Enolization of amino acids

It has been shown that the Claisen rearrangement of lithium enolates of amino acid enynol esters allows the synthesis of very sensitive y, 5-unsaturated amino acids with conjugated enyne side chains.The chelate-enolate Claisen rearrangement has also been applied to the synthesis of unsaturated polyhydroxylated amino acids, polyhydroxylated piperidines, and unsaturated peptides. ... 

Scheme 6 Enolization of Amino Acid and Peptide Derivatives by Base-Mediated C -Proton Abstraction...

Retention of geometry, perfect chirality transfer, and high reactivity have been observed by the reaction of the chelated Zn enolate of amino acid ester 53 even when PPhs was used [23]. In addition, the non-stabilized enolate 53 was found to be very reactive. Reaction of the allylic carbonates 54 and 56 with the enolate 53 gave 55 and 57 with perfect chirality transfer and high diastereoselectivity. The carbonates and the enolates are highly reactive and the reaction starts even at —78 °C. Lower selectivity was observed by the reaction of the corresponding allylic acetate. 

Allylation at carbon of zinc-chelated enolates of amino acid esters of type EWG-NH-CHR-COOR to afford disubstituted glycine derivatives. " ... 

Ghorai and co-workers reported on the synthesis of non-racemic amino aziridines 177 vmmemory of chirality (MOC) concept. The precursor 175 obtained from the addition of axially chiral enolate of amino acid ester to A7-sulfo-nyl imine following the concept of MOC. Reduction of 175 to the corresponding amino alcohol 176 followed by C—N cyclization produced the chiral aziridines 177 in good yields with excellent enatiomeric excess (Scheme 40.35). ... 

The enolic form of 2 was confirmed by a ferric chloride color reaction and by its acidity and ultraviolet spectrum, A-Aroyl derivatives of amino acids other than glycine fail to form such azlactones, probably because the stabilization afforded by enolization cannot occur. 

Although SiCh 57 has been employed, e.g., in the presence of sodium azide to convert ketones into tetrazoles (Section 5.3), to condense cyclopentanone in high yields into 1.2.3.4.5.6-tris(trimethylene)benzene (Section 9.2), or used for the condensation of amino acids to polyamides (Chapter 14) with formation of Si02, enol-trimethylsilyl ethers 107 a of ketones such as cyclohexanone are cleanly converted by SiCh 57 in the presence of Hg(OAc)2 into the trichlorosilylenol ether 116, which adds benzaldehyde in the presence of the asymmetric catalyst 117 to give... 

The utilization of a-amino acids and their derived 6-araino alcohols in asymmetric synthesis has been extensive. A number of procedures have been reported for the reduction of a variety of amino acid derivatives however, the direct reduction of a-am1no acids with borane has proven to be exceptionally convenient for laboratory-scale reactions. These reductions characteristically proceed in high yield with no perceptible racemization. The resulting p-amino alcohols can, in turn, be transformed into oxazolidinones, which have proven to be versatile chiral auxiliaries. Besides the highly diastereoselective aldol addition reactions, enolates of N-acyl oxazolidinones have been used in conjunction with asymmetric alkylations, halogenations, hydroxylations, acylations, and azide transfer processes, all of which proceed with excellent levels of stereoselectivity. 

Racemizations in the crystalline state have a long history. It is known that L-a-amino acids slowly racemize in the solid state [62]. As this also happens in solid proteins the implications are manifold, not only in pure chemistry but also in biochemistry, nutrition, food technology, and geology. Therefore, techniques have been developed to determine the dl ratio of amino acids down to 0.1% and inversion rate constants have been determined under acid hydrolysis conditions [63]. One could think of very slow deamination and readdition of the amine or an enolization mechanism. However, such reactions can also be induced by photolysis or radiolysis from natural sources [64]. 

In recent years, agribusiness firms have developed pf empirically several compounds that inhibit essential steps in the biosynthesis of amino acids found in plants but missing in animals. One of these compounds, glyphosate, is a highly specific inhibitor of 5-enol pyruvyl-shikimate-3-phosphate synthase (an enzyme needed for aromatic amino acid biosynthesis). Glyphosate is the active ingredient in the widely used herbicide Roundup. 

Protected amino acids with either a free amino or carboxyl function can usually be prepared by proven methods or are even commercially available. Therefore stages (i) - (iii) may be considered as simple routine nowadays, although great care must be taken that the protected starting materials are pure enantiomers. The reactions that cause most trouble are in stages (iv), (v) and (vii). In these stages an activated carboxyl group is involved and the chiral centre adjacent to it is at peril from racemization. A typical reaction which causes epimerization is azlactone formation. With acids or bases these cyclization products may reversibly enolize and racemize. Direct racemization of amino acids has also been observed. 

The ester enolate Claisen rearrangements of amino acid propargylic esters (106) have been used137 to produce a-allenic amino acids (107), and y, d-un saturated amino acids... 

Metal-based asymmetric phase-transfer catalysts have mainly been used to catalyze two carbon-carbon bond-forming reactions (1) the asymmetric alkylation of amino acid-derived enolates and (2) Darzens condensations [5]. The alkylation ofprochiral glycine or alanine derivatives [3] is a popular and successful strategy for the preparation of acyclic a-amino acids and a-methyl-a-amino acids respectively (Scheme 8.1). In order to facilitate the generation of these enolates and to protect the amine substituent, an imine moiety is used to increase the acidity of the a-hydrogens, and therefore allow the use of relatively mild bases (such as metal hydroxides) to achieve the alkylation. In the case of a prochiral glycine-derived imine (Scheme 8.1 R3 = H), if monoalkylation is desired, the new chiral methine group... 

The use of chiral crown ethers as asymmetric phase-transfer catalysts is largely due to the studies of Bako and Toke [6], as discussed below. Interestingly, chiral crown ethers have not been widely used for the synthesis of amino acid derivatives, but have been shown to be effective catalysts for asymmetric Michael additions of nitro-alkane enolates, for Darzens condensations, and for asymmetric epoxidations of a,P-unsaturated carbonyl compounds. 

Returning to the main theme in this section, another case where chelation to a metal centre controls reactions involving enolates is seen in complexes of amino acid derivatives. Amino acids are commonly found in metal complexes as the chelated anions in which the carboxylate oxygen and the amino group are co-ordinated to the metal. The co-ordinated amino acid anion could be in the keto (5.6) or enolate (5.7) form. 

An aqueous solution of sodium nitrite that is treated with HC1 contains nitrosyl cations 0=N . These can react with the enol E of the malonic acid diethyl ester (cf. Figure 12.9, bottom). First, a nitroso compound (F) is formed, which then undergoes acid-catalyzed isomerization to give the oxime A. Usually, the oxime is reduced by zinc, which is dissolved in acetic acid, to yield an amine that normally undergoes in situ acetylation in acetic acid. In this way the (acetamido)malonic acid diethyl ester B is obtained as the reduction/acetylation product, which can be employed, for example, in the synthesis of amino acids (Figure 13.39). 

The importance of amino acids has stimulated the development of numerous routes for their synthesis. Among these, the electrophilic amination of chiral enolates possesses a broad degree of generality. 

The formation of amino acid derivatives by addition of a zinc enolate to non-racemic unsymmetrical substrates has also been described, in which it-o-lt... 

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