Thiol esters, enolization

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. 

The foregoing discussion, in emphasizing the purely electrostatic energy barriers, does not address the question of whether there is an activation advantage in thiol esters relative to oxygen esters. Why thiol esters in preference to oxygen esters Thiol esters are more readily enolized than... 

Another reaction that goes better with thiol esters than with ordinary esters is enolization. This is an equilibrium reaction and the enol has lost the conjugation present in the ester. The thiol ester has less to lose so is more enolized. This is the reaction of acetyl CoA that we are now going to discuss. We have mentioned the citric acid cycle several times and it has appeared in two... 

The reaction of thiol esters with lithium ynolates (equation 67) takes place by a route different than the one shown in equation 65 for alcohol esters. Thiol esters (162) undergo a two-carbon homologation to S-keto thiol esters 165 in good yield. Intermediates 163 undergo a two-step rearrangement to a S-keto thiol ester enolate (165), via elimination of lithium thiolate to yield a ketene (164), followed by the nucleophilic attack of the thiolate on 164. Finally, the homologated S-keto thioester (165 ) is obtained on acidification of the reaction mixture . ... 

TMol(selenol) esters. Activated enol esters (2) of carboxylic acids can be prepared as shown in equation (I). They can be converted into thiol and selenol esters (3). 

In bicyclic adducts (eq 1), thiol enol ethers are the direct products of oxidative decarboxylation reduction of the ester and subsequent hydrolysis of the thiol enol ethers affords a-methylene ketones (eq 5). Thus eqs (eq 4) and (eq 5) demonstrate the utility of (1) as a methoxycarbonylketene (2) or methyleneketene (3) synthon in [4 + 2] cycloaddition reactions. 

Conceptually closely related, cefroxadi ne (40) can be prepared by several routes, including one in which the enol (33) is imethylated with diazomethane as a key step. A rather more involved route starts with comparatively readily available phenoxymethylpenicillin sulfoxide benzhydryl ester (36). This undergoes fragmentation when treated with benzothiazole-2-thiol to give Ozonolysis (reductive work-up) cleaves the... 

The boron enolates of a-substituted thiol esters also give excellent facial selectivity.135 CH(CH3)2 (CHg"/ -CH2)2BCI... 

The lanthanocene initiators also polymerize EtMA, PrMA and BuMA in a well-controlled manner, although syndiotacticity decreases as the bulk of alkyl substituent increases. Reactivity also decreases in the order MMA EtMA > PrMA > BuMA. Chain transfer to provide shorter polymer chains is accomplished by addition of ketones and thiols.460 The alkyl complexes (190) and (191) also rapidly polymerize acrylate monomers at 0°C.461,462 Both initiators deliver monodisperse poly(acrylic esters) (Mw/Mn 1.07). An enolate is again believed to be the active propagating species since the model complex (195) was also shown to initiate the polymerization of MA. 

It is supposed that the nickel enolate intermediate 157 reacts with electrophiles rather than with protons. The successful use of trimethylsilyl-sub-stituted amines (Scheme 57) permits a new carbon-carbon bond to be formed between 157 and electrophiles such as benzaldehyde and ethyl acrylate. The adduct 158 is obtained stereoselectively only by mixing nickel tetracarbonyl, the gem-dibromocyclopropane 150, dimethyl (trimethylsilyl) amine, and an electrophile [82]. gem-Functionalization on a cyclopropane ring carbon atom is attained in this four-component coupling reaction. Phenyl trimethyl silylsulfide serves as an excellent nucleophile to yield the thiol ester, which is in sharp contrast to the formation of a complicated product mixture starting from thiols instead of the silylsulfide [81]. (Scheme 58)... 

Because anti/syn ratios in the product can be correlated to the E(0)/Z(0) ratio of the involved boron enolate mixture,10b initial experiments were aimed at the preparation of highly E(0)-enriched boron enolate. The E(0)/Z(0) ratio increases with the bulk of the alkanethiol moiety, whereas the formation of Z(O) enolates prevails with (S )-aryl thioates. (E/Z = 7 93 for benzenethiol and 5 95 for 2-naphthalene thiol esters). E(O) reagent can be formed almost exclusively by reaction of (5)-3,3-diethyl-3-pentyl propanethioate 64 with the chiral boron triflate. High reactivity toward aldehydes can be retained in spite of the apparent steric demand (Scheme 3-22).43... 

