C-Alkylation enolates

Fraser-Reid and co-workers have reported investigations into the reactivity of an intermediate towards tetrodotoxin. Thus, 216 did not undergo acetolysis, but the (armed) benzyl analogue 217 did, providing 218. Compound 217 was elaborated to 219 by enolate C-alkylation when X=0. ... 

Chemoselective C-alkylation of the highly acidic and enolic triacetic acid lactone 104 (pAl, = 4.94) and tetronic acid (pA, = 3.76) is possible by use of DBU[68]. No 0-alkylation takes place. The same compound 105 is obtained by the regioslective allylation of copper-protected methyl 3,5-dioxohexano-ate[69]. It is known that base-catalyzed alkylation of nitro compounds affords 0-alkylation products, and the smooth Pd-catalyzed C-allylation of nitroalkanes[38.39], nitroacetate[70], and phenylstilfonylnitromethane[71] is possible. Chemoselective C-allylation of nitroethane (106) or the nitroacetate 107 has been applied to the synthesis of the skeleton of the ergoline alkaloid 108[70]. 

Carbon is alkylated ia the form of enolates or as carbanions. The enolates are ambident ia activity and can react at an oxygen or a carbon. For example, refluxing equimolar amounts of dimethyl sulfate and ethyl acetoacetate with potassium carbonate gives a 36% yield of the 0-methylation product, ie, ethyl 3-methoxy-2-butenoate, and 30% of the C-methylation product, ie, ethyl 2-methyl-3-oxobutanoate (26). Generally, only one alkyl group of the sulfate reacts with beta-diketones, beta-ketoesters, or malonates (27). Factors affecting the 0 C alkylation ratio have been extensively studied (28). Reaction ia the presence of soHd Al O results mosdy ia C-alkylation of ethyl acetoacetate (29). 

Soft electrophiles will prefer carbon, and it is found experimentally that most alkyl halides react to give C-alkylation. Because of the n character of the HOMO of the anion, there is a stereoelectronic preference for attack of the electrophile approximately perpendicular to the plane of the enolate. The frontier orbital is ip2, with electron density mainly at O and C-2. The tpi orbital is transformed into the C=0 bond. The transition state for an 8 2 alkylation of an enolate can be represented as below. 

The leaving group in the alkylating reagent has a major effect on whether C- or O-alkylation occurs. In the case of the lithium enolate of acetophenone, for example, C-alkylation is predominant with methyl iodide, but C- and O-alkylation occur to approximately equal extents with dimethyl sulfate. The C- versus O-alkylation ratio has also been studied for the potassium salt of ethyl acetoacetate as a function of both solvent and leaving group. ... 

The heats of reaction for O-alkylation and C-alkylation of enolate anions clearly show that the latter reactions lead to the thermodynamically more stable products 12). 

ALKYL-l-ALKYNES, 58, 1 ALKYL ARYL SULFIDES, 58,143 Alkyl aryl thioethers, 58,145 Alkylation, enolates, 56, 52 C-ALKYLATION, phase transfer catalysis... 

Some sugar residues in bacterial polysaccharides are etherified with lactic acid. The biosynthesis of these involves C)-alkylation, by reaction with enol-pyruvate phosphate, to an enol ether (34) of pyruvic acid, followed by reduction to the (R) or (5) form of the lactic acid ether (35). The enol ether may also react in a different manner, giving a cyclic acetal (36) of pyruvic acid. 

O- versus C-a kyIation product ratios in the methylation of desoxybenzoin by dimethyl sulphate can be varied between 0.75 and 63 by the choice of catalyst. The reaction can be steered towards enol-ether formation by large, sterically shielded ammonium ions, while C-alkylation is favoured by small ammonium ions (e.g. RMejN" ) and by crown ethers (Dehmlow and Schrader, 1990). 

The synthesis in Scheme 13.49 features use of an enantioselective allylic boronate reagent derived from diisopropyl tartrate to establish the C(4) and C(5) stereochemistry. The ring is closed by an olefin metathesis reaction. The C(2) methyl group was introduced by alkylation of the lactone enolate. The alkylation is not stereoselective, but base-catalyzed epimerization favors the desired stereoisomer by 4 1. 

