Ketals mixed

Estrone methyl ether (100 g, 0.35 mole) is mixed with 100 ml of absolute ethanol, 100 ml of benzene and 200 ml of triethyl orthoformate. Concentrated sulfuric acid (1.55 ml) is added and the mixture is stirred at room temperature for 2 hr. The mixture is then made alkaline by the addition of excess tetra-methylguanidine (ca. 4 ml) and the organic solvents are removed. The residue is dissolved in heptane and the solution is filtered through Celite to prevent emulsions in the following extraction. The solution is then washed threetimes with 500 ml of 10 % sodium hydroxide solution in methanol to remove excess triethyl orthoformate, which would interfere with the Birch reduction solvent system. The heptane solution is dried over sodium sulfate and the solvent is removed. The residue is satisfactory for the Birch reduction step. Infrared analysis shows that the material contains 1.3-1.5% of estrone methyl ether. The pure ketal may be obtained by crystallization from anhydrous ethanol, mp 99-100°. Acidification of the methanolic sodium hydroxide washes affords 10-12 g of recovered estrone methyl ether. 

The crude ketal from the Birch reduction is dissolved in a mixture of 700 ml ethyl acetate, 1260 ml absolute ethanol and 31.5 ml water. To this solution is added 198 ml of 0.01 Mp-toluenesulfonic acid in absolute ethanol. (Methanol cannot be substituted for the ethanol nor can denatured ethanol containing methanol be used. In the presence of methanol, the diethyl ketal forms the mixed methyl ethyl ketal at C-17 and this mixed ketal hydrolyzes at a much slower rate than does the diethyl ketal.) The mixture is stirred at room temperature under nitrogen for 10 min and 56 ml of 10% potassium bicarbonate solution is added to neutralize the toluenesulfonic acid. The organic solvents are removed in a rotary vacuum evaporator and water is added as the organic solvents distill. When all of the organic solvents have been distilled, the granular precipitate of 1,4-dihydroestrone 3- methyl ether is collected on a filter and washed well with cold water. The solid is sucked dry and is dissolved in 800 ml of methyl ethyl ketone. To this solution is added 1600 ml of 1 1 methanol-water mixture and the resulting mixture is cooled in an ice bath for 1 hr. The solid is collected, rinsed with cold methanol-water (1 1), air-dried, and finally dried in a vacuum oven at 60° yield, 71.5 g (81 % based on estrone methyl ether actually carried into the Birch reduction as the ketal) mp 139-141°, reported mp 141-141.5°. The material has an enol ether assay of 99%, a residual aromatics content of 0.6% and a 19-norandrost-5(10)-ene-3,17-dione content of 0.5% (from hydrolysis of the 3-enol ether). It contains less than 0.1 % of 17-ol and only a trace of ketal formed by addition of ethanol to the 3-enol ether. 

A second example exploits the fact that the mixed hydride reagent is capable of hydrogenolysis of certain carbon-oxygen bonds. Thus, treatment of cyclohexanone ketal (Chapter 7, Section IX) with lithium aluminum hydride-aluminum chloride results in the rupture of a C-O bond to give the oxyethanol derivative. 

The synthesis of key intermediate 12, in optically active form, commences with the resolution of racemic trans-2,3-epoxybutyric acid (27), a substance readily obtained by epoxidation of crotonic acid (26) (see Scheme 5). Treatment of racemic 27 with enantio-merically pure (S)-(-)-1 -a-napthylethylamine affords a 1 1 mixture of diastereomeric ammonium salts which can be resolved by recrystallization from absolute ethanol. Acidification of the resolved diastereomeric ammonium salts with methanesulfonic acid and extraction furnishes both epoxy acid enantiomers in eantiomerically pure form. Because the optical rotation and absolute configuration of one of the antipodes was known, the identity of enantiomerically pure epoxy acid, (+)-27, with the absolute configuration required for a synthesis of erythronolide B, could be confirmed. Sequential treatment of (+)-27 with ethyl chloroformate, excess sodium boro-hydride, and 2-methoxypropene with a trace of phosphorous oxychloride affords protected intermediate 28 in an overall yield of 76%. The action of ethyl chloroformate on carboxylic acid (+)-27 affords a mixed carbonic anhydride which is subsequently reduced by sodium borohydride to a primary alcohol. Protection of the primary hydroxyl group in the form of a mixed ketal is achieved easily with 2-methoxypropene and a catalytic amount of phosphorous oxychloride. 

Retrosynthetic disassembly of the tetrahydropyran ring in 14, a mixed cyclic ketal, provides ketone 15 as a plausible precursor. In the synthetic direction, the solvolytic cleavage of the ester functions in 15 would likely be attended by the formation of a cyclic hemi-ketal. On treatment with acidic methanol, this substance could then be converted to mixed ketal 14. 

The C2-symmetric epoxide 23 (Scheme 7) reacts smoothly with carbon nucleophiles. For example, treatment of 23 with lithium dimethylcuprate proceeds with inversion of configuration, resulting in the formation of alcohol 28. An important consequence of the C2 symmetry of 23 is that the attack of the organometallic reagent upon either one of the two epoxide carbons produces the same product. After simultaneous hydrogenolysis of the two benzyl ethers in 28, protection of the 1,2-diol as an acetonide ring can be easily achieved by the use of 2,2-dimethoxypropane and camphor-sulfonic acid (CSA). It is necessary to briefly expose the crude product from the latter reaction to methanol and CSA so that the mixed acyclic ketal can be cleaved (see 29—>30). Oxidation of alcohol 30 with pyridinium chlorochromate (PCC) provides alde-... 

Glycosides were originally defined as mixed acetals (ketals) derived from cyclic forms of monosaccharides. 

Dichloroquinoxalme (191) and isopropyl 2-lithio-2-methoxy-2-( 1-methoxy-l-methylethoxy)acetate (192) (prepared in situ) gave the mixed ketal intermediate (194) that underwent gentle acid hydrolysis to afford 2-chloro-3-propoxyoxaloquinoxaline (193) [THF-(Me2NO)3PO, —78°C 20°C then 2M HCl, 25°C, 20 min 90%]. ... 

The EtsSiH/tetracyanoethylene combination reduces acetals and ketals to the corresponding ethers but the yields are mixed.500 The full reduction of benz-aldehyde acetals to the toluene derivatives is realized by the initial reduction with Et3SiH/SnBr2-AcBr followed by Bu3SnH/AIBN (azobis(isobutyronitrile)) or LiAlH4.479 The overall yields are excellent. 

Oxidation of phenols.1 The reagent oxidizes 1,2- and 1,4-dihydroxyphenols to the quinones in almost quantitative yield at 25° in methanol. 4-Alkylphenols are oxidized to 4-alkyl-4-methoxycyclohexadienones (mixed quinone ketals) in >90% yield. Monohydric phenols can be oxidized to p-quinone diketals on oxidation with 2 equiv. of the reagent in CH,OH at 25°. 

The mechanism is analogous to the hydroxy-ketone cyclization except that the mixed ketal is isolable. It can be reductively cleaved using PhsSnH/AIBN ... 

With one exception, NaBH4 reduction of the 20-ketone gives the 20/ -alco-hol as the major product even with substitution patterns where LiAlH4 gives the 20a-compound.92,102,131 171 177 215 225 230,233 The exception is the 17,21-mixed ketal system, where he course of the reduction is similar to that observed with LiAlH4 and the 20a-isomer is the major product.94... 

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