Lithium ester enolates

SCHEME 60. Solid-state aggregation of (thio)ester lithium enolates (A) chelated dimer [(c-Pr= C(OLi)SBu-f)2, 2 TMEDA]236 (B) chelated hexamer of racemic (NH2CH(Me)CH2CH=C(OMe) OLi]6240... 

The synthetic utility of a-silyl esters has been amply demonstrated by several examples. The basis for this chemistry is the observation that ester lithium enolates can be directly C-silylated with methyldiphenylchlorosilane, a reagent which avoids the more common O-silylation153. The a-silyl-y-valerolactone 80 was converted in two steps and high yield to racemic ancepsenolide by condensation of its lithium enolate with decane 1,10-dicarboxaldehyde followed by isomerization to the endocyclic double bonds of the natural product154 (equation 160). Treatment of the a-silyl-y-butyrolactone 81 or 80 with a Grignard reagent followed by pyridinium chlorochromate (PCC) oxidation provides 4-oxo aldehydes and 1,4-diketones, respectively155 (equation 161). 

The most useful method is reaction of ketone (and ester) lithium enolates, usually prepared by deprotonation of ketones with LD A, with either Ce H5 SeBr or Ce Hj SeCl. Enol acetates can be converted into a-phenylseleno ketones by reaction with phenylselenenyl trifluoroacetate, prepared in situ by treatment of CeHsSeCl or CgHsSeBr with silver trifluoroacetate or by conversion to the lithium e late and reaction with CeHsSeBr. It is sometimes possible to obtain isomeric a-phenylseleno ketones by use of these two methods (equations I and II). 

A systematic investigation of the scope and limitations of the conjugate addition of ketone and ester lithium enolates to nitroethylene has been reported (Scheme 28). This study may contribute to a wider use of this reaction, which has often been avoided owing to its reputation for facile anionic polymerization. ... 

Difunctional target molecules are generally easily disconnected in a re/ro-Michael type transform. As an example we have chosen a simple symmetrical molecule, namely 4-(4-methoxyphenyl)-2,6-heptanedione. Only p-anisaldehyde and two acetone equivalents are needed as starting materials. The antithesis scheme given helow is self-explanatory. The aldol condensation product must be synthesized first and then be reacted under controlled conditions with a second enolate (e.g. a silyl enolate plus TiCl4 or a lithium enolate), enamine (M. Pfau, 1979), or best with acetoacetic ester anion as acetone equivalents. 

An isolated acetoxyl function would be expected to be converted into the alkoxide of the corresponding steroidal alcohol in the course of a metal-ammonia reduction. Curiously, this conversion is not complete, even in the presence of excess metal. When a completely deacetylated product is desired, the crude reduction product is commonly hydrolyzed with alkali. This incomplete reduction of an acetoxyl function does not appear to interfere with a desired reduction elsewhere in a molecule, but the amount of metal to be consumed by the ester must be known in order to calculate the quantity of reducing agent to be used. In several cases, an isolated acetoxyl group appears to consume approximately 2 g-atoms of lithium, even though a portion of the acetate remains unreduced. Presumably, the unchanged acetate escapes reduction because of precipitation of the steroid from solution or because of conversion of the acetate function to its lithium enolate by lithium amide. 

When a cold (-78 °C) solution of the lithium enolate derived from amide 6 is treated successively with a,/ -unsaturated ester 7 and homogeranyl iodide 8, intermediate 9 is produced in 87% yield (see Scheme 2). All of the carbon atoms that will constitute the complex pentacyclic framework of 1 are introduced in this one-pot operation. After some careful experimentation, a three-step reaction sequence was found to be necessary to accomplish the conversion of both the amide and methyl ester functions to aldehyde groups. Thus, a complete reduction of the methyl ester with diisobutylalu-minum hydride (Dibal-H) furnishes hydroxy amide 10 which is then hydrolyzed with potassium hydroxide in aqueous ethanol. After acidification of the saponification mixture, a 1 1 mixture of diastereomeric 5-lactones 11 is obtained in quantitative yield. Under the harsh conditions required to achieve the hydrolysis of the amide in 10, the stereogenic center bearing the benzyloxypropyl side chain epimerized. Nevertheless, this seemingly unfortunate circumstance is ultimately of no consequence because this carbon will eventually become part of the planar azadiene. 

