Epoxidation, enantioselective method

The Prilezhaev reaction is a rarely used name for the epoxidation of an alkene 1 by reaction with a peracid 2 to yield an oxirane 3. The epoxidation of alkenes has been further developed into an enantioselective method, that is named after Sharpless. 

The complex Pd-(-)-sparteine was also used as catalyst in an important reaction. Two groups have simultaneously and independently reported a closely related aerobic oxidative kinetic resolution of secondary alcohols. The oxidation of secondary alcohols is one of the most common and well-studied reactions in chemistry. Although excellent catalytic enantioselective methods exist for a variety of oxidation processes, such as epoxidation, dihydroxy-lation, and aziridination, there are relatively few catalytic enantioselective examples of alcohol oxidation. The two research teams were interested in the metal-catalyzed aerobic oxidation of alcohols to aldehydes and ketones and became involved in extending the scopes of these oxidations to asymmetric catalysis. 

The mesoporous character of MCM-41 overcomes the size limitations imposed by the use of zeolites and it is possible to prepare the complex by refluxing the chiral ligand in the presence of Mn +-exchanged Al-MCM-41 [34-36]. However, this method only gives 10% of Mn in the form of the complex, as shown by elemental analysis, and good results are only possible due to the very low catalytic activity of the uncomplexed Mn sites. The immobihzed catalyst was used in the epoxidation of (Z)-stilbene with iodosylbenzene and this led to a mixture of cis (meso) and trans (chiral) epoxides. Enantioselectivity in the trans epoxides was up to 70%, which is close to the value obtained in solution (78% ee). However, this value was much lower when (E)-stilbene was used (25% ee). As occurred with other immobilized catalysts, reuse of the catalyst led to a significant loss in activity and, to a greater extent, in enantioselectivity. 

Activated aziridines should be as useful as epoxides for carbon-carbon bond formation, with the advantage that the product will already incorporated the desired secondary aminated stercocentcr. To date, a general enantioselective method for the aziridination of alkcncs has not been developed. Eric Jacobsen of Harvard University (Angew. Chem. hit. Ed. 2004,43, 3952) has explored an interim solution, based on the resolution of racemic epoxides such as I. The cobalt catalyst that selectively hydrolyzes one enantiomer of the epoxide also promotes the addition of the imidc to the remaining enantiomerically-enriched epoxide. As expected, the aziridine 4 is opened smoothly with dialkyl cuprates. 

As the follow up to our studies in connection to the development of Ti-cat-alyzed cyanide additions to meso epoxides [4], we developed the corresponding catalytic enantioselective additions to imines [5]. A representative example is shown in Scheme 1 chiral non-racemic products maybe readily converted to the derived cx-amino acids (not available through catalytic asymmetric hydrogenation methods). In these studies, we further developed and utilized the positional optimization approach effected by examination of parallel libraries of amino acid-based chiral ligands (e.g., 1 and 2). Thus, the facile modularity of these ligands and their ease of synthesis were further exploited towards the development of a new catalytic enantioselective method that delivers various ar-... 

Transition-metal-catalysed epoxidations work only on allylic alcohols, so there is one limitation to the method, but otherwise there are few restrictions on what can be epoxidized enantioselectively. When this reaction was discovered in 1981 it was by far the best asymmetric reaction known. Because of its importance, a lot of work went into discovering exactly how the reaction worked, and the scheme below shows what is believed to be the active complex, formed from two titanium atoms bridged by two tartrate ligands (shown in gold). Each titanium atom retains two of its isopropoxide ligands, and is coordinated to one of the carbonyl groups of the tartrate ligand. The reaction works best if the titanium and tartrate are left to stir for a while so that these dimers can form cleanly. 

Another method, where a different reduction methodology is employed, can be used to generate secondary and tertiary allylic alcohols from primary ones, and when this method is used in combination with Sharpless asymmetric epoxidation enantioselectivity may even be achieved (Scheme 11). ... 

The first reports of a reaction of an amine with an aldehyde by Schiff [584] led to the establishment of a large class of ligands called Schiff bases. Among the most important of the Schiff bases are the tetradentate salen ligands (N,N -bis(salicy-laldehydo)ethylenediamine), which were studied extensively by Kochi and coworkers, who observed their high potential in chemoselective catalytic epoxidation reactions [585]. The best known method to epoxidize unfunctionalized olefins enantioselectively is the Jacobsen-Katsuki epoxidation reported independently by these researchers in 1990 [220,221]. In this method [515,586-589], optically active Mn salen) compounds are used as catalysts, with usually PhlO or NaOCl as the terminal oxygen sources, and with a O=Mn (salen) species as the active [590,591] oxidant [586-594]. Despite the undisputed synthetic value of this method, the mechanism by which the reaction occurs is still the subject of considerable research [514,586,591]. The subject has been covered in a recent extensive review [595], which also discusses the less-studied Cr (salen) complexes, which can display different, and thus useful selectivity [596]. Computational and H NMR studies have related observed epoxide enantioselectivities... 