Still another possibility in the base-catalyzed reactions of carbonyl compounds is alkylation or similar reaction at the oxygen atom. This is the predominant reaction of phenoxide ion, of course, but for enolates with less resonance stabilization it is exceptional and requires special conditions. Even phenolates react at carbon when the reagent is carbon dioxide, but this may be due merely to the instability of the alternative carbonic half ester. The association of enolate ions with a proton is evidently not very different from the association with metallic cations. Although the equilibrium mixture is about 92 % ketone, the sodium derivative of acetoacetic ester reacts with acetic acid in cold petroleum ether to give the enol. The Perkin ring closure reaction, which depends on C-alkylation, gives the alternative O-alkylation only when it is applied to the synthesis of a four membered ring ... 

The effect of crown ethers on the rates and stereochemistry of the alkylation of metal acetoacetates has been studied by Cambillau et al. (1976, 1978) and Kurts et al. (1973, 1974). Since the enolate can adopt various conformations ([96]—[99]), O-alkylation may produce either the cis ([100]) or the trans ([101]) isomer, whereas C-alkylation affords [102]. The reaction of the sodium... 

Regiospecific mono-C-alkylation (60-90%) of trimethylsilyl enol ethers is promoted by benzyltriethylammonium fluoride [34, 35]. A similar alkylation of tin(IV) enolates is aided by stoichiometric amount of tetra-n-butylammonium bromide and has been utilized in the synthesis of y-iminoketones [36]. Carbanions from weakly acidic carbon acids can be generated by the reaction of their trimethylsilyl derivatives with tetra-n-butylammonium triphenyldifluorosilicate [37] (see also Section 6.3). Such carbanions react readily with haloalkanes. Tautomeric ketones in which the enol form has a high degree of stabilization are O-alkylated to form the enol ether, e.g. methylation of anthrone produces 9-methoxyanthracene [26],... 

C). The substrate is deprotonated [pK(PhCH2COOMe) 22.7] and trapped by an alkyliodide (—78°C). This procedure leads selectively to mono a-alkylation (81-99%) [103]. Selective monoalkylation of 8-diketones in 70 to 95% yield was obtained by a similar procedure, and only in a few cases (bulky secondary alkylhalides) were the O-alkylated substrate found as a side product. Tetraalky-lammonium counter cations were necessary in stabilizing the enolate Na+ counter cations did not give selective C-alkylation [104]. 

The concept of memory of chirality —in which the chirality of the starting material is preserved in a reactive intermediate for a limited time—is discussed with particular reference to the C-alkylation of enolates of chiral ketones. ... 

Products of ethylation and methylation of enolates of cycloalkane-1,3-diones with ring sizes 7-10 have been studied under a variety of alkylating reagent-solvent systems. Decrease in the 0 C alkylation ratios with increase in ring size is believed to be a consequence of greater steric strain in the conjugated enolate resonance contributor and consequent diminution in the proportion of D-attack. 

Since ketone R)-16 was prepared in a non-selective way when an achiral imino enolate was alkylated, it was considered whether alkylation of chiral enolates, such as that of oxazoline 18, with benzyl bromide 14, would provide stereoselective access to the corresponding alkylation product 19 with R-configuration at C(8) (Scheme 4). Indeed, alkylation of 18 with 14 gave the biaryl 19 and its diastereoisomer almost quantitatively, in a 14 1 ratio. However, reductive hydrolysis using the sequence 1. MeOTf, 2. NaBH4, and 3. H30", afforded hydroxy aldehyde 20 in 25% yield at best. Furthermore, partial epimerization at C(8) occurred (dr 7.7 1). An alternative route, using chiral hydrazones, was even less successful. 

Alkylation is most pronounced when the enolate is dissociated. When the potassium salt of ethyl acetoacetate is treated with diethyl sulfate in the polar aprotic solvent HMPA, the major product (83%) is the O-alkylated one. In THF, where ion clustering occurs, all of the product is C-alkylated. In /-butanol, where the acetoacetate... 

