively straightforward process, it is considerably more complex and an appreciable effort has been expended on its study (77BSF1163). Details of these reactions and the possible variations of the procedure may be found in Chapter 4.04. 

The synthesis of a large number of y-pyrones and y-pyranols from enamines has been brought about through the use of a wide variety of bifunctional molecules. These molecules include phenolic aldehydes (126,127), phenolic Mannich bases (128), ketal esters (129), and diketene (120-132). All of these molecules have an electrophilic carbonyl group and a nucleophilic oxygen center in relative 1,4 positions. This is illustrated by the reaction between salicylaldehyde (101) and the morpholine enamine of cyclohexanone to give pyranol 102 in a quantitative yield (127). 

Electrophilic carbonyl group reacts with nucleophiles. 

The enolate ion acts as a nucleophilic donor and adds to the electrophilic carbonyl group of a second carbonyl compound. 

A carbonyl condensation reaction takes place between two carbonyl partners and involves both nucleophilic addition and -substitution steps. One carbonyl partner (the donor) is converted by base into a nucleophilic enolate ion, which adds to the electrophilic carbonyl group of the second partner (the acceptor). The donor molecule undergoes an a substitution, while the acceptor molecule undergoes a nucleophilic addition. 

Although intermediate 2 is terminated at both ends by electrophilic carbonyl groups, the aldehydic function at C-7 is inherently more reactive, and thus more susceptible to a nucleophilic attack, than the methoxycarbonyl group at C-l. As a result, it should be possible to selectively engage the aldehyde carbonyl of intermedi-... 

When 2-alkyl-3-keto esters or 2-aryl-3-keto esters are treated with sulfonyl azides under basic conditions, nucleophilic deacylation occurs to yield 2-alkyl/aryl-2-diazo esters [960-963]. Nucleophilic deacylation can also be used to convert acceptor-substituted diazoketones into the corresponding acceptor-substituted diazomethanes [964,965]. In all these deacylation reactions it is the most electrophilic carbonyl group which is attacked by the nucleophile and cleaved off. 

In aldol condensation, the enolate anion of one carbonyl compound reacts as a nucleophile, and attacks the electrophilic carbonyl group of another one to form a larger molecule. Thus, the aldol condensation is a nucleophilic addition reaction. 

In making a four carbon chain from two two-carbon units we used a nucleophilic enolate and an electrophilic carbonyl group. This theme of the two components is universal to this section. 

An important pyrrole synthesis, known as the Knorr synthesis, is of the cyclizative condensation type. An a -amino ketone furnishes a nucleophilic nitrogen and an electrophilic carbonyl, while the second component, a /3-keto ester or similar /3-dicarbonyl compound, furnishes an electrophilic carbonyl and a nucleophilic carbon. The initial combination involves enamine formation between the primary amine and the dicarbonyl compound. Subsequent cyclization occurs as a result of the nucleophilic jg-carbon of the enamine adding to the electrophilic carbonyl group of the a-amino ketone (equation 76). Since a-amino... 

The organometallic adducts of Weinreb Amides are able to form stable chelates, and do not regenerate an electrophilic carbonyl group in situ for further reaction ... 

Peptide aldehydes constitute a rather general example of protease inhibitors. The electrophilic carbonyl group is attacked reversibly by the cleaving nucleophile, forming a covalent acetal or thioacetal intermediate. With cysteine proteases the preferred inhibitors are strong electrophiles, for example ketones, chloromethyl ketones, epoxides, or vinyl sulfones. Many cysteine protease inhibitors form an enzyme-inhibitor complex irreversibly these are therefore denoted suicide-inhibitors . 

The transformation of an electrophilic carbonyl group to a nucleophilic enamine group with the help of a secondary amine was also applied in coinage metal catalysis.34 The reaction often, in much the same way as do other enamine catalyses, requires quite high catalyst loadings of the secondary amine. A test substrate for catalyst optimization was the malonate shown in Scheme 12.17. 

Aldehydes are more likely than ketones to form stable hydrates. The electrophilic carbonyl group of a ketone is stabilized by its two electron-donating alkyl groups, but an aldehyde carbonyl has only one stabilizing alkyl group. The partial positive charge of the aldehyde is not as well stabilized. Aldehydes are thus more electrophilic and less... 

Step 1 A nucleophile attacks the strongly electrophilic carbonyl group of the acid chloride to form a tetrahedral intermediate. 

Acid chlorides are the most reactive acid derivatives, so they are easily converted to any of the other acid derivatives. Acid chlorides are often used to synthesize anhydrides, esters, and amides. Acid chlorides react with carboxylic acids (or their carboxylate salts) to form anhydrides. Either oxygen atom of the acid can attack the strongly electrophilic carbonyl group of the acid chloride to form a tetrahedral intermediate. Loss of chloride ion and a proton gives the anhydride. 

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