3-Hydroxyketones

They are formed by treatinga-diketones, a-hyd-roxyaldehydes, hydroxyketones, aminoalde-hydes or aminoketones with arylhydrazines. Sugars can be identified by their osazones which have characteristic melting-points, formation times or crystal appearance. 

Benzoin condensation. Aromatic aldehydes when treated with an alkali cyanide, usually in aqueous solution, undergo condensation to the -hydroxyketone or benzoin. The best known example is the conversion of benzaldehyde to benzoin ... 

By the Fries reaction. This is a variant of the Friedel-Craft reaction it consists in the conversion of an ester of a phenol to the corresponding o- and p-hydroxyketone, or a mixture of both, by treatment with anhydrous aluminium chloride ... 

Both aldoses and ketoses reduce Fehling s solution (for details, see under 4). This fact may appear surprising when it is remembered that Fehling s solution is one of the reagents for distinguishing between aldehydes and ketones (see 4). The explanation lies in the fact that a-hydroxyketones are much more readily oxidised than simple ketones, perhaps because the hydroxy ketone allows its isomerisation, in the presence of alkali, into an aldehyde. For example, fructose, a keto-hexose, might Isomerlse thus ... 

The formation of acyloins (a-hydroxyketones of the general formula RCH(OH)COR, where R is an aliphatic residue) proceeds best by reaction between finely-divided sodium (2 atoms) and esters of aliphatic acids (1 mol) in anhydrous ether or in anhydrous benzene with exclusion of oxygen salts of enediols are produced, which are converted by hydrolysis into acyloins. The yield of acetoin from ethyl acetate is low (ca. 23 per cent, in ether) owing to the accompanying acetoacetic ester condensation the latter reaction is favoured when the ester is used as the solvent. Ethyl propionate and ethyl ji-butyrate give yields of 52 per cent, of propionoin and 72 per cent, of butyroin respectively in ether. 

The same problem of illogicahty arises with other a-hydroxyketones ... 

Terminal alkyne anions are popular reagents for the acyl anion synthons (RCHjCO"). If this nucleophile is added to aldehydes or ketones, the triple bond remains. This can be con verted to an alkynemercury(II) complex with mercuric salts and is hydrated with water or acids to form ketones (M.M.T. Khan, 1974). The more substituted carbon atom of the al-kynes is converted preferentially into a carbonyl group. Highly substituted a-hydroxyketones are available by this method (J.A. Katzenellenbogen, 1973). Acetylene itself can react with two molecules of an aldehyde or a ketone (V. jager, 1977). Hydration then leads to 1,4-dihydroxy-2-butanones. The 1,4-diols tend to condense to tetrahydrofuran derivatives in the presence of acids. 

The selective intermolecular addition of two different ketones or aldehydes can sometimes be achieved without protection of the enol, because different carbonyl compounds behave differently. For example, attempts to condense acetaldehyde with benzophenone fail. Only self-condensation of acetaldehyde is observed, because the carbonyl group of benzophenone is not sufficiently electrophilic. With acetone instead of benzophenone only fi-hydroxyketones are formed in good yield, if the aldehyde is slowly added to the basic ketone solution. Aldols are not produced. This result can be generalized in the following way aldehydes have more reactive carbonyl groups than ketones, but enolates from ketones have a more nucleophilic carbon atom than enolates from aldehydes (G. Wittig, 1968). 

The 1,6-difunctional hydroxyketone given below contains an octyl chain at the keto group and two chiral centers at C-2 and C-3 (G. Magnusson, 1977). In the first step of the antithesis of this molecule it is best to disconnect the octyl chain and to transform the chiral residue into a cyclic synthon simultaneously. Since we know that ketones can be produced from add derivatives by alkylation (see p. 45ff,), an obvious precursor would be a seven-membered lactone ring, which is opened in synthesis by octyl anion at low temperature. The lactone in turn can be transformed into cis-2,3-dimethyicyclohexanone, which is available by FGI from (2,3-cis)-2,3-dimethylcyclohexanol. The latter can be separated from the commercial ds-trans mixture, e.g. by distillation or chromatography. 

Sodium or tetramethylammonium triacetoxyborohydride has become the reagent of choice for diastereoselective reduction of P-hydroxyketones to antidiols. Trialkylborohydrides, eg, alkaH metal tri-j -butylborohydrides, show outstanding stereoselectivity in ketone reductions (39). 

Diketones can be prepared by oxidation of the corresponding monoketone (287) or a-hydroxyketone (288). 1,2-Diketones are used extensively as intermediates in the preparation of pharmaceuticals, flavors, and fragrances. Toxicity data for selected diketones are shown in Table 11. 

The unique chemical behavior of KO2 is a result of its dual character as a radical anion and a strong oxidizing agent (68). The reactivity and solubiHty of KO2 is gready enhanced by a crown ether (69). Its usefiilness in furnishing oxygen anions is demonstrated by its appHcations in SN2-type reactions to displace methanesulfonate and bromine groups (70,71), the oxidation of benzyHc methylene compounds to ketones (72), and the syntheses of a-hydroxyketones from ketones (73). 

