Michael reactions Robinson annulation

Michael donor Stork enamine reaction Robinson annulation reaction... 

Progesterone, a female sex hormone, has been prepared by total synthesis and by modifications of other steroids. Using established methodologies, such as Diels-Alder cycloadditions, Michael additions, Robinson annulations, aldol reactions, and ring contraction reactions, propose a total synthesis of progesterone. Discuss the merits of your approach in comparison with the total synthesis reported by Woodward, R. B., Sondheimer, R, Taub, D., Heusler, K., McLamore, W. M. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 1952, 74, 4223. 

The reaction of a cyclic ketone—e.g. cyclohexanone 1—with methyl vinyl ketone 2 resulting in a ring closure to yield a bicyclic a ,/3-unsaturated ketone 4, is called the Robinson annulation This reaction has found wide application in the synthesis of terpenes, and especially of steroids. Mechanistically the Robinson annulation consists of two consecutive reactions, a Michael addition followed by an Aldol reaction. Initially, upon treatment with a base, the cyclic ketone 1 is deprotonated to give an enolate, which undergoes a conjugate addition to the methyl vinyl ketone, i.e. a Michael addition, to give a 1,5-diketone 3 ... 

Besides a polymerization of the Michael acceptor, a double alkylation of the starting ketone, by reaction with a second Michael acceptor molecule, may take place as a side reaction, and thus further reduce the yield. The polymerization of the enone 2 as well as the double alkylation of the starting ketone can be avoided by application of a modern procedure for the Robinson annulation that uses an organotin triflate as catalyst." ... 

The Robinson annulation is a two-step process that combines a Michael reaction with an intramolecular aldol reaction. It takes place between a nucleophilic donor, such as a /3-keto ester, an enamine, or a /3-diketone, and an a,/3-unsaturated ketone acceptor, such as 3-buten-2-one. The product is a substituted 2-cyclohexenone. 

The first step of the Robinson annulation is simply a Michael reaction. An enamine or an enolate ion from a jS-keto ester or /3-diketone effects a conjugate addition to an a-,/3-unsaturated ketone, yielding a 1,5-diketone. But as we saw in Section 23.6,1,5-diketones undergo intramolecular aldol condensation to yield cyclohexenones when treated with base. Thus, the final product contains a six-membered ring, and an annulation has been accomplished. An example occurs during the commercial synthesis of the steroid hormone estrone (figure 23.9). 

In this example, the /3-diketone 2-methyJ-l,3-cyclopentanedione is used to generate the enolate ion required for Michael reaction and an aryl-substituted a,/3-unsaturated ketone is used as the acceptor. Base-catalyzed Michael reaction between the two partners yields an intermediate triketone, which then cyclizes in an intramolecular aldol condensation to give a Robinson annulation product. Several further transformations are required to complete the synthesis of estrone. 

Problem 23.22 How would you prepare the following compound using a Robinson annulation reaction between a jS-diketone and an, /3-unsaturated ketone Draw the structures of both reactants and the intermediate Michael addition product. 

Robinson annulation reaction (Section 23.12) A synthesis of cyclohexenones by sequential Michael reaction and intramolecular aldol reaction. 

Michael reaction, 894-895 acceptors in, 895 donors in, 895 mechanism of. 894-895 Robinson annulation reactions and, 899-900... 

Methyl 1-phenylthiovinyl ketones can also be used as enones in kinetically controlled Robinson annulation reactions, as illustrated by Entry 6. Entry 7 shows a annulation using silyl enol ether as the enolate equivalent. These reactions are called Mukaiyama-Michael reactions (see Section 2.6.3). 

Anionic domino processes are the most often encountered domino reactions in the chemical literature. The well-known Robinson annulation, double Michael reaction, Pictet-Spengler cyclization, reductive amination, etc., all fall into this category. The primary step in this process is the attack of either an anion (e. g., a carban-ion, an enolate, or an alkoxide) or a pseudo anion as an uncharged nucleophile (e. g., an amine, or an alcohol) onto an electrophilic center. A bond formation takes place with the creation of a new real or pseudo-anionic functionality, which can undergo further transformations. The sequence can then be terminated either by the addition of a proton or by the elimination of an X group. 

