Limonene oxiranes

Another illustration of the use of such a biocatalytic approach was the synthesis of either enantiomer of a-bisabolol, one of these stereoisomers (out of four) which is of industrial value for the cosmetic industry. This approach was based on the diastereoselective hydrolysis of a mixture of oxirane-diastereoiso-mers obtained from (R)- or (S)-limonene [68]. Thus,starting from (S)-hmonene, the biohydrolysis of the mixture of (4S,81 S)-epoxides led to unreacted (4S,8S)-epoxide and (4S,8i )-diol. The former showed a diastereomeric purity (> 95%) and was chemically transformed into (4S,8S)-a-bisabolol. The formed diol... 

Japanese authors have made comprehensive investigations of the rearrangements of oxiranes in the presence of solid acids, bases, and salts.The model compounds employed were cyclohexene oxide and 1-methylcyclohexene oxide. The effects of the acidic and basic properties of the catalysts on the selectivity were interpreted on the basis of the products obtained. The main products are carbonyl compounds and allyl alcohol isomers. Rearrangements of limonene oxide over acids and bases were studied on five different types of Al203 similar research has been carried out on 2- and 3-carene oxides, cis- and trans-carvomenthene oxides and a-pinene oxide. ... 

More typically, mixtures of products are formed. Terpene epoxides that have been subjected to ZnBr2-catalyzed rearrangement include the oxiranes derived from limonene, carvomenthene, other pinenes, 2,3-carvene, pulegone and piperitone. ZnCh is rarely employed, but has been compared with AICI3 in a study involving sever epoxides. In most instances there appears to be no evidence for special advantages of zinc halides compared with other more commonly used Lewis acids. 

For the competitive epoxidation of cis- and fra s-2-octenes with 4a, the ratio of the formation rate of czs-2,3-epoxyoctane to that of the trans isomer is >3x10 , which is much larger than the ratios (1.3-11.5) reported for other stereospecific epoxidation systems. The epoxidation of 3-substituted cyclohexenes, such as 3-methyl-l-cyclohexene and 2-cycIohexen-l-ol, showed an unusual diastereoselectivity the corresponding epoxides were formed highly diastereoselectively with the oxirane ring trans to the substituents anti configuration) (Eq. 4.6). In addition, the more accessible but less nucleophilic double bonds in noncon-jugated dienes, such as frfl is-l,4-hexadiene, (R)-(-F)-limonene, 7-methyl-l,... 

The regioselectivity of LEH has been studied experimentally with different substrates. Studies with the enantiomers of 1-methylcyclohexene oxide (1 and 2, Scheme 2) revealed preferred attack at the methyl-substituted oxirane carbon, Cl, with a regioselectivity of 85(C1) 15(C2). This indicated an acid-catalyzed mechanism, which would result in preferred attack at the more substituted carbon. However, conversion of limonene-1,2-epoxide did not support this conclusion and showed somewhat intriguing results. Exclusive attack at the more substituted carbon (Cl) is seen for the stereoisomers 4 and 5, while exclusive attack at the less substituted carbon (C2) is observed for stereoisomers 3 and 6 (Scheme 2). Interestingly, the two limonene-1,2-epoxide stereoisomers with the same stereochemistry at the oxirane ring, (IR,2S) for 3 and 5 and IS,2R) for 4 and 6, exhibit attack at opposite carbons (Scheme 2). A suggested explanation for the differences was differential binding of the substrates in the active site, which would lead to attack at different carbons. ... 

Borderline-SN2-Type Mechanism. Some enzymes, such as limonene-1,2-epoxide hydrolase, have been shown to operate via a single-step push-pull mechanism [573]. General acid catalysis by a protonated aspartic acid weakens the oxirane to facilitate a simultaneous nucleophilic attack of hydroxyl ion, which is provided by deprotonation of H2O via an aspartate anion. Due to the borderline-SN2-character of this mechanism, the nucleophile preferentially attacks the higher substituted carbon atom bearing the more stabilized 5 -charge. After liberation of the glycol, proton-transfer between both Asp-residues closes the cycle. 

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