Epoxidation aromatic double bond

The first example of direct epoxidation of an aromatic double bond was reported by Jerina et al.63 The reaction involves photolysis of aromatic N-oxides to give 45 in 1% yield. The method does not have preparative significance. 

The active oxygen species of cytochromes P-450 is reactive enough to transfer its oxygen atom to most organic compounds. However, the most frequently encountered reactions are (1) the hydroxylation of C—H bonds, (2) the epoxidation of double bonds, (3) the hydroxylation of aromatic rings, and (4) the transfer of an oxygen atom to compounds containing an N, S, or P heteroatom. 

The Jacobsen-Katsuki Schiff base Mn complexes (6a and 6b) are the most advanced catalysts for enantioselective epoxidation of double bonds. With the typical reactants, cis disubstituted and trisubstituted aromatic olefins, ee values up to 98% are achieved, even if the total number of turnovers is quite limited. In Jacobsen s complex 6a, particularly the bulky /-butyl substituents at positions 3 and 5 of the aromatic ring are crucial in directing the reactant and obtaining high ee values (86). 

In recent years, there has been considerable interest in the stereochemical aspects of metabolic epoxidation, prompted by the recognition that the toxicity, metabolic formation, and further metabolism of epoxides can be highly stereoselective (211). As discussed earlier, when the epoxide formed is an arene oxide (i.e epoxidation of an aromatic double bond), it is often rapidly converted to dihydrodiols, and such hydroxyl compounds have been analyzed by the indirect resolution approach. However, when the metabolite epoxide is more stable, it is often possible to examine its stereochemistry. For this purpose, several methods for the chromatographic separation of enantiomeric epoxides have been developed, including some indirect methods. 

Sodium hypochlorite is used for the epoxidation of double bonds [659, 691] for the oxidation of primary alcohols to aldehydes [692], of secondary alcohols to ketones [693], and of primary amines to carbonyl compounds [692] for the conversion of benzylic halides into acids or ketones [690] for the oxidation of aromatic rings to quinones [694] and of sulfides to sulfones [695] and, especially, for the degradation of methyl ketones to carboxylic acids with one less carbon atom [655, 696, 697, 695, 699] and of a-amino acids to aldehydes with one less carbon [700]. Sodium hypochlorite is also used for the reoxidation of low-valence ruthenium compounds to ruthenium tetroxide in oxidations by ruthenium trichloride [701]. 

Epoxides are formed by oxidation of ole-finic or aromatic double bond. The oxidizing agents for such epoxidation reactions are peracids or peroxides with or without catalysts. The epoxy compounds are widely used as intermediates to produce synthetic resins, plasticizers, cements, adhesives, and other materials. 

A variety of biochemical pathways are known which may lead to reactive quinoid derivatives. They include dihydroxylation of aromatic or heterocyclic compounds and epoxide formation and hydrolysis to -diphenolic compounds (Booth and Boyland 1957) o- and p-hydroxylations of phenols or arylamines (In-SCOE et al. 1965 Miller et al. 1960 Booth and Boyland 1957) and rearrangement of -hydroxyarylamines to o-aminophenols (Miller and Miller 1960). It now appears that aromatic hydroxylations proceed via highly reactive arene oxides, i.e., compounds in which a formal aromatic double bond has undergone epoxidation. Depending on the compound, arene oxides may give rise to other electrophilic reactive species, including quinoid structures, but react as such readily with nucleophiles and thus provide a basis for understanding covalent attachment of aromatic hydrocarbon derivatives to protein and nucleic acids (Jerina and Daly 1974). 

Epoxide opening with nucleophiles occurs at the less substituted carbon atom of the oxlrane ting. Cataiytic hydrogenolysis yields the more substituted alcohol. The scheme below contains also an example for trons-dibromination of a C—C double bond followed by dehy-drobromination with strong base for overall conversion into a conjugated diene. The bicycKc tetraene then isomerizes spontaneously to the aromatic l,6-oxido[l0]annulene (E. Vogel, 1964). 

Selective oxidation of either the aromatic ring or the side chain can also be accompHshed. For example, epoxidation of the double bond of cinnamic acid is effected in excellent yield by treatment with potassium hydrogen persulfate (10). 

Physical and Chemical Properties. The (F)- and (Z)-isomers of cinnamaldehyde are both known. (F)-Cinnamaldehyde [14371-10-9] is generally produced commercially and its properties are given in Table 2. Cinnamaldehyde undergoes reactions that are typical of an a,P-unsaturated aromatic aldehyde. Slow oxidation to cinnamic acid is observed upon exposure to air. This process can be accelerated in the presence of transition-metal catalysts such as cobalt acetate (28). Under more vigorous conditions with either nitric or chromic acid, cleavage at the double bond occurs to afford benzoic acid. Epoxidation of cinnamaldehyde via a conjugate addition mechanism is observed upon treatment with a salt of /-butyl hydroperoxide (29). 

The second part of lanosterol biosynthesis is catalyzed by oxidosqualene lanosterol cyclase and occurs as shown in Figure 27.14. Squalene is folded by the enzyme into a conformation that aligns the various double bonds for undergoing a cascade of successive intramolecular electrophilic additions, followed by a series of hydride and methyl migrations. Except for the initial epoxide protonation/cyclization, the process is probably stepwise and appears to involve discrete carbocation intermediates that are stabilized by electrostatic interactions with electron-rich aromatic amino acids in the enzyme. 

Optically active allylic alcohols can only be prepared from optically active sulfinyl epoxides when the created double bond is conjugated to an aromatic system. One example is described below29. 

The first step in this preparation, the epoxidation of 1,4,5,8-tetra-hydronaphthalene, exemplifies the well-known selectivity exerted by peracids in their reaction with alkenes possessing double bonds that differ in the degree of alkyl substitution.12 As regards the method of aromatization employed in the conversion of ll-oxatricyclo[4.4.1.01-6]-undeca-3,8-diene to l,6-oxido[10]annulene, the two-step bromination-dehydrobromination sequence is given preference to the one-step DDQ-dehydrogenation, which was advantageously applied in the synthesis of l,6-metliano[10]annulene,2,9 since it affords the product in higher yield and purity. 

As with an isolated double bond, epoxide formation in an aromatic ring, i.e., arene oxide formation, can occur mechanistically either by a concerted addition of oxene to form the arene oxide in a single step, pathway 1, or by a stepwise process, pathway 2 (Fig. 4.78). The stepwise process, pathway 2, would involve the initial addition of enzyme-bound Fe03+ to a specific carbon to form a tetrahedral intermediate, electron transfer from the aryl group to heme to form a carbonium ion adjacent to the oxygen adduct followed by... 

Our syntheses of these new materials showed that both hydrogenation and epoxidation occurred exclusively from the exo face of both VN and < >VX. This is consistent with extensive literature precedent for a variety of reactions on norbornenyl double bonds (9). H1 NMR spectroscopy of these materials also revealed an interesting pattern. All phenyl substituted compounds with endo imide rings (< >VN, HYVN, VNE) evidenced signals due to one of the ten aromatic protons (five on each phenyl ring) being shifted to unusually high field (6.4 +. 16). This is consistent with a field effect on a proton of one of... 

Divalent chromium reduces triple bonds to double bonds (trans where applicable) [195], enediones to diones [196], epoxides to alkenes [192] and aromatic nitroso, nitro and azoxy compounds to amines [190], deoxygenates amine oxides [191], and replaces halogens by hydrogen [197,198],... 

---