Lithium tosylates

Tosylation with inversion.1 The reaction of a secondary alcohol with zinc tosylate, diethyl azodicarboxylate, and triphenylphosphine (Mitsunobu inversion, 5, 728) leads to the inverted tosylate in about 80-95% yield. Lithium tosylate is less effective. The reaction is sensitive to steric hindrance. 

Allene episulfide and butatriene 2-episulfide are formed by thermolysis of the lithium tosyl-hydrazone of thietan-3-ones (Scheme 80) <76JA708l, 81TL4815). 

The n-butyllithium exchanges with the bromo compound to give -butyl bromide and an aryllithium. Elimination of lithium tosylate gives the naphthalyne, which combines with the isoindole in a Diels-Alder reaction [26] (Section 5.3.1). 

To a mixture of O.BB mol of anhydrous lithium chloride and 100 ml of OMSO was added a solution of 0.40 mol of the acetylenic tosylate (for a general procedure concerning the preparation of acetylenic tosylates, see Chapter VllI-3, Exp. 3) in IBO ml of DMSO. The flask was equipped for vacuum distillation (see Fig. 5). Between the receiver, which was cooled at -75°C, and the water-pump was placed a tube filled with KOH pellets. The apparatus was evacuated (10-20 mmHg) and the flask gradually heated until DMSO began to reflux in the column. The contents of... 

The hydrogenolyaia of cyclopropane rings (C—C bond cleavage) has been described on p, 105. In syntheses of complex molecules reductive cleavage of alcohols, epoxides, and enol ethers of 5-keto esters are the most important examples, and some selectivity rules will be given. Primary alcohols are converted into tosylates much faster than secondary alcohols. The tosylate group is substituted by hydrogen upon treatment with LiAlH (W. Zorbach, 1961). Epoxides are also easily opened by LiAlH. The hydride ion attacks the less hindered carbon atom of the epoxide (H.B. Henhest, 1956). The reduction of sterically hindered enol ethers of 9-keto esters with lithium in ammonia leads to the a,/S-unsaturated ester and subsequently to the saturated ester in reasonable yields (R.M. Coates, 1970). Tributyltin hydride reduces halides to hydrocarbons stereoselectively in a free-radical chain reaction (L.W. Menapace, 1964) and reacts only slowly with C 0 and C—C double bonds (W.T. Brady, 1970 H.G. Kuivila, 1968). 

The benzylidene derivative above is used, if both hydroxyl groups on C-2 and C-3 are needed in synthesis. This r/vzns-2,3-diol can be converted to the sterically more hindered a-cpoxide by tosylation of both hydroxy groups and subsequent treatment with base (N.R. Williams, 1970 J.G. Buchanan, 1976). An oxide anion is formed and displaces the sulfonyloxy group by a rearside attack. The oxirane may then be re-opened with nucleophiles, e.g. methyl lithium, and the less hindered carbon atom will react selectively. In the following sequence starting with an a-glucoside only the 2-methyl-2-deoxyaltrose is obtained (S. Hanessian, 1977). 

N-Alkylations, especially of oxo-di- and tetra-hydro derivatives, e.g. (28)->(29), have been carried out readily using a variety of reagents such as (usual) alkyl halide/alkali, alkyl sulfate/alkali, alkyl halide, tosylate or sulfate/NaH, trialkyloxonium fluoroborate and other Meerwein-type reagents, alcohols/DCCI, diazoalkanes, alkyl carbonates, oxalates or malon-ates, oxosulfonium ylides, DMF dimethyl acetal, and triethyl orthoformate/AcjO. Also used have been alkyl halide/lithium diisopropylamide and in one case benzyl chloride on the thallium derivative. In neutral conditions 8-alkylation is observed and preparation of some 8-nucleosides has also been reported (78JOC828, 77JOC997, 72JOC3975, 72JOC3980). 

Replacement of a primary or secondary hydroxyl function with deuterium is usually carried out by first converting the alcohol into a mesylate or tosylate ester, which can then be displaced by treatment with lithium aluminum deuteride. The... 

