Lithium compounds Michael additions

An asymmetric synthesis of estrone begins with an asymmetric Michael addition of lithium enolate (178) to the scalemic sulfoxide (179). Direct treatment of the cmde Michael adduct with y /i7-chloroperbenzoic acid to oxidize the sulfoxide to a sulfone, followed by reductive removal of the bromine affords (180, X = a and PH R = H) in over 90% yield. Similarly to the conversion of (175) to (176), base-catalyzed epimerization of (180) produces an 85% isolated yield of (181, X = /5H R = H). C8 and C14 of (181) have the same relative and absolute stereochemistry as that of the naturally occurring steroids. Methylation of (181) provides (182). A (CH2)2CuLi-induced reductive cleavage of sulfone (182) followed by stereoselective alkylation of the resultant enolate with an allyl bromide yields (183). Ozonolysis of (183) produces (184) (wherein the aldehydric oxygen is by isopropyUdene) in 68% yield. Compound (184) is the optically active form of Ziegler s intermediate (176), and is converted to (+)-estrone in 6.3% overall yield and >95% enantiomeric excess (200). 

When the enamine is in conjugation with a carbonyl function, as in a-aminomethylene aldehydes (528,529), ketones (530), or esters (531), a Michael addition is found in vinylogous analogy to the reactions of amides. An application to syntheses in the vitamin A series employed a vinyl lithium compound (532). 

During the last decade, a substantial number of novel (sometimes even stereoselective) strategies for the preparation of allenic prostaglandins have been devised. The approach used by Patterson involves a three-component coupling via a 1,4-addi-tion of the organocopper compound 121 to the enone 120, followed by alkylation of the enolate formed with the bromide 122 (Scheme 18.40) [121]. However, due to the notoriously low reactivity in the alkylation of the mixed copper-lithium enolate formed during the Michael addition [122], the desired product 123 was obtained with only 28% chemical yield (the alkylation was not even stereoselective, giving 123 as a 1 1 mixture of diastereomers). 

Compound 388 is an acylating agent for electron-deficient alkenes, in a Michael addition process. It is formed by treating molybdenum hexacarbonyl with an organolithium compound, followed by quenching the intermediate 387 with boron trifluoride (equation 104). The structure of 388 (R = Ph) can be elucidated by NMR spectroscopy. Other examples of enantioselective and diastereoselective Michael-type additions involving lithium-containing intermediates in the presence of chiral additives can be found elsewhere in the literature . 

One problem in the anti-selective Michael additions of A-metalated azomethine ylides is ready epimerization after the stereoselective carbon-carbon bond formation. The use of the camphor imines of ot-amino esters should work effectively because camphor is a readily available bulky chiral ketone. With the camphor auxiliary, high asymmetric induction as well as complete inhibition of the undesired epimerization is expected. The lithium enolates derived from the camphor imines of ot-amino esters have been used by McIntosh s group for asymmetric alkylations (106-109). Their Michael additions to some a, p-unsaturated carbonyl compounds have now been examined, but no diastereoselectivity has been observed (108). It is also known that the A-pinanylidene-substituted a-amino esters function as excellent Michael donors in asymmetric Michael additions (110). Lithiation of the camphor... 

In a closely related asymmetric reaction, the required absolute stereochemistry at C-4 was established via a Michael addition of a cuprate reagent to a dihydropiperidinone (Scheme 12). The stereochemistry at C-3 was introduced in the form of piperidinone 61, a compound readily available from (5)-glutamic acid. Protection of both the amino and alcohol functionalities was achieved using standard reaction conditions to give 62. Introduction of the A -double bond was accomplished via phenylselenation of the lithium... 

When Michael additions of chiral enolates to nitroalkenes were studied, it was found that lithium enolates (132) of l,3-dioxolan-4-ones (131), derived from the corresponding a-hydroxy acids, afford the adducts (133) with high diastereoselectivity (Scheme 50).144 Recrystallization leads, in general, to diastereomerically pure products, which in turn can efficiently be converted to homochiral compounds like (134), (135) or (136). A number of other chiral enolates (137M140) were also shown to undergo highly selective additions to nitroalkenes however, product configurations were not determined in these cases. 

A new method of kinetically controlled generation of the more substituted enolate from an unsymmetrical ketone involves precomplexation of the ketone with aluminium tris(2,6-diphenylphenoxide) (ATPH) at —78°C in toluene, followed by deprotonation with diisopropylamide (LDA) highly regioselective alkylations can then be performed.22 ATPH has also been used, through complexation, as a carbonyl protector of y./)-unsaturated carbonyl substrates during regioselective Michael addition of lithium enolates (including dianions of /i-di carbonyl compounds).23... 

