Lithium stereochemistry

Hoppe, D. Enantiomerically enriched l-(N,N-diisopropylcarbamoyloxy) -1,3 -dimethylallyl-lithium stereochemistry of the stannylation, titanation, and the homoaldol reaction. Tetrahedron 1992, 48, 8377-8388. 

Stereoselectivities of 99% are also obtained by Mukaiyama type aldol reactions (cf. p. 58) of the titanium enolate of Masamune s chired a-silyloxy ketone with aldehydes. An excess of titanium reagent (s 2 mol) must be used to prevent interference by the lithium salt formed, when the titanium enolate is generated via the lithium enolate (C. Siegel, 1989). The mechanism and the stereochemistry are the same as with the boron enolate. 

Zinc acetylides, prepared in situ by the treatment of lithium acetylides with ZnCF, are widely used. The zinc acetylide 311, prepared in situ, reacts with (Z)-3-iodo-2-buten-l-ol (312) with nearly complete retention of stereochemistry to afford an important intermediate 313 for carotenoid synthesis[227]. 

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). 

The formation of g-alkyl-a,g-unsaturated esters by reaction of lithium dialkylcuprates or Grignard reagents in the presence of copper(I) iodide, with g-phenylthio-, > g-acetoxy-g-chloro-, and g-phosphoryloxy-a,g-unsaturated esters has been reported. The principal advantage of the enol phosphate method is the ease and efficiency with which these compounds may be prepared from g-keto esters. A wide variety of cyclic and acyclic g-alkyl-a,g-unsaturated esters has been synthesized from the corresponding g-keto esters. However, the method is limited to primary dialkylcuprates. Acyclic g-keto esters afford (Zl-enol phosphates which undergo stereoselective substitution with lithium dialkylcuprates with predominant retention of stereochemistry (usually > 85-98i )). It is essential that the cuprate coupling reaction of the acyclic enol phosphates be carried out at lower temperatures (-47 to -9a°C) to achieve high stereoselectivity. When combined with they-... 

Although ethereal solutions of methyl lithium may be prepared by the reaction of lithium wire with either methyl iodide or methyl bromide in ether solution, the molar equivalent of lithium iodide or lithium bromide formed in these reactions remains in solution and forms, in part, a complex with the methyllithium. Certain of the ethereal solutions of methyl 1ithium currently marketed by several suppliers including Alfa Products, Morton/Thiokol, Inc., Aldrich Chemical Company, and Lithium Corporation of America, Inc., have been prepared from methyl bromide and contain a full molar equivalent of lithium bromide. In several applications such as the use of methyllithium to prepare lithium dimethyl cuprate or the use of methyllithium in 1,2-dimethyoxyethane to prepare lithium enolates from enol acetates or triraethyl silyl enol ethers, the presence of this lithium salt interferes with the titration and use of methyllithium. There is also evidence which indicates that the stereochemistry observed during addition of methyllithium to carbonyl compounds may be influenced significantly by the presence of a lithium salt in the reaction solution. For these reasons it is often desirable to have ethereal solutions... 

Some instances of incomplete debromination of 5,6-dibromo compounds may be due to the presence of 5j5,6a-isomer of wrong stereochemistry for anti-coplanar elimination. The higher temperature afforded by replacing acetone with refluxing cyclohexanone has proved advantageous in some cases. There is evidence that both the zinc and lithium aluminum hydride reductions of vicinal dihalides also proceed faster with diaxial isomers (ref. 266, cf. ref. 215, p. 136, ref. 265). The chromous reduction of vicinal dihalides appears to involve free radical intermediates produced by one electron transfer, and is not stereospecific but favors tra 5-elimination in the case of vic-di-bromides. Chromous ion complexed with ethylene diamine is more reactive than the uncomplexed ion in reduction of -substituted halides and epoxides to olefins. ... 

The success of the halo ketone route depends on the stereo- and regio-selectivity in the halo ketone synthesis, as well as on the stereochemistry of reduction of the bromo ketone. Lithium aluminum hydride or sodium borohydride are commonly used to reduce halo ketones to the /mm-halohydrins. However, carefully controlled reaction conditions or alternate reducing reagents, e.g., lithium borohydride, are often required to avoid reductive elimination of the halogen. 

Reduction of 3-methyl-4(3H)quinazolinone with lithium aluminum hydride is known to give 3-methyl-l,2,3,4-tetrahydroquinazoline. The most interesting tetrahydroquinazoline is Trbger s base ° since it has added to our knowledge of the stereochemistry of tri-... 

Dehydration of prednisolone acetate (175b) yields the corresponding 9,11 olefin. As a variation on the chemistry we have seen previously, this olefin is allowed to react with chlorine in the presence of lithium chloride. If this addition is assumed to proceed by the customary mechanism, the first intermediate should be the 9a,11a-chioronium ion. Axial attack by chloride anion from the 110 position will lead to the observed stereochemistry of the product dichlorisone (240). ... 