Darzens reactions between the chiral imine 52 and a-halo enolates 53 for the preparation of nonracemic aziridine-2-carboxylic esters 54 (Scheme 3.17) were studied by Fujisawa and co-workers [61], It is interesting to note that the lithium enolate afforded (2K,3S)-aziridirie (2i ,3S)-54 as the sole product, whereas the zinc enolate give rise to the isomer (2S,3i )-54. The a-halogen did not seem to affect the stereoselectivity. 

More recently, Davis and co-workers developed a new method for the asymmetric syntheses of aziridine-2-carboxylates through the use of an aza-Darzens-type reaction between sulfinimines (N-sulfinyl imines) and a-haloenolates [62-66]. The reaction is highly efficient, affording cis- N-sulfmylaziridine-2-carboxylic esters in high yield and diastereoselectivity. This method has been used to prepare a variety of aziridines with diverse ring and nitrogen substituents. As an example, treatment of sulfinimine (Ss)-55 (Scheme 3.18) with the lithium enolate of tert-butyl bromoacetate gave aziridine 56 in 82% isolated yield [66],... 

Carbohydrate-derived titanium cnolates also provide yvn-x-amino-/l-hydroxy esters of high diastcrcomeric and enantiomeric purity. For this purpose, the lithium enolate derived from ethyl (2,2,5,5-tetramcthyl-2,5-disilapyrrolidin-l-yl)acetate is first transmctalated with chloro(cy-clopentadienyl)bis(1,2 5,6-di-0-isopropylidene-a-D-glucofuranos-3-0-yl)titanium and subsequently reacted with aldehydes.. vj-n-a-Amino-/ -hydroxy esters are almost exclusively obtained via a predominant /te-side attack (synjanti 92 8 to 96 4 87-98% ee for the xvn-adducts)623-b. 

Compared to the lithium enolates of l and 5, the higher stereoselectivity obtained by the Mukaiyama variation is, in general, accompanied by reduced chemical yields. The chiral alcoholic moieties of the esters 3 and 7 can be removed either by reduction with lithium aluminum hydride (after protection of the earbinol group) or by aqueous alkaline hydrolysis with lithium hydroxide to afford the corresponding carboxylic acid. In both cases, the chiral auxiliary reagent can be recovered. 

Another application of this method is the stereoselective addition of (7 )-2-hydroxy-l,2,2-triphenylethyl acetate, via the lithium enolate, to propenal (acrolein) which affords mainly the ester 13 (d.r. 92 8). When the acid, obtained in the subsequent alkaline hydrolysis, is converted into the ammonium salt derived from (.S)-l -phenylethylaminc, and the salt recrystallized once, then the amine liberated (/f)-3-hydroxy-4-pentenoic acid is obtained in 41 % yield [relative to the (/ )-acetate] and >99.8% ee82. 

Four different orientations are possible when the enantiofaces of (E)- and (Z)-enolates and an ( )-enone combine via a closed transition state, in which the olefinic moieties of the donor and the acceptor are in a syn arrangement. It should be emphasized that, a further four enan-tiomorphous orientations of A-D are possible leading to the enantiomers 2 and 3. On the basis of extensive studies of Michael additions of the lithium enolates of esters (X = OR) and ketones (X = R) to enones (Y = R) it has been concluded ... 

Lithium enolates of various ketones15 -17, esters18, thioesters19 and amides20 react with enones to form either syn or anti a,/ -disubstituted 1,5-diketones, 5-oxo esters or their derivatives. 

Closely related to enolate additions to enones is the diastereoselective 1,4-addition of lithium enolates of esters, thioesters and amides to a,/ -unsaturated esters. These reactions provide syn-or ar /-2,3-disubstituted glutarates (pentanedioates). 

Tabic 4. Pentanedioatcs from Addition of the Lithium Enolates of Esters to x./MJnsaturated Esters LiO... 

As an alternative to lithium enolates. silyl enolates or ketene acetals may be used in a complementary route to pentanedioates. The reaction requires Lewis acid catalysis, for example aluminum trifluoromethanesulfonate (modest diastereoselectivity with unsaturated esters)72 74 antimony(V) chloride/tin(II) trifluoromethanesulfonate (predominant formation of anti-adducts with the more reactive a,/5-unsaturated thioesters)75 montmorillonite clay (modest to good yields but poor diastereoselectivity with unsaturated esters)76 or high pressure77. 

