From Oxaspiropentanes

Oxaspiropentanes have been synthesized by the epoxidation of methylenecyclo-propanes with peracetic49), peroxybenzimidic 50), with p-nitroperbenzoic46) and m-chloroperbenzoic acid51). The parent oxaspiropentane 95, a convenient precursor of cyclobutanone 46was obtained from the peracid oxidation of a methylene chloride solution of methylenecyclopropane 94, Eq. (27)46,51). 

Besides by these epoxidations, oxaspiropentanes have been prepared through the nucleophilic addition of 1-lithio- 1-bromocyclopropanes to ketones at low temperature. Thus for example, the dibromocyclopropane 96 prepared by addition of dibromo-carbene to cyclohexene 52) underwent metalation with butyllithium to give the lithio-bromocyclopropane 97 which was converted into the oxaspiropentane 98 upon simple addition to cyclohexanone, Eq. (28) 53,54). 

The intermediacy of such oxaspiropentanes has been proposed in the addition of diazomethane to ketonesi0) and in the reaction of dimethyloxosulfonium methylide with a-haloketones55). In contrast to phosphorous ylides, sulfur ylides usually condense with carbonyl compounds to yield epoxides, thus reaction of the N,N-dimethylaminophenyloxosulfonium cyclopropylide 99 with cyclohexanone produced the dispiroepoxide 100 which rearranged to the spiro [3.5] nonan-l-one 101 upon isolation by gas chromatography, Eq. (29) S6). 

Oxaspiropentanes have been obtained from the cyclopropylide 103, prepared by treatment of cyclopropyldiphenylsulfonium tetrafluoroborate 102 either with sodium methylsulfmyl carbanion in dimethoxyethane at —45 °C or with potassium hydroxide in dimethylsulfoxide at 25 °C. While the reaction of the ylide 103 with a,p-unsaturated carbonyl compounds has resulted in selective cyclopropylidene transfer to the a, 3-carbon-carbon double bond leading to spiropentanes, condensation of 103 with non-conjugated aldehydes and ketones led to oxaspiropentanes such as 104, which have been isolated in 59-100% yields, Eq. (30) 57). 

The direction of the base induced ring opening of oxaspiropentanes proved to be highly depending on the nature of the base and solvent. Thus the epoxide 100 opened either mainly to l-(l-cyclopropenyl) cyclohexanol 106 on reaction with lithium di-isopropylamide in ether or mainly to the expected l-(l-cyclohexenyl) cyclopropanol 105 on reaction with lithium diethylamide in pentane, Eq. (31)57). 

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Table 3. Stereoreversed Cyclobutanone Formation from Oxaspiropentanes...

Strained -oxidoalkyl i enyl selenoxides, such as l-oxido-l-(r-phenylsdenoxyalkyl)cyclopropanes, derived from oxaspiropentanes with tetraalkyl-substituted oxirane rings, and l-(r-hydroxyalkyl)-l-selenoxycyclobutanes, - obtained on oxidation of the corresponding selenides or on reaction of a-li-thioalkyl selenoxides with cyclobutenones, possess a high propensity to rearrange to cyclobutanones... 

Oxaspiropentanes rapidly and efficiently rearrange to cyclobutanones when reacted with Lewis acids.The parent cyclobutanone (73) was obtained in almost quantitative yield from oxaspiropentane by treatment with a catalytic amount of lithium iodide. ... 

Yields of isolated products starting from oxaspiropentanes. Yields of isolated products starting from cyclopropylidenes. 

A stereoreversed cyclobutanone formation was realized starting from oxaspiropentanes by using the selenoxide function as a leaving group. Treating oxaspiropentanes 94 with sodium benzeneselenolate in ethanol affords j8-hydroxy selenides 95 which, on oxidation with 3-chloro-peroxybenzoic acid at — 78 to — 30 °C, led directly to the corresponding cyclobutanones 96 (Table 3). The stereochemistry in this reaction is opposite to that normally observed in the acid-catalyzed rearrangement of oxaspiropentanes. 

This method for the preparation of cyclobutanone via oxaspiropentane is an adaptation of that described by Salaiin and Conia. The previously known large-scale preparations of cyclobutanone consist of the reaction of the hazardous diazomethane with ketene, the oxidative degradation or the ozonization in presence of pjrridine of methylenecyclobutane prepared from pentaerythritol, or the recently reported dithiane method of Corey and Seebach, which has the disadvantage of producing an aqueous solution of the highly water-soluble cyclobutanone. A procedure involving the solvolytic cyclization of 3-butyn-l-yl trifluoro-methanesulfonate is described in Org. Syn., 54, 84 (1974). 

The procedure described here is a large-scale preparation with satisfactory yields of a still very expensive but simple compound from very cheap and readily available starting materials and with ordinary laboratory equipment. This rearrangement of oxaspiropentanes into cyclobutanones appears to be general for the preparation of substituted cyclobutanones. ... 

The direct high yield synthesis of oxaspiropentanes from almost any type of aldehyde or ketone represents a particularly useful transformation because of the high reactivity of such compounds. This approach proves to be exceptionally simple. The DMSO reaction mixture can be directly extracted with pentane or hexane, the hydrocarbon solvent removed and the product isolated by distillation or crystallization. Since diphenyl sulfide is the only by-product extracted with the oxaspiropentane, the mixture can normally be used for most further synthetic transformations. Table 2 summarizes some of the oxaspiropentanes prepared by this method. 

