Enantioselective silyl enol ether

Silicon Enolates Silyl enol ethers are well known as stable and easily handled enolates. Several research groups took advantage of this higher stability to develop new and innovative enantioselective protonation protocols (Scheme 31.16). ° However, despite the impressive advances made in the development of enantioselective silyl enol ether protonation the last 20 years, then-use as a synthetically useful tool remains sporadic. Indeed, to the best of our knowledge, there has only been a sole report that was applied to the enantioselective silyl enol ether protonation as a key step for natural product synthesis.i° ° i""... 

The first asymmetric Mn(salen)-catalyzed epoxidation of silyl enol ethers was carried out by Reddy and Thornton in 1992. Results from the epoxidation of various silyl enol ethers gave the corresponding keto-alcohols in up to 62% ee Subsequently, Adam and Katsuki " independently optimized the protocol for these substrates yielding products in excellent enantioselectivity. 

More recently, further developments have shown that the reaction outlined in Scheme 4.33 can also proceed for other alkenes, such as silyl-enol ethers of acetophenone [48 b], which gives the endo diastereomer in up to 99% ee. It was also shown that / -ethyl-/ -methyl-substituted acyl phosphonate also can undergo a dia-stereo- and enantioselective cycloaddition reaction with ethyl vinyl ether catalyzed by the chiral Ph-BOX-copper(ll) catalyst. The preparative use of the cycloaddition reaction was demonstrated by performing reactions on the gram scale and showing that no special measures are required for the reaction and that the dihydro-pyrans can be obtained in high yield and with very high diastereo- and enantioselective excess. 

A combination of diethylzinc with sulfonamides 18 or 19 offers another possibility for the enantioselective acetate aldol reaction39,41. The addition of silyl enol ethers to glyoxylates can be directed in a highly enantioselective manner when mediated by the binaphthol derived titanium complex 2040. 

In 1991, Kobayashi el al. prepared novel chiral S/N ligands for the tin-mediated aldol reaction of silyl enol ethers with aldehydes. As an example, the reaction of benzaldehyde afforded the expected syn aldol product as the major product with a good yield and an enantioselectivity of up to 92% ee (Scheme 10.26). Moreover, other aldehydes such as substituted benzaldehydes or aliphatic unsaturated aldehydes were converted into their corresponding aldol products with enantioselectivities of more than 90% ee. It was checked that the corresponding diamine ligands provided less active complexes for the same reactions. 

Enantioselective Catalysis of the Aldol Addition Reaction. There are also several catalysts that can effect enantioselective aldol addition. The reactions generally involve enolate equivalents, such as silyl enol ethers, that are unreactive toward the carbonyl component alone, but can react when activated by a Lewis acid. The tryptophan-based oxazaborolidinone 15 has proven to be a useful catalyst.148... 

Scheme 2.9 gives some examples of use of enantioselective catalysts. Entries 1 to 4 are cases of the use of the oxazaborolidinone-type of catalyst with silyl enol ethers and silyl ketene acetals. Entries 5 and 6 are examples of the use of BEMOL-titanium catalysts, and Entry 7 illustrates the use of Sn(OTf)2 in conjunction with a chiral amine ligand. The enantioselectivity in each of these cases is determined entirely by the catalyst because there are no stereocenters adjacent to the reaction sites in the reactants. 

A number of other chiral catalysts can promote enantioselective conjugate additions of silyl enol ethers, silyl ketene acetals, and related compounds. For example, an oxazaborolidinone derived from allothreonine achieves high enantioselectivity in additions of silyl thioketene acetals.323 The optimal conditions for this reaction also include a hindered phenol and an ether additive. 

More recently, asymmetric Mannich-type reactions have been studied in aqueous conditions. Barbas and co-worker reported a direct amino acid catalyzed asymmetric aldol and Mannich-type reactions that can tolerate small amounts of water (<4 vol%).53 Kobayashi found that a diastereo- and enantioselective Mannich-type reaction of a hydrazono ester with silyl enol ethers in aqueous media has been successfully achieved with ZnF2, a chiral diamine ligand, and trifluoromethanesul-fonic acid (Eq. 11.31).54 The diastereoselective Mannich-type reaction... 

