A,P-unsaturated enones

Enolate reductase Reduction of enones, a,p-unsaturated esters Whole-cell systems Isolated enzymes... 

Conjugate additions of thiols or thioacetates to a-enones, a,P-unsaturated esters or nitrostyrenes are catalyzed by cinchona alkaloids [173, 1058]. Even under pressure [1388], the adducts are obtained with an enantioselectivity lower than 75%. However, the use of 7.41 as catalyst induces higher selectivities [173] (Figure 7.36). 

The asymmetric conjugate addition of activated methylenes is one of the most studied organocatalytic reactions. A wide variety of Michael acceptors such as enals, enones, a,P-unsaturated nitriles, nitroolefins, a,(i-unsaturated imides, and vinyl sulfones have been successfully employed as elechophiles with high degree of stereocontrol. 

An unusual reaction was been observed in the reaction of old yellow enzyme with a,(3-unsat-urated ketones. A dismutation took place under aerobic or anaerobic conditions, with the formation from cyclohex-l-keto-2-ene of the corresponding phenol and cyclohexanone, and an analogous reaction from representative cyclodec-3-keto-4-enes—putatively by hydride-ion transfer (Vaz et al. 1995). Reduction of the double bond in a,p-unsaturated ketones has been observed, and the enone reductases from Saccharomyces cerevisiae have been purified and characterized. They are able to carry out reduction of the C=C bonds in aliphatic aldehydes and ketones, and ring double bonds in cyclohexenones (Wanner and Tressel 1998). Reductions of steroid l,4-diene-3-ones can be mediated by the related old yellow enzyme and pentaerythritol tetranitrate reductase, for example, androsta-A -3,17-dione to androsta-A -3,17-dione (Vaz etal. 1995) and prednisone to pregna-A -17a, 20-diol-3,ll,20-trione (Barna et al. 2001) respectively. 

The enantiomeric reduction of 2-nitro-l-phenylprop-l-ene has been studied in a range of Gram-positive organisms including strains of Rhodococcus rhodochrous (Sakai et al. 1985). The enantiomeric purity of the product depended on the strain used, the length of cultivation, and the maintenance of a low pH that is consistent with the later results of Meah and Massey (2000). It has been shown that an NADPH-linked reduction of a,p-unsaturated nitro compounds may also be accomplished by old yellow enzyme via the flcf-nitro form (Meah and Massey 2000). This is formally analogous to the reduction and dismutation of cyclic enones by the same enzyme (Vaz et al. 1995), and the reductive fission of nitrate esters by an enzyme homologous to the old yellow enzyme from Saccharomyces cerevisiae (Snape et al. 1997). 

A mechanistic rationale for the observed cw-selectivity has been proposed based on preorganisation of the Breslow-type intermediate and imine through hydrogen bonding 253, with an aza-benzoin oxy-Cope process proposed. Reaction via a boat transition state delivers the observed cw-stereochemistry of the product (Scheme 12.57). Related work by Nair and co-workers (using enones 42 in place of a,P-unsaturated sulfonylimines 251, see Section 12.2.2) generates P-lactones 43 with fran -ring substituents, while the P-lactam products 252 possess a cw-stereo-chemical relationship. 

On the other hand, the enantioselective 1,4-addition of carbanions such as enolates to linear enones is an interesting challenge, since relatively few efficient methods exist for these transformations. The Michael reaction of p-dicarbonyl compounds with a,p-unsaturated ketones can be catalysed by a number of transition-metal compounds. The asymmetric version of this reaction has been performed using chiral diol, diamine, and diphosphine ligands. In the past few years, bidentate and polydentate thioethers have begun to be considered as chiral ligands for this reaction. As an example, Christoffers et al. have developed the synthesis of several S/O-bidentate and S/O/S-tridentate thioether... 

Scheme 9.5. Conjugate Addition of AUylic Silanes to a, p-Unsaturated Enones...

The Michael addition of nitroalkanes to a,P-unsaturated ketones followed by the Nef reaction has been extensively used as a method for the conjugated addition of acyl anions to enones (see Section 6.1, Nef Reaction). This strategy is one of the best methods for the preparation of 1,4-dicarbonyl compounds.156a h Various natural products have been prepared via this route.157 For example, r/.v-jasmone is prepared from readily available materials, as shown in Scheme 4.19.156f... 

Enones undergo a variety of photorearrangements 333). In contrast to a,P-unsaturated ketones which react in many different ways, p,y-unsaturated ketones undergo the oxadi-7c-methane rearrangement in sensitized irradiations in complete analogy the products formed are cyclopropyl ketones... 

As discussed before, a,P-unsaturated ketones are usually reduced to saturated ketones in isopropyl alcohol as solvent, the reaction proceeding via the enol after H-abstraction by the carbonyl group. When some selected a,p-enones are irradiated in their n-n absorption band (i.e. excitation... 

