Enolates stereochemical alkylation

The origin of the high diastereoselectivity in this alkylation is not fully understood. The stereochemical outcome is consistent with a model in which the (Z)-enolate is alkylated from the a-face while the p-face is blocked by the solvated lithium alkoxide. 

Seebach has devised a clever method that utilizes the inherent stereochemical information of chiral a- and /3-heteroatom-substituted carboxylic acids in stereoselective alkylations (Scheme 3.10) [57, 61-64]. In this approach, the resident stereogenic center of the starting hydroxy acid dictates the configuration at C2 of the derived acetal 67. The new stereogenic center in turn controls the diastereofacial selectivity in the subsequent alkylation of the intermediate enolate 68. Alkylation reactions of these systems are observed to proceed with high levels of induction to give products such as 69 dr =93 7) [61]. In the final step of the sequence, hydrolysis of the acetal furnishes the optically active a-hydroxy acid 70. 

It is possible to change the stereochemical result of the alkylation by replacing the 3-ketal protecting group with a A -enol ether. This structural change eliminates a severe 1,3-diaxial interaction to a-face methylation and results in the formation of the 5a-methyl steroid (15) in about 35% yield, ... 

Schemes 3-7 describe the synthesis of cyanobromide 6, the A-D sector of vitamin Bi2. The synthesis commences with an alkylation of the magnesium salt of methoxydimethylindole 28 to give intermediate 29 (see Scheme 3a). The stereocenter created in this step plays a central role in directing the stereochemical course of the next reaction. Thus, exposure of 29 to methanol in the presence of BF3 and HgO results in the formation of tricyclic ketone 22 presumably through the intermediacy of the derived methyl enol ether 30. It is instructive to point out that the five-membered nitrogen-containing ring in 22, with its two adjacent methyl-bearing stereocenters, is destined to become ring A of vitamin Bi2. A classical resolution of racemic 22 with a-phenylethylisocyanate (31) furnishes tricyclic ketone 22 in enantiomerically pure form via diaster-eomer 32.

Other studies have provided additional data on the relative stabilities of the lithium aldolates 14 and 15 derived from the condensation of dilithium enediolates 13 (Rj = alkyl, aryl) with representative aldehydes (eq. [ 10]) (16). Kinetic aldol ratios were also obtained for comparison in this and related studies (16,17). As summarized in Table 4, the diastereomeric aldol chelates 14a and ISa, derived from the enolate of phenylacetic acid 13 (R = Ph), reach equilibrium after 3 days at 25° C (entries A-D). The percentage of threo diastere-omer 15 increases with the increasing steric bulk of the aldehyde ligand R3 as expected. It is noteworthy that the diastereomeric aldol chelates 14a and 15a (Rj = CH3, C2HS, i-C3H7) do not equilibrate at room temperature over the 3 day period (16). In a related study directed at delineating the stereochemical control elements of the Reformatsky reaction, Kurtev examined the equilibration of both... 

In the late 1960s, methods were developed for the synthesis of alkylated ketones, esters, and amides via the reaction of trialkyl-boranes with a-diazocarbonyl compounds (50,51), halogen-substituted enolates (52), and sulfur ylids (53) (eqs. [33]-[35]). Only one study has addressed the stereochemical aspects of these reactions in detail. Masamune (54) reported that diazoketones 56 (Ri = CH3, CH2Ph, Ph), upon reaction with tributylborane, afford almost exclusively the ( )-enolate, in qualitative agreement with an earlier report by Pasto (55). It was also found that E) - (Z)-enolate isomerization could be accomplished with a catalytic amount of lithium phenoxide (CgHg, 16 hr, 22°C) (54). 

