Enolate anions, from lactones

A common procedure in C-C-bond formation is the aldol addition of enolates derived from carboxylic acid derivatives with aldehydes to provide the anion of the [5-hydroxy carboxylic acid derivative. If one starts with an activated acid derivative, the formation of a [Mac lone can follow. This procedure has been used by the group of Taylor [137] for the first synthesis of the l-oxo-2-oxa-5-azaspiro[3.4]octane framework. Schick and coworkers have utilized the method for their assembly of key intermediates for the preparation of enzyme inhibitors of the tetrahydrolipstatin and tetrahydroesterastin type [138]. Romo and coworkers used a Mukaiyama aldol/lac-tonization sequence as a concise and direct route to 3-lactones of type 2-253, starting from different aldehydes 2-251 and readily available thiopyridylsilylketenes 2-252 (Scheme 2.60) [139]. 

Vitamin C, also known as L-ascorbic acid, clearly appears to be of carbohydrate nature. Its most obvious functional group is the lactone ring system, and, although termed ascorbic acid, it is certainly not a carboxylic acid. Nevertheless, it shows acidic properties, since it is an enol, in fact an enediol. It is easy to predict which enol hydroxyl group is going to ionize more readily. It must be the one P to the carbonyl, ionization of which produces a conjugate base that is nicely resonance stabilized (see Section 4.3.5). Indeed, note that these resonance forms correspond to those of an enolate anion derived from a 1,3-dicarbonyl compound (see Section 10.1). Ionization of the a-hydroxyl provides less favourable resonance, and the remaining hydroxyls are typical non-acidic alcohols (see Section 4.3.3). Thus, the of vitamin C is 4.0, and is comparable to that of a carboxylic acid. 

The next step is not immediately obvious. The generation of an ethyl ester from a lactone can be accommodated by transesterification (we might alternatively consider esterification of the free hydroxyacid). The incorporation of chlorine where we effectively had the alcohol part of the lactone leads us to nucleophilic substitution. That it can be SnI is a consequence of the tertiary site. Cyclopropane ring formation from an Sn2 reaction in which an enolate anion displaces a halide should be deducible from the structural relationships and basic conditions. 

The utility of the creation of a y-lactone enolate through 1,4-addition of a carbanion and its interception by an electrophile has also been demonstrated in other classes of natural products, e.g., in the enantioselective synthesis of 10-oxa-l 1-methyl PGE2 analogues22. This synthesis starts with 1,4-addition of the sulfone-stabilized anion from 27 to ( + )-(S )-4-methyl-2-buteno-lide which has been prepared in three steps from (—)-(S)-l,2-epoxypropane. The intermediate enolate 28 is reacted with the acetylenic iodide to give the trisubstituted diastereomeric mixture of lactones 29, which is eventually converted into the pure compound 30, both reactions occurring with high diastereoselectivity. 

The analogue in which carbon replaces oxygen in the enol ring should of course avoid the stability problem. The synthesis of this compound initially follows a scheme similar to that pioneered by the Corey group. Thus, acylation of the ester (7-2) with the anion from trimethyl phosphonate yields the activated phosphonate (7-3). Reaction of the yhde from that intermediate with the lactone (7-4) leads to a compound (7-5) that incorporates the lower side chain of natural prostaglandins. This is then taken on to lactone (7-6) by sequential reduction by means of zinc borohydride, removal of the biphenyl ester by saponification, and protection of the hydroxyl groups as tetrahydropyranyl ethers. 

Just occasionally it is possible to carry out cross-condensations between two different enolizable molecules under equilibrating conditions, A notable example is the base-catalysed reaction between methyl ketones and lactones. With sodium hydride—a strong base that can convert either starting material entirely into its enolate anion—good yields of products from the attack of the enolate of the ketone on the electrophilic lactone can be obtained. 

Substitution of one of the ester groups for another functional group may also allow one mode of cyclization to occur. Where cyanide replaces one of the esters, cyclization occurs from the cyano-stabilized anion. Seven-membered (e.g. 60) and heterocyclic (e.g. 61) rings - can be prepared regio-selectively. In competition between an ester and the PhS02-stabilized anion the latter cyclizes even where it is secondary and the ester is primary, (62) to (63), presumably in part a reflection on the electro-philicity of the two groups and the stabilities of the products. The ester lactone (64) cyclizes to the keto ester (65) involving the enolate of the lactone, but cyclization in the opposite sense is sterically unlikely (Scheme 28). ... 

The preference for the lowest energy conformation of the enolate anion is seen in larger ring systems as well (sec. 1.5.B,C), leading to good selectivity in alkylation and condensation reactions. The methyl group provides only small steric encumbrance to approach of the electrophile in enolate 505 (derived from lactone 504 and LDA). The preferred mode of attack for this relatively stable conformation was from the top face (path a, pseudoequatorial attack) and gave the syn diastereomer (506) with >99 1 selectivity.- ... 

Bicyclic y-lactones have been prepared from cycloalk-2-ene-l,4-diols using ethyl orthoacetate and acid, e.g. lactone (324) was obtained from cyclohept-2-ene-l,4-diol (83%). The enolate anion (325) cyclizes by Cl" displacement to give the corresponding benzofuran. Epoxyalcohol (326) dehydrates when treated with BFj-... 

Silyl enol ethers are other ketone or aldehyde enolate equivalents and react with allyl carbonate to give allyl ketones or aldehydes 13,300. The transme-tallation of the 7r-allylpalladium methoxide, formed from allyl alkyl carbonate, with the silyl enol ether 464 forms the palladium enolate 465, which undergoes reductive elimination to afford the allyl ketone or aldehyde 466. For this reaction, neither fluoride anion nor a Lewis acid is necessary for the activation of silyl enol ethers. The reaction also proceed.s with metallic Pd supported on silica by a special method[301j. The ketene silyl acetal 467 derived from esters or lactones also reacts with allyl carbonates, affording allylated esters or lactones by using dppe as a ligand[302]... 

Dehydrobromination of bromotrifluoropropene affords the more expensive trifluoropropyne [237], which was metallated in situ and trapped with an aldehyde in the TIT group s [238]synthesis of 2,6-dideoxy-6,6,6-trifluorosugars (Eq. 77). Allylic alcohols derived from adducts of this type have been transformed into trifluoromethyl lactones via [3,3] -Claisen rearrangements and subsequent iodolactonisation [239]. Relatively weak bases such as hydroxide anion can be used to perform the dehydrobromination and when the alkyne is generated in the presence of nucleophilic species, addition usually follows. Trifluoromethyl enol ethers were prepared (stereoselectively) in this way (Eq. 78) the key intermediate is presumably a transient vinyl carbanion which protonates before defluorination can occur [240]. Palladium(II)-catalysed alkenylation or aryla-tion then proceeds [241]. 

The alkoxide anion at C-19 that results from opening the epoxide reacts to form lactone 18. another transcsterification catalyzed by the Lewis acid Aqueous workup cleaves enol ether 18 at C 24 to give free alcohol 5 20 moI i BF3 OhK CH CK 67. ... 

After conjugate addition of the hydroperoxide anion to the chelated a,p-unsaturated lactone, the resulting enolate counterattacks the proximal [3-hydroperoxide group to form an epoxide. The latter then ring-expands to create another enolate, which captures a proton from water. The product hemiacetal finally undergoes ring-opening and saponification to produce 9 (Scheme 6.5). 

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