Isoxazolidines, cycloaddition

Isoxazolidines sometimes undergo retro 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition to give back alkenes and nitrones (77AHC(2D207). 

The preparation of isoxazolidine derivatives was first reported by Bodforss in 1918 (18CB192). The major synthesis of isoxazolidines involves the cycloaddition of nitrones with alkenes, and isoxazolidines have also enjoyed an increasing use as key intermediates in the synthesis of natural products and other heterocycles (79ACR396, 1892CB1498, 1892CB3291, 1882CB2105). 

The reaction of nitrones with allenes produced three main products an azepine, a pyrrolidinone and an isoxazolidine (Scheme 155) (79JOC4213). The intramolecular cycloaddition of nitrones (529) produced different products depending on the length of n (Scheme 156) (78H(10)257). 

A newer method for the preparation of nitronic esters, namely utilizing the (9-trimethyl-silyl ester, has been reported and these are prepared by the reaction of alkylnitro compounds and (V,(V-bis(trimethylsilyl)acetamide. These nitronic esters also undergo cycloaddition with alkenes to produce isoxazolidines (equation 54) (74MIP41601, 74DOK109, 78ACS(B)ll8). 

The cycloaddition of nitrones to enamines results in the formation of an isoxazolidine (179,180). The reaction of l-(N-pyrrolidino)- -phenyl-ethylene (133) with nitrone 134 producing isoxazolidine 135 illustrates this type of cycloaddition (180). 

The first, and so far only, metal-catalyzed asymmetric 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition reaction of nitrile oxides with alkenes was reported by Ukaji et al. [76, 77]. Upon treatment of allyl alcohol 45 with diethylzinc and (l ,J )-diisopropyltartrate, followed by the addition of diethylzinc and substituted hydroximoyl chlorides 46, the isoxazolidines 47 are formed with impressive enantioselectivities of up to 96% ee (Scheme 6.33) [76]. 

Nitronates derived from primary nitroalkanes can be regarded as a synthetic equivalent of nitrile oxides since the elimination of an alcohol molecule from nitronates adds one higher oxidation level leading to nitrile oxides. This direct / -elimination of nitronates is known to be facilitated in the presence of a Lewis acid or a base catalyst [66, 72, 73]. On the other hand, cycloaddition reactions of nitronates to alkene dipolarophiles produce N-alkoxy-substituted isoxazolidines as cycloadducts. Under acid-catalyzed conditions, these isoxazolidines can be transformed into 2-isoxazolines through a ready / -elimination, and 2-isoxazolines correspond to the cycloadducts of nitrile oxide cycloadditions to alkenes [74]. 

We are the first group to succeed with the highly enantioselective 1,3-dipolar cycloadditions of nitronates [75]. Thus, the reaction of 5,6-dihydro-4H-l,2-oxazine N-oxide as a cyclic nitronate to 3-acryloyl-2-oxazilidinone, at -40 °C in dichloro-methane in the presence of MS 4 A and l ,J -DBFOX/Ph-Ni(II) complexes, gave a diastereomeric mixture of perhydroisoxazolo[2,3-fe][l,2]oxazines as the ring-fused isoxazolidines in high yields. The J ,J -DBFOX/Ph aqua complex prepared from... 

The 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition reaction of nitrones with alkenes gives isoxazolidines is a fundamental reaction in organic chemistry and the available literature on this topic of organic chemistry is vast. In this reaction until three contiguous asymmetric centers can be formed in the isoxazolidine 17 as outlined for the reaction between a nitrone and an 1,2-disubstituted alkene. The relative stereochemistry at C-4 and C-5 is always controlled by the geometric relationship of the substituents on the alkene (Scheme 8.6). 

Spiro-(indoline-isoxazolidines) 137, exhibiting interesting biological activities, were prepared in modest yields, by the cycloaddition reaction between ethyl (3-indolylidene)-acetate 135 and various substituted a,N-diphenylnitrones 136 under solvent-free conditions (Scheme 48). The reaction conducted under conventional heating in an oil bath did not proceed even after 20 h, especially when it was carried out without solvent [87]. 

The structure-reactivity relationship between a 19-Me- and 19-nor-5,10-seco-steroid has been investigated using lOOC and intramolecular nitrone cycloaddition taking into account various stereochemical aspects (Schemes 27 and 28) [67]. The E-19-nor-5,10-seco-ketone 255 a, on treatment with hydroxylamine hydrochloride (R = H), undergoes lOOC via 256a to a single isoxazolidine 257... 

