Ester Aldol reaction

Among the enolates of carboxylic acid derivatives, esters are the most widely used. Ester enolates cannot be used in crossed aldols with aldehydes because the aldehyde is both more enolizable and more electrophilic than the ester. It will just condense with itself and ignore the ester. The same is true for ketones. A specific enol equivalent for the ester will therefore be needed for a successful ester aldol reaction. 

One of the pervasive problems in asymmetric synthesis has been the development of stereoselective acetate ester aldol reactions. Although a number of chiral auxiliaries perform superbly well in diastereoselective propionate aldol additions, these have, with rare exceptions, been unsuccessful in the corresponding additions of unsubstituted acetate-derived enolates [19, 63, 64). Braun s disclosure of a stereoselective acetate aldol addition reaction with 103 was an important milestone in the development of the field (Scheme 4.11) [63, 65]. The diol auxiliary can easily be prepared from mandelic acid esterification of the secondary alcohol is obsei ved, without interference from the tertiary counterpart. Its use has been showcased in a number of syntheses [53]. The high yield and diastereoselectivity generally obtained with 103 were highlighted by investigators at Merck in the construction of the chiral lactone fragment that is common in a number of HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors, such as compactin (105) [66]. 

The usual base or acid catalyzed aldol addition or ester condensation reactions can only be applied as a useful synthetic reaction, if both carbonyl components are identical. Otherwise complicated mixtures of products are formed. If two different aldehydes or esters are to be combined, it is essential that one of the components is transformed quantitatively into an enol whereas the other component remains as a carbonyl compound in the reaction mixture. 

Ketone body synthesis occurs only in the mitochondrial matrix. The reactions responsible for the formation of ketone bodies are shown in Figure 24.28. The first reaction—the condensation of two molecules of acetyl-CoA to form acetoacetyl-CoA—is catalyzed by thiolase, which is also known as acetoacetyl-CoA thiolase or acetyl-CoA acetyltransferase. This is the same enzyme that carries out the thiolase reaction in /3-oxidation, but here it runs in reverse. The second reaction adds another molecule of acetyl-CoA to give (i-hydroxy-(i-methyl-glutaryl-CoA, commonly abbreviated HMG-CoA. These two mitochondrial matrix reactions are analogous to the first two steps in cholesterol biosynthesis, a cytosolic process, as we shall see in Chapter 25. HMG-CoA is converted to acetoacetate and acetyl-CoA by the action of HMG-CoA lyase in a mixed aldol-Claisen ester cleavage reaction. This reaction is mechanistically similar to the reverse of the citrate synthase reaction in the TCA cycle. A membrane-bound enzyme, /3-hydroxybutyrate dehydrogenase, then can reduce acetoacetate to /3-hydroxybutyrate. 

Furthermore, in analogy to the aldol reaction, a-chloro-a,3-unsaturated esters have been observed—likely the result of 3-elimination of water from the intermediate halohydrin. For example, when benzaldehyde is condensed with the enolate of 17, chloride 19 was obtained. ... 

In recent years, several modifications of the Darzens condensation have been reported. Similar to the aldol reaction, the majority of the work reported has been directed toward diastereo- and enantioselective processes. In fact, when the aldol reaction is highly stereoselective, or when the aldol product can be isolated, useful quantities of the required glycidic ester can be obtained. Recent reports have demonstrated that diastereomeric enolate components can provide stereoselectivity in the reaction examples include the camphor-derived substrate 26, in situ generated a-bromo-A -... 

Tire mechanism of the Claisen condensation is similar to that of the aldol condensation and involves the nucleophilic addition of an ester enolate ion to the carbonyl group of a second ester molecule. The only difference between the aldol condensation of an aldeiwde or ketone and the Claisen condensation of an ester involves the fate of the initially formed tetrahedral intermediate. The tetrahedral intermediate in the aldol reaction is protonated to give an alcohol product—exactly the behavior previously seen for aldehydes and ketones (Section 19.4). The tetrahedral intermediate in the Claisen reaction, however, expels an alkoxide leaving group to yield an acyl substitution product—exactly the behavior previously seen for esters (Section 21.6). The mechanism of the Claisen condensation reaction is shown in Figure 23.5. 

The Robinson annulation is a two-step process that combines a Michael reaction with an intramolecular aldol reaction. It takes place between a nucleophilic donor, such as a /3-keto ester, an enamine, or a /3-diketone, and an a,/3-unsaturated ketone acceptor, such as 3-buten-2-one. The product is a substituted 2-cyclohexenone. 

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