In 1992, Thornton et al. reported that Mn(salen) (43) catalyzed the asymmetric oxidation of silyl enol ethers to give a mixture of a-siloxy and a-hydroxy ketones, albeit with moderate enantioselectivity (Scheme 28).135 Jacobsen et al. examined the oxidation of enol esters with Mn(salen) (27) and achieved good enantioselectivity.136 Adam et al. also reported that the oxidation of enol ethers with (27) proceeded with moderate to high enantioselectivity.137 Good substrates for these reactions are limited, however, to conjugated enol ethers and esters. Based on the analysis of the stereochemistry,137 enol ethers have been proposed to approach the oxo-Mn center along the N—Mn bond axis (trajectory c, vide supra). 

The reactions with a combination of (DHQ)2-PHAL [or (DHQD)2-PHAL] and /V-halosulfo-namides can be successfully applied to trans-olefins. Especially when the substrates are a,j3-unsaturated esters, high regioselectivity as well as good enantioselectivity is realized (Scheme 55).210,211 The use of an /V-halosulfonamide bearing a smaller A-substituent increases the enantioselectivity.211 n-Propanol/water (1 1) is the solvent of choice. Aminohydroxylation of silyl enol ethers has been successfully performed with DHQD-CL or (DHQD)2-PYR, to give the corresponding a-amino ketones.212... 

Sn(OTf)2 can function as a catalyst for aldol reactions, allylations, and cyanations asymmetric versions of these reactions have also been reported. Diastereoselective and enantioselective aldol reactions of aldehydes with silyl enol ethers using Sn(OTf)2 and a chiral amine have been reported (Scheme SO) 338 33 5 A proposed active complex is shown in the scheme. Catalytic asymmetric aldol reactions using Sn(OTf)2, a chiral diamine, and tin(II) oxide have been developed.340 Tin(II) oxide is assumed to prevent achiral reaction pathway by weakening the Lewis acidity of Me3SiOTf, which is formed during the reaction. 

Enantioselective protonation of silyl enol ethers using a SnCl4-BINOL system has been developed (Scheme 83). 45 This Lewis-acid-assisted chiral Bronsted acid (LBA) is a highly effective chiral proton donor. In further studies, combined use of a catalytic amount of SnCl4, a BINOL derivative, and a stoichiometric amount of an achiral proton source is found to be effective for the reaction.346 347... 

Hagiwara et al.107 reported the chiral Pd(II) complex-catalyzed asymmetric addition of enol silyl ethers to imines, based on the belief that Pd(II) enolate was involved in the reaction. They found that with compound 171a as the catalyst, very low enantioselectivity was obtained in the asymmetric reactions between silyl enol ether and imine compounds (Scheme 3-58). However, in the... 

The utilization of copper complexes (47) based on bisisoxazolines allows various silyl enol ethers to be added to aldehydes and ketones which possess an adjacent heteroatom e.g. pyruvate esters. An example is shown is Scheme 43[126]. C2-Symmetric Cu(II) complexes have also been used as chiral Lewis acids for the catalysis of enantioselective Michael additions of silylketene acetals to alkylidene malonates[127]. 

Oxidation of silyl enol ethers. Oxidation of silyl enol ethers to a-hydroxy aldehydes or ketones is usually effected with w-chloroperbenzoic acid (6, 112). This oxidation can also be effected by epoxidation with 2-(phenylsulfonyl)-3-( p-nitrophenyl) oxaziridine in CHC1, at 25-60° followed by rearrangement to a-silyloxy carbonyl compounds, which are hydrolyzed to the a-hydroxy carbonyl compound (BujNF or H,0 + ). Yields are moderate to high. Oxidation with a chiral 2-arene-sulfonyloxaziridine shows only modest enantioselectivity. 

