Emmons sequence

Alkylation of cyanohydrin acetonide 79 with the iodide 78 proceeded smoothly to give pentaacetonide 80 in 70% yield (Scheme 10). This represents the entire polyol framework of roflamycoin. An eight-step sequence involving installation of the polyene, macrocyclization via Horner-Emmons reaction, and protecting group machinations, completed the first total synthesis of roflamycoin. 

The starting material was trans-cyclopropane-1,2-dimethanol. The contiguous cyclopropane units were added by two iterative sequences of oxidation-Wadsworth-Emmons reduction-cyclopropanation. 

An efficient one-pot synthesis of mikanecic acid derivatives was accomplished from allylic phosphonates, ClC02Et, and aqueous HCHO (Eq. 12.38).100 The overall process involves a cascade sequence linking together metalation-alkoxycarbonylation, Homer-Wadsworth-Emmons,... 

Domino processes involving Homer-Wadsworth-Emmons (HWE) reactions constitute another important approach. Among others, HWE/Michael sequences have been employed by the group of Rapoport for the synthesis of all-cis-substituted pyrrolidines [143], and by Davis and coworkers to access new specific gly-coamidase inhibitors [144]. Likewise, arylnaphthalene lignans, namely justicidin B (2-281) and retrojusticidin B (2-282) [145], have been synthesized utilizing a domino HWE/aldol condensation protocol developed by Harrowven s group (Scheme 2.65) [146]. 

The same group recently disclosed a related free radical process, namely an efficient one-pot sequence comprising a homolytic aromatic substitution followed by an ionic Homer-Wadsworth-Emmons olefination, for the production of a small library of a,/3-unsaturated oxindoles (Scheme 6.164) [311]. Suitable TEMPO-derived alkoxy-amine precursors were exposed to microwave irradiation in N,N-dimethylformam-ide for 2 min to generate an oxindole intermediate via a radical reaction pathway (intramolecular homolytic aromatic substitution). After the addition of potassium tert-butoxide base (1.2 equivalents) and a suitable aromatic aldehyde (10-20 equivalents), the mixture was further exposed to microwave irradiation at 180 °C for 6 min to provide the a,jS-unsaturated oxindoles in moderate to high overall yields. A number of related oxindoles were also prepared via the same one-pot radical/ionic pathway (Scheme 6.164). 

Syntheses follow a kind of bio-mimetic approach [283, 284] in building up the chain during a sequence of Wittig-type reactions or Horner-Wadsworth-Emmons olefination, adding two carbons to the chain at a time with either methyl- or ethyl-branches. As the final products need to be highly pure (E)-stereoisomers, reaction steps and purification need to be carefully controlled. 

Scheme 8 summarizes the introduction of the missing carbon atoms and the diastereoselective epoxidation of the C /C double bond using a Sharpless asymmetric epoxidation (SAE) of the allylic alcohol 64. The primary alcohol 62 was converted into the aldehyde 63 which served as the starting material for a Horner-Wadsworth-Emmons (HWE) reaction to afford an E-configured tri-substituted double bond. The next steps introduced the sulfone moiety via a Mukaiyama redox condensation and a subsequent sulfide to sulfone oxidation. The sequence toward the allylic alcohol 64 was com-... 

Natural (-l-)-polyzonimine (19) has been synthesized by a reaction sequence using the asymmetric [2,3]sigmatropic rearrangement of the ammonium ylide to generate the chiral intermediate. The Homer-Emmons reaction of the ketone... 

Within the context of total synthesis, the application of CM to a one-pot sequential protocol has the potential to dramatically simplify the preparation of complex natural products. Trost and co-workers recently demonstrated an elegant example of this, wherein a one-pot CM-Takai olefination reaction was used for the preparation of the antitumor agent callipeltoside A and various analogs (Scheme 21). By using a three-step, two-pot sequence employing this protocol, the synthetic route toward these compounds was shortened by five steps and olefin stereoselectivity was increased (4 1 to >8 1 E/Z) relative to previous syntheses employing a classical Emmons-Wadsworth-Horner approach. 

