Enolates natural product synthesis

The asymmetric arylation of ketone enolates represents an attractive method for the preparation of optically active carbonyl compounds with a stereogenic quaternary center at the a-position to the carbonyl group. Such types of compounds are important intermediates for natural product synthesis. Replacement of BINAP by 109 provides... 

Snider and colleagues have developed the sequential ene reaction/thia-[2,3]-Wittig reaction which provide appropriately functionalized product 152 at allylic position on simple alkene 150 in two steps involving intermediate 151 (equation 87) . Thia-[2,3]-Wittig rearrangement was often utilized as a key step of natural product synthesis. Masaki and colleagues have demonstrated that the potassium enolate thia-[2,3]-rearrangement of aUyl sulfide 153 to 154 is useful for the synthesis of terpenoid diol component 155 of the pheromonal secretion of the queen butterfly (equation 88) . 

Recently, both enantiomeric forms of callosobruchusic acid (170), a pheromone of the azuki bean weevil, Callosobruchus chinensis L., which induces the male to extrude his genital organ and to attempt copulation, were synthesized by Mori et al.178), applying Evan s alkylation method in natural product synthesis as the key step. Thus, (S)-prolinol propionamide was converted to its enolate (164) by treatment with LDA. 

This rearrangement-cyclization cascade was applied to natural products synthesis. For example, DDQ oxidation of the appropriate dihydro-3 (27T)-furanone enol acetates (Table 3.5, entries 1 and 7) afforded bullatenone and the antitumor agent geiparvarin in a very rapid route (Fig. 3.1).69 70... 

A concentrated solution of LiCl04 in EtzO is effective in the allylation of silyl enolates with allyl alcohols and acetates.310 The LiClCL-promoted reaction with silyl enolates enables ring opening of 8-oxabicyclo[3.2.1]octa-2,6-dienes to highly functionalized 1,4-cycloheptadienes, which can be further manipulated for use in natural product synthesis (Equation (83)).311... 

In the presence of oxygen as reoxidant, Pd(OAc)2 catalyzes intramolecular alkenylation of silyl enolates with alkenes (Equation (86)). This cycloalkenylation is quite useful for natural product synthesis. 

Luker,T. Hiemstra, H., and Speckamp, W.N. 1997. Total synthesis of desoxoprosophylline application of a lactam-derived enol triflate to natural product synthesis. J Org Chem 62, 3592-3596. 

Metal enolates have played a Umited role in the metal-catalyzed isomerization of al-kenes . As illustrated in a comprehensive review by Bouwman and coworkers, ruthenium complex Ru(acac)3 (51) has been used to isomerize a wide range of substituted double bonds, including aUylic alcohols (131), to the corresponding ketones (132) (equation 38) . The isomerization of aUylic alcohols affords products that have useful applications in natural product synthesis and in bulk chemical processes. An elegant review by Fogg and dos Santos shows how these complexes can be used in tandem catalysis, where an alkene is subjected to an initial isomerization followed by a hydroformylation reaction ... 

In a second part, the reactivity of a-phenylselanyl enolates, derived from ketones, esters, lactones and a,/i-unsatm ated carbonyl compounds, is discussed. Alkylation, aldolisation and Michael reactions are considered as the use of selenium-stabilized carbanions in the natural product synthesis. Others a-fimctionalyzed species are also presented. 

Alkoxycyclopropanes are commonly prepared from alkyl enol ethers by one of the Simmons-Smith modifications (see Chapter 7). According to Wenkert and coworkers they are cleaved by strong acids to the a-methylated carbonyl compound, thus establishing an overall a-methylation of a ketone or an aldehyde (equation 64). This method has often been used for natural product synthesis (e.g. valerane " ). 

While most of the chemistry discussed in this chapter has been developed in the past decade, several important methods have withstood the test of time and have made important contributions in areas such as natural product synthesis. Methods such as cuprate acylation and the addition of organolithiums to carboxylic acids have continued to enjoy widespread use in organic synthesis, whereas older methods including the reaction of organocadmium reagents with acid halides, once virtually the only method available for acylation, has not seen extensive utilization recently. In the following discussion, we shall be interested in cases where selective monoacylation of nonstabilized carbanion equivalents has been achieved. Especially of concern here are carbanion equivalents or more properly organometallics which possess no source of resonance stabilization other than the covalent carbon-metal bond. Other sources of carbanions that are intrinsically stabilized, such as enolates, will be covered in Chapter 3.6, Volume 2. 

