Imine anions

Ornithine decarboxylase is a pyridoxal dependent enzyme. In its catalytic cycle, it normally converts ornithine (7) to putrisine by decarboxylation. If it starts the process with eflornithine instead, the key imine anion (11) produced by decarboxylation can either alkylate the enzyme directly by displacement of either fluorine atom or it can eject a fluorine atom to produce viny-logue 12 which can alkylate the enzyme by conjugate addidon. In either case, 13 results in which the active site of the enzyme is alkylated and unable to continue processing substrate. The net result is a downturn in the synthesis of cellular polyamine production and a decrease in growth rate. Eflornithine is described as being useful in the treatment of benign prostatic hyperplasia, as an antiprotozoal or an antineoplastic substance [3,4]. 

Like a carbonyl group, a nitrile group is strongly polarized and has an electrophilic carbon atom. Nitriles therefore react with nucleophiles to yield 5p2-hybridized imine anions in a reaction analogous to the formation of an sp3-hybridized alkoxide ion by nucleophilic addition to a carbonyl group. 

Base catalyzed nitrile hydrolysis involves nucleophilic addition of hydroxide ion to the polar C N bond to give an imine anion in a process similar to nucleophilic addition to a polar C=0 bond to give an alkoxide anion. Protonation then gives a hydroxy imine, which tautomerizes (Section 8.4) to an amide in a step similar to the tautomerization of an enol to a ketone. The mechanism is shown in Figure 20.4. 

O Nucleophilic addition of hydroxide ion to the CN triple bond gives an imine anion addition product. 

Protonation of the imine anion by water yields a hydroxyimine and regenerates the base catalyst. 

Reduction Conversion of Nitriles into Amines Reduction of a nitrile with LiAIH4 gives a primary amine, RNH . The reaction occurs by nucleophilic addition of hydride ion to the polar C=N bond, yielding an imine anion, which still contains a C=N bond and therefore undergoes a second nucleophilic addition of hydride to give a dianion. Both monoanion and dianion intermediates are undoubtedly stabilized by Lewis acid-base complexafion to an aluminum species, facilitating the second addition that would otherwise be difficult Protonation of the dianion by addition of water in a subsequent step gives the amine. 

Reaction of Nitriles with Organometallic Reagents Grignard reagents add to a nitrile to give an intermediate imine anion that is hydrolyzed by addition of water to yield a ketone. 

There are similar reactions involving nitrogen analogs called imine anions. The alkylated imines can be hydrolyzed to the corresponding ketone, and this reaction is discussed in Section 1.3. 

The Nitrogen Analogs of Enols and Enolates Enamines and Imine Anions... 

Imines can be deprotonated at the a-carbon by strong bases to give the nitrogen analogs of enolates. Originally, Grignard reagents were used for deprotonation but lithium amides are now usually employed. These anions, referred to as imine anions... 

Spectroscopic investigations of the lithium derivatives of cyclohexanone (V-phenylimine indicate that it exists as a dimer in toluene and that as a better donor solvent, THF, is added, equilibrium with a monomeric structure is established. The monomer is favored at high THF concentrations.110 A crystal structure determination was done on the lithiated A-phenylimine of methyl r-butyl ketone, and it was found to be a dimeric structure with the lithium cation positioned above the nitrogen and closer to the phenyl ring than to the (3-carbon of the imine anion.111 The structure, which indicates substantial ionic character, is shown in Figure 1.6. 

Just as enamines are more nucleophilic than enol ethers, imine anions are more nucleophilic than enolates and react efficiently with alkyl halides. One application of imine anions is for the alkylation of aldehydes. 

Ketone imine anions can also be alkylated. The prediction of the regioselectivity of lithioenamine formation is somewhat more complex than for the case of kinetic ketone enolate formation. One of the complicating factors is that there are two imine stereoisomers, each of which can give rise to two regioisomeric imine anions. The isomers in which the nitrogen substituent R is syn to the double bond are the more stable.114... 

One of the potentially most useful aspects of the imine anions is that they can be prepared from enantiomerically pure amines. When imines derived from chiral amines are alkylated, the new carbon-carbon bond is formed with a bias for one of the two possible stereochemical configurations. Hydrolysis of the imine then leads to enantiomerically enriched ketone. Table 1.4 lists some examples that have been reported.118... 

The interpretation and prediction of the relationship between the configuration of the newly formed chiral center and the configuration of the amine is usually based on steric differentiation of the two faces of the imine anion. Most imine anions that show high stereoselectivity incorporate a substituent that can engage the metal cation in a... 

The focus of Chapters 1 and 2 is enolates and related carbon nucleophiles such as silyl enol ethers, enamines, and imine anions, which can be referred to as enolate equivalents. 

Ester 324 is hydrolyzed to acid 325 by refluxing in 10% NaOH. In a reaction with thionyl chloride, acid 325 is converted to acid chloride 326, which is isolated as a solid in 96% yield and consecutively converted into amide 327 in 85% yield. Treatment of amide 327 with LDA extracts a proton from the methyl group. The generated anion is trapped by added benzonitrile. Subsequent cyclocondensation of the obtained imine anion with the amide group provides derivative 328 in 62% isolated yield (Scheme 50) <2003EJM983>. 

Further information concerning the stereochemical properties of the rearrangement were evaluated by submitting rigid cyclohexane derivatives 254/255 to the reaction conditions. In 1975, House described the allylation of a cyclohexyl cyanide 248 [53]. The initial deprotonation with LDA led to a ketene imine anion 249, which was then treated with allyl bromide. Two potential paths rationalized the outcome an AT-allylation generated the intermediate ketene imines 250/251, which underwent aza-Claisen rearrangement to deliver the nitriles 252/253 alternatively, the direct C-allylation of249 produced the nitriles. 

SECTION 1.9. THE NITROGEN ANALOGS OF ENOLS AND ENOLATES— ENAMINES AND IMINE ANIONS... 

Lithium Enolates. The control of mixed aldol additions between aldehydes and ketones that present several possible sites for enolization is a challenging problem. Such reactions are normally carried out by complete conversion of the carbonyl compound that is to serve as the nucleophile to an enolate, silyl enol ether, or imine anion. The reactive nucleophile is then allowed to react with the second reaction component. As long as the addition step is faster than proton transfer, or other mechanisms of interconversion of the nucleophilic and electrophilic components, the adduct will have the desired... 

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