Enamines Robinson annulation

The Robinson annulation is a two-step process that combines a Michael reaction with an intramolecular aldol reaction. It takes place between a nucleophilic donor, such as a /3-keto ester, an enamine, or a /3-diketone, and an a,/3-unsaturated ketone acceptor, such as 3-buten-2-one. The product is a substituted 2-cyclohexenone. 

The first step of the Robinson annulation is simply a Michael reaction. An enamine or an enolate ion from a jS-keto ester or /3-diketone effects a conjugate addition to an a-,/3-unsaturated ketone, yielding a 1,5-diketone. But as we saw in Section 23.6,1,5-diketones undergo intramolecular aldol condensation to yield cyclohexenones when treated with base. Thus, the final product contains a six-membered ring, and an annulation has been accomplished. An example occurs during the commercial synthesis of the steroid hormone estrone (figure 23.9). 

Scheme 2.11 shows some examples of Robinson annulation reactions. Entries 1 and 2 show annulation reactions of relatively acidic dicarbonyl compounds. Entry 3 is an example of use of 4-(trimethylammonio)-2-butanone as a precursor of methyl vinyl ketone. This compound generates methyl vinyl ketone in situ by (3-eliminalion. The original conditions developed for the Robinson annulation reaction are such that the ketone enolate composition is under thermodynamic control. This usually results in the formation of product from the more stable enolate, as in Entry 3. The C(l) enolate is preferred because of the conjugation with the aromatic ring. For monosubstituted cyclohexanones, the cyclization usually occurs at the more-substituted position in hydroxylic solvents. The alternative regiochemistry can be achieved by using an enamine. Entry 4 is an example. As discussed in Section 1.9, the less-substituted enamine is favored, so addition occurs at the less-substituted position. 

A variant of the Robinson annulation, where bulky amines such as pyrrolidine are used, making the conjugate addition to methyl vinyl ketone (MVK) take place at the less hindered side of two possible enamines. 

The product in entry 1 of Scheme 2.10 is commonly known as the Wieland-Miescher ketone and is a useful starting material for the preparation of steroids and terpenes. The Robinson annulation to prepare this ketone can be carried out enantioselectively by using the amino acid L-proline to form an enamine intermediate. The 5-enantiomer of the product is obtained in high enantiomeric excess.89 This compound and the corresponding product obtained from cyclopentane-1,3-dione90 are key intermediates in the enantiose-lective synthesis of steroids.91... 

A much more generally useful process was developed by Robinson to prepare cyclohexenones from ketones and methyl vinyl ketone or its derivatives. Again, because good compilations of the Robinson annulation exist,8 only a few examples are given here. The first step of this process, the Michael addition, is carried out by normal base catalysis, while the second step, the aldol condensation, is best accomplished by the use of a secondary amine to form the enamine of the acyclic ketone, which then cyclizes... 

The diastereoselectivity of intermolecular Michael additions was first examined in two areas the Robinson annulation using ( )-3-penten-2-one (249 equation 51)62 and the reaction of enamines of cyclic... 

Another key event in the history of organocatalytic reaction was the discovery of efficient r-proline-mediated asymmetric Robinson annulation reported during the early 1970s. The so-called Hajos-Parrish-Eder-Sauer-Wiechert reaction (an intramolecular aldol reaction) allowed access to some of the key intermediates for the synthesis of natural products (Scheme 1.4) [37, 38], and offered a practical and enantioselective route to the Wieland-Miescher ketone [39]. It is pertinent to note, that this chemistry is rooted in the early studies of Langenbeck and in the extensive investigations work of Stork and co-workers on enamine chemistry... 

The Stork reaction of methyl vinyl ketones and enamines (e.g. 74) is a complementary procedure to the Robinson annulation method (equation 14)49. With this procedure, products from attack of the most reactive less substituted form of the enamine to the... 

On the basis of distribution of products obtained in these reactions with the change of solvents, temperature and molar ratio of reactants, a mechanism has been suggested for the anomalous annulation which does not involve an initial attack of the tetrasub-stituted isomer of the enamine (equation 16)51. Alkylation of the more stable cis isomer of the enamine (80) with methyl vinyl ketone (MVK) would afford zwitterion 81 (attack by the other side of the enamine leads to strong steric interactions in the transition state). Reaction of the thermodynamically less favorable trans isomer 83 gives rise to zwitterions 84 and 89 (both without axial-axial interactions), and ion 84 is sterically able to undergo intramolecular proton shift to afford enamine 85. Zwitterionic intermediates 81 and 89 can be stabilized by conversion to dihydropyrans 82 and 90, or protonated to immonium ions. The pair 81-82 will lead to enamine 85, while the pair 89-90 will afford enamine 91. Then, cyclization of 85 or 91 will afford the enone expected from the normal enamine version of the Robinson annulation. 

