Hydroxyl ketones, reductive cyclization

The reaction processes shown in Scheme 8 not only accomplish the construction of an oxepane system but also furnish a valuable keto function. The realization that this function could, in an appropriate setting, be used to achieve the annulation of the second oxepane ring led to the development of a new strategy for the synthesis of cyclic ethers the reductive cyclization of hydroxy ketones (see Schemes 9 and 10).23 The development of this strategy was inspired by the elegant work of Olah 24 the scenario depicted in Scheme 9 captures its key features. It was anticipated that activation of the Lewis-basic keto function in 43 with a Lewis acid, perhaps trimethylsilyl triflate, would induce nucleophilic attack by the proximal hydroxyl group to give an intermediate of the type 44. 

The second method of preparation (shown in Scheme 2) depends on treating dehydroepiandrosterone (prepared from cholestrol or sitosterol) with acetylene to form the 17a-ethnyl-17p-hydroxy derivative, which is carbonated to the 17a-propionic acid. Reduction of the unsaturated acid in alkaline solution yields the saturated acid, which cyclizes to the lactone on acidification. Bromination to the 5,6-dibromo-compound, followed by oxidation of the hydroxyl group to the ketone, and then dehydro-bromination to the 7a-hydroxyl derivative, produces spironolactone when esterified with thiolacetic acid. 

The stereoselective reduction of the ketone function of 9 leads to a direct entry to selectively protected aldopentoses ( inversion strategy ) (Borysenko et al. 1989), which greatly expand the potential of this new protocol (Scheme 5). Following Evans protocol the tetramethylammo-nium triacetoxyborohydride-mediated reduction provides the yyn-diol 15 constituting a protected D-ribose (95%, >96% de). The anti-selective reduction to 17 was obtained after silyl protection of the free hydroxyl group of 9 to the OTBS-ether 16 using L-selectride. The aldopentose 18 was then accessible via chemoselective acetal cleavage followed by in situ cyclization (47% over two steps, >96% de). 

In addition, its proton magnetic resonance spectrum unambiguously supported the 5-ketose structure (69). Rearrangements of epoxides to ketones when dicobalt octacarbonyl is used as the catalyst at temperatures above 100 , or when cobalt hydrocarbonyl is used at lower temperatures, are well known. By applying the technique of double irradiation to a sample of (68), the main component was shown to possess structure (68). Presumably, the free aldehyde group of the hydroformylation product immediately cyclized with the free hydroxyl group on C-3 to give the tricyclic structure (68). A third component (68a) (isolated in less than 5 % yield) was undoubtedly formed by subsequent reduction of the dialdose derivative (68). 

The key step in the asymmetric synthesis of brazilin (167a), a tetracyclic homoisoflavanoid which possesses antibacterial and antiinflammatory activities, was prepared by the enantioselective a-hydroxylation of the sodium enolate of chromanone (165) in 92% ee with chloro oxaziridine (+)-(74) <93JOCl75l>. The a-hydroxy ketone (166) was converted into (167b) in 64% overall yield from (166), by reduction of the carbonyl and acid-catalyzed cyclization (Scheme 31). 

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