We dedicate a large part of this chapter to two very important, and extraordinarily useful, enantioselective methods - catalytic asymmetric epoxidation (AE) and catalytic asymmetric dihydroxylation (AD). Impressively, both these methods were developed by Professor Barry Sharpless s research group and are therefore often referred to as the Sharpless epoxidation and the Sharpless dihydroxylation. Both are examples of ligand-accelerated catalysis. 

The use of kinetic resolution as a strategy in asymmetric synthesis has been reviewed extensively [33,34]. The availability of epoxides in racemic form and the lack of effective enantioselective methods for preparing several important epoxide structural classes renders kinetic resolution by ARO a potentially powerful tool. For kinetic resolutions in which recovery of unreacted substrate is targeted, a cheap and easily handled reagent is desirable for effecting the resolution. Ideally, the ring-opened product would be of synthetic value, and each component of the kinetic resolution (unreacted substrate, product, and catalyst) would be easily isolated in pure form. 

The great synthetic versatility of epoxides has prompted intense efforts to identify reliable enantioselective methods for their synthesis [71]. In 1980, this challenge was met as Sharpless announced the groundbreaking discovery that titanium-tartrate complexes in combination with tert-butyl hydroperoxide readily catalyze enantioselective epoxidations of allylic alcohols [72]. This transformation has rightly earned its prominent place in the history of organic chemistry and asymmetric catalysis. In subsequent investigations it was found that the addition of molecular sieves to the reaction mixture had a beneficial effect on the process. Consequently, under optimal conditions the epoxidation reaction can be performed with only 5-10 mol % of the readily available Ti catalyst [73, 74]. A wide variety of allylic alcohols can be epox-... 

The first practical method for asymmetric epoxidation of primary and secondary allylic alcohols was developed by K.B. Sharpless in 1980 (T. Katsuki, 1980 K.B. Sharpless, 1983 A, B, 1986 see also D. Hoppe, 1982). Tartaric esters, e.g., DET and DIPT" ( = diethyl and diisopropyl ( + )- or (— )-tartrates), are applied as chiral auxiliaries, titanium tetrakis(2-pro-panolate) as a catalyst and tert-butyl hydroperoxide (= TBHP, Bu OOH) as the oxidant. If the reaction mixture is kept absolutely dry, catalytic amounts of the dialkyl tartrate-titanium(IV) complex are suflicient, which largely facilitates work-up procedures (Y. Gao, 1987). Depending on the tartrate enantiomer used, either one of the 2,3-epoxy alcohols may be obtained with high enantioselectivity. The titanium probably binds to the diol grouping of one tartrate molecule and to the hydroxy groups of the bulky hydroperoxide and of the allylic alcohol... 

Silyl ethers serve as preeursors of nucleophiles and liberate a nucleophilic alkoxide by desilylation with a chloride anion generated from CCI4 under the reaction conditions described before[124]. Rapid intramolecular stereoselective reaction of an alcohol with a vinyloxirane has been observed in dichloro-methane when an alkoxide is generated by desilylation of the silyl ether 340 with TBAF. The cis- and tru/u-pyranopyran systems 341 and 342 can be prepared selectively from the trans- and c/.y-epoxides 340, respectively. The reaction is applicable to the preparation of 1,2-diol systems[209]. The method is useful for the enantioselective synthesis of the AB ring fragment of gambier-toxin[210]. Similarly, tributyltin alkoxides as nucleophiles are used for the preparation of allyl alkyl ethers[211]. 

Desymmetrization of meso-bis-allylic alcohols is an effective method for the preparation of chiral functionalized intermediates from meso-substrates. Schreiber et al has shown that divinyl carbonyl 58 is epoxidized in good enantioselectivity. However, because the product epoxy alcohols 59 and 60 also contain a reactive allylic alcohol that are diastereomeric in nature, a second epoxidation would occur at different rates and thus affect the observed ee for the first AE reaction and the overall de. Indeed, the major diastereomeric product epoxide 59 resulting from the first AE is less reactive in the second epoxidation. Thus, high de is easily obtainable since the second epoxidation removes the minor diastereomer. 

