Electrophilic intermediates

Laurino examined a similar method in which methanesulfonanilides were alkylated with bromoacetaldehyde diethyl acetal and then cyclized with TiCU[4J. 1 hese methods presumably involve generation of an electrophilic intermediate from the acetal functionality, followed by an intramolecular Friedel-Crafts reaction. As a consequence, the cyclization is favoured by ER substituents and retarded by EW groups on the benzene ring. 

Indole undergoes add-catalyzed dimerization the 3H-indoIium ion acts as an electrophile and attacks an unprotonated molecule to give the dimer (46). Protonation of the dimer in turn gives an electrophilic species from which a trimeric product can be derived (77CPB3122). Af-Methylisoindole undergoes acid-catalyzed polymerization, indicating that protonation at C-1 gives a reactive electrophilic intermediate. 

Nucleic acids in the DNA contain a high number of nucleophilic sites that can be attacked by electrophilic intermediates (metabolites) of chemical compounds. DNA adducts formed may cause alterations in the expression of a critical gene in the cell and thus lead to cell death. For example, modification of p53 tumor suppressor gene may inactivate the functions of the p53 protein and render cells sensitive to malignant transformation. Also, formation of RNA adducts may inhibit key cellular events because RNA is essential for protein synthesis. 

Whatever the true details of the metabolic pathway shown in Scheme 1 might be, there are certain facts which are very secure. Among these are that the nitrosamines are oxidatively dealkylated, that electrophilic intermediates which alkylate proteins and nucleic acids are formed, and that one of the... 

Since the results of our experiments with isolated rat liver fractions supported a reaction sequence Initiated by microsomal oxidation of the nitrosamine leading to formation of a carbonium ion, the results of the animal experiment suggested that in the intact hepatocyte, one of the earlier electrophilic intermediates (II, III or V, Figure 1) is intercepted by nucleophilic sites in DNA (exemplified here by the N7 position of guanine) before a carbocation is formed. 

The same explanation was suggested for a detonation that involved the same alcohol contaminated by 1.4% of hydrogen bromide and 1.1% of ferrous ion. The electrophilic intermediate formed as follows ... 

Oxo-G (81), spiroaminodihydantoin (83), and guanidinohydantoin (85) are mutagenic lesions in duplex DNA. ° Interestingly, the electrophilic intermediate generated upon oxidation 8-oxo-G can yield protein-DNA cross-links. ... 

Scheme 10.2 gives some examples of ene and carbonyl-ene reactions. Entries 1 and 2 are thermal ene reactions. Entries 3 to 7 are intermolecular ene and carbonyl-ene reactions involving Lewis acid catalysts. Entry 3 is interesting in that it exhibits a significant preference for the terminal double bond. Entry 4 demonstrates the reactivity of methyl propynoate as an enophile. Nonterminal alkenes tend to give cyclobutenes with this reagent combination. The reaction in Entry 5 uses an acetal as the reactant, with an oxonium ion being the electrophilic intermediate. 

Metabolism of nitrosamines from tobacco generates a series of electrophiles that alkylate DNA, and some of the resulting adducts can also regenerate electrophilic intermediates illustrated in Scheme 9.4. This oxonium ion can be terminally quenched... 

The chemistry of dehydrobenzene, the parent aryne, has become well established during the past almost twenty years 4>. It is essentially the chemistry of a short lived (half-life ca. 10-4 sec.), and highly electrophilic intermediate. It reacts with a large number of nucleophiles, and undergoes cyclo-addition reactions with a wide variety of compounds. A number of observations have led us, and others, to concentrate our efforts on the tetrahalogenobenzynes. It seemed reasonable to predict that the presence of four electron withdrawing substituents on the aryne (1) would result in a significant increase in the electrophilicity compared with that of benzyne. 

At present a variety of studies with PAH, as well as other chemicals, suggest that metabolic activation in target tissues can occur by one-electron oxidation (6,7). The electrophilic intermediate radical cations generated by thTs mechanism can react directly with various cellular nucleophiles. In this paper, we will discuss chemical, biochemical and biological evidence which indicates that one-electron oxidation plays an important role in the metabolic activation of PAH. 

The exceptional reactivity of DNA for protonated N-hydroxy arylamines can be rationalized by at least two mechanisms. First, intercalation of the electrophilic intermediate between DNA bases could sterically assist in desolvation and in directing the electrophilic center of the carcinogen over the nucleophilic region of the DNA base. This seems unlikely, however, as pretreatment of DNA with cis-Pt, which decreased the DNA contour length by 50%, failed to reduce the reactivity of N-hydroxy-1-naphthylamine for the DNA (137). A second possibility involves an electrostatic attraction between the electrophile and the phosphate backbone of the DNA (77). This seems more probable since eithe j +high ionic strength or stoichiometric (to DNA-P) amounts of Mg strongly inhibit DNA adduct formation (77,137). In addition, evidence has been presented that N-hydroxy arylamine-DNA/RNA phosphotriesters may be formed which induce strand breaks (137,138) and could serve as a catalyst for desolvation and subsequent adduct formation. 

Figure 12.5 indicates the results of this technique when applied to three MBIsand three non-MBI compounds. The three MBIs are clearly recognized and the electrophilic intermediate leading to MBI clearly reported. The three non-MBI compounds are also well predicted (as non-M Bis) despite the presence on the molecular scaffold of well-known potential electrophilic intermediates. Similar to the prediction of the site of metabolism, the example demonstrates that the recognition component fc) is more important than the reactivity component to determine if a compound may lead to MBI. 

