Erythromycin-9-oxime Beckmann rearrangement

Azithromycin is derived from the natural product, erythromycin, via Beckmann rearrangement of the intermediary oxime, as outlined in Scheme 16.1. 

One of the most famous examples of intramolecular attack of oxygen on the nitriUnm ion intermediate was observed in the Beckmann rearrangement of Erythromycin oxime derivatives and was used in the discovery and synthesis of the commercial macrolide antibiotic Azithromycin 464. In fact, the Beckmann rearrangement of Erythromycin A 9( )-oxime 460 produced only small amounts (5%) of the expected amide 463, along with two isomeric imino ethers (461 and 462) in a fair yield (38 and 43%) (equation 198). 

Several structural modifications of the C-9 ketone of erythromycin have been explored oximes and hydrazones are less prone to intramolecular cydization, but they often have less antibiotic activity than erythromycin (140). Synthesis of more complex oxime derivatives resulted in the development of roxithromycin, the 9-[0-(2-methoxyethoxy)methyl]oxime (33) (141). Reduction of the oximes and hydrazones produced 9(S)-erythromycylamine (34) as the principal product, with minor amounts of the 9(R)-isomer (140) however, clinical studies showed that 9(5)-erythromycyclamine and its N-benzylidene derivative were poody absorbed in humans (142). Evaluation of more complex oxazine derivatives of erythromycylamine led to dirithromycin, the 2-(2-methoxyethoxy)ethylidene oxazine derivative (35) (143). A third route to modification of the ketone utilized a Beckmann rearrangement of the 9-oxime to expand the 14-membered ring to a 15-membered intermediate, which was subsequently reduced and AT-methylated to yield azithromycin (36) (144,145). The term azalide was proposed to denote these 15-membered azalactones (10,145). 

The reaction of 8-hydroxy acids with p-bromobenzenesulfonyl chloride in the presence of a tertiary amine gives /3-lactones (eq 5). Brosylate esters of oximes have been manipulated in the Beckmann rearrangement of erythromycin derivatives as an alternative to both 4-methylbenzenesulfonate esters and benzene-sulfonate esters. 

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