Lithium acetylide reaction with epoxides

Formation and Reaction of Alkynylaluminum Reagents. Lithium acetylides react with Et2AlCl to form LiCl and diethylaluminum acetylides. The aluminum acetylides are useful reagents for carrying out Sn2 reactions on epoxides (eq 8) and undergo conjugate addition to enones that can adopt an S-cis conformation (eq 9). ... 

A second approach (472) to 512 started with trans-2-buitnc epoxide (524) (Scheme 67). Opening of the epoxide ring of 524 with lithium acetylide gave an acetylenic alcohol, which was converted to the acetylenic acid (525) by carbox-ylation with gaseous carbon dioxide. Partial hydrogenation of 525 followed by lactonization afforded the a,3-unsaturated lactone (526) which was transformed to the nitrolactone (527) by a Michael addition reaction of nitromethane. The Nef reaction of 527 gave the tetrahydrofuranyl acetal (528) which was converted to... 

Diels-Alder reactions of a -ethenylidenecyclanonesJ These dienophiles (1) are readily obtained by reaction of lithium acetylide with epoxides followed by oxidation, but tend to polymerize when heated. Fortunately catalysts, such as BF3 etherate or ZnCl2, permit Diels-Alder reactions to proceed at low temperatures. This cycloaddition provides a regio- and stereoselective route to spirocylic dienones (2) in fair to good yield. 

As with cyanide, Sn2 reactions of alkyne anions can be done with substrates other than halides or sulfonate esters. Epoxides are opened by acetylides at the less sterically hindered carbon to give an alkynyl alcohol. A synthetic example is the reaction of epoxide 38 with the indicated lithium alkyne anion gave an 85% yield of 39, an intermediate in the Sinha et al. synthesis of squamotacin.49... 

Ring-opening Reactions. In combination with a Lewis acid, lithium TIPS-acetylide reacts effectively with epoxides to form the desired adducts (eq 34). ... 

---