Imines syn-anti selectivity

Crotyltins react regioselectively with a-alkylimines to give exclusively branched products with an excellent syn/anti selectivity up to 30 1, when the imine activation is conducted at —78 °C prior to the addition of the crotyltin. This selectivity which is consistent with an acyclic transition state is rapidly fading when operating at a higher temperature. This would be the result of an equilibrium between the two imine/Lewis acid complexes (equation 14). There are very few examples with a, /3-unsaturated aldimines, but it has to be noted that under TiCU activation, they are able to undergo a double nucleophilic addition of ketene silyl acetal and allyltributyltin to give the homoallylic amine in a reasonable yield . 

Largely stimulated by the synthesis of 3-lactam antibiotics, there have been widespread investigations into the stereochemical aspects of imine condensations, mainly involving reactions of enolates of carboxylic acid derivatives or silyl ketene acetals. In analogy to the aldol condensation, stereoselectivity of imine condensations will be discussed in terms of two types in this chapter (i) simple dia-stereoselectivity or syn-anti selectivity, when the two reactants are each prochiral (equation 12) and (ii) diastereofacial selectivity, when a new chiral center is formed in the presence of a pre-existing chiral center in one of the reactants (e.g. equation 13). The term asymmetric induction may be used synonymously with diastereofacial selectivity when one of the chiral reactants is optically active. For a more explicit explanation of these terms, see Heathcock s review on the aldol condensation. ... 

Condensation reactions of simple carboxylic acids with imines are of intense interest because of their applications to 3-lactam synthesis. Activation of the carboxylic acid derivative is accomplished by preforming the enolate in situ or by using a silyl ketene acetal derivative with Lewis acid catalysis. The first example of an enolate-imine condensation of this type can be attributed to Gillman and Speeter, who in 1943 reported the synthesis of 3-lactams from Reformatsky reagents and Schiff bases. Subsequently, other workers have investigated the mechanism and syn-anti selectivity of this reaction. A review of these studies by Evans et al. covering work through 1980 has appeared in their review, Stereoselective Aldol Condensations . ... 

Table 13 Syn-Anti Selectivity in the Reactions of Crotyl Organometallics with Imines (50 Equation 13)...

Some examples of combined syn-anti and diastereofacial selectivity employing /V-n-propyl- and N-isopropyl-aldimines, derived from a-phenylpropionaldehyde, and crotyl-9-BBN, -magnesium and -zirconium reagents have been reported by Yamamoto et al. Cram selectivity, which is observed in the analogous reactions of these chiral imines with allyl organometallics (see Section 4.3.2.1.2i), is preserved as ratios of Cram anti-Cram products are consistently about 8 1. Anti selectivity is also observed but the ratios do not exceed 7 3. The weak anti selectivity parallels that observed in reactions of crotyl-9-BBN with branched a-alkylaldimines. Since syn-anti selectivity is influenced more by the a-substituent than by the A-substituent of the aldimine, more synthetically useful levels of combined syn-anti and diastereofacial selectivity might be expected in other series of a-substituted aldimines. 

Syn-anti selectivity of the reactions of a-silylallenic organometallic reagents (63 M = Ti(Pr 0)j, AlEti and Li) with imines (64) has been studied by Yamamoto et al. (equation 15).- The lithium reagent (63 ... 

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