The stereochemistry of the carboxylation of 4-substituted ( + )-(/ S)-fra ,v-1-(4-mcthylphcnyl-sulfinylmethyl)cyclohexane after metalation with methyllithium and quenching with carbon dioxide was reported64. The results listed in Table 1 show that the d.r. of around 75 25 under kinetic control changes to 25 75 under thermodynamic control. This is the result of the equilibration of the two diastereomeric metalated species. As shown by the experiment in hexamethylphosphoric Iriamide (IIMI A) (d.r. = 57 43 under kinetic control) an electrophilic assistance of the lithium cation to the electrophilic approach is probably involved. 

Table 2. Effect of Lithium Salt on the Stereochemistry of the Carboxylation of ( + )-(/ S)-/ra s-l-(4-Methylphcnyl-sulfinylmcthyl)-4-(methoxymethyl)cyclohexane in THF...

A similar reaction the with rran.v-isomer 3b gave c -3,5-dimethylcyclohexene (4) with very high diastereoselectivity. Accordingly, the stereochemistry of this substitution is anti. Deuterium labeling experiments using the 1-deuterio or 3-deuterio derivative of 3 a showed that the ratio of SN2 /SN2 with lithium dimethylcuprate was about 50 50, while the ratio with lithium cyano(methyl)cupratc was >96 4. 

Enantiomerically pure 3-tolyl-2-sulfinyl-2-cyclopentenone 37 undergoes smooth, mild and diastereoselective conjugate hydride addition with lithium tri(sec-butyl)borohydride to afford ultimately 3-tolylcyclopentanone 38 in 93% enantiomeric purity (equation 35)78. The absolute stereochemistry of product 38 is consistent with a chelated intermediate directing hydride addition from that diastereoface containing the sulfoxide lone pair. 

In 1995, and regrettably missed in last year s review, Klotgen and Wiirthwein described the formation of the 4,5-dihydroazepine derivatives 2 by lithium induced cyclisation of the triene 1, followed by acylation <95TL7065>. This work has now been extended to the preparation of a number of l-acyl-2,3-dihydroazepines 4 from 3 <96T14801>. The formation of the intermediate anion and its subsequent cyclisation was followed by NMR spectroscopy and the stereochemistry of the final product elucidated by x-ray spectroscopy. The synthesis of optically active 2//-azepines 6 from amino acids has been described <96T10883>. The key step is the cyclisation of the amino acid derived alkene 5 with TFA. These azepines isomerise to the thermodynamically more stable 3//-azepines 7 in solution. 

The stereochemistry of the first step was ascertained by an X-ray analysis [8] of an isolated oxazaphospholidine 3 (R = Ph). The overall sequence from oxi-rane to aziridine takes place with an excellent retention of chiral integrity. As the stereochemistry of the oxirane esters is determined by the chiral inductor during the Sharpless epoxidation, both enantiomers of aziridine esters can be readily obtained by choosing the desired antipodal tartrate inductor during the epoxidation reaction. It is relevant to note that the required starting allylic alcohols are conveniently prepared by chain elongation of propargyl alcohol as a C3 synthon followed by an appropriate reduction of the triple bond, e. g., with lithium aluminum hydride [6b]. 

Carbonyls. The stereochemistry of the Wittig olefin synthesis has been reviewed. /i-a/u-Stereoselective olefin synthesis via /3-oxido-ylides is possible only in the presence of soluble lithium salts. Protonation of jS-oxido-ylides prepared from salt-free ylides leads to mixtures of erythro-and r/jr o-betaines and hence to mixtures of cis- and rm/i5-olefins. 

The quality of phenyl-lithium used to generate ylides can have a pronounced effect on the stereochemistry of olefin synthesis. In the reactions of the ylide (36) with the aldehydes (37) c/5-olefins were obtained using a phenyl-lithium solution containing one equivalent of total base while /m/ij-olefins resulted from the use of an amount of this solution containing one equivalent of genuine phenyl-lithium together with six equivalents of other, unspecified, base. ... 

The synthesis of 1-alkenylboronic acids from l-alkenylmagnesiums or -lithiums suffers from difficulty in retaining the stereochemistry of 1-aikenyl halides, but the palladium-catalyzed coupling reaction of diboron 82 with 1-aikenyl halides or tri-flates directly provides 1-alkenylboronic esters (Scheme 1-43) [157, 158]. Although the reaction conditions applied to the aryl coupling resulted in the formation of an... 

The reactants are usually /V-acyl derivatives. The lithium enolates form chelate structures with Z-stereochemistry at the double bond. The ring substituents then govern the preferred direction of approach. 

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