Ester enolates formation

If the ketone is symmetrical, as here, or can form an enolate on one side only, or if we are dealing with an ester, enolate formation and hence alkylation is unambiguous. In Corey s synthesis of cafestol,13 an anti-inflammatory agent from coffee beans, he first alkylated ketone 44 on the only possible side and converted the product 45 into the new alkylating agent 46. 

If a bulkier base is used, such as lithium tetramethyl piperidide (LTMP), or in the case of ester enolate formation in which the Ri group (actually OR ) is smaller, the ( )-enolate is major. The Ireland model uses the possible six-membered, chair-like, cyclic transition states to help rationalize the stereoselectivity of enolate formation. 

It is also possible to introduce additional functionality into the cK-silyl ester. Thus f-butyl (trimethylsilyl)chloroacetate reacts with carbonyl compounds after ester enolate formation with LDA to form f-butyl Q -chloro-a, 8-unsaturated esters, although the elimination of the silyl moiety may have to be encouraged by the use of thionyl chloride, as it also is with the a-bromo analog. A second silyl group, with its additional bulk, can allow for high stereoselection, although the outcome does depend on the metal counterion used in the enolate. ... 

An attractive method for the generation of ester enolates involves treatment of a-trimethylsilyl esters with quaternary ammonium fluorides. Enolates thus formed couple with ketones to form j3-hydroxy esters in 70—90% yield, although strangely no reaction was observed with j8-ionone or benzylacetone. The same group has reported the preparation of the silylated base (115), which can be used to effect specific ester enolate formation in the presence of an aldehyde leading... 

Mechanism of the Claisen Condensation Step 1. Ester enolate formation... 

Mixed Claisen condensations (Section 21.3) Diethyl carbonate, diethyl oxalate, ethyl formate, and benzoate esters cannot form ester enolates but can act as acylating agents toward other ester enolates. 

The mechanism of the Fiesselmann reaction between methylthioglycolate and a,P-acetylenic esters proceeds via consecutive base-catalyzed 1,4-conjugate addition reactions to form thioacetal Enolate formation, as a result of treatment with a stronger base, causes a Dieckmann condensation to occur providing ketone 8. Elimination of methylthioglycolate and tautomerization driven by aromaticity provides the 3-hydroxy thiophene dicarboxylate 9. 

Diels-Alder reaction, 493 El reaction, 391-392 ElcB reaction, 393 E2 reaction, 386 Edman degradation, 1032 electrophilic addition reaction, 147-148. 188-189 electrophilic aromatic substitution, 548-549 enamine formation, 713 enol formation, 843-844 ester hydrolysis, 809-811 ester reduction, 812 FAD reactions. 1134-1135 fat catabolism, 1133-1136 fat hydrolysis, 1130-1132 Fischer esterification reaction, 796 Friedel-Crafts acylation reaction, 557-558... 

Importance of enol formation for y keto ester fluorination... 

GL 4] [R 5] [P 5] The rate of the fluorination of y0-keto esters is usually correlated with the enol concentration or the rate of enol formation as this species is actually fluorinated [15, 16]. For the fluorination of ethyl 2-chloroacetoacetate in a micro reactor, much higher yields were found as expected from such relationships and as compared with conventional batch processing which has only low conversion. Obviously, the fluorinated metal surface of the micro channel promotes the enol formation. 

Regioselectivity and Stereoselectivity in Enolate Formation from Ketones and Esters... 

The preparation of ketones and ester from (3-dicarbonyl enolates has largely been supplanted by procedures based on selective enolate formation. These procedures permit direct alkylation of ketone and ester enolates and avoid the hydrolysis and decarboxylation of keto ester intermediates. The development of conditions for stoichiometric formation of both kinetically and thermodynamically controlled enolates has permitted the extensive use of enolate alkylation reactions in multistep synthesis of complex molecules. One aspect of the alkylation reaction that is crucial in many cases is the stereoselectivity. The alkylation has a stereoelectronic preference for approach of the electrophile perpendicular to the plane of the enolate, because the tt electrons are involved in bond formation. A major factor in determining the stereoselectivity of ketone enolate alkylations is the difference in steric hindrance on the two faces of the enolate. The electrophile approaches from the less hindered of the two faces and the degree of stereoselectivity depends on the steric differentiation. Numerous examples of such effects have been observed.51 In ketone and ester enolates that are exocyclic to a conformationally biased cyclohexane ring there is a small preference for... 

