Ketene imines, aldol-type reaction

Yamamoto and co-workers found that 27 is an excellent chiral promoter not only for the aza Diels-Alder reaction of aldimines [40] but also for the stereoselective aldol-type reaction of aldimines with ketene silyl acetals [55]. The reaction of (5)-benzyli-dene a-methylbenzylamine with trimethylsilyl ketene acetal derived from terf-butyl acetate in the presence of (R)-27 produces the (R) adduct in > 92 % diastereomeric excess (de), whereas reaction with (5)-27 gives the adduct in 74 % de. In a similar way, (5)-butylidene a-methylbenzylamine, an aliphatic imine, can be converted to the (R)-)3-amino ester in 94 % de by use of (R)-27 (Eq. 73). 

BLA 28 is very useful in the double stereodifferentiation of aldol-type reactions of chiral imines [41], Reaction of (5)-benzylidene-a-methylbenzylamine with trimethyl-silyl ketene acetal derived from tert-butyl acetate in the presence of (R)-28 at -78 °C for 12 h provides the corresponding aldol-type adduct in 94 % de (Eq. 78). Including phenol in the reaction mixture does not influence the reactivity or the diastereoselec-tivity. The aldol-type reaction using yellow crystals of (R)-28.(5)-benzylidene-a-methylbenzylamine PhOH proceeds with unprecedented (> 99.5 0.5) diastereoselec-tivity (Eq. 79). In general, 28 is a more efficient chiral Lewis acid promoter than 27. 

On the basis of these results, we have developed the first method for the enantiose-lective synthesis of chiral /3-amino acid esters from achiral imines and ketene silyl acetals using BLA 28. The enantioselectivity of the aldol-type reaction is dramatically increased by using sterically bulky A-substituents. Condensation of the imine derived from benzhydrylamine occurs with high enantioselectivity (90 % ee) (Eq. 80). Furthermore, the best result (96 % ee) is achieved by use of a 1 1 (v/v) mixture of toluene and dichloromethane as solvents. Thus, excellent enantioselectivity (95 % ee or better) has been achieved in reactions of aromatic aldehyde-derived imines... 

Aromatic A-TMS-ketene imines undergo efficient aldol-type reaction with O-protected a-hydroxy aldehydes, giving iy -selectivity at ambient temperature, reversing at -78 °C to anti- Transfer of the TMS group from the ketene imine prevents (g) retro-reaction. 

Three-component coupling reaction of a-enones, silyl enolates, and aldehydes by successive Mukaiyama-Michael and aldol reactions is a powerful method for stereoselective construction of highly functionahzed molecules valuable as synthetic intermediates of natural compounds [231c]. Kobayashi et al. recently reported the synthesis of y-acyl-d-lactams from ketene silyl thioacetals, a,/l-urisalu-rated thioesters, and imines via successive SbCl5-Sn(OTf)2-catalyzed Mukaiyama-Michael and Sc(OTf)3-catalyzed Mannich-type reactions (Scheme 10.87) [241]. 

The development of a catalytic, enantioselective Mannich-type reaction of si-lyl ketene acetals lagged far behind the now-well-established enantioselective Mukaiyama directed aldol addition. The major consideration for the invention of such a transformation is obviously the selection of an appropriate Lewis acid activator. This is a challenging problem in view of the basicity of the imine nitrogen, the ambiguity in complexation geometry, and most importantly the release of the catalyst to effect turnover. Thus, it is not surprising that the first successful catalytic, enantioselective Mannich reaction was reported only in 1997. 

Two new glucose-derived oxazolidinones have been prepared, and converted to iV-acyl derivatives of type 204 (R = Me or Piv). The dialkylboron enolates derived from 204 underwent aldol reactions to give syn-products 205, with diastereomeric ratios between 8 1 and 16 1. The same group has also made the oxazolidinone 206 from D-xylose. When this was treated with Mukaiyama s reagent (2-chloro-l-methylpyridinium iodide) in the presence of an imine, a Staudinger ketene-imine cyclization occurred to give a p-lactam such as 207, the structure of which was confirmed by X-ray crystallography, in >98% de. ... 

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 . ... 

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