Ketones, Henry reaction with alcohols

In this section the synthesis of fluoroalkyl (Section 15.1.4.1.3), a,a-difluoroalkyl (Section 15.1.4.2.3), and trifluoromethyl- and perfluoroalkyl ketones are discussed collectively. The second most widely used method for synthesizing peptide fluoromethyl ketones is the Henry nitro-aldol condensation reaction, which involves the use of (3-nitro alcohols to build the fluoromethyl ketones. As with the modified Dakin-West procedure, the Henry reaction has also been used to synthesize mono-, di-, tri-, and extended fluoromethyl ketones, making it another extremely versatile synthetic method.19 12 19 27 29 33 341 However, similar to the Dakin-West procedure, the products of the Henry reaction are not chiral, since an achiral carbanion is involved in the crucial carbon bond forming step. 

More recently, the use of high pressure with tetra-n-butylammonium fluoride as catalyst allowed these reactions to be accomplished with cyclic ketones. Thus, the Henry reaction of nitroalkanes with 3- and 4-methylcyclohexanones in THF at 30 C and 9 kbar (1 bar = 100 kPa) afforded fair to high yields (60-90% after 4 d) of the corresponding nitro alcohols, while with 2-methyIcyclohexanones it was possible to obtain addition products, although in moderate yields. These facts explain the modest utility of the Henry reaction as a chain-lengthening reaction when the carbonyl component is a ketone, but also show the difference in reactivity of aldehyde and ketone C==0 groups with respect to nitromethane, primary and secondary nitroalkanes in the presence of a base as catalyst. Such a difference in reactivity can be considered as the most evident chemoselectivity of this reaction. 

The Henry reaction is a base-catalyzed C-C bond-forming reaction between nitroalkanes and aldehydes or ketones. It is similar to the aldol addition, and is also referred to as the nitroaldol reaction. Since its discovery in 1895 [1] the Henry reaction has become one of the most useful reactions for the formation of C-C bonds, and most particularly for the synthesis of P-nitroalcohol derivatives [2]. The general features of this reaction are (i) the potential offered by the nitro and hydroxyl groups on the products for transformation into other compound families such as P-amino alcohols, P-amino acids, or nitroalkenes (ii) only a catalytic amount of base is required (iii) up to two contiguous stereogenic centers may be created in a single step concomitantly to the C-C bond formation. Several recent reviews with a focus on the asymmetric Henry reaction and its applications have appeared [3j. 

Fluorinated amino acids and amino alcohols have shown extensive biological activity [18]. In 2008, the Bandini and Umani-Ronchi group developed an efficient Henry reaction between nitromethane and fluoromethyl ketones catalyzed by cinchona alkaloids [19]. They showed that benzoylcupreines bearing electron-withdrawing substituents at the C9 position of the catalyst structure are essential for good results (Table 29.2,14 versus 15). Remarkably, comparable levels of asymmetric induction could be obtained with both aromatic and aliphatic ketones. 

Similar to the Dakin-West procedure previously mentioned, the Henry nitro-aldol condensation reaction is most widely used to synthesize trifluoromethyl ketones, although there are many examples of a,a-difluoroalkyl ketones synthesized by this method (Table 6)JU 12271 The method for a,a-difluoroalkyl and trifluoromethyl ketone synthesis is identical except for the final oxidation although fluoroalkyl and a,a-difluoroalkyl ketones are easily oxidized by the Sarett method (Cr03/pyridine),[12 the corresponding trifluoromethyl ketones can only be oxidized under basic conditions (0.3 M NaOH) with KMn04Jul Also, in some of the syntheses of a,a-difluoroalkyl ketones, the nitro alcohol intermediate was protected by si-lylation with /ert-butylchlorodimethylsilane. The silyl group was later removed by TosOH prior to oxidation. The full details of this method are given in Section 15.1.4.3.2. 

The utilization of carbanions stabilized by various electron-withdrawing groups to effect carbon-carbon bond formation occupies a central position in organic synthesis. This chapter focuses on the reactions of nitro-stabilized carbanions (nitronate anions or their equivalents) with aldehydes and ketones. This route for the coupling of a carbonyl and a nitroalkane component, leading to vicinal nitro alcohols, was discovered in 1895 by Henry and is currently known as the Henry or nitroaldol reaction. 

Michael/Henry/dehydration/aromatisation reaction of 2-(2-oxoethyl) benzal-dehydes and nitroalkenes mediated by pyrrolidine to obtain polysubstituted naphthalene derivatives. DBU catalysed the conjugate additions of alcohols to ot,p-unsaturated nitriles, esters and ketones. Perhaps more important are the aza-Michael addition reactions of amines to a,p-unsaturated ketones, nitriles and esters. Recently, Costa, Vilarrasa and coworkers described the addition of lactams, imides, 2-pyridone, pyrimidine-2,4-diones and inosines to methyl propiolate and other similar compounds, DABCO and DMAP being the best catalysts. As mentioned before, tertiary amines give zwitterionic species with activated allynes. It was as early as 1932 when Diels and Alder used the reaction of pyridine with dimethyl acetylenedicarbojylate (DMAD) for the synthesis of heterocycles. The interception of the corresponding intermediate with Al-tosylimines and activated olefins provided access to l-azadienes ° and highly substituted butadienes (Scheme 2.6). When the quenching species of the zwitterionic intermediate is a 1,2-diketone, dibenzoyl maleates or cyclopentenedione derivatives could be obtained (Scheme 2.6). The interception of the zwitterionic species of N-methyl imidazole (NMI) and DMAD with ketenes to obtain unsaturated esters has also been shown. ... 

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