Enantiomeric enriched a-thiosulfoxides 391 can be prepared by addition of a-thiomethyllithiums to p-tolyl sulfinate601. The deprotonation of p-tolyl (p-tolylsulfanyl)methyl sulfoxide (403) took place with w-BuLi at — 78 °C to afford the enantioenriched lithium derivative 404602. The addition to benzaldehyde followed by methylation of the hydroxy group and deprotection gave a-methoxyphenylacetaldehyde with 70% ee. This chiral formyl anion gave diastereoselectively Michael addition to a-substituted cyclopentenones603. The acylation of compound 404 followed by LAH reduction allowed the diastereoselective preparation of compounds 405 up to 99% de (Scheme 105)604. 

Addition of aryl lithium compounds to a (l-alkynyl)carbene complex la,b affords Michael adducts 90 in up to 45% yield, together with cyclopen-... 

Microwave irradiation of a mixture of cyclohexenones and ethyl acetoacetate adsorbed on the surface of solid lithium 5-(2)-prolinate leads to the stereoselective construction of bicyclo[2.2.2]octanone (69) systems through Michael addition and subsequent intramolecular aldolization (Ranu et al., 2000). Electron-rich aromatic compounds react with formaldehyde and a secondary amine under solvent-free condition and microwave irradiation in a microwave oven to produce amino ethylated products (70) in good to excellent yields (Mojtahedi et al., 2000). 

Although the Michael addition of metal ynolates to a,/ -unsaturated carbonyl compounds is expected to give six-membered cycloadducts, 1,2-addition to carbonyl groups usually precedes 1,4-addition. The cycloaddition of the lithium-aluminum ate complex of silyl-substimted ynolate 112 with ethyl benzylideneacetoacetate (113), which is doubly activated by the ester and keto functions, gives the y-lactone 114 via a [4 4- 2] type cycloaddition (equation 46). Diethyl benzylidenemalonate (115) affords the uncyclized ketene 116 by reaction with 112 (equation 47). This could be taken as evidence for a stepwise mechanism for equation 46. ... 

Amide Enolates. The lithium (Z)-enolate can be generated from (5)-4-benzyl-3-propanoyl-2,2,5,5-tetra-methyloxazolidine and Lithium Diisopropylamide in THF at —78 °C. Its alkylations take place smoothly in the presence of Hexamethylphosphoric Triamide with high diastereoselec-tivity (eq 3), and its Michael additions to a,(3-unsaturated carbonyl compounds are also exclusively diastereoselective (eq 4). Synthetic applications have been made in the aldol reactions of the titanium (Z)-enolates of a-(alkylideneamino) esters. ... 

The structure of catalyst 428 was proposed as a result of the several experiments shown in Sch. 60 and discussed below [89]. Firstly, it was observed that treatment of ALB catalyst 394 (Sch. 51) with methyllithium produced a solution from which the hexacoordinate aluminum species 434 (M = Li) could be crystallized in 43 % yield. The same compound could also be obtained from solutions prepared from 394 and nBuLi, and the sodium enolate of 425. Solid-state X-ray analysis of this compound revealed that it has the same structiu-e as the species 417 (Sch. 56) isolated by Feringa and coworkers during the preparation of ALB with excess BINOL (Sch. 55) [86]. The tris-BINOL(tris-lithium) alimunum complex 434 is not the active catalyst in the Michael addition of phosphonate 425 to cyclohexenone because the use of this material as catalyst gave the Michael adduct 426 in 28 % yield and 57 % ee which is dramatically lower than obtained by use of catalyst 428 (Sch. 59). In addition, the use of catalyst 434 (M = Li) gave the alkene product 429 in 13 % yield, a product that was not seen with catalyst 428. Additional evidence comes from the reaction between 425 and cyclopentenone with catalyst 434 (M = Li) which gives the adduct 427 in 78 % yield and 12 % ee. 

The Michael addition (1,4-conjugate addition) of an enolate to an ot, -unsaturated carbonyl system is another prevalent reaction for carbon-carbon bond formation (75, 76). However, its use in organic syntheses is occasionally restricted owing to a concurrent 1,2-addition reaction and polymerization of a, -unsaturated carbonyl compounds. A new methodology to overcome these problems has been devised by the use of lithium enolates (77-79). Another approach is to use silyl enol ethers and silyl ketene acetals as enolates. 

---