Some advantages of this reaction are high yield if the tosylate is in a sterically accessible position excellent isotopic purity of the product (usually higher than-95%) and perhaps most important, access to stereospecifically labeled methylene derivatives. For example, deuteride displacement of 3j -tosylates (183) yields the corresponding Sa-d derivative (185) in 96-98% isotopic purity. Application of this method to the labeled sulfonate (184), obtained. by lithium aluminum deuteride reduction of a 3-ketone precursor (see section HI-A) followed by tosylation, provides an excellent synthesis of 3,3-d2 labeled steroids (186) without isotopic scrambling at the adjacent positions. The only other method which provides products of comparable isotopic purity at this position is the reduction of the tosyl-hydrazone derivative of 3-keto steroids (section IV-B). 

The displacement of homoallylic tosylates follows an entirely different course with a strong tendency for the formation of cyclo steroids. Thus, when the 3/ -tosylate of a A -steroid (187) is treated with lithium aluminum deuteride, the product consists mainly of a 3l3-di-A -steroid (188) and a 6c-dj-3,5a-cyclo steroid (189). The incorporation of deuterium at the 3 -position in (188) indicates that this reaction proceeds via a 3,5-cyclo cholesteryl cation instead of the usual S, 2 type displacement sequence. This is further substantiated by the formation of the cyclo steroid (189) in which the deuterium at C-6 is probably in the p configuration. ... 

Another example of homoallylic tosylate displacement is the lithium... 

Deuteration at C-3 by Displacement of a 3 -Tosylate with Lithium Aluminum Deuteride... 

A solution of 3jS-hydroxy-5a-androstan-17-one tosylate (193, 60 mg) in tetrahydrofuran (10 ml, freshly distilled from lithium aluminum hydride) is added dropwise to a boiling suspension of lithium aluminum deuteride (60 mg) in tetrahydrofuran (10 ml). The resulting suspension is heated under reflux for 30 min and after cooling the excess reagent is decomposed by the careful addition of a few drops of water. The heating is continued for a few minutes to coagulate the inorganic salts which are removed by filtration... 

Tosylates also undergo elimination upon treatment with lithium salts in amide solvents. The a,/ -unsaturated ketone (106) is formed from the a-hy-droxy ketone tosylate in a fashion analogous to a-halo ketone eliminations. 

Deuteration at C-3 by displacement of a 3p-tosylate with lithium aluminum deuteride, 198... 

Among the tasks remaining is the replacement of the C-16 hydroxyl group in 16 with a saturated butyl side chain. A partial hydrogenation of the alkyne in 16 with 5% Pd-BaS04 in the presence of quinoline, in methanol, followed sequentially by selective tosylation of the primary hydroxyl group and protection of the secondary hydroxyl group as an ethoxyethyl ether, affords intermediate 17 in 79% overall yield from 16. Key intermediate 6 is formed in 67 % yield upon treatment of 17 with lithium di-n-butylcuprate. 

Replacement of the tosylate group in 35 with a saturated butyl chain is achieved with an excess of lithium di-n-butylcuprate and, after hydrolytic cleavage of the isopropylidene and ethoxyethyl (EE) protecting groups, lactone 23 is obtained in an overall yield of... 

In a more general sense, this reduction method provides a convenient pathway for converting an aromatic carboxyl group to a methyl group (see Table I).7 Previously, this transformation has been achieved by reduction of the acid to the alcohol with lithium aluminum hydride, conversion of the alcohol to the tosylate, and a second reduction either with lithium aluminum hydride [Aluminate(l —), tetrahydro, lithium,... 

Lithium dibutylcuprate reacted with ( )-l, 3-butadienyl p-tosyl sulfone affording (Z)-2-octenyl p-tosyl sulfone. In the reaction of allyl ( )- and (Z)-l, 3-dibutadienyl sulfones with lithium dibutylcuprate or lithium (Z)-di(l-butenyl) cuprate, the major compound obtained was of (Z)-geometry around the 2,3-double bond, indicating that (Z)-selectivity is not so high in this reaction (56-79%)408-... 

---