2,3-epoxy alcohols carbon nucleophile addition

It is well known 113,14 20 25> that the addition of hydroxyl-containing compounds (water, alcohols, phenols, acids) considerably promotes the interaction of epoxy compounds with amines and other nucleophilic reagents. In this case, the epoxy ring carbon atom becomes more sensitive to nucleophilic attack. The reaction proceeds through a trimolecular transition state initially suggested by Smith26 27) for the reactions of epoxy compounds with amines2... 

The overall transformation of alkenes to alcohols that is accomplished by epoxi-dation and reduction corresponds to alkene hydration. Assuming a nucleophilic ring opening by hydride addition at the less-substituted carbon, the reaction corresponds to the Markovnikov orientation. This reaction sequence is therefore an alternative to the hydration methods discussed in Chapter 4 for converting alkenes to alcohols. 

The conversion of alkenes into epoxides is important not only because it is one of the most reliable routes leading from oxidation level 1 to level 2, but also because reactions of non-symmetrical epoxides with nucleophiles invariably proceed as an attack at the less substituted carbon with inversion of configuration. Thus, hydride reduction of epoxides represents an additional option for the preparation of alcohols (Scheme 2.62), especially valuable for the synthesis of optically pure isomers from epoxides obtained by the Sharpless oxidation. It is also of merit that as a result of alkene-epoxide conversion, a nucleophilic moiety (double bond) is transformed into an electrophilic epoxy ring. The latter... 

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