The Michael addition of lithium enolates of amides, which have preferentially the Z geometry, under kinetically controlled conditions to a,/i-unsaturated esters provides a highly... 

The addition of a-amino-substituted lithium enolates to a,/ -unsaturated esters is a diastereoselective route to syn- or anti-glutamic acid derivatives and also to fratw-substituted 5-oxo-2-pyrrolidinecarboxylates. 

An excellent method for the diastereoselective synthesis of substituted amino acids is based on optically active bislactim ethers of cyclodipeptides as Michael donors (Schollkopf method, see Section 1.5.2.4.2.2.4.). Thus, the lithium enolates of bislactim ethers, from amino acids add in a 1,4-fashion to various a,/i-unsaturated esters with high diastereofacial selectivity (syn/anti ratios > 99.3 0.7-99.5 0.5). For example, the enolate of the lactim ether derivative 6, prepared from (S)-valine and glycine, adds in a highly stereoselective manner to methyl ( )-3-phenyl-propenoate a cis/trans ratio of 99.6 0.4 and a syn/anti ratio of 91 9, with respect to the two new stereogenic centers, in the product 7 are found105, los. 

A variety of chiral amides as well as oxazolidones388 and imidazolidones389,390 may easily be prepared from amino alcohols that are derived from amino acids391 392. The addition of the lithium enolates of these amides under kinetically controlled conditions to a,/i-unsaturated esters yields optically active pentanedioates. Both syn- and //-5-amino-5-oxopcntanoates may be obtained with good diastereomeric ratios192. 

Various diastereoselective Michael reactions are based on y-bromo-, y-alkyl-, or y-alkoxy-2(5//)-furanones following the trans-face selectivity shown in Section 1.5.2.3.1.2. Thus the lithium enolates of esters such as ethyl propanoate, ethyl a-methoxyacetate and ethyl a-phenylacetate add to methoxy-2(5/f)-furanone with complete face selectivity269-273 (see Section 1.5.2.4.4.2.). 

The lithium enolates of cyclopentanone and cyclohexanone undergo addition-elimination to the 2,2-dimethylpropanoic acid ester of ( )-2-nitro-2-hepten-l-ol to give 2-(l-butyl-2-nitro-2-propenyl)cycloalkanones with modest diastereoselection. An analogous reaction of the enolate ion of cyclohexanone with the 2,2-dimethylpropanoic acid ester of (Z)-2-nitro-3-phenyl-2-propenol to give 2-(2-nitro-l-phenyl-2-propenyl)cyclohexanones was also reported. The relative configuration of these products was not however determined6. 

The lithium enolate of AUV-dimethylacetamide underwent addition to 2-aryl-1-nitroethenes to give /faryl-y-nitroamides. The lithium dianions and the trianions of /l-oxo esters and /i,y-dioxo esters undergo addition to 2-aryl-1-nitroethenes to give bicyclic compounds as a single dia-stereomer8. 

The addition of the lithium enolates of methyl acetate and methyl (trimelhylsilyl)acetate to ( + )-(S)-2-(4-methylphenylsulfinyl)-2-cycloalkenones gives, after desulfurization, (/ -substituted cycloalkenones. A higher level of selectivity is observed with the a-silyl ester enolate and in the cyclohexenone series13. The stereochemical outcome is rationalized by assuming attack on a ground-state conformation analogous to that in Section 1.5.3.2.1. 

The addition of the lithium enolates of various acetic add esters to (S)-3-(4-methylphcnyl-sulfmyl)-2(5//)-liiranone and (,S)-5,6-dihydro-3-(4-methylphenylsulfinyl)-2//-pyran-2-one gives, after desulfurization with Raney nickel, 4-substituted dihydro-2(3//)-furanoncs and 4-substituted tetrahydro-2//-pyran-2-ones, respectively, in good to quantitative enantiomeric excess. Addition of the enolate occurs via the nonchelate mode. The enolate of methyl (phenylthio)acetatc is best overall in regards to chemical yields and enantiomeric purity of the final lactone product13. 

The lithium enolate of ethyl V-methoxyacetimidate (55) was also successfully sulfmy-lated by treatment with sulfinate ester 19 (equation 19)87. Sulfoxide 56 was used in an asymmetric synthesis of some /1-hydroxy esters. 

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