R = H, Scheme 27). On the other hand, reaction of 255a with N-methylhydrox-ylamine hydrochloride produces a mixture of two regioisomers 257 and 258 (R = Me). When the E-l(10)-unsaturated 5-oxo-5,10-secosteroid 255b was treated with hydroxylamine hydrochloride (R = H) or AT-methylhydroxylamine hydrochloride (R = Me), isoxazolidine 259 was formed regio- and stereoselec-tively in high yield via intramolecular 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition of the nitrone intermediate 256 (R = H or Me). 

The nitrone arising from reaction between (Z)-19-nor-5,10-secosteroidal ketone 260 a and M-methylhydroxylamine hydrochloride undergoes transannu-lar 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition to give isoxazolidines 261 and 262 and an aromatic derivative 263 originating from 261 (Scheme 28). Corresponding reaction of 260b produces two types of structurally different isoxazolidines 264 and 265 as well as the dienone 266. 

Because of the relative instabihty of many trimethylsilyl nitronates 1036, 1037, they should be reacted in situ with olefins 1053 [103-105] or acetylenes [127] to generate the isooxazolidines 1054 [103-105, 107-117, 119-133] or isoxazoles [127] (Scheme 7.37) The isoxazolidines 1054 with R2=H readily ehminate trimethylsilanol 4 in the presence of acids such as TsOH to form the isoxazolines 1055 in high yields [104, 105] (Scheme 7.37 cf. also the cycloadditions with acrylonitrile in Scheme 7.42). 

The key step in the synthesis of 4-354 is the retro-1,3-dipolar cycloaddition of the isoxazolidine 4-351 to give the nitronate 4-352, which underwent an intramolecular 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition. The obtained cycloadduct 4-353 can be transformed in a few steps into the desired target 4-354 (Scheme 4.78). 

The mechanism of 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition can be found in Ref. 63 and the references within. The reaction of nitrone with 1,2-disubstituted alkenes creates three contiguous asymmetric centers, in which the geometric relationship of the substituents of alkenes is retained. The synthetic utility of nitrone adducts is mainly due to their conversion into various important compounds. For instance, P-amino alcohols can be obtained from isoxazolidines by reduction with H2-Pd or Raney Ni with retention of configuration at the chiral center (Eq. 8.44). 

Cycloaddition of the cyclic nitrone derived from proline benzyl ester with alkenes proceeds readily to give isoxazolidines with good regio-and stereoselectivity (Eq. 8.47).68 The reaction favors exo-mode addition. However, certain cycloadditions are reversible and therefore the product distribution may reflect thermodynamic rather than kinetic control. 

Alkenylboronic esters undergo regio- and stereoselective 1,3-dipolar cycloadditions with nitrones. These reactions lead to boronic ester-substituted isoxazolidines, which can be converted by oxidation with H202 to the corresponding 4-hydroxy derivatives (Eq. 8.48).69 The high selectivity could be the result of a favorable interaction between the boronic ester and the amino group. 

Asymmetric 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition of cyclic nitrones to crotonic acid derivatives bearing chiral auxiliaries in the presence of zinc iodide gives bicyclic isoxazolidines with high stereoselectivity (Eq. 8.51). The products are good precursors of (3-amino acids such as (+)sedridine.73 Many papers concerning 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition of nitrones to chiral alkenes have been reported, and they are well documented (see Ref. 63). 

Various kinds of chiral acyclic nitrones have been devised, and they have been used extensively in 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition reactions, which are documented in recent reviews.63 Typical chiral acyclic nitrones that have been used in asymmetric cycloadditions are illustrated in Scheme 8.15. Several recent applications of these chiral nitrones to organic synthesis are presented here. For example, the addition of the sodium enolate of methyl acetate to IV-benzyl nitrone derived from D-glyceraldehyde affords the 3-substituted isoxazolin-5-one with a high syn selectivity. Further elaboration leads to the preparation of the isoxazolidine nucleoside analog in enantiomerically pure form (Eq. 8.52).78... 

Catalytic enantioselective 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition between nitrones with alkenes using a novel heterochiral ytterbium(III) catalyst is reported (Eq. 8.58).91 The desired isoxazolidine derivatives are obtained in excellent yields with excellent diastereo- and enantioselectivities. 

