Heathcock lithium enolate

Fig. 13.47. syn-Selectivity of the aldol addition with a Heathcock lithium enolate including a mechanistic explanation. The Zimmerman-Traxler transition state C is destabilized by a 1,3-diaxialinteraction, while the Zimmerman-Traxler transition state B does not suffer from such a disadvantage. The reaction thus occurs exclusively via transition state B. 

Stereoselective aldol condensation. Heathcock and Buse have previously employed 2-methyl-2-trimethylsiloxy-3-pentanone (1) in a highly stereoselective route to 3-hydroxy-2-methylcarboxylic acids (8, 295). Aldol condensation of the lithium enolate derived from 1 with a chiral aldehyde yields ery//iro-aldols, which are cleaved with periodic acid to -hydroxy carboxylic acids. However, when 1 is condensed with a chiral aldehyde such as 2, two eryt/iro-products (3 and 4) are produced. Heathcock and co-workers now report that the 1,2-diastereoselectivity of these aldol condensations can be enhanced by use of the ketone 5. Reaction of racemic 5 with racemic aldehyde 2 furnishes a single (racemic) adduct 6. 

Early investigations of asymmetric aldol reactions with chiral carbohydrate auxliliaries were carried out by Heathcock [152] and Bandraege [159], but often only low stereoselectivities were observed. In additional studies. Banks et al. [73] used oxazinone auxiliaries for aldol reactions, which had been employed for other asymmetric reactions. The lithium enolate of the A-acylated oxazinone 226 reacted with benzaldehyde, furnishing exclusively the iyn-aldols 227A and 227B in a ratio of 10 1 (Scheme 10.76). 

C.H. Heathcock and co-workers devised a highly convergent asymmetric total synthesis of (-)-secodaphniphylline, where the key step was a mixed Claisen condensation. In the final stage of the total synthesis, the two major fragments were coupled using the mixed Claisen condensation] the lithium enolate of (-)-methyl homosecodaphniphyllate was reacted with the 2,8-dioxabicyclo[3.2.1]octane acid chloride. The resulting crude mixture of (3-keto esters was subjected to the Krapcho decarboxylation procedure to afford the natural product in 43% yield for two steps. 

Zinc ester enolates may also be obtained by the addition of ZnX2 to lithium or sodium enolates as first described by Hauser and Puterbaugh (equation 6)P This approach has so far received little attention but similar reactions have been used to obtain zinc ketone enolates. In this regard, it should be noted that Heathcock and coworkers have shown that deprotonation reactions of ketones with zinc dialkylamide bases reach equilibrium at only about 50% conversion (equation 7). This result implies that attempts to prepare zinc enolates from solutions of amide-generated lithium enolates will be successful only when the lithium enolate is made amine-free. 

Heathcock et al. have reported a study of the diastereoselectivity of the conjugate addition of preformed lithium enolates with a,8- unsaturated ketones. They found a strong correlation between enolate geometry and product stereochemistry... 

Lodge, E. P. Heathcock, C. H. /. Am. Chem. Soc. 1987,109,3353 tested the theoretical models by determining diastereoselectivity in the addition of a lithium enolate to a series of chiral aldehydes. The results were in general agreement with the Anh-Eisenstein adaptation of the Felkin model, but the authors concluded that steric effects were as important as electronic effects (energy of the cr orbital) in determining the transition state for attack of the nucleophile on the carbonyl carbon atom. 

In their continuing studies Heathcock and his co-workers have reported that preformed lithium enolates of hindered aryl esters condense with aldehydes to give predominantly tf rco-/3-hydroxy-acids after hydrolysis. Optically active hydroxy-acids have been prepared from optically active propargyl alcohols, which are readily available in high optical purity by reduction of propargyl ketones with /3-3-pinanyl-9-borabicyclo[3.3.1]nonane. ° A 1,6-eliminative epoxide cleavage provides an effective synthesis of a naturally occurring aromatic hydroxy-acid, which is a metabolite of ibuprofen. ... 

Duthaler and cosvorkers also reported asymmetric syn aldol methodology based on their titanium complex 146 [52]. Heathcock demonstrated the capacity of 2,6-dimethylphenyl propionate-derived lithium enolates to undergo addition to a range of aldehydes affording racemic anti aldol adduct 151... 

Seminal contributions of Dubois and coworkers [69] for lithium enolates and Koster and Fenzl [70] for boron enolates revealed a correlation between enolate and aldol configurations for aldol additions under kinetic control in the sense that cis-enolates have a strong tendency to yield sy -aldols, whereas traws-enolates lead to a ti-aldols predominantly, albeit in many cases with lower diastereoselectivity. This correlation, that has been supported by numerous studies performed mainly in the group of Heathcock [71] and others and was documented in various comprehensive review articles, calls for a stereochemical rationale [67a-d]. 

