Base-catalyzed enolization

The effects of micellization on reactivity have been investigated for a wide variety of ionic organic reactions other than those discussed previously in Sections IV and V, e.g. the Cannizzaro reaction, racemiza-tion, acid catalyzed enolization, base catalyzed hydrolysis of a,]8-un-saturated ketones, and coupling of quinonediimines with phenols. In the case of the Cannizzaro reaction of benzaldehyde (equation 43), the cationic surfactants eicosanyltrimethylammonium bromide and octa-decyltrimethylammonium bromide increased and the anionic surfactant... 

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]. 

The mechanism of enolization involves two separate proton transfer steps rather than a one step process m which a proton jumps from carbon to oxygen It is relatively slow m neutral media The rate of enolization is catalyzed by acids as shown by the mechanism m Figure 18 1 In aqueous acid a hydronium ion transfers a proton to the carbonyl oxygen m step 1 and a water molecule acts as a Brpnsted base to remove a proton from the a car bon atom m step 2 The second step is slower than the first The first step involves proton transfer between oxygens and the second is a proton transfer from carbon to oxygen... 

The proton transfer equilibrium that interconverts a carbonyl compound and its enol can be catalyzed by bases as well as by acids Figure 18 3 illustrates the roles of hydroxide ion and water m a base catalyzed enolization As m acid catalyzed enolization protons are transferred sequentially rather than m a single step First (step 1) the base abstracts a proton from the a carbon atom to yield an anion This anion is a resonance stabilized species Its negative charge is shared by the a carbon atom and the carbonyl oxygen... 

The slow step m base catalyzed enolization is formation of the enolate ion The second step proton transfer from water to the enolate oxygen is very fast as are almost all proton transfers from one oxygen atom to another... 

Cleavage reactions of carbohydrates also occur on treatment with aqueous base for prolonged periods as a consequence of base catalyzed retro aldol reactions As pointed out m Section 18 9 aldol addition is a reversible process and (3 hydroxy carbonyl com pounds can be cleaved to an enolate and either an aldehyde or a ketone... 

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). 

Chapters 1 and 2. Most C—H bonds are very weakly acidic and have no tendency to ionize spontaneously to form carbanions. Reactions that involve carbanion intermediates are therefore usually carried out in the presence of a base which can generate the reactive carbanion intermediate. Base-catalyzed condensation reactions of carbonyl compounds provide many examples of this type of reaction. The reaction between acetophenone and benzaldehyde, which was considered in Section 4.2, for example, requires a basic catalyst to proceed, and the kinetics of the reaction show that the rate is proportional to the catalyst concentration. This is because the neutral acetophenone molecule is not nucleophihc and does not react with benzaldehyde. The much more nucleophilic enolate (carbanion) formed by deprotonation is the reactive nucleophile. 

In agreement with expectation for a rate-determining proton transfer, the reaction shows general acid catalysis. Base-catalyzed ketonization occurs by C-protonation of the enolate. 

Metal ions, in particular Zn, Ni, and Cu enhance the rate of general base-catalyzed enolization of 2-acetylpyridine by several orders of magnitude. Account for this effect. 

During the course of base-catalyzed exchange in O-deuterated alcohols, the vinylic hydrogen in the a position to the ketone is replaced by deuterium, in addition to the hydrogens activated by enolization. Thus, under these conditions the exchange of androst-l-en-3-one (16, R = H) gives a trideuterio derivative (18) instead of the expected 4,4-d2 analog (16, R = D). " (For other examples see compounds 13, 19, 21, 23, 26 and 27.) Incorporation of this deuterium is due to rapidly reversible alcohol addition (16 -+17) and elimination (17 18) which competes with the enolization step. " ... 

FIGURE 18.3 Mechanism of the base-catalyzed enolization of an aldehyde or ketone in aqueous solution. 

Since the conformational inversion of 2c-methylcyclohexanone is the key step in this sequence, the corresponding conformationally more stable system, i.e., cw-2-methyl-4-t-butylcyclohexanone (14), should fail to incorporate any deuterium. This was actually shown to be the case. Treatment of this ketone under identical conditions for d exchange did not show any d incorporation. This evidence also rules out the likelihood of any d incorporation via acid- or base-catalyzed enolization. 

Thus the reactions of cyclic or acyclic enamines with acrylic esters or acrylonitrile can be directed to the exclusive formation of monoalkylated ketones (3,294-301). The corresponding enolate anion alkylations lead preferentially to di- or higher-alkylation products. However, by proper choice of reaction conditions, enamines can also be used for the preferential formation of higher alkylation products, if these are desired. Such reactions are valuable in the a substitution of aldehydes, which undergo self-condensation in base-catalyzed reactions (117,118). Monoalkylation products are favored in nonhydroxylic solvents such as benzene or dioxane, whereas dialkylation products can be obtained in hydroxylic solvents such as methanol. The difference in products can be ascribed to the differing fates of an initially formed zwitterionic intermediate. Collapse to a cyclobutane takes place in a nonprotonic solvent, whereas protonation on the newly introduced substitutent and deprotonation of the imonium salt, in alcohol, leads to a new enamine available for further substitution. 