Aromatic amines react with 1-haloketones or 1-hydroxyketones to yield substituted indoles. This reaction is known as the Bischler indole synthesis (30). 

This type of chemistry also functions for hydroxyketones and aldehydes. The process using 1,2-ethanedithiol or 2-mercaptoethanol results in cycHc stmctures (eq. 25). The 1,3-ditholenes (X = S) and 1,3-thioxalanes (X = O) resulting from these reactions have been shown to be of interest commercially. 

Preparation of Acyloins. When aUphatic esters are allowed to react with metallic sodium, potassium, or sodium—potassium alloy in inert solvents, acyloins (a-hydroxyketones) are formed (45) ... 

Treatment of a-hydroxy-ketones or -aldehydes with ammonium acetate (65BSF3476, 68BSF4970) results in the formation of dihydropyrazines, presumably by direct amination of the hydroxyketone followed by self-condensation (79AJC1281). Low yields of pyrazines have been noted in the electrolysis of ketones in admixture with KI and ammonia, and again it appears probable that the a-aminoketone derived by way of the a-iodoketone is the intermediate (69CI(L)237>. 

Amidines and related systems such as guanidines react with a-halogenoketones to form imidazoles. a-Hydroxyketones also take part in this reaction to form imidazoles, and a variety of substituents can be introduced into the imidazole nucleus by these procedures. Reaction of the a-halogenoketone (73) with an alkyl- or aryl-substituted carboxamidine (76) readily gave the imidazole (77) (01CB637, 48JCS1960). Variation of the reaction components that successfully take part in this reaction process is described in Chapter 4.08. 

Mild base does not effect isoxazolidine ring cleavage by fission of the N—O bond rather, C—O bond cleavage takes place <77AHC(2l)207). The reaction of iV-trimethyl-silylisoxazolidine (185) with KOH produced a /3-hydroxyketone oxime (Scheme 59) (74DOK109). 

Most diaziridines are not sensitive towards alkali. As an exception, diaziridines derived from 2-hydroxyketones are quickly decomposed by heating with aqueous alkali. Acetaldehyde, acetic acid and ammonia are formed from (162). This reaction is not a simple N—N cleavage effected intramolecularly by a deprotonated hydroxy group, since highly purified hydroxydiaziridine (162) is quite stable towards alkali. Addition of small amounts of hydroxybutanone results in fast decomposition. An assumed reaction path — Grob fragmentation of a hydroxyketone-diaziridine adduct (163) — is in accord with these observations (B-67MI50800). 

By similar procedures diazirines were prepared not only from simple aliphatic ketones but also from hydroxyketones and )3-aminoketones (B-67MI50800), and so were a large number of diazirines from steroidal ketones (65JA2665). Permanganate, bromine, chlorine and hypochlorite were used as oxidants. A one-step preparation of diazirines from ketones like 3-nonanone, ammonia and chlorine has been claimed in a patent (66USP3290289). 3,3-Diazirinedicarboxylic acid derivatives like (286) were obtained directly from oxime tosylates by the action of two moles of O-ethoxyamine (81AG(E)200). 

Condensation of two esters to an a hydroxyketone by means of rapidly stirred (BQOQ rpm) Na suspension in boiling toluene or xylene... 

DAVIDSON Oxazole Synthesis Synthesis of Iriaryl oxazoles from a-hydroxyketones (benzoins)... 

Oxidation o( ketones to a-hydroxyketones by means of a peroxymolybdenum reagent. 

Cyclodecanedione has also been prepared by oxidation of sebacoin with chromium trioxide in acetic acid, - Cupric acetate in acetic acid has been used for oxidation of an a-hydroxyketone by Ruggli and Zeller. ... 

Although these reactions are thus closely related to the acyl-alkyl diradical disproportionation to ketenes, the stereospecificity of (55) -> (56) and (57) -> (58) shows that these hydroxyketones cannot proceed through free radicals capable of rotating about single bonds prior to the intramolecular hydrogen... 

Most frequent are oxidations of alkenes that can be converted to a series of compounds such as epoxides, halohydnns and their esters, ozonides (1,2,4 tri-oxolanes), a-hydroxyketones, a-hydroxyketone fluorosulfonates, ot-diketones, and carboxylic acids and their denvatives... 

Fluonnated alkenes with one fluonne atom attached to the double bond are converted to a-hydroxyketones by potassium permanganate [30] (equation 22) a-Diketones are formed by permanganate hydroxylation of double bonds flanked by fluonne atoms [31] (equation 23)... 

The furan ring m (tetrafluorobenzo)furans is cleaved by chromium triojdde with the formation of ortho-hydroxyketone denvd ives [68] (equation 60)... 

FIGURE 18.18 Thiamine pyrophosphate participates in (a) the decarboxylation of n-keto acids and (b) the formation and cleavage of n-hydroxyketones. 

A similar reaction of y-bromopropyl derivatives under the influence of silver nitrate was described by Kohn as early as 1904. The 3-hydroxyketone formed from chloral and acetophenone can react with a chlorocarbamate to yield a pseudourethane which is probably a 4-hydroxy-2-0X0 tetrahydro-l,3-oxazine. ... 

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