The chemical diversity of carboxylic acid esters (R-CO-O-R ) originates in both moieties, i.e., the acyl group (R-CO-) and the alkoxy or aryloxy group (-OR7). Thus, the acyl group can be made up of aliphatic or aromatic carboxylic acids, carbamic acids, or carbonic acids, and the -OR7 moiety may be derived from an alcohol, an enol, or a phenol. When a thiol is involved, a thioester R-CO-S-R7 is formed. The model substrates to be discussed in Sect. 7.3 will, thus, be classified according to the chemical nature of the -OR7 (or -SR7) moiety, i.e., the alcohol, phenol, or thiol that is the first product to be released during the hydrolase-catalyzed reaction (see Chapt. 3). Diesters represent substrates of special interest and will be presented separately. 

Coenzyme A is another adenine nucleotide derivative, with its primary functional group, a thiol, some distance away from the nucleotide end of the molecule. This thiol plays an important role in biochemistry via its ability to form thioesters with suitable acyl compounds (see Box 7.18). We have seen how thioesters are considerably more reactive than oxygen esters, with particular attention being paid to their improved ability to form enolate anions, coupled with thiolates being excellent leaving groups (see Box 10.8). 

Substituted, 2,3-disubstituted, and 2,3-annulated thiophenes can be prepared by reactions of ketone enolates with carbonodithioic acid O-ethyl 5-(2-oxoethyl)ester. Hydrolysis of the resulting aldols, intramolecular addition of thiol group to the carbonyl group, and elimination of two molecules of water lead to the thiophenes (116) (Scheme 38) (92HCA907). 

Alcohols can also be prepared from support-bound carbon nucleophiles and carbonyl compounds (Table 7.4). Few examples have been reported of the a-alkylation of resin-bound esters with aldehydes or ketones. This reaction is complicated by the thermal instability of some ester enolates, which can undergo elimination of alkoxide to yield ketenes. Traces of water or alcohols can, furthermore, lead to saponification or transesterification and release of the substrate into solution. Less prone to base-induced cleavage are support-bound imides (Entry 2, Table 7.4 see also Entry 3, Table 13.8 [42]). Alternatively, support-bound thiol esters can be converted into stable silyl ketene acetals, which react with aldehydes under Lewis-acid catalysis (Entries 3 and 4, Table 7.4). 

C-Carboxylation of enolates.1 Carboxylation of potassium enolates generated from silyl enol ethers is not regioselective because of extensive enolate equilibration. Regiospecific C-carboxylation of lithium enolates is possible with carbonyl sulfide in place of carbon dioxide. The product is isolated as the thiol methyl ester. If simple esters are desired, transesterification can be effected with Hg(OAc)2 (8, 444). Carboxylation of ketones in this way in the presence of NaH and DMSO is not satisfactory because of competing alkylation of the enolate.2 Example ... 

Despite the toxicity of volatile metal carbonyls, particularly Ni(CO)4, several useful transformations have been developed employing these reagents. Monocarbonylation of gem-dibromocyclopropanes may be accomplished with Ni(CO)4 in the presence of alcohols, amines or (less successfully) thiols, to afford cyclopropane carboxylic esters, amides or thioesters, respectively (equation 202)400. Silylamine or silylsulfide reagents may take the place of amines or thiols401. The intermediacy of a nickel enolate in the carbonylations is... 

The synthesis of 4 and 5 provided an opportunity to evaluate the scope of a new C-glycosidation methodology that was used for 3 (28-34). Accordingly, esterification (step A) of the glycone component, l-thio-l,2-0-isopropylidene acetal (TIA) 16 and one or the other aglycone segments, C-branched saccharide acids 14 or 15, furnishes ester 12 or 13, respectively (Scheme 1). Tebbe methylenation (step B) of the latter provides enol ethers 10 or 11. Thiol... 

This difference affects each stage of the CLaisen ester condensation in the same way. Thiol esters are more easily converted to enolate anions, they are more easily attacked by nucleophiles, and RS is a better leaving group than RO. In each case the reaction is better (faster or equilibrium further towards product), the Claisen thiol ester condensation... 

If we copy Nature rather more exactly, the Claisen ester condensation can be carried out under neutral conditions. This requires rather different reagents. The enol component is the magnesium salt of a malonate mono-thiol-ester, while the electrophilic component is an imidazolide—an amide derived from the heterocycle imidazole. Imidazole has a pK of about 7, Imidazolides are therefore very reactive amides, of about the same electrophilic reactivity as thiol esters. They are prepared from carboxylic acids with carbonyl diimidazole (CDI). 

Many other reactions in nature use enamines, mostly those of lysine. However, a more common enol equivalent is based on thiol esters derived from coenzyme A. 

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