Similar effects are also seen with enolates of simple ketones. For isopropyl phenyl ketone, the inclusion of one equivalent of 12-crown-4 in a DME solution of the lithium enolate changes the C/O-alkylation ratio from 1.2 1 to 1 3, with methyl sulfate as the alkylating agent.50 With methyl iodide as the alkylating agent, C-alkylation is strongly favored with or without 12-crown-4. 

To summarize, the amount of O-alkylation is maximized by use of an alkyl sulfate or alkyl sulfonate in a polar aprotic solvent. The amount of C-alkylation is maximized by use of an alkyl hahde in a less polar or protic solvent. The majority of synthetic operations involving ketone enolates are carried out in THF or DME using an alkyl bromide or alkyl iodide, and C-alkylation is favored. 

Phenoxide ions are a special case related to enolate anions but with a strong preference for O-alkylation because C-alkylation disrupts aromatic conjugation. 

Undesirable intermolecular reactions can be avoided during certain synthetic conversions. Thus it is often useful to carry out C-alkylation and C-acylation of compounds that form enolate anions, for example, esters with a-hydrogens. Such reactions are often complicated by self-condensation since the enolate anion can attack the carbonyl group of a second ester molecule. Attachment of the enolizable ester to a polymer support at low loading levels allows the alkylation and acylation reactions (Eq. 9-79) to be performed under... 

The A -acyl derivatives of 4-substituted-3,4,5,6-tetrahydro-27/-l,3-oxazin-2-ones proved to behave as effective chiral auxiliaries in asymmetric enolate alkylations and aldol reactions, the stereoselectivities of which were found to be higher for 4-isopropyl than for 4-phenyl derivatives <2006OBC2753>. The transformations of 4-isopropyl-6,6-dimethyl-3-propa-noyl-3,4,5,6-tetrahydro-2/7-l,3-oxazin-2-one 251 to 252 or 253 proceeded with excellent diastereoselectivities (Scheme 47). 6,6-Dimethyl substitution within the oxazine ring facilitated exclusive exocyclic cleavage upon hydrolysis of the C-alkylated and the aldol products 252 and 253, to furnish a-substituted carboxylic acids 254 or a-methyl-/ -hydroxycarboxylic acids 256. 

Compared to many other types of synthetic intermediates, acetylides, RC=CM (M = Li, Na, K), show a moderate reactivity towards alkyl halides in the usual organic solvents E O and THF and in liquid ammonia [2], In this respect acetylides resemble enolates >C=COM. In the absence of dipolar aprodc co-solvents (DMSO or HMPT), lithium alkynylides, RC=CLi, react sluggishly in Et O or THF with most alkyl halides [2]. In liquid ammonia the alkylation of alkali acetylides with the lower (up to C-5) alkyl bromides or iodides proceeds at a satisfactory rate [5]. A certain amount of DMSO added to the reaction mixture increases the solubility of halides with a longer carbon chain. A second effect of the addition of this co-solvent is that the temperature of the reaction mixture can gradually rise as more ammonia evaporates. In this way, the reaction can proceed gradually over the range from -33 C (b.p. NH3) to room temperature. Specific alkylation on the acetylenic carbon takes place if an equivalent amount of an alkyl halide is added to dilithiated propargvl alcohol in liquid ammonia... 

C-alkylation is predicted to occur via attack on the enolate carbon perpendicular to the C — C — O plane for maximum overlap of the re-system. Such a transition state 5 can be easily achieved when the ring to be formed is six-membered. In the five-membered ring closure there is less strain in a nucleophilic substitution involving the lone-pair orbital on oxygen. 

Silyl enol ethers, enol esters and alkyl enol ethers of ketones and aldehydes can be C-alkylated with reactive alkylating agents in the presence of Lewis acids86-90. However, information regarding the use of these reactions for diastereoselcctive or asymmetric synthesis is still limited. 

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