Jacobsen subsequently reported a practical and efficient method for promoting the highly enantioselective addition of TMSN3 to meso-epoxides (Scheme 7.3) [4]. The chiral (salen)Cl-Cl catalyst 2 is available commercially and is bench-stable. Other practical advantages of the system include the mild reaction conditions, tolerance of some Lewis basic functional groups, catalyst recyclability (up to 10 times at 1 mol% with no loss in activity or enantioselectivity), and amenability to use under solvent-free conditions. Song later demonstrated that the reaction could be performed in room temperature ionic liquids, such as l-butyl-3-methylimidazo-lium salts. Extraction of the product mixture with hexane allowed catalyst recycling and product isolation without recourse to distillation (Scheme 7.4) [5]. 

One of the earliest useful methods for asymmetric opening of meso-epoxides with sulfur-centered nucleophiles was reported by Yamashita and Mukaiyama, who employed a heterogeneous zinc tartrate catalyst (Scheme 7.10) [20]. Epoxides other than cydohexene oxide were not investigated, and the enantioselectivity depended strongly on the identity of the thiol. 

Jacobsen developed a method employing (pybox)YbCl3 for TMSCN addition to meso-epoxides (Scheme 7.22) [46] with enantioselectivities as high as 92%. Unfortunately, the practical utility of this method is limited because low temperatures must be maintained for very long reaction times (up to seven days). This reaction displayed a second-order dependence on catalyst concentration and a positive nonlinear effect, suggesting a cooperative bimetallic mechanism analogous to that proposed for (salen)Cr-catalyzed ARO reactions (Scheme 7.5). 

Nakajima reported the use of a chiral bipyridine N,N -dioxide 18 in the desym-metrization of acyclic meso epoxides (Figure 7.3). Although the enantioselectivity was not as high as in the method developed by Fu for meso-stilbene oxide (90% ee vs. 94% ee), it was higher for the same aliphatic epoxide (74% ee vs. 50% ee) [57]. Nakajima showed that mono-N-oxide derivatives 19 and 20 were much less effective than 18 in tenns of both yield and enantioselectivity, and accordingly proposed a unique mechanism for 18 involving a hexacoordinate silicon intermediate coordinated to both N-oxides of the catalyst. 

When asymmetric epoxidation of a diene is not feasible, an indirect route based on asymmetric dihydroxylation can be employed. The alkene is converted into the corresponding syn-diol with high enantioselectivity, and the diol is subsequently transformed into the corresponding trans-epoxide in a high-yielding one-pot procedure (Scheme 9.5) [20]. No cpirricrizalion occurs, and the procedure has successfully been applied to natural product syntheses when direct epoxidation strategies have failed [21]. Alternative methods for conversion of vicinal diols into epoxides have also been reported [22, 23]. 

The development of Sharpless asymmetric epoxidation (SAE) of allylic alcohols in 1980 constitutes a breakthrough in asymmetric synthesis, and to date this method remains the most widely applied asymmetric epoxidation technique [34, 44]. A wide range of substrates can be used in the reaction ( ) -allylic alcohols generally give high enantioselectivity, whereas the reaction is more substrate-dependent with (Z)-allylic alcohols [34]. 

Allylic alcohols can be converted to epoxy-alcohols with tert-butylhydroperoxide on molecular sieves, or with peroxy acids. Epoxidation of allylic alcohols can also be done with high enantioselectivity. In the Sharpless asymmetric epoxidation,allylic alcohols are converted to optically active epoxides in better than 90% ee, by treatment with r-BuOOH, titanium tetraisopropoxide and optically active diethyl tartrate. The Ti(OCHMe2)4 and diethyl tartrate can be present in catalytic amounts (15-lOmol %) if molecular sieves are present. Polymer-supported catalysts have also been reported. Since both (-t-) and ( —) diethyl tartrate are readily available, and the reaction is stereospecific, either enantiomer of the product can be prepared. The method has been successful for a wide range of primary allylic alcohols, where the double bond is mono-, di-, tri-, and tetrasubstituted. This procedure, in which an optically active catalyst is used to induce asymmetry, has proved to be one of the most important methods of asymmetric synthesis, and has been used to prepare a large number of optically active natural products and other compounds. The mechanism of the Sharpless epoxidation is believed to involve attack on the substrate by a compound formed from the titanium alkoxide and the diethyl tartrate to produce a complex that also contains the substrate and the r-BuOOH. ... 

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