The impulse to the study of these cycloadditions came from the discovery that 5-spirocyclopropane isoxazolidines (or isoxazolines) undergo a thermal rearrangement resulting in the production of selectively substituted tetrahydro-(or dihydro) pyrid-4-ones (Scheme 42) [64], In particular, cyclic nitrones gave ultimately N-bridgehead bicyclic ketones, molecular skeleton of many alkaloid families [65]. 

The unexpected regiochemical outcome of the cycloaddition gave rise to a complete study of the factors influencing the regioselectivity, inasmuch as 4-spirocyclopropane isoxazolidines are unable to undergo the useful thermal rearrangement. 

As for the regioselectivity of the nitrone cycloaddition to MCP and its alkyl or aryl derivatives, a tendency of the three-membered ring to end up at the 4-position of the final isoxazolidine ring clearly emerges from the experimental findings. This result is particularly noteworthy if compared to regiospecific formation of the 5,5-disubstituted isoxazolidines in the reactions of nitrones, not... 

In the overall cycloaddition-rearrangement process [64], the C-3 - C-8a relative stereochemistry of the indolizidinone obtained by rearrangement of the isoxazolidine derives from the cycloaddition step and is not affected during the rearrangement. This allowed the control of two out of three chiral centers in a synthetic protocol for a synthesis of the amphibian alkaloid ( + )-Gephyro-toxin 223AB (Scheme 46) [65c]. 

Compound 384 derived from the reaction of two molecules of benzonitrile oxide (341) with one of BCP (3). Its formation can be explained with the cycloaddition of a second molecule of 341 to the isoxazoline Ml to give the isoxazolidine M5, which undergoes a thermal rearrangement to 384 (Scheme 54). 

Isoxazole (as well as isoxazoline, and isoxazolidine) analogues of C-nucleosides related to pseudouridines 25 and 27 have been regioselectively synthesized by 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition (1,3-DC) of nitrile oxides (and nitrones) derived from uracyl-5-carbaldehyde 24 and 2,4-dimethoxypyrimidine-5-carbaldehyde 26 respectively <06T1494>. 

Nitrone 1,3-DC reactions are still the most general approach to isoxazolidines. The stereocontrol is usually achieved by the use of chiral nitrones and/or dipolarophiles, but new interesting achievements on Lewis acid catalyzed cycloadditions are also frequently reported. Tris(6,6,7,7,8,8,8-heptafluoro-2,2-dimethyl-3,5-octanatedionate) europium(III) [Eu(fod)3] selectively activated the Z-isomer of C-alkoxycarbonyl nitrone 75 existing as an E,Z-equilibrium mixture by forming the (Z)-75-Eu(fod)3 complex. (Z)-75-Eu(fod)3 reacted with electron-rich dipolarophiles such as vinyl ethers to give the trans-adducts with excellent diastereoselectivity <06T12227>. 

Related to the nitrile oxide cycloadditions presented in Scheme 6.206 are 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition reactions of nitrones with alkenes leading to isoxazolidines. The group of Comes-Franchini has described cycloadditions of (Z)-a-phenyl-N-methylnitrone with allylic fluorides leading to enantiopure fluorine-containing isoxazolidines, and ultimately to amino polyols (Scheme 6.207) [374]. The reactions were carried out under solvent-free conditions in the presence of 5 mol% of either scandium(III) or indium(III) triflate. In the racemic series, an optimized 74% yield of an exo/endo mixture of cycloadducts was obtained within 15 min at 100 °C. In the case of the enantiopure allyl fluoride, a similar product distribution was achieved after 25 min at 100 °C. Reduction of the isoxazolidine cycloadducts with lithium aluminum hydride provided fluorinated enantiopure polyols of pharmaceutical interest possessing four stereocenters. 

The tricyclic compound (441) is a key compound in the synthesis of enan-tiomerically pure indolizidine (442). It was obtained in an intramolecular 1,3-cycloaddition of nitrone (440), by retro-cycloaddition from isoxazolidine (439) (Scheme 2.215) (708). 

The optically active isoxazolidines obtained in these cycloaddition reactions can be easily transformed into biologically active 3 -amino acids, into j3-lactams and into important chiral building blocks such as y-amino alcohols. The multitude of synthetic results in these reactions is of course expected by the wide variety... 

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