Enolates estrone

An asymmetric synthesis of estrone begins with an asymmetric Michael addition of lithium enolate (178) to the scalemic sulfoxide (179). Direct treatment of the cmde Michael adduct with y /i7-chloroperbenzoic acid to oxidize the sulfoxide to a sulfone, followed by reductive removal of the bromine affords (180, X = a and PH R = H) in over 90% yield. Similarly to the conversion of (175) to (176), base-catalyzed epimerization of (180) produces an 85% isolated yield of (181, X = /5H R = H). C8 and C14 of (181) have the same relative and absolute stereochemistry as that of the naturally occurring steroids. Methylation of (181) provides (182). A (CH2)2CuLi-induced reductive cleavage of sulfone (182) followed by stereoselective alkylation of the resultant enolate with an allyl bromide yields (183). Ozonolysis of (183) produces (184) (wherein the aldehydric oxygen is by isopropyUdene) in 68% yield. Compound (184) is the optically active form of Ziegler s intermediate (176), and is converted to (+)-estrone in 6.3% overall yield and >95% enantiomeric excess (200). 

The most recent, and probably most elegant, process for the asymmetric synthesis of (+)-estrone appHes a tandem Claisen rearrangement and intramolecular ene-reaction (Eig. 23). StereochemicaHy pure (185) is synthesized from (2R)-l,2-0-isopropyhdene-3-butanone in an overall yield of 86% in four chemical steps. Heating a toluene solution of (185), enol ether (187), and 2,6-dimethylphenol to 180°C in a sealed tube for 60 h produces (190) in 76% yield after purification. Ozonolysis of (190) followed by base-catalyzed epimerization of the C8a-hydrogen to a C8P-hydrogen (again similar to conversion of (175) to (176)) produces (184) in 46% yield from (190). Aldehyde (184) was converted to 9,11-dehydroestrone methyl ether (177) as discussed above. The overall yield of 9,11-dehydroestrone methyl ether (177) was 17% in five steps from 6-methoxy-l-tetralone (186) and (185) (201). 

A carbonyl group cannot be protected as its ethylene ketal during the Birch reduction of an aromatic phenolic ether if one desires to regenerate the ketone and to retain the 1,4-dihydroaromatic system, since an enol ether is hydrolyzed by acid more rapidly than is an ethylene ketal. 1,4-Dihydro-estrone 3-methyl ether is usually prepared by the Birch reduction of estradiol 3-methyl ether followed by Oppenauer oxidation to reform the C-17 carbonyl function. However, the C-17 carbonyl group may be protected as its diethyl ketal and, following a Birch reduction of the A-ring, this ketal function may be hydrolyzed in preference to the 3-enol ether, provided carefully controlled conditions are employed. Conditions for such a selective hydrolysis are illustrated in Procedure 4. 

The crude ketal from the Birch reduction is dissolved in a mixture of 700 ml ethyl acetate, 1260 ml absolute ethanol and 31.5 ml water. To this solution is added 198 ml of 0.01 Mp-toluenesulfonic acid in absolute ethanol. (Methanol cannot be substituted for the ethanol nor can denatured ethanol containing methanol be used. In the presence of methanol, the diethyl ketal forms the mixed methyl ethyl ketal at C-17 and this mixed ketal hydrolyzes at a much slower rate than does the diethyl ketal.) The mixture is stirred at room temperature under nitrogen for 10 min and 56 ml of 10% potassium bicarbonate solution is added to neutralize the toluenesulfonic acid. The organic solvents are removed in a rotary vacuum evaporator and water is added as the organic solvents distill. When all of the organic solvents have been distilled, the granular precipitate of 1,4-dihydroestrone 3- methyl ether is collected on a filter and washed well with cold water. The solid is sucked dry and is dissolved in 800 ml of methyl ethyl ketone. To this solution is added 1600 ml of 1 1 methanol-water mixture and the resulting mixture is cooled in an ice bath for 1 hr. The solid is collected, rinsed with cold methanol-water (1 1), air-dried, and finally dried in a vacuum oven at 60° yield, 71.5 g (81 % based on estrone methyl ether actually carried into the Birch reduction as the ketal) mp 139-141°, reported mp 141-141.5°. The material has an enol ether assay of 99%, a residual aromatics content of 0.6% and a 19-norandrost-5(10)-ene-3,17-dione content of 0.5% (from hydrolysis of the 3-enol ether). It contains less than 0.1 % of 17-ol and only a trace of ketal formed by addition of ethanol to the 3-enol ether. 

