Kiliani-Fischer reaction

Problem 25.21 1 What product(s) would you expect from Kiliani-Fischer reaction of n-ribose ... 

When studying the course of reactions, l3C-n.m.r. spectra may be used to monitor the progress of a reaction,34 or to detect intermediates. The latter was achieved in a study of the Kiliani-Fischer reaction.88... 

The products of Kiliani-Fischer reaction of D-ribose have the same configuration at C3, C4 and C5 as D-ribose. 

Triose, tetrose, and pentose phosphates enriched with C have been prepared by the Kiliani-Fischer reaction on the terminal phosphates of the next lower aldose. The mixed nitriles were separated on Dowex 1-X8 resin and reduced with hydrogen over Pd-BaS04. The synthesis of D-glucose 2-phosphate by phosphorylation of l,3,4,6-tetra-0-acetyl-j3-D-glucopyranosyl chloride, itself prepared by 2 1 acetyl migration, has been reported. Rates of phosphate hydrolysis in 0.25 M sulphuric acid and in 0.25 M sodium hydroxide were measured for D-glucose monophosphates in the former the order was 1-phosphate > 2-phosphate > 3-phosphate > 6-phosphate while in the latter it was 3-phosphate > 6-phosphate > 2-phosphate > 1-phosphate. ... 

This reaction was first reported by Kiliani in 1885, and then extended by Fischer in 1889. It is the conversion of an aidose into two one-carbon-higher epimeric homologs, which involves a nucleophilic addition of a cyanide to the terminal carbonyl group of an aldose, hydrolysis of cyanohydrin, and reduction of the resulting lactone. Therefore, it is known as the Kiliani synthesis, Kiliani-Fischer reaction, Kiliani cyanohydrin synthesis, Kiliani-Fischer synthesis, Kiliani-Fischer cyanohydrin synthesis, Fischer-Kiliani cyanohydrin synthesis, or cyanohydrin reaction. This reaction is carried out under alkaline conditions (e.g., at pH > 9.1) to maintain a high effective concentration of cyanide... 

Recently, Rezanka et al. [45] described the transformation of D-aUopyranose to D-oHo-heptopyranose and D- hro-heptopyranose via Kiliani-Fischer reaction. Thus, the first step is to react D-allopyranose 74 with aqueous potassium cyanide to give a mixture of two epimeric cyanohydrins, which were reduced by palladium on barium sulfate under acidic conditions into the corresponding aldehydes that quickly cyclized into P-D-glycero-D-ollo-heptopyranose 77 and D-glycero-D-altro-heptopyranose 78 in 84% yield after two steps (Scheme 2.19). 

Addition of hydrogen cyanide to an aldose to form a cyanohydrin is the first step in the Kiliani-Fischer method for increasing the carbon chain of aldoses by one unit. Cyanohydrins react with Grignard reagents (see Grignard reaction) to give a-hydroxy ketones. 

Just as the Kiliani-Fischer synthesis lengthens an aldose chain by one carbon, the Wohl degradation shortens an aldose chain by one carbon. The Wohl degradation is almost the exact opposite of the Kiliani-Fischer sequence. That is, the aldose aldehyde carbonyl group is first converted into a nitrile, and the resulting cyanohydrin loses HCN under basic conditions—the reverse of a nucleophilic addition reaction. 

Frequently, it is the bisulfite addition product that is treated with CN. This method is especially useful for aromatic aldehydes, since it avoids competition from the benzoin condensation. If desired, it is possible to hydrolyze the cyanohydrin in situ to the corresponding a-hydroxy acid. This reaction is important in the Kiliani-Fischer method of extending the carbon chain of a sugar. 

A sequence known as the Kiliani-Fischer synthesis was developed primarily for extending an aldose chain by one carbon, and was one way in which configurational relationships between different sugars could be established. A major application of this sequence nowadays is to employ it for the synthesis of " C-labelled sugars, which in turn may be used to explore the role of sugars in metabolic reactions. 

