Haloalkyl boronic Esters in Asymmetric Synthesis

The utility of (a-haloalkyl)boronic esters in asymmetric synthesis results from a unique combination of several features of their chemistry. A wide variety of products can be obtained in very high stereopurity, and the reactions are compatible with a considerable variety of functional substituents, provided that OH and NH groups are masked. Stereospecific displacement of halide from an (a-haloalkyl)boronic ester with a nucleophile yields an asymmetric boronic ester, which can either be converted stereospecifically into another product such as an alcohol or put into another cycle of reaction with (dihalomethyl)lithium to install additional stereocenters. The general synthetic utility of these boronic esters can best be understood from a detailed outline of the general processes involved. 

The most useful biological applications of these compounds have included the synthesis of some asymmetric insect pheromones in very high stereopurity, described in Sections 8.3.1 and 8.3.3, and the proteasome inhibitor Velcade (bortezomib) developed by Millennium Pharmaceuticals and recently approved by the United States FDA as well as the European Union for treatment of relapsed and refractory multiple myeloma, Section 8.3.6. 

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The first synthesis of an (a-haloalkyl)boronic ester [8], a free radical addition of a tetrahalomethane, was followed by mechanistic studies that indicated the potential for stereospecific alkylation with Grignard reagents via borate intermediates [9], if only there had been a way to obtain asymmetric examples. The discovery of the efficient reaction of (dichloromethyl)lithium with boronic esters to form (a-chloroalkyl)boron-ic esters by insertion of a CHCl group into the B-C bond opened a new opportunity [10]. Boronic esters of pinanediol, prepared from (+)-a-pinene by osmium tetroxide catalyzed oxidation, were soon found to undergo the insertion reaction with a strong asymmetric bias, with diastereomeric selectivities frequently in the 90-95% range [llj. It was subsequently found that anhydrous zinc chloride promotes the reaction and increases diastereoselectivity to as high as 99.5% in some cases [12]. 

The utility of (a-haloalkyl)boronic esters as reagents for asymmetric synthesis is well established. A wide variety of products can be made in high stereopurity. This fundamental research has been supported for many years by the National Science Foim-dation, with periods of additional support from the National Institutes of Health. The discovery of the useful anticancer pharmaceutical Velcade , which is derived from an (a-aminoalkyl)boronic ester made from an (a-haloaIkyl)boronic ester, provides an example of the practical long-range benefits of support for fundamental research. 

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