Reaction of estrone methyl ether with methyl Grignard reagent followed by Birch reduction and hydrolysis of the intermediate enol ether affords the prototype orally active androgen in the 19-nor series, normethandrolone (69). ° (Note that here again the addition of the methyl group proceeded stereoselectively by approach from the least hindered side.) The preparation of the ethyl homolog starts by catalytic reduction of mestranol treatment of the intermediate, 70, under the conditions of the Birch reduction and subsequent hydrolysis of the intermediate enol ether yields norethandrolone (71). ... 

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). 

In this example, the /3-diketone 2-methyJ-l,3-cyclopentanedione is used to generate the enolate ion required for Michael reaction and an aryl-substituted a,/3-unsaturated ketone is used as the acceptor. Base-catalyzed Michael reaction between the two partners yields an intermediate triketone, which then cyclizes in an intramolecular aldol condensation to give a Robinson annulation product. Several further transformations are required to complete the synthesis of estrone. 

The synthetic problem is now reduced to cyclopentanone 16. This substance possesses two stereocenters, one of which is quaternary, and its constitution permits a productive retrosynthetic maneuver. Retrosynthetic disassembly of 16 by cleavage of the indicated bond furnishes compounds 17 and 18 as potential precursors. In the synthetic direction, a diastereoselective alkylation of the thermodynamic (more substituted) enolate derived from 18 with alkyl iodide 17 could afford intermediate 16. While trimethylsilyl enol ether 18 could arise through silylation of the enolate oxygen produced by a Michael addition of a divinyl cuprate reagent to 2-methylcyclopentenone (19), iodide 17 can be traced to the simple and readily available building blocks 7 and 20. The application of this basic plan to a synthesis of racemic estrone [( >1] is described below. 

There are comparatively few studies addressing the structure-metabolism relationships of phosphoric acid monoester hydrolysis. For example, kinetics of decomposition in rat whole blood were examined for the phosphoric acid monoesters of estrone, 17a- and 17/J-testosterone, 3-(hydroxyme-thyl)phenytoin (see Fig. 9.7,a), and 1-phenylvinyl alcohol (9.28, the enolic form of acetophenone) [87]. As a general trend, the rate of hydrolysis increased with the acidity of the leaving hydroxylated compound. In other words, hydrolysis was the fastest for the phosphoric acid aryl monoester (estrone 3-phosphate), and slowest for the two testosterone phosphoric acid... 

Under similar conditions, the enol acetate and the trimethylsilyl ether of estrone were fluorinated to give the corresponding a-fluoro carbonyl compound (Fig. 54) [135]. 

Addition of the enolate of the hindered 17 - /er/- bu ty Id im e thy I si I y I - pro tec ted testosterone was successfully used by Rubin, Kenyon, and co-workers to prove the efficiency of sequential double Michael-type additions to C6o (cf. Section IV.C.l.d and Scheme 1.20).378 Fullerene-steroid conjugates derived from vitamin D, cholesterol, testosterone, and estrone were, finally, reported by Wilson, Schuster, and co-workers 411... 

Reaction of estrone enol acetate with phenylselenenyl or methylselenenyl bromide in the presence of potassium carbonate affords 16a-(phenylseleno)- or 16a-(methylseleno)estrone derivatives l17. 

Reagent 1 also undergoes asymmetric Michael additions with enolate ions. Michael additions with disubstituted lithium eno-lates proceed with almost complete tt-facial diastereoselectivity. Starting with these Michael additions, (—)-methyl jasmonate (eq 4) and (—)-estrone methyl ether (eq 5) can be obtained in high enantiomeric purities. 

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