Epoxides, reaction with aluminum borohydride

The azidohydrins obtained by azide ion opening of epoxides, except for those possessing a tertiary hydroxy group, can be readily converted to azido mesylates on treatment with pyridine/methanesulfonyl chloride. Reduction and subsequent aziridine formation results upon reaction with hydrazine/ Raney nickel, lithium aluminum hydride, or sodium borohydride/cobalt(II)... 

The importance of reactions with complex, metal hydrides in carbohydrate chemistry is well documented by a vast number of publications that deal mainly with reduction of carbonyl groups, N- and O-acyl functions, lactones, azides, and epoxides, as well as with reactions of sulfonic esters. With rare exceptions, lithium aluminum hydride and lithium, sodium, or potassium borohydride are the... 

The presence of the epoxide moiety at C-3 and C-4 in excelsine explained the interesting chemical reactions observed earlier. On treatment with acetic anhydride and p-toluenesulfonic acid, excelsine yielded a triacetate derivative, while treatment with acetyl chloride afforded a tetraacetate derivative. On reduction with Raney nickel in methanolic base, excelsine yielded lapaconidine (92), but was inert toward other reducing agents, e.g., lithium aluminum hydride, sodium borohydride, and Adams catalyst. Treatment of excelsine with boiling aqueous hydrochloric acid yielded an epimeric mixture of chlorohydrins with molecular formula C22H34NO6CI. These epimers were hydrolyzed to the crystalline compound C22H33NO6 when treated with aqueous sulfuric acid. This compound formed a tetraacetate derivative for which structure 105 was proposed on the basis of spectral data. 

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