Ketones, 2,3-epoxy synthesis

Diketo steroids have been prepared by air oxidation of 3-keto-5i5-steroids in potassium /-butoxide-t-butanoF or by hydrolysis of 4,5-epoxy-3-ketones followed by dehydration. However, the most general synthesis is that used by Camerino et al. to prepare Vketo-A-norandrostanes and pregnanes. Hydroxylation of 17a,20.20,21-bismethylenedioxypregn-... 

Photochemical Wolff rearrangement of 2-diazo-3-ketones, though not widely used as a source of A-norsteroids, is discussed in section V in connection with the mechanism of the important photochemical synthesis of D-norsteroids. Photochemical rearrangement of epoxy ketones is a source of A-nosteroids these rearrangements are discussed in chapter 13. Other photochemical routes to A-norsteroids are known." " ... 

Darzens reaction can be used to efficiently complete the stereoselective synthesis of a"-substituted epoxy ketones. As an example, Enders and Hett reported a technique for the asymmetric synthesis of a"-silylated a,P-epoxy ketones. Thus, optically active a -silyl a-bromoketone 38 was treated with LDA followed by the addition of benzaldehyde to give a"-silyl epoxyketone 40 in 66% yield with good... 

A 6-endo cyclization by a y-epoxy alcohol can be accomplished through the presence of an appropriately disposed electron-withdrawing group, as found in the total synthesis of (+)-phonomactin. Treatment of the hydroxy-epoxy ketone 30 (R = H) with HC1 afforded the bicyclic compound 31, containing a pyran-4-one ring, in which nucleophilic attack of the y-OH group occurred at the oxirane carbon distal from the unfavorable electronic effect of the carbonyl group (Scheme 8.7) [20a]. 

In a formal synthesis of fasicularin, the critical spirocyclic ketone intermediate 183 was obtained by use of the rearrangement reaction of the silyloxy epoxide 182, derived from the unsaturated alcohol 180. Alkene 180 was epoxidized with DMDO to produce epoxy alcohol 181 as a single diastereoisomer, which was transformed into the trimethyl silyl ether derivative 182. Treatment of 182 with HCU resulted in smooth ring-expansion to produce spiro compound 183, which was subsequently elaborated to the desired natural product (Scheme 8.46) [88]. 

The past thirty years have witnessed great advances in the selective synthesis of epoxides, and numerous regio-, chemo-, enantio-, and diastereoselective methods have been developed. Discovered in 1980, the Katsuki-Sharpless catalytic asymmetric epoxidation of allylic alcohols, in which a catalyst for the first time demonstrated both high selectivity and substrate promiscuity, was the first practical entry into the world of chiral 2,3-epoxy alcohols [10, 11]. Asymmetric catalysis of the epoxidation of unfunctionalized olefins through the use of Jacobsen s chiral [(sale-i i) Mi iln] [12] or Shi s chiral ketones [13] as oxidants is also well established. Catalytic asymmetric epoxidations have been comprehensively reviewed [14, 15]. 

A very interesting organocatalyzed one-pot Michael addition/aldol condensation/Darzens condensation has been reported for the asymmetric synthesis of epoxy-ketones <06JA5475>. An initial asymmetric Michael condensation between 16 and 17 is catalyzed by proline derivative 18. Intermediate 19 then undergoes an aldol condensation followed by a stereoselective Darzens condensation to provide epoxy-ketone 20 in moderate yield and with surprisingly good enantiomeric excess. 

Pyrazoles were synthesized in the authors laboratory by Le Blanc et al. from the epoxy-ketone as already stated in Sect. 3.1.1a, Scheme 35 [80]. The synthetic strategy employed by Le Blanc et al. [80] was based upon that the strategy published by Bhat et al. [81] who also described the synthesis of pyrazoles but did not report cytotoxic evaluation on the synthesized compounds. Scheme 48 shows the synthesis of the most active compound (178). Dissolution of the epoxide (179) with a xylenes followed by treatment with p-toluenesulfonic acid and hydrazine hydrate produced the pure nitro-pyrazole 180 in good yield (60%). Catalytic hydrogenation with palladium on activated carbon allowed the amino-pyrazole (178) to be obtained in a pure form. This synthesis allowed relatively large numbers of compounds to be produced as the crude product was sufficiently pure. Yield, reaction time, and purification compared to reported approaches were improved [50, 61, and 81]. Cytotoxicity of these pyrazole analogs was disappointing. The planarity of these compounds may account for this, as CA-4, 7 is a twisted molecule. 

A recent synthesis of the phenylisoserine side-chain of taxol is shown in Scheme 18. The enone 21 was obtained in high yield by condensation of benzal-dehyde with pinacolone. Employing the non-aqueous two-phase epoxidation protocol, epoxide 22 was obtained in 76% yield and 94% e.e. Recrystallisation of the epoxide furnished the desired enantiomer in 97 % e. e. Subsequent manipulations of the epoxy-ketone gave the taxol side-chain 23 with the required stereochemistry (Scheme 18). 

The synthesis of the non-natural ( )-7,14-epz-l(15),8-dolastadien-7,14-ol (rac-7yl4-epi-l09) was published by Paquette in 1986 and is highlighted by a photochemical rearrangement of the 6,6,6-tricyclic a,yS-epoxy ketone 148 into the 5,7,6-tricyclic dolastane skeleton (149) (Scheme 23) [84]. The succeeding hydroxylation of carbon atom by photo oxygenation with singlet oxygen as well as a DIBAH reduction of a keto function proceeded with an undesired substrate-induced diastereoselectivity to provide the racemic 7,14-epimer of the natural dolastane 109. 

A new elegant stereoselective synthesis of humulene (192) has been achieved by a route (Scheme 22) in which the 11-membered-ring framework [cf. (191)] is produced by cyclization of the 11-allylpalladium complex derived from intermediate (190). Buddledin-A (193), -B (194), and -C (195) are new piscicidal sesquiterpenoids which have recently been isolated from the root bark of Buddleja davidiC The caryophyliane framework of these compounds has been established by spectroscopic data and X-ray analysis of the mono-bromohydrin (196) derived from buddledin A (193). An extension of previous studies on the cyclization of the epoxy-ketone (197) derived from caryophyllene has shown that the base-catalysed cyclization of the isomeric epoxy-ketones (198) and (199) provides compounds... 

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