A different approach towards titanium-mediated allene synthesis was used by Hayashi et al. [55], who recently reported rhodium-catalyzed enantioselective 1,6-addition reactions of aryltitanate reagents to 3-alkynyl-2-cycloalkenones 180 (Scheme 2.57). In the presence of chlorotrimethylsilane and (R)-segphos as chiral ligand, alle-nic silyl enol ethers 181 were obtained with good to excellent enantioselectivities and these can be converted further into allenic enol esters or triflates. In contrast to the corresponding copper-mediated 1,6-addition reactions (Section 2.2.2), these transformations probably proceed via alkenylrhodium species (formed by insertion of the C-C triple bond into a rhodium-aryl bond) and subsequent isomerization towards the thermodynamically more stable oxa-jt-allylrhodium intermediates [55],... 

Although in the recent years the stereochemical control of aldol condensations has reached a level of efficiency which allows enantioselective syntheses of very complex compounds containing many asymmetric centres, the situation is still far from what one would consider "ideal". In the first place, the requirement of a substituent at the a-position of the enolate in order to achieve good stereoselection is a limitation which, however, can be overcome by using temporary bulky groups (such as alkylthio ethers, for instance). On the other hand, the ( )-enolates, which are necessary for the preparation of 2,3-anti aldols, are not so easily prepared as the (Z)-enolates and furthermore, they do not show selectivities as good as in the case of the (Z)-enolates. Finally, although elements other than boron -such as zirconium [30] and titanium [31]- have been also used succesfully much work remains to be done in the area of catalysis. In this context, the work of Mukaiyama and Kobayashi [32a,b,c] on asymmetric aldol reactions of silyl enol ethers with aldehydes promoted by tributyltin fluoride and a chiral diamine coordinated to tin(II) triflate... 

Unstabilized enolates react with allylic carbonates in the presence of metalacyclic iridium-phosphoramidite catalysts. Although ketones and aldehydes have not yet been used directly as pronucleophiles with this catalyst system, silyl enol ethers [80] and enamines [81] react with linear allylic carbonates to form, after workup, p-branched, y-8 unsaturated ketones (Scheme 13). Both methods form products in high yield, branched selectivity, and enantioselectivity for a range of cinnamyl and alkyl-substituted allylic carbonates. However, the silyl enol ethers derived from aliphatic ketones reacted in lower yields than enamines derived from the same ketones. 

The cationic iridium complex [Ir(cod)(PPh3)2]OTf, when activated by H2, catalyzes the aldol reaction of aldehydes 141 or acetal with silyl enol ethers 142 to afford 143 (Equation 10.37) [63]. The same Ir complex catalyzes the coupling of a, 5-enones with silyl enol ethers to give 1,5-dicarbonyl compounds [64]. Furthermore, the alkylation of propargylic esters 144 with silyl enol ethers 145 catalyzed by [Ir(cod)[P(OPh)3]2]OTf gives alkylated products 146 in high yields (Equation 10.38) [65]. An iridium-catalyzed enantioselective reductive aldol reaction has also been reported [66]. 

A similar enantiomer-selective activation has been observed for aldol " and hetero-Diels-Alder reactions.Asymmetric activation of (R)-9 by (/f)-BINOL is also effective in giving higher enantioselectivity (97% ee) than those by the parent (R)-9 (91% ee) in the aldol reaction of silyl enol ethers (Scheme 8.12a). Asymmetric activation of R)-9 by (/f)-BINOL is the key to provide higher enantioselectivity (84% ee) than those obtained by (R)-9 (5% ee) in the hetero-Diels-Alder reaction with Danishefsky s diene (Scheme 8.12b). Activation with (/ )-6-Br-BINOL gives lower yield (25%) and enantioselectivity (43% ee) than the one using (/f)-BINOL (50%, 84% ee). One can see that not only steric but also electronic factors are important in a chiral activator. 

BINOL derivative SnCl4 complexes are useful not only as artificial cyclases but also as enantioselective protonation reagents for silyl enol ethers. " However, their exact structures have not been determined. SnCl4-free BINOL derivatives are... 