In solution the situation is more complicated still, because the solvent can play a more or less active role in the reaction. For example, solvent turns out to be involved to some extent as a nucleophile in many SNl-type processes, where highly electrophilic intermediates are involved (Lowry and Richardson, 1987, pp. 335 ff.). Here a degree of bond making accompanies what had originally been regarded as uncomplicated rate-determining bond-breaking reactions. 

Good diastereoselectivity was obtained with BQ as the oxidant in acidic media but the reaction times were relatively long (1-2 days at 40 °C). Using the copper(II)-oxy-gen system in slightly basic media permits a much faster reaction (0.5-1 h at 20 °C) with better isolated yields but with poor or even reversed diastereoselectivity. The slower reaction with BQ as oxidant is due to the fact that this oxidant requires an acidic medium, which lowers the nucleophilicity of the acid moiety. It is also likely that BQ or copper(II) has to coordinate to palladium(II) before the second nucleophile can attack to make the Jt-allyl complex more electrophilic. Coordination of cop-per(II) would make a more electrophilic intermediate than coordination of BQ. The relation between reaction time and diastereoselectivity supports a mechanism analogous to that in Scheme 17.7. 

Acceptor-substituted carbene complexes are electrophilic intermediates which react readily with lone pairs, giving the corresponding ylides. These can be valuable intermediates, capable of undergoing a broad range of synthetically useful transformations. This subject has been treated in several reviews [38,995,1077-1079,1086]. 

When 2,2-diphenyl-l,3-dioxolane (410, R = Ph) was lithiated with lithium and a catalytic amount of naphthalene (4%) in THF at —40°C (see Section VI.F.l) and then reacted with an aldehyde as electrophile, intermediates 437 were generated. The further lithiation of these compounds at the same temperature cleaved the second benzylic carbon-oxygen bond giving new organolithium intermediates 438, and a second electrophile could be introduced to give 439, after hydrolysis. In these products, two different electrophilic fragments have been incorporated, so the starting material behaves as the 1,1-diphenylmethane dianion synthon (Scheme 122) °. 

The formation of a very electrophilic intermediate 258 from 256 and 257 is proposed (equation 78). The hydroxyl group of the oxime adds to 259, giving a reactive cationic species 260 that rearranges and affords the nitrile 261 (in the case of aldoxime, equation 79), or the amide 262 upon hydrolytic workup (equation 80). The conversion of 260 to the nitrilium ion should occur through a concerted [1,2]-intramolecular shift. This procedure can be applied in the conversion of aldoximes to nitriles. It was observed that the stereochemistry of the ketoximes has little effect on the reaction, this fact being explained by the E-Z isomerization of the oxime isomers under the reaction conditions. 

Various imidates 227 can be produced by trapping the electrophilic intermediate of the Beckmann rearrangement with a nucleophile (Nu ) other than water (equation 109). 

Pathway 2 of Scheme 9 corresponds to one of the most interesting developments in the Beckmann rearrangement chemistry. By trapping of the electrophilic intermediate with a nucleophile (Nu ) other than water, an imine derivative 227 is produced that may be used for further transformations. Carbon or heteroatom nucleophiles have been used to trap the nitrilium intermediate. Reducing agents promote the amine formation. More than one nucleophile may be added (for example, two different Grignard reagents can be introduced at the electrophilic carbon atom). Some of the most used transformations are condensed in Scheme 11. 

When the nucleophile is already present as a part of the starting oxime (for example, a heteroatom or a C=C double bond), intramolecular trapping of the electrophilic intermediate is possible and a new cycle is formed. This transformation is usually referred to as a Beckmann Rearrangement-Cychzation reaction. Two modes of ring closure may be possible, depending on the oxime structure (equations 111 and 112) ... 

In many of these cases, the nucleophile is a C=C double bond (usually an alkenic group and less frequently an aromatic group). Alkenic oxime mesylates enable intramolecular cyclization by an electrophihc addition of the double bond to the electrophilic intermediate. These reactions are terminated by a proton loss. 

Aromatic donble bonds may also be nsed effectively to trap the electrophilic intermediate (electrophilic aromatic snbstitntion). The Beckmann rearrangement-cyclization seqnence has fonnd ntihty in the synthesis of the isoquinoline nucleus . ... 

The electrophilic intermediate formed during the Beckmann rearrangement may be trapped by nucleophiles other than water. Strictly speaking, these reactions do not fit into the classical rearrangement reaction type. However, due to the fact that the carbon framework changes during the course of the reaction and to the similarities with the classical Beckmann rearrangement process, this topic will be analysed in the present chapter. 

Although rare, it is possible to trap the electrophilic intermediate of the Beckmann fragmentation. An example is the fluorinative Beckmann fragmentation discovered by Kirihara and colleagues (equation 226). 

FIG. 10. Precursors, electrophilic intermediates, and products of transannular reactions of septanoses. 

The work described here has as its goal to contribute to an understanding of how nitrosamines are activated to produce the reactive electrophilic intermediates which interact with cellular components to produce the carcinogenic response. 

In either case, these electrophilic intermediates should be capable of reaction with nucleophilic cellular constituents. The interactions of NPy and a-acetoxyNPy with guanosine and polyguanylic acid are currently being investigated. 

While the detailed mechanism of these rhodium-catalyzed cyclizations is not known, a working hypothesis that accommodates all of the observations to date is as follows. The diazo ketone can be considered to be a stabilized ylide, 14. Association of the Lewis acidic LUMO of the rhodium(II) carboxylate with the locally electron-rich ylide yields 15. Loss of nitrogen would then give the highly electrophilic intermediate 16. In nondonating solvents, the richest source of electron density available to this reactive species is the remote C—H bond. Complexation with the electron density in this bond gives 17, which collapses to the cyclopentanone product. 

---