Kiliani-Fischer synthesis is a means of lengthening the carbon backbone of a carbohydrate. The process begins with the reaction of hydrogen cyanide (HCN) with an aldehyde to produce a cyanohydrin. Treatment of the cyanohydrin with barium hydroxide followed by acidification yields an aldose with an additional carbon atom, as shown in Figure 16-16. The formation of the cyanohydrin creates a new chiral center as a racemic mixture. 

Among the classic methods for the extension of the aldose chain by one carbon atom from the reducing end [9J, the Kiliani-Fischer cyanohydrin synthesis [10] is a milestone in carbohydrate chemistry. However after 110 years from discovery and numerous applications [11], including the preparation of carbon and hydrogen isotopically labeled compounds for mechanistic and structural studies [12], there are still several drawbacks that make the method impractical. These are the low and variable degree of selectivity and the harsh reaction conditions that are required to reveal the aldose from either the aldonic acid or directly from the cyanohydrin. Synthetic applications that have appeared in recent times confirmed these limitations. For instance, a quite low selectivity was registered [13] in the addition of the cyanide ion to the D-ga/acfo-hexodialdo-l,5-pyranose derivative 1... 

D-(+)-glyccraldchyde was allowed to undergo the Kiliani-Fischer synthesis. and the reaction ran to completion. After separation of any isomers, how many optically active products were formed ... 

Figure 7.15 displays the classic Kiliani-Fischer synthesis, a three-step reaction sequence for the homologation of aldoses. You can see the Cj -lengthening of D-arabinose to produce D-glu-cose and D-mannose. 

The duration of the reaction time alone determines whether carbonyl compounds, sodium cyanide and ammonium chloride will generate a cyanohydrin (Figure 9.9, top) or an a-aminonitrile (Figure 9.9, bottom). We are already familiar with the first reaction pattern from the initial reaction of the three-step Kiliani-Fischer synthesis of aldoses (Figure 7.15). The second reaction pattern initiates the Strecker synthesis of a-amino acids, which is completed by a total hydrolysis of the C=N group, as in the Bucherer modification discussed elsewhere (Figure 7.11). 

The synthesis of D-psicose as a colorless sirup ([< ]% + 3.1° in water) by Steiger and Reichstein13 may be regarded as the first authentic preparation of this ketohexose. The Kiliani-Fischer cyanohydrin synthesis furnished D-allonic lactone (VII) from D-ribose. This lactone, on reduction with sodium amalgam, gave D-allose (VIII) which was transformed into D-psicose (I) by refluxing with pyridine. Pyridine had been introduced into the Lobry de Bruyn-Van Ekenstein reaction by Fischer, Danilov and their coworkers.13 ... 

The final reaction to be covered in this section is known as the Kiliani-Fischer synthesis. It is a method that converts an aldose to two diastereomeric aldoses that contain one more carbon than the original sugar. The Kiliani-Fischer synthesis is illustrated in the following reaction sequence, which shows the formation of the aldopentoses D-ribose and D-arabinose from the aldotetrose D-erythrose ... 

A D-aldopentose, X, gives a product that rotates plane-polarized light on reaction with FfN03. Compound X can be prepared from aldotetrose Y by Kiliani-Fischer synthesis. Reaction of Y with HN03 gives a product that rotates plane-polarized light. Show the structures of X and Y. 

Ruff degradation of D-arabinose gives D-erythrose. The Kiliani-Fischer synthesis converts D-erythrose to a mixture of D-arabinose and D-ribose. Draw out these reactions, and give the structure of D-ribose. 

After a series of Kiliani-Fischer syntheses on (+ )-glyceraldehyde, an unknown sugar is isolated from the reaction mixture. The following experimental information is obtained ... 

Palladium on barium sulfate, Pd/BaS04 Acts as a hydrogenation catalyst for nitriles in the Kiliani-Fischer chain-lengthening reaction of carbohydrates (Section 25.6). 

Two common procedures in carbohydrate chemistry result in adding or removing one carbon atom from the skeleton of an aldose. The Wohl degradation shortens an aldose chain by one carbon, whereas the Kiliani-Fischer synthesis lengthens it by one. Both reactions involve cyanohydrins as intermediates. Recall from Section 21.9 that cyanohydrins are formed from aldehydes by addition of the elements of HCN. Cyanohydrins can also be re converted to carbonyl compounds by treatment with base. 

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