Lactic acid, configuration

A simpler representation of molecules containing asymmetric carbon atoms is the Fischer projection, which is shown here for the same lactic acid configurations. A Fischer projection involves... 

Through the process described above, the lactic acid configuration can be transferred into useful chiral intermediates such as amino acids, aziridines, and peptide isosteres [143]. 

Figure 2-69. The two enantiomers of lactic acid assignment of R and S configurations to the enantiomers of lactic acid after ranking the four ligands attached to the chiral center according to the Cl P rules (OH > COjH > Me > H).

DUactide (5) exists as three stereoisomers, depending on the configurations of the lactic acid monomer used. The enantiomeric forms whereia the methyl groups are cis are formed from two identical lactic acid molecules, D- or L-, whereas the dilactide formed from a racemic mixture of lactic acid is the opticaUy iaactive meso form, with methyl groups trans. The physical properties of the enantiomeric dilactide differ from those of the meso form (6), as do the properties of the polymers and copolymers produced from the respective dilactide (23,24). 

Figure 9.8 Assignment of configuration to (a) (R)-l-l-lactic acid and (b) (S)-(-i-)-lactic acid.

One further point needs to be mentioned—the matter of absolute configuration. How do we know that our assignments of R,S configuration are correct in an absolute, rather than a relative, sense Since we can t see the molecules themselves, how do we know that the R configuration belongs to the dextrorotatory enantiomer of lactic acid This difficult question was finally solved in 1951, when J. M. Bijvoet of the University of Utrecht reported an X-ray spectroscopic method for determining the absolute spatial arrangement of atoms in a molecule. Based on his results, we can say with certainty that the R,S conventions are correct. 

Molecules like lactic acid, alanine, and glyceraldehyde are relatively simple because each has only one chirality center and only two stereoisomers. The situation becomes more complex, however, with molecules that have more than one chirality center. As a general rule, a molecule with n chirality centers can have up to 2n stereoisomers (although it may have fewer, as we ll see shortly). Take the amino acid threonine (2-amino-3-hydroxybutanoic acid), for example. Since threonine has two chirality centers (C2 and C3), there are four possible stereoisomers, as shown in Figure 9.10. Check for yourself that the R,S configurations are correct. 

Conversion at the chiral center if the mechanism is known. Thus, the Sn2 mechanism proceeds with inversion of configuration at an asymmetric carbon (see p. 390) It was by a series of such transformations that lactic acid was related to alanine ... 

Listowsky and coworkers showed that the c.d. of this sugar derivative is due entirely to lactic acid, and confirmed that this chromophore is in the D configuration for muramic acid. N-Acetylmuramic acid, in which the amino group is replaced by an amido group at C-2, has a c.d. spectrum that is roughly a linear combination of the lactic acid in muramic acid and the amide in 2-acetamido-2-deoxy-D-glucose. This indicates that the amide chromophore and the lactic acid chromophore in N-acetylmuramic acid behave independently. 

A component of the ribotide reductase complex of enzymes, protein Ba, has been shown to contain two non-heme iron atoms per mole (77). This enzyme plays a vital, albeit indirect, role in the synthesis of DNA. Curiously, the lactic acid bacteria do not employ iron for the reduction of the 2 hydroxyl group of ribonucleotides. In these organisms this role has been assumed by the cobalt-containing vitamin Bi2 coenzyme (18). The mechanism of the reaction has been studied and has been shown to procede with retention of configuration (19). 

The configuration of (-)-lactic acid can be related to (+)-glyceraldehyde through the following sequence of reactions ... 

A somewhat similar configurational correlation between (leva)-glyceraldehyde and (dexfro)-lactic acid has been made by Wolfrom, Lemieux, Olin and Weisblat.36 Reductive desulfurization of tetra-acetyl-2-methyl-D-glucose diethyl thioacetal (XXVII) and hydrolysis of the product gave 2-methyl-l-desoxy-D-glucitol (XXVIII) oxidation... 

Acids of established configurations have been used to correlate the configurations of other oxygen-containing optically active compounds. Thus on the basis of lactic acid, the configuration of the simplest optically active alcohol, 2 butanol has been assigned as follows—... 

Some times the sign and extent of rotation help in determining which isomer has which configuration. This happens because rotation of structurally related compounds of identical configuration undergoes analogous changes under the influence of temperature, solvent or other factors. Let us study the molecular rotations of L(+) lactic acid and alanine. 

Since the same shift is observed in (+) lactic acid and (+) - alanine, hence the configurations of the two are identical and so the following formulas have been assigned to alanine. 

Investigations on the stereochemistry of chiral semiochemicals may be carried out by (gas) chromatographic separation of stereoisomers using chiral stationary phases, e.g. modified cyclodextrins [32]. Alter natively, formation of diastereomers (e.g. Mosher s ester or derivatives involving lactic acid etc.) may be followed by separation on conventional achiral stationary phases. Assignment of the absolute configuration of the natural product will again need comparison with an authentic (synthetic) reference sample. 

A more recent synthesis of 197 [365] is shown in Fig. 9. Enders introduced the stereogenic centre of (S)-lactic acid into the crucial position 10 in 197. The vinylsulfone B, readily available from lactic acid, was transformed into the planar chiral phenylsulfonyl-substituted (q3-allyl)tetracarbonyliron(+l) tetra-fluoroborate C showing (IR,2S,3 )-configuration. Addition of allyltrimethyl silane yielded the vinyl sulfone D which was hydrogenated to E. Alkylation with the dioxolane-derivative of l-bromoheptan-6-one (readily available from 6-bro-mohexanoic acid) afforded F. Finally, reductive removal of the sulfonyl group and deprotection of the carbonyl group furnished 197. A similar approach was used for the synthesis of 198 [366]. 

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