Hydroxy acids Reactions

An interesting oxidative decarboxylation process was reported for a /(-hydroxy acid. Reaction of 2-ethyl-2-(l -hydroxycyclobutyl)butanoic acid with vanadium(III) chloride in the presence of 1 equivalent of l,8-bis(dimethylamino)naphthalcne (Proton Sponge) gave 3-cyclobutylidene-pentane (20).181... 

Monohalogenated long-chain acids are most easily prepared from the appropriate hydroxy acid. Reaction with triphenylphosphine and tetra-chloromethane or tetrabromomethane occurs smoothly and with complete inversion. d-(-)-12-Hydroxystearic add is thereby converted to L-(+)-12-chlorostearic acid. Alternatively the alcohol can be converted to its methanesulphonate and then reacted with magnesium bromide in an-... 

The Reformatsky Reaction consists of the interaction of an ester of an a-halogeno-acid with an aldehyde, a ketone or another ester in the presence of zinc. For example, if a mixture of ethyl bromoacetate and benzaldehyde is heated with zinc, the latter undoubtedly first combines with the ethyl bromoacetate to form a Grignard-like reagent (reaction A), which then adds on to the benzaldehyde Just as a Grignard reagent would do (reaction B). The complex so formed, on acidification gives ethyl p-phenyl-p-hydroxy-propionate (reaction C). Note that reaction A could not satisfactorily be carried out using... 

Synthesis A mild base must be used to avoid the Cannizzaro reaction. The hydroxy acid A caimotbe isolated and cyclises spontaneously. (Fleming p.92). 

Reactions that are expected to produce hydroxy acids often yield the derived lac tones instead if a five or six membered ring can be formed... 

A variety of a-amino acid derivatives, including the acids themselves, haUdes, esters, and amides can be transformed iato hydantoias by coadeasatioa with urea (67). a-Hydroxy acids and thek nitriles give a similar reaction (68) ... 

Reactions and Uses. The common reactions that a-hydroxy acids undergo such as self- or bimolecular esterification to oligomers or cycHc esters, hydrogenation, oxidation, etc, have been discussed in connection with lactic and hydroxyacetic acid. A reaction that is of value for the synthesis of higher aldehydes is decarbonylation under boiling sulfuric acid with loss of water. Since one carbon atom is lost in the process, the series of reactions may be used for stepwise degradation of a carbon chain. 

Substitution Reactions. Reaction with nitrous acid in dilute aqueous solutions yields the corresponding hydroxy acid or in solution containing a hydrohahc acid, the corresponding a-halo acid, with inversion in many cases. 

A broad selection of Ti(III) compounds coordinated to a-hydroxy acids, dibotic acids, and 8-hydroxyquinoline has been prepared by the reaction... 

Castor oil sulfation results largely in a sulfuric acid ester in which the hydroxyl group of ricinoleic acid has been esterified. However, other reactions can also take place. For example, the double bond can be attacked to produce an ester or the hydroxysulfonic acid (33). Hydrolysis of the sulfuric acid esters occurs during the reaction and subsequent treatment forming hydroxy acids and sulfuric acid. These hydroxy acids can be further sulfated. 

Reaction of cyanohydrins with absolute ethanol in the presence of HCl yields the ethyl esters of a-hydroxy acids (3). A/-substituted amides can be synthesized by heating a cyanohydrin and an amine in water. Thus formaldehyde cyanohydrin and P-hydroxyethylamine lead to A/- (P-hydroxyethyl)hydroxyacetamide (4). 

Chiral Lactones and Polyesters. Similar to intermolecular reactions described previously. Upases also catalyze intramolecular acylations of hydroxy acids the reactionsults in the formation of lactones. 

The nature of the product strongly depends on the length of the hydroxy acid generally when the hydroxyl group is remote the yield of lactone drops significantly. For example, 10-hydroxydecanoic acid [1679-53-4] does not produce any decanoUde instead, the reaction proceeds by intermolecular oligomerization, and a complex mixture of di-, tri-, tetra-, and pentalactones results (90). However, when Pseudomonas sp. or Candida iylindracea]i 2Lses are incubated with 16-hydroxyhexadecanoic acid [506-13-8] hexadecanoUde is the predorninant product (91). 

Cyanohydrin Synthesis. Another synthetically useful enzyme that catalyzes carbon—carbon bond formation is oxynitnlase (EC 4.1.2.10). This enzyme catalyzes the addition of cyanides to various aldehydes that may come either in the form of hydrogen cyanide or acetone cyanohydrin (152—158) (Fig. 7). The reaction constitutes a convenient route for the preparation of a-hydroxy acids and P-amino alcohols. Acetone cyanohydrin [75-86-5] can also be used as the cyanide carrier, and is considered to be superior since it does not involve hazardous gaseous HCN and also virtually eliminates the spontaneous nonenzymatic reaction. (R)-oxynitrilase accepts aromatic (97a,b), straight- (97c,e), and branched-chain aUphatic aldehydes, converting them to (R)-cyanohydrins in very good yields and high enantiomeric purity (Table 10). 