The facility of the rearrangement to cyclobutanones is reflected in the high chemoselectivity. The cases of oxaspiropentanes from epoxyketones offer a particularly difficult challenge. Nevertheless, no problems resulted (Table 2, entries 19, 20, 38 and 39). Oxaspiropentanes which form particularly stabilized carbonium ions frequently rearrange to cyclobutanones during their formation. For example, cyclo-propylmethyl ketone and benzophenone led only to cyclobutanones in their condensations with 9. In one case, further reaction of the ylide with the rearranged cyclobutanone was noted (Eq. 31) 58). 

An efficient synthesis of 2-[(phenylalkylmethylene)amino]cyclobutenecar-boxylates 109, 110 from primary Michael adducts 94 has been developed (Scheme 37) [8]. The key step of this dehydrochlorinative rearrangement is believed to be the lithium iodide-induced reorganization of the azaspiropentane intermediate 103, in close analogy to the well documented rearrangement of oxaspiropentanes to cyclobutanones [67]. 

The first rearrangement of an oxaspiropentane probably occurred in terpene l39 which was isolated from Zieria smithii and later,40 but mistakenly,41 thought to be chrysanthenone (2), to which it readily rearranges. Interestingly, this rearrangement now constitutes one of the most powerful instruments for the construction of cyclobutanones. 

A solution of oxaspiropentane, prepared from methylenecyclopropane (58 g, 1.07 mol) as described above, in CH,C12 (200 mL) was added dropwise to a stirred suspension of Lil (5 mg) in CH2CT2 (50 mL) at such a rate as to maintain gentle reflux. When the addition was complete, the solution was washed with sat. aq Na2S203 (20 mL) and H20 (20 mL), and dried (Na2S04). The solution was concentrated and the residue distilled at 760 Torr through a 50-cm spinning-band column yield 41 g (64%) bp 100 101 C. 

Oxaspiropentanes have been generated and rearranged in a large variety of different environments. A series of alkylidene- and allylidenecyclopropanes, present in the structures of bicy-clo[3.1.0]hexanes or bicyclo[4.1.0]heptanes, were epoxidized and rearranged in situ to bicyclic ketones with the alkyl or allyl group preferentially to exclusively in the exo position (Table 4).51 This corresponds to a preferential to exclusive epoxidation of the corresponding alkenes from the sterically less demanding exo face. 

Formation of CK-configurated cyclobutanones has also been observed with 2-methylcyclopen-tanone and 2-methylcyclohexanone/8 However, stereoreversed eyclobutanone formation can be achieved by opening the intermediate oxaspiropentane with sodium phenyl selenide, oxidation of the resulting / -hydroxy selenide with 3-chloroperoxybenzoic acid and subsequent rearrangement in the presence of pyridine/18 Thus, from one oxaspiropentane 8, either stereoisomeric eyclobutanone cis- or lrans-9 was produced. The stereoreversed eyclobutanone formation proceeds from a stereohomogenous / -hydroxy selenoxide and is thought to be conformationally controlled. 

Bromo-l-lithiocyclopropanes, readily obtained by transmetalation of 1,1-dibromocyclo-propanes with butyllithium in tetrahydrofuran at — 100 CC, undergo addition to aldehydes and ketones forming bromohydrins. On warming, before workup, the adducts from ketones (but not from aldehydes) eliminate lithium bromide and cyclizc to oxaspiropentanes, which may be rearranged to cyclobutanones by treatment with acids (Table 6).76-78... 

When derived from aliphatic ketones, the intermediate oxaspiropentanes rearranged to give 1 regiospecifically with exclusive migration of the more substituted carbon atom (Tabic 6), but with oxaspiropentanes derived from benzophenone both regioisomers 2 and 3 were formed.78... 

Only a few examples exist where diazocyclopropane has been used for annulations via oxa-spiropentanes. 1,3-Bisdiazopropane reacted with cyclohexanone, probably by previous formation of diazocyclopropane, to give spiro[2.6]nonan-4-one (2, 27%) and spiro[3.5]nonan-l-one (1, 10%).82 83 The latter was formed from the corresponding oxaspiropentane.83 Diazocyclopropane, as generated from /V-cyclopropyl-iV-nitrosourea or /V-cyclopropyl-iV-nitrosocarba-mate, behaves similarly. It reacts with cyclobutanone to give spiro[2.4]heptan-4-one (4, 80%) and spiro[3.3]heptan-l-one (3, 7%).84... 

A severe limitation of this method, however, is the failure of the ylide 103 to yield oxaspiropentanes vide supra) from a,p-unsaturated ketones and the poor yields of vinylcyclopropanes obtained from its reactions with hindered ketones or with con-formationally rigid six-membered rings. Moreover, attempts to extend the oxaspiro-pentane ring opening to compounds containing an adjacent tertiary center have failed thus, oxaspiropentane 110 did not lead to 111, Eq. (33) 57). 

While the nucleophilic addition of 1-lithio-l-bromocyclopropanes to ketones gave oxaspiropentanes, precursors of 1-donor substited vinylcyclopropane derivatives vide supra, Sect. 4.5, Eq. (28)), addition of n-BuLi at low temperature to 1,1-di-bromocyclopropane 199 (prepared in 75 % yield from the addition of dibromocarbene... 

Ring opening of the oxaspiropentane 343 upon treatment with sodium phenylselenide (vide supra, Sect. 4.5, Eq. (34)) 59) and O-silylation produce the vinylcyclopropanol trimethylsilyl ether 344 which, on flash thermolysis at 670 °C, gave the siloxycyclo-pentene 345 as a 2 1 mixture of epimers at C(8). Then, allylation of the more substituted enolate arising from 345, opens a convenient way to the antitumor agent, aphidicolin 346 181>. 

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