Ketones, ethyl aldol reactions

The aldol reaction is a carbonyl condensation that occurs between two aldehyde or ketone molecules. Aldol reactions are reversible, leading first to a /3-hydroxy aldehyde or ketone and then to an cr,/6-unsaturated product. Mixed aldol condensations between two different aldehydes or ketones generally give a mixture of all four possible products. A mixed reaction can be successful, however, if one of the two partners is an unusually good donor (ethyl aceto-acetate, for instance) or if it can act only as an acceptor (formaldehyde and benzaldehyde, for instance). Intramolecular aldol condensations of 1,4- and 1,5-diketones are also successful and provide a good way to make five-and six-inembered rings. 

Quantitative yields are realized when a-(/V,/V-dibenzylamino) ethyl ketones undergo aldol reactions with aldehydes. The reaction proceeds in a highly diastereoselective manner... 

Aldol-type reactions of nitrones (303) occur with electron-deficient ketones, such as a-keto esters, a, 3-diketones, and trifluoromethyl ketones. These reactions are catalyzed by secondary amines. The use of chiral cyclic amines A1-A7 leads to a-(2-hydroxyalkyl)nitrones (304) in moderate yields and rather high optical purity (Scheme 2.120) (381). The mechanism of the nitrone-aldol reaction of iV-methyl-C-ethyl nitrone with dimethyl ketomalonate in the absence and presence of L- proline has been studied by using density functional theory (DFT) (544). 

Four-component annelation to alkenolides. Posner et al. have reported a one-pot three-step annelation of cycloalkenones to provide, after oxidation, four-atom enlarged macrolides. Thus Michael addition of tributyltinlithium to cyclo-hexenone (1) and Michael addition of the resulting enolate to ethyl vinyl ketone followed by an aldol reaction results in cyclization to a bicyclic hemiketal (2), which is oxidized by Pb(OAc)4 to an unsaturated 10-membered lactone (3). 

For the first example of direct catal3ftic asymmetric aldol reaction of ethyl ketones, see Mahrwald, R. Ziemer, B. Tetrahedron Lett. 2002, 43, 4459-4461. 

By the use of chiral oxazolidines derived from a chiral norephedrine and methyl ketones, an asymmetric aldol reaction proceeds in a highly enantioselective manner. In the case of ethyl or a-methoxy ketones, the corresponding anti aldol products were obtained with high diastereo- and enantioselectivities. A chiral titanium reagent, generated from... 

The development of enantioselective aldol reactions has been widely studied in conjunction with the synthesis of natural products. Highly enantioselective aldol reactions have been achieved by employing chiral enolates of ethyl ketones and propionic acid derivatives.(1) On the other hand, achieving high asymmetric induction in the asymmetric aldol reaction of methyl ketones is still a problem.(2)... 

Table 2. Asymmetric Aldol Reaction of Ethyl Ketones...

Huang, X.-T. Chen, Q.-Y. Ethyl a-Fluoro Silyl Enol Ether Stereoselective Synthesis and Its Aldol Reaction with Aldehydes and Ketones. J. Org. Chem. 2002, 67, 3231-3234. 

Because the aldol reaction is reversible, it is possible to adjust reaction conditions so that the two stereoisomeric aldol products equilibrate. This can be done in the case of lithium enolates by keeping the reaction mixture at room temperature until the product composition reaches equilibrium. This has been done, for example, for the product from the reaction of the enolate of ethyl /-butyl ketone and benzaldehyde. 

Fluoral hydrate and hemiacetals are industrial products. They are stable liquids that are easy to handle, and they react as fluoral itself in many reactions. Thus, in the presence of Lewis acids, they react in Friedel-Crafts reactions. They also react very well with organometallics (indium and zinc derivatives) and with silyl enol ethers.Proline-catalyzed direct asymmetric aldol reaction of fluoral ethyl hemiac-etal with ketones produced jS-hydroxy-jS-trifluoromethylated ketones with good to excellent diastereo- (up to 96% de) and enantioselectivities. With imine reagents, the reaction proceeds without Lewis acid activation. The use of chiral imines affords the corresponding 8-hydroxy ketones with a 60-80% de (Figure 2.49). ° ... 

In contrast to these vapour-phase reactions, it has been reported that ketones and aqueous ammonia (or ammonium acetate) in an autoclave give less complex mixtures of pyridines. Crotonaldehyde gives 5-ethyl-2-methylpyridine (570) in up to 59% yield, methyl vinyl ketone gives 2,3,4-trimethylpyridine (571) rather than 2,3,6-trimethylpyridine 1,3,3-trimethoxybutane has been used in place of methyl vinyl ketone (49JA2629). In some cases reverse aldol reactions occur (for example with benzalacetophenone) giving unwanted products. A similar reverse aldol is responsible for the production of triarylpyridines (572) when benzalacetophenones are treated with formamide and ammonium formate (73JA4891). 

Extensive stmcture activity relationship (SAR) studies in this series revealed that unsymmetrical substitution on the heterocyclic ring and hence the introduction of chirality on the central carbon atom led to increased potency. Such asymmetrical dihydro-pyridines can be prepared by stepwise variation of the Hantzsch synthesis, based on the hypothetical alternate route to nifedipine. Thus, aldol condensation of methyl acetoacetate with 2,3-dichlorobenzaldehyde (13-1) gives the cinnamyl ketone (13-2). Reaction of that with the enamine (13-3) from ethyl acetoacetate gives the calcium channel blocker felodipine (13-4) [14]. 

Asymmetric aldol reactions.4 The borane complex 3 can also serve as the Lewis acid catalyst for the aldol reaction of enol silyl ethers with aldehydes (Mukaiyama reactions).5 Asymmetric induction is modest (80-85% ee) in reactions of enol ethers of methyl ketones, but can be as high as 96% ee in reactions of enol ethers of ethyl ketones. Moreover, the reaction is syn-selective, regardless of the geometry of the enol. However, the asymmetric induction is solvent-dependent, being higher in nitroethane than in dichloromethane. 

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