Ester enolates are somewhat less stable than ketone enolates because of the potential for elimination of alkoxide. The sodium and potassium enolates are rather unstable, but Rathke and co-workers found that the lithium enolates can be generated at -78° C.69 Alkylations of simple esters require a strong base because relatively weak bases such as alkoxides promote condensation reactions (see Section 2.3.1). The successful formation of ester enolates typically involves an amide base, usually LDA or LiHDMS, at low temperature.70 The resulting enolates can be successfully alkylated with alkyl bromides or iodides. HMPA is sometimes added to accelerate the alkylation reaction. 

Entries 3 to 6 are examples of ester enolate alkylations. These reactions show stereoselectivity consistent with cyclic TSs in which the hydrogen is eclipsed with the enolate and the larger substituent is pseudoequatorial. Entries 4 and 5 involve SN2 substitutions of allylic halides. The formation of the six- and five-membered rings, respectively, is the result of ring size preferences with 5 > 7 and 6 > 8. In Entry 4, reaction occurs through a chairlike TS with the tertiary C(5) substituent controlling the conformation. The cyclic TS results in a trans relationship between the ester and vinylic substituents. 

Alkylation of enamines requires relatively reactive alkylating agents for good results. Methyl iodide, allyl and benzyl halides, a-halo esters, a-halo ethers, and a-halo ketones are the most successful alkylating agents. The use of enamines for selective alkylation has largely been supplanted by the methods for kinetic enolate formation described in Section 1.2. 

The enolates of other carbonyl compounds can be used in mixed aldol reactions. Extensive use has been made of the enolates of esters, thiol esters, amides, and imides, including several that serve as chiral auxiliaries. The methods for formation of these enolates are similar to those for ketones. Lithium, boron, titanium, and tin derivatives have all been widely used. The silyl ethers of ester enolates, which are called silyl ketene acetals, show reactivity that is analogous to silyl enol ethers and are covalent equivalents of ester enolates. The silyl thioketene acetal derivatives of thiol esters are also useful. The reactions of these enolate equivalents are discussed in Section 2.1.4. 

Acyl imidazolides are more reactive than esters but not as reactive as acyl halides. Entry 7 is an example of formation of a (3-ketoesters by reaction of magnesium enolate monoalkyl malonate ester by an imidazolide. Acyl imidazolides also are used for acylation of ester enolates and nitromethane anion, as illustrated by Entries 8, 9, and 10. (V-Methoxy-lV-methylamides are also useful for acylation of ester enolates. 

The silyl ketene acetal rearrangement can also be carried out by reaction of the ester with a silyl triflate and tertiary amine, without formation of the ester enolate. Optimum results are obtained with bulky silyl triflates and amines, e.g., f-butyldimethylsilyl triflate and (V-methyl-Af, /V-dicyclohcxylaminc. Under these conditions the reaction is stereoselective for the Z-silyl ketene acetal and the stereochemistry of the allylic double bond determines the syn or anti configuration of the product.243... 

Another enantiospecific synthesis of longifolene shown in Scheme 13.32 used an intramolecular Diels-Alder reaction as a key step. An alcohol intermediate was resolved in sequence B by formation and separation of a menthyl carbonate. After oxidation, the dihydropyrone ring was introduced by 7-addition of the ester enolate of methyl 3-methylbutenoate, followed by cyclization. 

Scheme 3.26 Conversion of the ester to isobutyl ketone-enolate formation.

---