Heterocycles, acylation aqueous alcohols

A chemoenzymatic methodology has been developed using indium-mediated allylation (and propargylation) of heterocyclic aldehydes under aqueous conditions followed by Pseudomonas cepacia lipase-catalyzed enantioselective acylation of racemic homoallylic and homo-propargylic alcohols in organic media.192... 

The most important reactions of alkyl substituents a and y to the ring heteroatom are those which proceed via base-catalyzed deprotonation. Treatment of 2- and 4-alkyl heterocycles with strong bases such as sodamide and liquid ammonia, alkyllithiums, LDA, etc., results in an essentially quantitative deprotonation and formation of the corresponding carbanions. These then react normally with a wide range of electrophiles such as alkyl halides and tosylates, acyl halides, carbon dioxide, aldehydes, ketones, formal-dehyde/dimethylamine, etc., to give the expected condensation products. Typical examples of these transformations are shown in Scheme 17. Deprotonation of alkyl groups by the use of either aqueous or alcoholic bases can also be readily demonstrated by NMR spectroscopy, and while the amount of deprotonation under these conditions is normally very small, under the appropriate conditions condensations with electrophiles proceed normally (Scheme 18). 

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