Epoxidation from limonene

A catalyst made by treating silica with tetraisopropyltitanate was used with ter bu lyl hyd roperoxide to produce a mixture of the two epoxides from limonene in 90% yield.268 It gave a 96% yield of the epoxide from 2-heptene. Thus, the limitation of TS 1 catalyst to small molecules is... 

Predict the products from opening of the two stereoisomeric epoxides derived from limonene shown below by reaction with (a) acetic acid and (b) dimethyl-amine. 

Very recently, the purification and characterisation of an epoxide hydrolase, catalysing the conversion of limonene-1,2-epoxide to limonene-1,2-diol has been described [90]. The enzyme was isolated from Rhodococcus erythropolis DCL14 and is induced when the microorganism is grown on monoterpenes. The authors found evidence that the enzyme, limonene-1,2-epoxide hydrolase is the first member of a new class (the third class) of epoxide hydrolases [91]. 

A short enantiospecific total synthesis of (+)-aphanamol I and II from limonene was achieved and the absolute stereochemistry of I and II established in the laboratory of B. Wickberg. The key steps were a de Mayo photocycloaddition, a Corey-Chaykovsky epoxidation and finally a base-cataiyzed fragmentation of the j,8-epoxyalcohol intermediate. Upon treating the photocycloadduct with dimethylsulfoxonium methylide, only the endo epoxide diastereomer was formed due to the steric hindrance provided by the methyl and isopropyl groups. 

More typically, mixtures of products are formed. Terpene epoxides that have been subjected to ZnBr2-catalyzed rearrangement include the oxiranes derived from limonene, carvomenthene, other pinenes, 2,3-carvene, pulegone and piperitone. ZnCh is rarely employed, but has been compared with AICI3 in a study involving sever epoxides. In most instances there appears to be no evidence for special advantages of zinc halides compared with other more commonly used Lewis acids. 

Various chemical processes of limonene, which lead to the obtainment of useful chemicals and some analytical methods, are based on these reactions. Many flavor chemicals are synthesized from limonene by reaction with water, sulfur and halogens, or hydrolysis, hydrogenation, boration, oxidation and epoxide formation (Thomas and Bessiere, 1989). Hydroperoxides have also been studied and isolated because of their effect on off-flavor development in products containing citrus oil flavoring agents (Clark et al., 1981 Schieberle et al., 1987). Hydration of d-limonene produces alpha-terpineol, a compound that gives off an undesirable aroma in citrus-flavored products. It is also possible to produce alpha-terpineol and other useful value-added compounds... 

LEH originates from the bacterium Rhodococcus erythropolis DCL14." ° LEH is part of a limonene degradation pathway where it catalyzes the conversion of limonene-1,2-epoxide to limonene-1,2-diol (Scheme... 

More epoxides (1) with juvenile hormone activity (Vol. 2, p. 7) have been made by epoxidizing the Wittig products of citronellal (2), and some of these substances also increase silk production.Reduction of the double bond sometimes increases the activity against Oncopeltus fasciatus. Insecticidal activity is also reported for certain terpenoid cyclopropanes [e.g. (3), made from limonene and ethyl diazoacetate] and for isobornyl thiocyanoethyl ether (made from cam-phene and ethylene chlorohydrin followed by treatment with potassium thiocyanate). The insect-repelling activity shown by thujic acid amides (4) is... 

The previously unknown (+ )-(lS,2S,4R)-isodihydrocarveol (157) has been made from (+ )-limonene epoxide (158) as a component of a mixture of isomers, either with lithium in ethylamine or with the stoicheiometric amount of lithium aluminium hydride. Dihydrocarveol (159) has been synthesized from 4-acetyl-1-methylcyclohexene by conventional means.A method that is said to convert allyl alcohols into the corresponding chlorides without allyl rearrangement has been applied to carveol. The chloride was indeed obtained, but since the rotations of the compounds were not recorded it is unfortunately impossible to draw any conclusions about rearrangement. An ingenious synthesis of pure stereoisomers of carvomenthone-9-carboxylic acids involves a [2 -I- 2]-type cycloaddition of an ynamine to 2-methylcyclohex-5-enone (160). This leads... 

Costa et al. also tested their catalytic system based on complex 67, for the epoxidation (reaction 7.9) of cis-cyclooctene, 73, which yielded over 90% conversion within 2 hours at room temperature by TBHP in chloroform. Its chemoselectivity also is shown by the formation of only 1,2-epoxy limonene from limonene as the same condition as cyclooctene. 

FIGURE 19.45 Epoxidation of limonene (68), a pinene (4), and 3-carene (336) with p38 from the cultured cells of Nicotiana tabacum. (Modi ed from Yawata, T. et al., Epoxidation of monoterpenes hy the peroxidase from the cultured cells oiNicotiana tabacum. Proceedings of 42nd TEAC, 1998, pp. 142-144.)... 

New nitrogen-containing ligands and additives have been developed in recent years. Michel et al. employed t-butylpyridine for the selective epoxidation of (+)-limonene with H2O2 as an oxidant in a two-phase system. 1-Methylimidazole resulted in a suitable additive to avoid hydrolysis and rearrangement of acid-sensitive epoxides produced by MTO-catalyzed epoxidation (eq 54). Epoxides from styrenes, chromene, and bis(homoallylic) alcohols were obtained in good yields within reasonable reaction times. ... 

Further variations on the epoxyketone intermediate theme have been reported. In the first (Scheme 9A) [78], limonene oxide was prepared by Sharpless asymmetric epoxidation of commercial (S)-(-)- perillyl alcohol 65 followed by conversion of the alcohol 66 to the crystalline mesylate, recrystallization to remove stereoisomeric impurities, and reduction with LiAlH4 to give (-)-limonene oxide 59. This was converted to the key epoxyketone 60 by phase transfer catalyzed permanganate oxidation. Control of the trisubstituted alkene stereochemistry was achieved by reaction of the ketone with the anion from (4-methyl-3-pentenyl)diphenylphosphine oxide, yielding the isolable erythro adduct 67, and the trisubstituted E-alkene 52a from spontaneous elimination by the threo adduct. Treatment of the erythro adduct with NaH in DMF resulted... 

Another illustration of the use of such a biocatalytic approach was the synthesis of either enantiomer of a-bisabolol, one of these stereoisomers (out of four) which is of industrial value for the cosmetic industry. This approach was based on the diastereoselective hydrolysis of a mixture of oxirane-diastereoiso-mers obtained from (R)- or (S)-limonene [68]. Thus,starting from (S)-hmonene, the biohydrolysis of the mixture of (4S,81 S)-epoxides led to unreacted (4S,8S)-epoxide and (4S,8i )-diol. The former showed a diastereomeric purity (> 95%) and was chemically transformed into (4S,8S)-a-bisabolol. The formed diol... 

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