Intramolecular reactions, control

The reaction of vinyloxiranes with malonate proceeds regio- and stereose-lectively. The reaction has been utilized for the introduction of a 15-hydroxy group in a steroid related to oogoniol (265)(156]. The oxirane 264 is the J-form and the attack of Pd(0) takes place from the o-side by inversion. Then the nucleophile comes from the /i-side. Thus overall reaction is sT -StM2 type, in the intramolecular reaction, the stereochemical information is transmitted to the newly formed stereogenic center. Thus the formation of the six-membered ring lactone 267 from 266 proceeded with overall retention of the stereochemistry, and was employed to control the stereochemistry of C-15 in the prostaglandin 268[157]. The method has also been employed to create the butenolide... 

FIGURE 16.15 Orientation effects in intramolecular reactions can be dramatic. Steric crowding by methyl groups provides a rate acceleration of 2.5 X 10 for the lower reaction compared to the upper reaction. (Adaptedfrom Milstien,. S., and Cohen, L. A., 1972. Stereopopnlation control I. Rate enhancements in the laetonization of o-hyelroxyhyeJroeinnamie acid. Journal of the American Chemical Society 94 9158-9165.)... 

Acyclic diene molecules are capable of undergoing intramolecular and intermolec-ular reactions in the presence of certain transition metal catalysts molybdenum alkylidene and ruthenium carbene complexes, for example [50, 51]. The intramolecular reaction, called ring-closing olefin metathesis (RCM), affords cyclic compounds, while the intermolecular reaction, called acyclic diene metathesis (ADMET) polymerization, provides oligomers and polymers. Alteration of the dilution of the reaction mixture can to some extent control the intrinsic competition between RCM and ADMET. 

Chelation control of the intramolecular reaction between an allylsilane and an aldehyde or ketone has been carefully investigated. Excellent stereoselectivity was found for cyclization of B-oxo esters using titanium(IV) chloride as the Lewis acid, less good selectivity for cyclization of /l-diketones70. 

A deviant reaction was observed when the AT-Boc-aziridinecarboxamide 44b was treated with LDA in THF as the base. Under these kinetically controlled conditions an intramolecular reaction of the amide nitrogen with the Boc group takes place leading to the bicyclic product 46 in which the aziridine ring is retained (Scheme 36) [45]. 

In the event, intramolecular reactions could be avoided by working at high dilution and conditions were found - adding (12) to NaH in a special solvent at controlled temperatures - under which elimination was minimised. For example, (18) could be made in 80% yield,... 

These reactions have very low activation energies when the intermediate is a free carbene. Intermolecular insertion reactions are inherently nonselective. The course of intramolecular reactions is frequently controlled by the proximity of the reacting groups.113 Carbene intermediates can also be involved in rearrangement reactions. In the sections that follow we also consider a number of rearrangement reactions that probably do not involve carbene intermediates, but lead to transformations that correspond to those of carbenes. 

Alternatively, Leung and Eichinger [51] proposed a computer simulation approach which does not assume any lattice as the classical and percolation theory. Their simulations are more realistic than lattice percolation, since spatially closer groups form bonds first and more distant groups at later stages of network formation. However, the implicitly introduced diffusion control is somewhat obscure. The effects of intramolecular reactions were more realistically quantified, and the results agree quite well with experimental observations [52,53],... 

Intramolecular Reactions Intramolecular 1,3-cycloaddition with high regio- and stereo-control seems to be an important instrument for an effective... 

The factors — or at least some of them — which control reactivity in intramolecular reactions are relevant to enzyme catalysis, which also involves reactions between functional groups brought together in close and precisely defined proximity (Kirby, 1980). This has been an area of lively discussion in the recent literature [for a brief summary and leading references see Paquette et al. (1990)]. The main difficulty in making generalizations about the dependence of reactivity on geometry based on results from systems in which proximity is covalently enforced lies in the constraints imposed by particular systems. These may well affect reactivity... 

