Epoxides iodide

C—C double bonds may be protected against electrophiles by epoxidation and subsequent removal of the oxygen atom by treatment with zinc and sodium iodide in acetic acid (J.A. Edwards, 1972 W. Kndll, 1975). Halogenation has often been used for protection, too. The C—C double bond is here also easily regenerated with zinc (see p. 138, D.H.R. Barton, 1976). 

The 2-metalated thiazoles react with a variety of electrophilic substrates in a standard way, leading to addition products with aldehydes, ketones, carbon dioxide, epoxides, nitriles, Schiff bases, and to substitution products with alkyl iodides (12, 13, 437, 440). 

The ready reduction of iodohydrins is utilized in the Cornforth reaction for preparing olefins from epoxides. Here the opening and reduction are carried out in one step by treatment of the epoxide, in an acetic acid-sodium acetate buffer, with sodium iodide and zinc. A less common use of iodohy-drin reduction is illustrated in the synthesis of the diene (127) ... 

A detailed procedure for the use of MCPBA recently appeared in Reagents for Organic Synthesis by Fieser and Fieser. The commercially available MCPBA (Aldrich) is 85% pure the contaminant, m-chlorobenzoic acid, can be removed by washing with a phosphate buffer of pH 7.5. The epoxidation is usually performed as follows a solution of 3 -acetoxy-5a-androst-16-ene (2.06 g, 6.53 mmoles) in 25 ml of chloroform (or methylene dichloride) is chilled to 0° in a flask fitted with a condenser and drierite tube and treated with a solution of commercial MCPBA (1.74 g, 20% excess) in 25 ml chloroform precooled to the same temperature. The mixture is stirred and allowed to warm to room temperature. After 23 hr (or until TLC shows reaction is complete) the solution is diluted with 100 ml chloroform and washed in sequence with 100 ml of 10% sodium sulfite or sodium iodide followed by sodium thiosulfate, 200 ml of 1 M sodium bicarbonate and 200 ml water. The chloroform extract is dried (MgS04) and evaporated in vacuo to a volume of ca. 10 ml. Addition of methanol (10 ml) followed by cooling of the mixture to —10° yields 0.8 gof 16a,17a-epoxide mp 109.5-110°. Additional product can be obtained by concentration of the mother liquor (total yield 80-90%). 

Rao prepared 2a-methyl-5a-cholestan-2i -ol (5) by reaction of methyl-magnesium iodide with 5a-cholestan-2-one (4). The 2i -configuration of the hydroxyl group was established by converting (5) to the 2a-methyl-2j5,19-epoxide (6) with lead tetraacetate and iodine in boiling benzene. 

Epoxide (88) is converted to C-norpregnane (89) in 60% yield by methyl-magnesium iodide in refluxing ether-benzene. No rearrangement to the C-norsteroid occurs with dimethylmagnesium. 

Sodium iodide in trifluoroacetic anhydride reacts with epoxides to form the corresponding alkenes in high yields [39] The reduction is stereospecific and generates olefins of the same geometry as the starting epoxides [39]... 

In addition, NaOMe, and NaNH2, have also been employed. Applieation of phase-transfer conditions with tetra-n-butylammonium iodide showed marked improvement for the epoxide formation. Furthermore, many complex substituted sulfur ylides have been synthesized and utilized. For instance, stabilized ylide 20 was prepared and treated with a-D-a/lo-pyranoside 19 to furnish a-D-cyclopropanyl-pyranoside 21. Other examples of substituted sulfur ylides include 22-25, among which aminosulfoxonium ylide 25, sometimes known as Johnson s ylide, belongs to another category. The aminosulfoxonium ylides possess the configurational stability and thermal stability not enjoyed by the sulfonium and sulfoxonium ylides, thereby are more suitable for asymmetric synthesis. 

The deprotonation of 4,5-dimethylthiazole and addition of the resulting anion to aldehydes was demonstrated as early as 1948 (48HCA652) and 2-lithiothiazoles were later shown to react with aldehydes, ketones, methyl iodide, and epoxides... 

A retrosynthetic analysis of fragment 152 can be completed through cleavage of the C16-C17 bond in enone 155, the projected precursor of epoxide 152. This retrosynthetic maneuver furnishes intermediates 156 and 157 as potential building blocks. In the forward sense, acylation of a vinyl metal species derived from 156 with Weinreb amide 157 could accomplish the construction of enone 155. Iodide 153, on the other hand, can be traced retrosynthetically to the commercially available, optically active building block methyl (S)-(+)-3-hydroxy-2-methyIpropionate (154). 

The optically active iodide 153 (Scheme 43) can be conveniently prepared from commercially available methyl (S)-(+)-3-hydroxy-2-methylpropionate (154) (see Scheme 41). At this stage of the synthesis, our plan called for the conversion of 153 to a nucleophilic organometallic species, with the hope that the latter would combine with epoxide 152. As matters transpired, we found that the mixed higher order cuprate reagent derived from 153 reacts in the desired and expected way with epoxide 152, affording alcohol 180 in 88% yield this regioselective union creates the C12-C13 bond of rapamycin. 

Metzner et al. also prepared the selenium analogue 17 of their C2 symmetric chiral sulfide and tested it in epoxidation reactions (Scheme 1.6) [8]. Although good enantioselectivities were observed, and a catalytic reaction was possible without the use of iodide salts, the low diastereoselectivities obtained prevent it from being synthetically useful. 

A completely different way of preparing isocyanides involves the reaction of epoxides or oxetanes with trimethylsilyl cyanide and zinc iodide, for example, ... 

Epoxides can be reductively halogenated (the product is the alkyl bromide or iodide rather than the alcohol) with Me3SiCI—NaX—(Mc2SiH)20 (1,1,3,3-tetra-methyldisiloxane). ... 

Episulfides can be converted to alkenes. " However, in this case the elimination is syn, so the mechanism cannot be the same as that for conversion of epoxides. The phosphite attacks sulfur rather than carbon. Among other reagents that convert episulfides to alkenes are Bu3SnH, certain rhodium complexes, LiAlH4 (this compound behaves quite differently with epoxides, see 10-85), and methyl iodide.Episulfoxides can be converted to alkenes and sulfur monoxide... 

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