By contrast, lithium enolates derived from tertiary amides do react with oxiranes The diastereoselectivity in the reaction of simple amide enolates with terminal oxiranes has been addressed and found to be low (Scheme 45). The chiral bicyclic amide enolate 99 reacts with a good diastereoselectivity with ethylene oxide . The reaction of the chiral amide enolate 100 with the chiral oxiranes 101 and 102 occurs with a good diastereoselectivity (in the matched case ) interestingly, the stereochemical course is opposite to the one observed with alkyl iodides. The same reversal is found in the reaction of the amide enolate 103. By contrast, this reversal in diastereoselectivity compared to alkyl iodides was not found in the reaction of the hthium enolate 104 with the chiral oxiranes 105 and 106 °. It should be noted that a strong matched/mismatched effect occurs for enolates 100 and 103 with chiral oxiranes, and excellent diastereoselec-tivities can be achieved. 

In particular, there is only one review which places special emphasis on the stereochemical aspects of the alkylation of enolates, i.e., on the influence of a resident asymmetric center on the course of the reaction6. 

It has been shown in the previous examples of 5-lactone alkylations that a substituent in the /(-position strongly induces attack of the electrophile from the opposite side (e.g., see references 60 and 61). These findings correspond to common sense first approximations. However, an interesting example has been reported where this effect is nearly completely suppressed by a second stereochemical barrier. Alkylation of the enolate 18 can either give 19a or 19b. 

Hydridotris(3,5-dimethyl-l-pyrazolyl)borate]molybdenum-(i72-acyl) complexes, such as 1, are deprotonated by butyllithium or potassium hydride to generate enolate species, such as 488.8> jjie overa]] structure of these chiral complexes is similar to that of the iron and rhenium complexes discussed earlier the hydridotris(3,5-dimethyl-l-pyrazolyl)borate ligand is iso valent to the cyclopentadienyl ligand, occupying three metal coordination sites. However, several important differences must be taken into account when a detailed examination of the stereochemical outcome of deprotonation-alkylation processes is undertaken. 

The idea that the stereochemical outcome of an intramolecular enolate alkylation is determined by chelation in the transition state was recently demonstrated by Denmark and Henke, who observed a marked preference for a "closed transition state (coordination of the cationic counterion to an enolate and the developing alcohol) resulting in a syn product. For example, the highest syn anti ratio (89 11) was obtained in toluene and the lowest syn.anti ratio (2 98) was obtained with a crown ether. These observations parallel the facial selectivities described herein and in ref 11 on the intramolecular SN2 reaction see (a) Denmark, S. A. Henke, B. R. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 1991, 113, 2177. (b) Denmark, S. A. Henke, B. R. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 1989, 111, 8022. 

An interesting use of the nickel-catalyzed allylic alkylation has prochiral allylic ketals as substrate (Scheme 8E.47) [206]. In contrast to the previous kinetic-resolution process, the enantioselectivity achieved in the ionization step is directly reflected in the stereochemical outcome of the reaction. Thus, the commonly observed variation of the enantioselectivity with respect to the structure of the nucleophile is avoided in this type of reaction. Depending on the method of isolation, the regio- and enantioselective substitution gives an asymmetric Michael adduct or an enol ether in quite good enantioselectivity to provide further synthetic flexibility. 

On alkylation of 2-(aminomethyl)oxazolines (42) and (43), stereochemical induction is evident for the tertiary carbamates (43), but not the tertiary amines (42) this is apparently a consequence of prior complexation of the carbamate carbonyl group to the base and kinetic preference for ( )-enolate formation on deprotonation 47 4-Alkenylamides (44) having a /1-cliiral centre have been found to undergo syn-selective a-iodination with iodine to give syn-a-iodoalkcnamidcs, via an intermediate... 

The /3-lactone was formed by the cyclization of a 3-hydroxycarboxylic acid with sulfonyl chloride. An alternative synthesis attempted to control all stereochemical relationships in the molecule using the properties of silyl moieties attached to substrates and reagents <20040BC1051>. Stereoselective reactions of this type included the use of silyl groups in enolate alkylations, hydroboration of allylsilanes, and an anti Se2 reaction of an allenyl silane with an aldehyde and ry -silylcupration of an acetylene. The /3-lactone was again formed by the standard sulfonyl chloride cyclization method. 