Monoalkyl ethers of (R,R) 1,2-bis[3,5-bis(trifluoromethyl)phenyl]ethanediol, 24, have been examined for the enantioselective protonation of silyl enol ethers and ketene disilyl acetals in the presence of SnCU (Scheme 12.21) [25]. The corresponding ketones and carboxylic acids have been isolated in quantitative yield. High enantioselectivities have been observed for the protonation of trimethylsilyl enol ethers derived from aromatic ketones and ketene bis(trimethylsilyl)acetals derived from 2-arylalkanoic acids. 

Scheme 70 Enantioselective protonation of silyl enol ethers...

Cycloheptanones attained better enantioselectivity values than their six-membered analogs and the use of alkyl-substituted silyl enol ethers resulted in only moderate enantioselectivities. Indeed, replacement of P=0 by P=S or P=Se in the phospho-ramide catalyst led to improved results in terms of reactivity as well as enantioselectivity. The catalyst loading could be decreased to 0.05 mol% without a deleterious effect on the enantioselectivity (one example). Optimization experiments revealed the critical influence of the achiral proton source on the reactivity and enantioselectivity. This observation suggests a two-step mechanism for the protonation reaction (Scheme 71). 

Using chiral catalysts, not only various enantioselective Mukaiyama and vinylogous Mukaiyama aldol reactions have been developed but also asymmetric reactions of a,a-difluoro silyl enol ethers (1) with carbonyl compounds have been reported ... 

MeOC6H4, respectively. The titanium enolates were converted into silyl enol ethers 54 by treatment with chlorotrimethylsilane and lithium isopropoxide. Additionally, cyclic enones lb and Ic, and linear enones Id and le, are also good substrates for the asymmetric conjugate addition of phenyltitanium triisopropoxide, giving the corresponding arylation products with over 97% enantioselectivity. 

Fluoral hydrate and hemiacetals are industrial products. They are stable liquids that are easy to handle, and they react as fluoral itself in many reactions. Thus, in the presence of Lewis acids, they react in Friedel-Crafts reactions. They also react very well with organometallics (indium and zinc derivatives) and with silyl enol ethers.Proline-catalyzed direct asymmetric aldol reaction of fluoral ethyl hemiac-etal with ketones produced jS-hydroxy-jS-trifluoromethylated ketones with good to excellent diastereo- (up to 96% de) and enantioselectivities. With imine reagents, the reaction proceeds without Lewis acid activation. The use of chiral imines affords the corresponding 8-hydroxy ketones with a 60-80% de (Figure 2.49). ° ... 

Enantioselective deprotonation can also be successfully extended to 4,4-disubstituted cyclohexanones. 4-Methyl-4-phenylcyclohexanone (3) gives, upon reaction with various chiral lithium amides in THF under internal quenching with chlorotrimethylsilane, the silyl enol ether 4 having a quaternary stereogenic carbon atom. Not surprisingly, enantioselectivities are lower than in the case of 4-tm-butylcyclohexanone. Oxidation of 4 with palladium acetate furnishes the a./i-unsaturated ketone 5 whose ee value can be determined by HPLC using the chiral column Chiralcel OJ (Diacel Chemical Industries, Ltd.)59c... 

Stephen L. Buchwald at MIT has reported (Org. Lett. 2004, 6, 4809) a complementary approach. Enantioselective conjugate reduction of the inexpensive 3-methylcyclopentenone 4 led to the silyl enol ether 5, Pd-mediated coupling of which with the aryl halide gave the product 6. 3-Methylcyclohexenone gave the analogous product in 84% . 

Bernadi and Scolastico, and later Evans in a more effective manner, indicated that the enantioselective addition reaction using silyl enol ethers can be catalyzed by Lewis acidic copper(II) cation complexes derived from bisoxazolines [38-40]. In the presence of the copper complex (S,S)-14 (10 mol %), silyl enol ethers derived from thioesters add to alkylidenemalonates or 2-alkenoyloxazo-lidone in high ees (Scheme 12). Bernadi, Scolastico, and Seebach employed a titanium complex derived from TADDOL for the addition of silyl enol ethers to nitroalkenes or 2-cyclopentenone [41-43], although these are stoichiometric reactions. 

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