Typically, nonstabilized ylides are utilized for the synthesis of (Z)-alkenes. In 1986, Schlosser published a paper summarizing the factors that enhance (Z)-selectivity. Salt effects have historically been defined as the response to the presence of soluble lithium salts. Any soluble salt will compromise the (Z)-selectivity of the reaction, and typically this issue has been resolved by the use of sodium amide or sodium or potassium hexamethyldisilazane (NaHMDS or KHMDS) as the base. Solvent effects are also vital to the stereoselectivity. In general, ethereal solvents such as THF, diethyl ether, DME and t-butyl methyl ether are the solvents of choice." In cases where competitive enolate fomnation is problematic, toluene may be utilized. Protic solvents, such as alcohols, as well as DMSO, should be avoided in attempts to maximize (Z)-selectivity. Finally, the dropwise addition of the carbonyl to the ylide should be carried out at low temperature (-78 C). Recent applications of phosphonium ylides in natural product synthesis have been extensively reviewed by Maryanoff and Reitz. 

The potential of the ester enolate Claisen rearrangement for the stereocontrolled synthesis of highly functionalized, complex systems has been demonstrated in numerous applications in natural product synthesis. Utilizing the 1,3-chirality transfer Ireland has synthesized oxygen heterocycles with chiral side chains, such as are found as units in polyether antibiotics and macrolides, starting from enantiomerically pure furanoid or pyranoid glycal systems of type (41), which are easily accessible from carbohydrates (Scheme 65). ... 

Kazmaier, U. Reactions of chelated amino acid ester enolates and their application to natural product synthesis. Bioorg. Chem. 1999, 201-206. 

Aldol condensations of more complex aldehydes are often sufficiently slow to allow successful alkylation reactions. There are numerous examples of aldehyde enolate methylations in the field of natural product synthesis. As shown in Scheme 29, the methylation of a tricyclic aldehyde, which was employed in the synthesis of ( )-rimuene, provides an illustrative case. As expected for an exocyclic enolate intermediate such as (61), the methyl group was introduced equatorial to the six-membered ring with a high degree of stereoselectivity. a-Alkylated aldehydes may be prepared efficiently by alkylations of enamines, Schiff base anions, hydrazone anions and other methods. A discussion of this methodology is provided in Section 1.1.5. 

The high syn stereoselectivity attained in zirconium enolate aldol reactions has proved useful in complex natural product synthesis. The zirconium-mediated aldol reaction of the chiral ethyl ketone (9) with a chiral aldehyde has been used by Masamune et al. to give selectively adduct (10), which was further elaborated into the ansa chain of rifamycin S (equation 1). Good enolate diastereofacial selectivity is also obtained here and leads to a predominance of one of the two possible syn adducts. A zirconium enolate aldol reaction also features in the Deslongchamps formal total synthesis of erythromycin A, where the di(cyclopentadienyl)chiorozirconium enolate from methyl propionate adds with high levels of Cram selectivity to the chiral aldehyde (11) to give the syn adduct (12 equation 2). A further example is... 

Temporary tethering of radical precursors has found other applications in natural product synthesis. Crimmins and O Mahony utilized a silyl ether temporary eonnection to direct a hydro-hydroxymethylation of enol ether 139 in their synthesis of talaromycin A, 140 [54]. Since talaromycin A is susceptible to acid-catalyzed isomerization to the thermodynamically more stable talaromycin B in which the hydroxymethyl substituent is equatorial, the use of the essentially neutral conditions of a radical cyclization to install the requisite axial hydroxymethyl group would avoid any potential isomerization problems. Formation of enol ether 139 was achieved in five steps from (4R)-4-ethylvalerolac-tone 141. Exposure of 139 to Bu3SnH in benzene at reflux in the presence of AIBN as initiator effected radical cyclization with delivery of the radical to the same face to whieh the ether tether was attached. Tamao oxidation proceeded uneventfully, furnishing the desired natural product (Scheme 10-47). 

Mahrwald R (2004) Modem aldol reactions, vol. 1. Enolates, organocatalysis, biocatalysis and natural product synthesis. Wiley-VCH, Weinheim, 335 pp... 

Selenenylations of ketones, esters, lactones and lactams are usually effected by the reaction of the corresponding lithium enolates with PhSeCl, PhSeBr and PhSeSePh (with the exception of ketones) at low temperature. Aldehydes have not been selenenylated in this manner. Table 4 illustrates some typical products that have been made in this way. Selenenylation has been especially useful in natural product synthesis for the formation of a-methylenelactones from the parent a-methyl compounds (Scheme 15 and Table 4), and has significant advantages over the more traditional methods for ef-... 

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