As with the aza-enolate of Figure 10.31, the aza-enolate D in Figure 10.32 contains a polar, covalent N—Li bond that is twisted out of the plane of the enolate. And again as with Figure 10.31, the lithium of this N—Li bond directs the added alkyl halide from, the side of the lithium to the enolate carbon. The kethydrazone E is formed with high diastereoselectivity and, after chromatographic separation, it is obtained in 100% stereochemically pure form. 

Chemists soon showed that it was an easy matter to synthesize a related ester by a conjugate addition of an organocopper derivative (Chapter 10) and then the alkylation of an ester enolate (Chapter 26). The enolate reacts with Mel on the face opposite the propenyl side chain—a good example of stereochemical control with cyclic compounds (Chapter 33). 

Treatment of 23 with potassium hydride in the presence of an alkyl halide and 18-crown-6 in fact gave optically active a-alkylated products 24 in 48% to nearly 73% ee in the absence of any additional chiral source (Table 3.1).17 Thus chirality of optically active 23 was memorized in the enolate intermediate during its alkylation. The stereochemical course of a-methylation and ethylation was inversion. 

Several V- IJ<>c-A-MOM-a-am ino acid derivatives undergo a-methylation in 78% to nearly 93% ee with retention of the configuration upon treatment with KHMDS followed by methyl iodide at —78°C. The substituents of the nitrogen are essential for control of the stereochemistry. How much is the stereochemical course of the reaction affected by an additional chiral center at C(3) of substrates a-Alkylation of A -lioc-A-MOM-L-isoleucine derivative 61 and its C(2)-epimer, D-a/fo-isoleucine derivative 62, were investigated (Scheme 3.16). If the chirality at C(2) is completely lost with formation of the enolate, a-methylation of either 61 or 62 should give a mixture of 63 and 64 with an identical diastereomeric composition via common enolate intermediate K. On the other hand, if the chirality of C(2) is memorized in enolate intermediates, 61 and 62 should give products with independent diastereomeric compositions via diastereomeric enolate intermediates. 

The stereochemical course of a-alkylation of both L-isoleucine and D-allo-isoleucine derivatives 61 and 62 is controlled predominantly by the chiral axis in the enolate intermediate, whereas the adjacent chiral center C(3) has little effect. 

To have more insight into the reaction mechanism and the stereochemical outcome of the reaction, the following two experiments were performed. First, it was checked that the reaction of trisubstituted enol ether with two alkyl groups, such as 114, did not lead to the vinylic organometallic derivative [63] (Scheme 41), indicating that this tandem reaction should occur first by the isomerization of the remote double bond (only in the case of 98i, the direct transformation of methoxy-enol ether into an organometallic derivative was... 

Recent studies have suggested that coordination with a lithium cation may be responsible for the stereochemical outcome in Meyers-type enolate alkylations . In fact, the hypothesis that the diastereofacial selectivity observed in these reactions might result from specific interactions with a solvated lithium cation was already proposed in 1990 . Nevertheless, the potential influence exerted by solvation and lithium cation coordination was not supported by a series of experimental results reported by Romo and Meyers , who stated that it would appear that neither the aggregation state of the enolate nor the coordination sphere about lithium plays a major role in the observed selectivity. This contention is further supported by recent theoretical studies of Ando , who carried out a detailed analysis of the potential influence of solvated lithium cation on the stereoselective alkylation of enolates of y-butyrolactones. The results showed conclusively that complexation with lithium cation had a negligible effect on the relative stability of the transition states leading to exo and endo addition. The stereochemical outcome in the alkylation of y -butyrolactones is determined by the different torsional strain in the endo and exo TSs. 

The preparation of ester enolates, their subsequent alkylation and their use as nucleophiles in aldol or Michael reactions are standard procedures in synthesis today. Normally, these are high yield reactions and their stereochemical course can be predicted with confidence, due to the intense investigation effort invested in recent years in this research area. 

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