Ethere stereochemistry

Robinson, P.L., Barry, C.N., Kelly, J.W., and Evans, S.A., Diethoxytriphe-nylphosphorane a mild, regioselective cyclodehydrating reagent for conversion of diols to cyclic ethers. Stereochemistry, synthetic utility, and scope, /. Am. Chem. Soc., 107, 5210, 1985. 

A useful catalyst for asymmetric aldol additions is prepared in situ from mono-0> 2,6-diisopropoxybenzoyl)tartaric acid and BH3 -THF complex in propionitrile solution at 0 C. Aldol reactions of ketone enol silyl ethers with aldehydes were promoted by 20 mol % of this catalyst solution. The relative stereochemistry of the major adducts was assigned as Fischer- /ir o, and predominant /i -face attack of enol ethers at the aldehyde carbonyl carbon atom was found with the (/ ,/ ) nantiomer of the tartaric acid catalyst (K. Furuta, 1991). 

Catalytic hydrogenation of the 14—15 double bond from the face opposite to the C18 substituent yields (196). Compound (196) contains the natural steroid stereochemistry around the D-ring. A metal-ammonia reduction of (196) forms the most stable product (197) thermodynamically. When R is equal to methyl, this process comprises an efficient total synthesis of estradiol methyl ester. Birch reduction of the A-ring of (197) followed by acid hydrolysis of the resultant enol ether allows access into the 19-norsteroids (198) (204). 

Fig. 1. Effect of ion pairing on stereochemistry of propagation for alkyl vinyl ethers, where L is large substituent S, small substituent.

Many [2 + 2] photocycloadditions have not been assigned a definitive mechanism, but they serve well as synthetic methods. Thiones add vinyl ethers to give thietanes in very good yields (Section 5.14.4.1.2), and interesting wavelength-stereochemistry relations were found in the photoaddition of 2-adamantanone to dicyanoethylene (Section 5.14.4.1.2). Diheterocyclobutanes can also be prepared by [2 + 2] photocycloadditions (Section 5.13.3.3). 

To control the stereochemistry of epoxidation at the 10,11-double bond in intermediates in prostaglandin synthesis, a bulky protective group was used for the C15-OH group. Epoxidation of the tribenzylsilyl ether yielded 88% a-oxide epoxidation of the tri-/ -xylylsilyl ether was less selective. ... 

Although ethereal solutions of methyl lithium may be prepared by the reaction of lithium wire with either methyl iodide or methyl bromide in ether solution, the molar equivalent of lithium iodide or lithium bromide formed in these reactions remains in solution and forms, in part, a complex with the methyllithium. Certain of the ethereal solutions of methyl 1ithium currently marketed by several suppliers including Alfa Products, Morton/Thiokol, Inc., Aldrich Chemical Company, and Lithium Corporation of America, Inc., have been prepared from methyl bromide and contain a full molar equivalent of lithium bromide. In several applications such as the use of methyllithium to prepare lithium dimethyl cuprate or the use of methyllithium in 1,2-dimethyoxyethane to prepare lithium enolates from enol acetates or triraethyl silyl enol ethers, the presence of this lithium salt interferes with the titration and use of methyllithium. There is also evidence which indicates that the stereochemistry observed during addition of methyllithium to carbonyl compounds may be influenced significantly by the presence of a lithium salt in the reaction solution. For these reasons it is often desirable to have ethereal solutions... 

The boron trifluoride-ether complex has been employed mainly in the opening of 5,6-epoxides. This reaction was first studied by Henbest and Wrigley and affords products depending on the nature and stereochemistry of the... 

The smooth intramolecular nucleophilic displacement of biphenyl carboxylic acids leading to benzocoumarins (See Section II.A.) inspired also investigation of the behavior of similar diphenyl ether, diphenyl sulfide and A-methyldiphenyl amine derivatives 458 under similar conditions. However, all these attempts to achieve cyclization to tricyclic compounds 459 were unsuccessful, probably due to the unfavorable stereochemistry for the formation of the required seven-mem-bered transition states and also to the presence of the deactivating bridge groups X (Eq. 42) [68JCS(C)1030]. 

The stereochemistry of the product formed in the cycloaddition reaction depends on the approach of the substrate. There are two different approaches by which the reaction can proceed - endo and exo. For the reaction of e.g., a / , y-un-saturated a-keto ester with an ethyl vinyl ether there are four possible approaches... 

A conveniently short synthesis of a1prostadi1 begins with a mixed aldol assembly of the requisite cyclopentenone 13. This product is then oxidatively cleaved with periodate-permanganate and the alcohol moiety is protected as the tetra-hydropyranyl ether (14). Aqueous chromous sulfate satisfactorily reduces the olefinic linkage and the trans stereoisomer 15 predominates after work-up. The remainder of the synthesis of involves the usual steps, through 16 to with the exception that thexyl tetrahydrolimonyllithium borohydride is used to reduce the C-15 keto moiety so as to produce preferentially the desired C-15S stereochemistry. 

It was anticipated all along that the vinylsilane residue could serve as a vinyl iodide surrogate. After protection of the C-14 secondary hydroxyl in 180 in the form of a triisopropylsilyl ether, the vinyltrimethylsilyl function can indeed be converted to the requisite vinyl iodide with AModosuccinimide (NIS) (see 180—>181, Scheme 43). Vinyl iodide 181 is produced stereospecifically with retention of the A17,18 double bond geometry. This transformation is stereospecific since the stereochemistry of the starting vinylsilane and the vinyl iodide product bear a definite relationship to each other.67b 75... 

The synthesis of the key intermediate aldehyde 68 is outlined in Schemes 19-21. The two hydroxyls of butyne-l,4-diol (74, Scheme 19), a cheap intermediate in the industrial synthesis of THF, can be protected as 4-methoxybenzyl (PMB) ethers in 94% yield. The triple bond is then m-hydrostannylated with tri-n-butyl-tin hydride and a catalytic amount of Pd(PPh3)2Cl238 to give the vinylstannane 76 in 98 % yield. Note that the stereospecific nature of the m-hydrostannylation absolutely guarantees the correct relative stereochemistry of C-3 and C-4 in the natural product. The other partner for the Stille coupling, vinyl iodide 78, is prepared by... 

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