The one-step Seyferth procedure offers an alternative to the Corey -Fuchs sequence. After a Horner-Wadsworth-Emmons olefmation of an aldehyde 37 to an unsaturated diazo compound 38. elimination of nitrogen and [1,2]-rearrangement of the resulting vinylcarbene 39 leads here as well to a Cy-extended terminal alkyne 40.19... 

The Homer-Emmons addition of dialkyl carboalkoxymethylenephosphonates to aldehydes [22] has been widely used to generate a,p-unsaturated esters which, in turn, can be reduced to allylic alcohols. Under the original conditions of the Homer-Emmons reaction, the stereochemistry of the oc,(3-unsaturated ester is predominantly trans and therefore the trans allylic alcohol is obtained upon reduction. Still and Gennari have introduced an important modification of the Homer-Emmons reaction, which shifts the stereochemistry of the a,[i-unsaturated ester to predominantly cis [23], Diisobutylaluminum hydride (DIBAL) has frequently been used for reduction of the alkoxycarbonyl to the primary alcohol functionality. The aldehyde needed for reaction with the Homer-Emmons reagent may be derived via Swern oxidation [24] of a primary alcohol. The net result is that one frequently sees the reaction sequence shown in Eq. 6A. 1 used for the net preparation of 3E and 3Z allylic alcohols. 

A general methodology for the construction of quaternary carbon atoms at the carbonyl carbon of ketones has been successfully exploited for the facile synthesis of ( )-lycoramine (299) (Scheme 30) (165). Thus, the O-allylated o-vanillin 322 was allowed to react with vinyl magnesium bromide followed by Jones oxidation, and the acid-catalyzed addition of benzyl IV-methylcarbamate to the intermediate a,(3-unsaturated ketone furnished 323. Wadsworth-Emmons olefination of 323 with the anion derived from diethyl[(benzylideneami-no)methyl]phosphonate (BAMP) provided the 2-azadiene 324. The subsequent regioselective addition of n-butyllithium to 324 delivered a metalloenamine that suffered alkylation with 2-(2-bromoethyl)-2-methyl-l,3-dioxolane to give, after acid-catalyzed hydrolysis of the imine and ketal moieties, the 8-keto aldehyde 325. Base-catalyzed cycloaldolization and dehydration of 325 then provided the 4,4-disubstituted cyclohexenone 326. The entire sequence of reactions involved in the conversion of 323 to 326 proceeded in very good overall yield and in one pot. 

This reaction, known as a Homer-Emmons olefination, was presented to illustrate that through consideration of the electronic nature of a given starting material and the transient species involved in reactions with this material, products of more complex reactions may be identified. However, it is important to note that while this sequence appears complex, each step involved utilizes principles of arrow pushing easily applied from material presented in this book. 

The combination of these compounds will generate cinnamic acid through the synthetic sequence illustrated below. As shown, benzyl alcohol is oxidized to benzal-dehyde using the Swem oxidation. Next, the aldehyde is reacted with triethyl phosphonoacetate by applying the Homer-Emmons reaction. Finally, the ester is hydrolyzed to a carboxylic acid. With arrow pushing, the mechanism for the... 

Taylor s group also showed that the Horner-Wadsworth-Emmons (HWE)/conjugate-addi-tion sequence can be an efficient alternative to the thioetherification-oxidation reactions for the preparation of the required sulfones [59]. This was illustrated in the synthesis of the /3-(1 6)-mannofuranose-a-Glu C-dimer [60] (O Scheme 21). 

An important application of the Reformatsky reaction is the conversion of P-hydroxy esters to a, P-unsaturated esters. Acid-catalyzed dehydration usually leads to a mixture of a, P- and P, y-unsaturated esters. However, conversion of the initially formed p-hydroxy esters to their corresponding acetates by treatment with acetyl chloride, followed by base-catalyzed dehydration with NaOEt, produces conjugated esters in high purity. This sequence of reactions provides an alternative route to the Homer-Wads worth-Emmons olefmation of ketones (see Chapter 8). 

Harrowven, D. C., Bradley, M., Lois Castro, J., Flanagan, S. R. Total syntheses of justicidin B and retrojusticidin B using a tandem Horner-Emmons-Claisen condensation sequence. Tetrahedron Lett. 2001, 42, 6973-6975. 

---