The epoxidation of electron-deficient alkenes, particularly a,P-unsaturated carbonyl compounds, continues to generate much activity in the literature, and this has been the subject of a recent concise review <00CC1215>. Additional current contributions in this area include a novel epoxidation of enones via direct oxygen atom transfer from hypervalent oxido-).3-iodanes (38), a process which proceeds in fair to good yields and with complete retention of... 

The success of the cross-metathesis reactions involving styrene and acrylonitrile led to an investigation into the reactivity of other Ji-substituted terminal alkenes [27]. Vinylboranes, enones, dienes, enynes and a,p-unsaturated esters were tested, but all of these substrates failed to undergo the desired cross-metathesis reaction using the molybdenum catalyst. 

The characteristic shift toward lower frequency associated with the introduction of a, p-unsaturation can be rationalised by considering the Valence Bond description of an enone ... 

Addition of Organometallic Reagents to Enones in Aqueous Media Rhodium-catalyzed 1,4-addition of organometallic reagents to a,p-unsaturated compounds was first developed by Miyaura in 1997. Thus, Rh(acac)(CO)2/dppb was found to catalyze the 1,4-addition of aryl- and alkenylboronic acids to several ot,(3-unsaturated ketones in water-containing solvents at 50°C. The reaction conditions were successfully modified for the development of an asymmetric variant of this process by Hayashi and Miyaura in 1998. The important points of modification are (1) the use of Rh(acac)(C2H4)2/(5)-binap as a catalyst and... 

The first organocatalyzed conjugate addition of a-substituted p-ketoester to a,P-unsaturated ketones was presented by Deng et al. [42] (Scheme 3). Although traditional Cinchona alkaloids were efficient catalysts for conjugate addition of carbon nucleophiles to nitroalkenes and sulfones, replacement of the C(9)-OH with an ester group (Q-7b) showed great improvement in stereoselectivity. The reaction is applicable to a variety of cyclic and acyclic enones (16,18). 

Dicarbonyl donors are excellent Michael donors in asymmetric conjugate addition to a,p-nnsatnrated ketones. Wang and co-workers [79] applied chiral Cinchona-thiourea catalyst 131 to various carbon donors in the addition to aromatic enones. A diverse array of nucleophiles, mainly 1,3-dicarbonyls proceeded smoothly in the conjugate addition to a,p-unsaturated enone 132 (Scheme 29). 

The conjugate additions of thiols to a,p-unsaturated electrophiles was extended by Wang [96]. Catalyst 166 promoted the addition of thioacetic acid to a variety of enones, including aliphatic, aromatic and heteroaromatic substituents (Scheme 42). Wang expanded the scope of the reaction to include asymmetric additions of thioacetic acid to nitro-olefms (Scheme 43) [97]. Thiourea catalyst 166 promoted the addition reactions in high yields and high enantiomeric ratios for a variety of P-substituted nitro-olefms. 

Scheme 6.137 Mechanistic proposal for 121-catalyzed asymmetric Michael additions of 1 H-benzotriazole to a.P Unsaturated enones.

Next to the cyclopropane formation, elimination represents the simplest type of a carbon-carbon bond formation in the homoenolates. Transition metal homoenolates readily eliminate a metal hydride unit to give a,p-unsaturated carbonyl compounds. Treatment of a mercurio ketone with palladium (II) chloride results in the formation of the enone presumably via a 3-palladio ketone (Eq. (24), Table 3) [8], The reaction can be carried out with catalytic amounts of palladium (II) by using CuCl2 as an oxidant. Isomerization of the initial exomethylene derivative to the more stable endo-olefin can efficiently be retarded by addition of triethylamine to the reaction mixture. 

As we have already seen, delocalization of electrons by conjugation decreases the energy difference between the HOMO and LUMO energy levels, and this leads to a red shift. Alkyl substitution on a conjugated system also leads to a (smaller) red shift, due to the small interaction between the cr-bonded electrons of the alkyl group with the K-bond system. These effects are additive, and the empirical Woodward-Fieser rules were developed to predict the 2max values for dienes (and trienes). Similar sets of rules can be used to predict the A ax values for a,P-unsaturated aldehydes and ketones (enones) and the Amax values for aromatic carbonyl compounds. These rules are summarized in Table 2.4. 

Using the Woodward-Fieser rules, the of dienes and trienes, a,p-unsaturated aldehydes and ketones (enones), and for aromatic carbonyl compounds can be reliably calculated and predicted. 

Intramolecular conjugate allylation (12, 25).2 Fluoride ion catalyzes intramolecular Michael additions of allyltrimethylsilane to a,p-enones as well as a,p-unsaturated esters, nitriles, and amides Lewis acid catalysis is not effective. The method is particularly suited to cyclopentane annelations.2... 

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