The mechanism is presumed to involve a pathway related to those proposed for other base-catalyzed reactions of isocyanoacetates with Michael acceptors. Thus base-induced formation of enolate 9 is followed by Michael addition to the nitroalkene and cyclization of nitronate 10 to furnish 11 after protonation. Loss of nitrous acid and aromatization affords pyrrole ester 12. 

The mechanism of the Fiesselmann reaction between methylthioglycolate and a,P-acetylenic esters proceeds via consecutive base-catalyzed 1,4-conjugate addition reactions to form thioacetal Enolate formation, as a result of treatment with a stronger base, causes a Dieckmann condensation to occur providing ketone 8. Elimination of methylthioglycolate and tautomerization driven by aromaticity provides the 3-hydroxy thiophene dicarboxylate 9. 

Replacement of a benzene ring by its isostere, thiophene, is one of the more venerable practices in medicinal chemistry. Application of this stratagem to the NSAID piroxicam, gives tenoxicam, 136, a drug with substantially the same activity, nie synthesis of this compound starts by a multi-step conversion of hydroxy thiophene carboxylic ester 130, to the sulfonyl chloride 133. Reaction of that with N-methylglycinc ethyl ester, gives the sulfonamide 134. Base-catalyzed Claisen type condensation serves to cyclize that intermediate to the p-keto ester 135 (shown as the enol tautomer). The final product tenoxicam (136) is obtained by heating the ester with 2-aminopyridine [22]. 

Base catalyzed nitrile hydrolysis involves nucleophilic addition of hydroxide ion to the polar C N bond to give an imine anion in a process similar to nucleophilic addition to a polar C=0 bond to give an alkoxide anion. Protonation then gives a hydroxy imine, which tautomerizes (Section 8.4) to an amide in a step similar to the tautomerization of an enol to a ketone. The mechanism is shown in Figure 20.4. 

Mechanism of base-catalyzed enol formation. The intermediate enolate ion, a resonance hybrid of two forms, can be protonated either on carbon to regenerate the starting keto tautomer or on oxygen to give an enol. 

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. 

Figure 25.8 Fructose, a ketose, is a reducing sugar because it undergoes two base-catalyzed keto-enol tautomerizations that result in conversion to an aldose.

The highest enantioselectivities in the base-catalyzed Michael additions have so far been obtained using achiral bases complexed to chiral crown ethers. The addition of methyl 2,3-dihydro-l-oxo-1//-indene-2-carboxylate (1) to 3-buten-2-one using 4 mol% of a [l,T-binaphthalcnc]-2,2 -diol derived optically active crown ether 3 in combination with potassium AY/-butoxide as the base illustrates this successful method 259 260 It is assumed that the actual Michael donor is the potassium enolate complex of 1 and crown ether 3. 

The Staudinger reaction [92], a [2 + 2]-cycloaddition of a ketene and a nucleophilic imine, usually proceeds by an initial imine attack on the ketene thus forming a zwitterionic enolate which subsequently cyclizes. This reaction is an expedient route to p-lactams, the core of numerous antibiotics (e.g., penicillins) and other biologically active molecules [93]. In contrast, for Lewis-base catalyzed asymmetric reactions, nonnucleophilic imines are required (to suppress a noncatalyzed background reaction), bearing, for example, an N-Ts [94] or -Boc-substituent [95]. 

Although the reaction of ketones and other carbonyl compounds with electrophiles such as bromine leads to substitution rather than addition, the mechanism of the reaction is closely related to electrophilic additions to alkenes. An enol, enolate, or enolate equivalent derived from the carbonyl compound is the nucleophile, and the electrophilic attack by the halogen is analogous to that on alkenes. The reaction is completed by restoration of the carbonyl bond, rather than by addition of a nucleophile. The acid- and base-catalyzed halogenation of ketones, which is discussed briefly in Section 6.4 of Part A, provide the most-studied examples of the reaction from a mechanistic perspective. 

Silyl enol ethers and silyl ketene acetals also offer both enhanced reactivity and a favorable termination step. Electrophilic attack is followed by desilylation to give an a-substituted carbonyl compound. The carbocations can be generated from tertiary chlorides and a Lewis acid, such as TiCl4. This reaction provides a method for introducing tertiary alkyl groups a to a carbonyl, a transformation that cannot be achieved by base-catalyzed alkylation because of the strong tendency for tertiary halides to undergo elimination. 

The synthesis in Scheme 13.21 starts with a lactone that is available in enantiomer-ically pure form. It was first subjected to an enolate alkylation that was stereocontrolled by the convex shape of the cis ring junction (Step A). A stereospecific Pd-mediated allylic substitution followed by LiAlH4 reduction generated the first key intermediate (Step B). This compound was oxidized with NaI04, converted to the methyl ester, and subjected to a base-catalyzed conjugation. After oxidation of the primary alcohol to an aldehyde, a Wittig-Horner olefination completed the side chain. 

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