Although alcohol dehydrogenases (ADH) also catalyze the oxidation of aldehydes to the corresponding acids, the rate of this reaction is significantly lower. The systems that combine ADH and aldehyde dehydrogenases (EC 1.2.1.5) (AldDH) are much more efficient. For example, HLAD catalyzes the enantioselective oxidation of a number of racemic 1,2-diols to L-a-hydroxy aldehydes which are further converted to L-a-hydroxy acids by AldDH (166). 

Pyridazinones may undergo ring contraction to pyrroles, pyrazoles and indoles, the process being induced either by an acid or base. The structure of the final product is strongly dependent on the reaction conditions. For example, 4,5-dichloro-l-phenylpyridazin-6(lFT)-one rearranges thermally to 4-chloro-l-phenylpyrazole-5-carboxylic acid (12S), while in aqueous base the corresponding 4-hydroxy acid (126) is formed (Scheme 40). 

Xanthone, 2-hydroxy-1,3,4,7-tetramethoxy-molecular dimensions, 3, 624 Xanthone, 1,3,7-trihydroxy-synthesis, 3, 837 Xanthone-1-carboxylic acid reactions... 

It was found later that the electrolytic coupling reaction gave better yield with the acetate corresponding to B, since fragmentation was a major side reaction of the y-hydroxy acid B (Ref. 2). 

The well-known reduction of carbonyl groups to alcohols has been refined in recent studies to render the reaction more regioselective and more stereoselective Per-fluorodiketones are reduced by lithium aluminum hydride to the corresponding diols, but the use of potassium or sodium borohydride allows isolation of the ketoalcohol Similarly, a perfluoroketo acid fluonde yields diol with lithium aluminum hydnde, but the related hydroxy acid is obtainable with potassium borohydnde [i f] (equations 46 and 47)... 

Mandelic Acid.—The reaction furnishes a simple and general method for obtaining hydroxy-acids from aldehydes or ketones by the aid of the cyanhydrin. The formation of the cyanhydrin may be effected in the manner described or by the action of hydrochloric acid on a mixture of the aldehyde or ketone with potassium cyanide, or, as in the case of the sugais, by the use of liquid hydrocyanic acid and a little amme-nia. 

The NAD- and NADP-dependent dehydrogenases catalyze at least six different types of reactions simple hydride transfer, deamination of an amino acid to form an a-keto acid, oxidation of /3-hydroxy acids followed by decarboxylation of the /3-keto acid intermediate, oxidation of aldehydes, reduction of isolated double bonds, and the oxidation of carbon-nitrogen bonds (as with dihydrofolate reductase). 

The much simpler steroid, 253, was fortuitously found to fulfill this role when injected into animals. Its lack of oral activity was overcome by incorporation of the 7a-thioacetate group. Reaction of the ethisterone intermediate, 77b, with a large excess of an organomagnesium halide leads to the corresponding acetylide salt carbonation with CO2 affords the carboxyllic acid, 251. This is then hydrogenated and the hydroxy acid cy-clized to the spirolactone. Oppenauer oxidation followed by treatment with chloranil affords the 4,6-dehydro-3-ketone (254). Conjugate addition of thiolacetic acid completes the synthesis of spironolactone (255), an orally active aldosterone antagonist. ... 

Step 2 of Figure 29.12 Isomerization Citrate, a prochiral tertiary alcohol, is next converted into its isomer, (2, 35)-isocitrate, a chiral secondary alcohol. The isomerization occurs in two steps, both of which are catalyzed by the same aconitase enzyme. The initial step is an ElcB dehydration of a /3-hydroxy acid to give cfs-aconitate, the same sort of reaction that occurs in step 9 of glycolysis (Figure 29.7). The second step is a conjugate nucleophilic addition of water to the C=C bond (Section 19.13). The dehydration of citrate takes place specifically on the pro-R arm—the one derived from oxaloacetate—rather than on the pro-S arm derived from acetyl CoA. 

A key transformation in Corey s prostaglandin synthesis is a Diels-Alder reaction between a 5-(alkoxymethyl)-l,3-cyclopenta-diene and a ketene equivalent such as 2-chloroacrylonitrile (16). As we have already witnessed in Scheme 3, it is possible to bring about a smooth [4+2] cycloaddition reaction between 5-substituted cyclopentadiene 15 and 2-chloroacrylonitrile (16) to give racemic 14 as a mixture of epimeric chloronitriles. Under these conditions, the diastereomeric chloronitriles are both produced in racemic form because one enantiotopic face of dienophile 16 will participate in a Diels-Alder reaction with the same facility as the other enantiotopic face. In subsequent work, Corey s group demonstrated that racemic hydroxy acid 11, derived in three steps from racemic 14 (see Scheme 3), could be resolved in a classical fashion with (+)-ephe-... 

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