Reviews on stoichiometric asymmetric syntheses M. M. Midland, Reductions with Chiral Boron Reagents, in J. D. Morrison, ed., Asymmetric Synthesis, Vol. 2, Chap. 2, Academic Press, New York, 1983 E. R. Grandbois, S. I. Howard, and J. D. Morrison, Reductions with Chiral Modifications of Lithium Aluminum Hydride, in J. D. Morrison, ed.. Asymmetric Synthesis, Vol. 2, Chap. 3, Academic Press, New York, 1983 Y. Inouye, J. Oda, and N. Baba, Reductions with Chiral Dihydropyridine Reagents, in J. D. Morrison, ed., Asymmetric Synthesis, Vol. 2, Chap. 4, Academic Press, New York, 1983 T. Oishi and T. Nakata, Acc. Chem. Res., 17, 338 (1984) G. Solladie, Addition of Chiral Nucleophiles to Aldehydes and Ketones, in J. D. Morrison, ed., Asymmetric Synthesis, Vol. 2, Chap. 6, Academic Press, New York, 1983 D. A. Evans, Stereoselective Alkylation Reactions of Chiral Metal Enolates, in J. D. Morrison, ed., Asymmetric Synthesis, Vol. 3, Chap. 1, Academic Press, New York, 1984. C. H. Heathcock, The Aldol Addition Reaction, in J. D. Morrison, ed., Asymmetric Synthesis, Vol. 3, Chap. 2, Academic Press, New York, 1984 K. A. Lutomski and A. I. Meyers, Asymmetric Synthesis via Chiral Oxazolines, in J. D. Morrison, ed., Asymmetric Synthesis, Vol. 3, Chap. 

House and Fischer (38) have found that lithium dimethyl cuprate reacts with enone 108 and yields a mixture of trans and cis 3,5-dimethyl-cyclohexanones 109 and 110 in a 98 2 ratio. Similar results were observed by Allinger and Riew (39) using methylmagnesium iodide in the presence of copper(I) chloride. In another case, Heathcock and co-workers (AO) observed the exclusive formation of the trans isomer V[2 from enone 111 no cis isomer was detected. Thus, the preferred mode of approach by cuprate reagent is also 76 + 78 which leads to a chair-like enolate ion. 

Heathcock identified such a destabilizing interaction in the 1,3-diaxial interaction of the aldehyde substituent with a substituent at the C atom to which the enolate oxygen is attached. In spite of the relatively long Li—O distance, this 1,3-interaction can be sufficiently strong if the substituent of the aldehyde is extremely bulky. In that case, and only in that case, the aldehyde group is forced into the quasi-equatorial orientation also in a lithium-containing Zimmerman-Traxler transition state. If, in addition,... 

E -Enolates often react with lower stereoselectivity than those of the corresponding Z-enolates. A classic example to illustrate this point is a study carried out by Heathcock et al.6 (Scheme 2.IV). When the carbonyl compounds 1 were deprotonated with lithium diisopropylamide (LDA) and the resulting enolates were subsequently treated with benzaldehyde at -72° C, the aldol products desired (2) were obtained in 83 to 99% yield. The Z-enolates derived from t -butyl and 1-adamantyl ethyl ketones afforded syn -products in excellent levels of diastereoselectivity. The fact that the syn/anti ratios directly reflect the isomeric purity of the reacting enolates hints that the Z-enolates in these cases undergo aldol reaction through a chairlike six-membered transition state (Scheme 2.III,... 

Chelated structures analogous to (19) and (20) were first proposed by House and coworkers to explain the increased anti selectivity observed for lithium ketone enolates following addition of ZnCh (equation 30). Heathcock and coworkers determined the rate of equilibration as well as the equilibrium composition for a number of aldolates derived from benzaldehyde and zinc ketone enolates (equation 31). Again, the preference for anti aldolates is in accord with zinc-chelated structures. 

Historical perspective C. H. Heathcock, Comp. Org. Syn. 2, 133-179 (1991). General review T. Mukaiyama, Org. React. 28,203-331 (1982). Application of lithium and magnesium enolates C. H. Heathcock, Comp. Org. Syn. 2, 181-238 (1991) of boron enolates B. M. Kim etal, ibid. 239-275 of transition metal enolates I. Paterson, ibid. 301-319. Stereoselective reactions of ester and thioester enolates M. Braun, H. Sacha, J. Prakt. Chem. 335,653-668 (1993). Review of asymmetric methodology A. S. Franklin, I. Paterson, Contemp. Org. Syn. 1,317-338 (1994). Cf. Claisen-Schmidt Condensation Henry Reaction Ivanov Reaction Knoevenagel Condensation Reformatskv Reaction Robinson Annulation. 

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