Michael donor Stork enamine reaction Robinson annulation reaction... 

The Michael addition of enamines to a,p-unsaturated ketones may be coupled with intramolecular aldol condensations to produce cyclic ketones. This sequence of reactions is an alternative approach to traditional Robinson annulations (Scheme 3.22). 

Nucleophilic attack on ( -alkene)Fp+ cations may be effected by heteroatom nucleophiles including amines, azide ion, cyanate ion (through N), alcohols, and thiols (Scheme 39). Carbon-based nucleophiles, such as the anions of active methylene compounds (malonic esters, /3-keto esters, cyanoac-etate), enamines, cyanide, cuprates, Grignard reagents, and ( l -allyl)Fe(Cp)(CO)2 complexes react similarly. In addition, several hydride sources, most notably NaBHsCN, deliver hydride ion to Fp(jj -alkene)+ complexes. Subjecting complexes of type (79) to Nal or NaBr in acetone, however, does not give nncleophilic attack, but instead results rehably in the displacement of the alkene from the iron residue. Cyclohexanone enolates or silyl enol ethers also may be added, and the iron alkyl complexes thus produced can give Robinson annulation-type products (Scheme 40). Vinyl ether-cationic Fp complexes as the electrophiles are nseful as vinyl cation equivalents. ... 

There is a report on the synthesis of ( )-mesembrine (387) by a reaction involving aryl rearrangement and Robinson annulation through an enamine (191) (Scheme 46). Reaction of 3-bromo-N-methoxycarbonyl-... 

Several new synthetic routes to acorane sesquiterpenoids have been published during the past year cf. Vol. 8, p. 76). In the first of these routes spiroannulation of the pyrrolidine enamine (201) derived from cyclopentene aldehyde (200) provided an enone (202) which was subsequently converted into (-)-acorenone (203) (Scheme 19). In an alternative synthetic route,Robinson annulation of the aldehyde (204) with methyl vinyl ketone provided a spiro-ketone (205) which served as a common intermediate in the synthesis of (-)-acorenone (203) and (-)-acorenone-B (211) (Scheme 20) cf. Vol. 7 pp. 63, 64). To explain the conversion of (206) into (209), it has been suggested that the intermediate 1,2-borane borate (207) undergoes elimination followed by hydroboration. 

Scheme 42 Enamine-catalyzed Robinson annulation in the synthesis of (—)-anominine (178)...

The Stork variation was pioneered by Stork and co-workers in 1963. It entails the reaction of pyrrolidine or morpholine enamine derived from unsymmetrical cyclohexanones with methyl vinyl ketones. The alkylation is directed to the less substituted carbon opposite to the alkylation regioisomer formed by the standard Robinson annulation conditions. Cyclization to the corresponding octalone then occurs. The morpholine enamine is less reactive than the pyrrolidine and hence pyrrolidine enamine has been mostly used for this approach. An example of such annulation is shown in the s mthesis of 8-methyl-2-oxo-A octalone (19). The pyrrolidine enamine of 2-methylcyclo-hexanone is refluxed in benzene with MVK for 24 h followed by the addition of an acetate buffer and reflux for 4 h, and after the reaction is worked up purification gives 19 in 45% yield. 

Amines such as (S)-l-phenylethylamine and (/ )- -phenylethylamine can be used as chrial auxiliaries for the Robinson annulation. The secondary enamine of the ketone 57 with (iS)-l-phenylethylamine reacts with MVK in tetrahydrofuran for 30 h. This is then followed by the addition of 20% of acetic acid for 30 min. The intermediate formed is then cyclized with sodium methoxide in methanol to form (R)-S9 in 50% overall yield and 92% ee ... 

Solid-phase techniques are also used for synthesis of compounds with trans-decalin motif where the Robinson annulation is used for synthesis of some natural product inspired structures such as that of 75. The protocol uses an immobilized solid phase bound Nazarov reagent that reacts with the enamine of the starting ketone under basic conditions. After cyclization the product is released from the solid phase by using TBAF at room temperature overnight. For the products 75a-c only one stereoisomer was formed (de > 98%) with modest 22-38% yields. 

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