The most spectacular application of the donor/acceptor-substituted carbenoids has been intermolecular C-H activation by means of carbenoid-induced C-H insertion [17]. Prior to the development of the donor/acceptor carbenoids, the intermolecular C-H insertion was not considered synthetically useful [5]. Since these carbenoid intermediates were not sufficiently selective and they were very prone to carbene dimerization, intramolecular reactions were required in order to control the chemistry effectively [17]. The enhanced chemoselectivity of the donor/acceptor-substituted carbenoids has enabled intermolecular C-H insertion to become a very practical enantioselective method for C-H activation. Since the initial report in 1997 [121], the field of intermolecular enantioselective C-H insertion has undergone explosive growth [14, 15]. Excellent levels of asymmetric induction are obtained when these carbenoids are derived... 

The acyclic precursor is an oc, 3-unsaturated amido aldehyde that was condensed with iV-methylhydroxylamine to generate the nitrone ( )-48, which then underwent a spontaneous cycloaddition with the alkene to afford the 5,5-ring system of the isoxazolidinyl lactam 47. The observed product arises via the ( )-nitrone transition state A [or the (Z)-nitrone equivalent] in which the position of the benzyl group ot to the nitrone effectively controls the two adjacent stereocenters while a third stereocenter is predicted from the alkene geometry. Both transition states maintain the benzyl auxiliary in an equatorial position and thus avoid the unfavorable 1,3-diaxial interaction with the nitrone methyl or oxygen found in transition state B. Semiempirical PM3 calculations confirm the extra stability, predicting exclusive formation of the observed product 47. Related cycloadducts from the intramolecular reaction of nitrones containing ester- rather than amide-tethered alkene functionality are also known (83-85). 

The convergence of the nitronate and nitrile oxide cycloadditions has allowed for the direct comparisons of yields and stereoselectivities of the two processes. For intramolecular reactions, the nitronate dipole typically required longer reaction times and/or elevated temperatures (22,98,135), however, the nitronate cycloaddition shows considerably higher diastereoselectivity (Table 2.42). Interestingly, the diastereoselectivity is dependent on the placement of a substituent on the tether. In the case of the silyl nitronate derived from 172, the diastereoselectivity is controlled by the substituent at C(l), while cyclization of the analogous nitrile oxide is governed by the substituent at C(l ) (Scheme 2.10) (124). 

Alkenyl nitrones, having the alkene connected to the nitrone nitrogen atom, have been used in another approach to intramolecular reactions (231-235). Holmes and co-workers have this method for the synthesis of the alkaloid (—)-indolizidine 209B 137 (210,231). The alkenyl nitrone 134, was obtained from the chiral hydroxylamine 133 and an aldehyde. In the intramolecular 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition, 135 was formed as the only isomer (Scheme 12.45). The diastereofacial selectivity was controlled by the favored conformation of the cyclohexane-like transition state in which the pentyl group was in a pseudoequatorial position, as indicated by 134. Further transformation of 135 led to the desired product 137. 

Cycloadditions in particular are performed intramolecularly to achieve better regio- and exoj endo selectivity. Nitrones often react with low exo/endo facial control this is greatly improved in intramolecular reactions, e.g. 1,3-dipolar cycloadditions58. 

Oxetanes can be formed by intramolecular reaction between a carbonyl group and an alkene, and this has been used (4.74) in making analogues of thromboxane A, (one of the compounds responsible for the control of blood clotting), albeit usually as the minor product. A special case of intramolecular reaction is seen for a,p-unsaturated carboxylic acids 14.75), where the product is an oxete that is tautomeric with a p-lactone. Oxetes may also be formed by photocycloaddition of ketones or aldehydes with alkynes the oxete normally ring-opens at room temperature to give an a,p-unsaturated carbonyl compound (4.76), but at lower temperatures its spectral... 

The cyclopropane ring can also be cleaved by a retro-Michael reaction. By appropriate positioning of the carbonyl groups by means of an intramolecular cyclopropanation, controlled ring opening to spiro systems (62),84 bicyclo[3.2.1]octanes (63)82 or bicyclo[2.2.2]octanes (64),82 has been achieved (equations 28-30). 

Intramolecular reactions are obliged to obey the powerful rules that govern which cycloadditions are allowed and which forbidden, but they can override the weaker forces controlling regio- and stereoselectivity, and it is important to remember this opportunity for synthetic design, when the trends outlined above are in conflict with the aims of the synthesis. 

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