One-pot syntheses of diaryl-a-tetralones by Michael condensation and subsequent Robinson annulation reactions of isophorone with chalcones were performed efficiently in a solvent-free PTC system under the action of MW irradiation. Compared with conventional heating substantial rate enhancements were observed, within very short reaction times, by use of microwaves (Eq. 59 and Tab. 5.31). They were far better than those achieved by the classical method (NaOEt in EtOH under reflux for 24 h 40-56%). 

Strategies based on two consecutive specific reactions or the so-called "tandem methodologies" very useful for the synthesis of polycyclic compounds. Classical examples of such a strategy are the "Robinson annulation" which involves the "tandem Michael/aldol condensation" [32] and the "tandem cyclobutene electrocyclic opening/Diels-Alder addition" [33] so useful in the synthesis of steroids. To cite a few new methodologies developed more recently we may refer to the stereoselective "tandem Mannich/Michael reaction" for the synthesis of piperidine alkaloids [34], the "tandem cycloaddition/radical cyclisation" [35] which allows a quick assembly of a variety of ring systems in a completely intramolecular manner or the "tandem anionic cyclisation approach" of polycarbocyclic compounds [36]. 

A rather nice example of enolate anion chemistry involving the Michael reaction and the aldol reaction is provided by the Robinson annulation, a ring-forming sequence used in the synthesis of steroidal systems (Latin annulus, ring). 

These a,/l-unsaturated ketones and aldehydes are used as reactants in Michael additions (Section 1.10) and Robinson annulations (Section 2.1.4), as well as in a number of other reactions that we will encounter later. Entries 8 and 9 in Scheme 2.11 illustrate Michael reactions carried out by in situ generation of a,/ -unsaturated carbonyl compounds from Mannich bases. 

The sequence that follows illustrates how a conjugate aldol addition (Michael addition) followed by a simple aldol condensation may be used to build one ring onto another. This procedure is known as the Robinson annulation (ring forming) reaction (after the English chemist Sir Robert Robinson, who won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1947 for his research on naturally occurring compounds). 

Aldol reactions are often used to close five- and six-membered rings. Because of the favorable entropy (p. 211), such ring closures generally take place with ease, even where a ketone condenses with a ketone. An important example is the Robinson annulation reaction which has often been used in the synthesis of steroids and terpenes. In this reaction a cyclic ketone is converted to another cyclic ketone, with one additional six-membered ring containing a double bond. The substrate is treated with methyl vinyl ketone (or a simple derivative of methyl vinyl ketone) and a base.551 The enolate ion of the substrate adds to the methyl vinyl ketone in a Michael reaction (5-17) to give a diketone that undergoes or... 

The use of a-thiophenyl enones (106 Scheme 12) allows the preparation of phenols such as (107) from cyclic ketones (18).30 The same product can also be obtained by normal Robinson annulation of methyl vinyl ketone (30) and the p-keto sulfoxide (lOS).30 Acceptors other than a, 3-unsaturated carbonyls have been used in both the Michael reaction and the Robinson annulation process. For example, nu-... 

The diastereoselectivity of intermolecular Michael additions was first examined in two areas the Robinson annulation using ( )-3-penten-2-one (249 equation 51)62 and the reaction of enamines of cyclic... 

As with Michael additions to activated alkenes, the initial adducts with activated alkynes can be trapped by various processes. An aldol reaction can occur if a carbonyl is properly situated in the starting material (Scheme 71).123 However, the use of methyl ethynyl ketone (509) and its homologs in the Robinson annulation process to give cyclohexadienones (510 equation 110) usually proceeds in poor... 

The Robinson Annulation is a useful reaction for the formation of six-membered rings in polycyclic compounds, such as steroids. It combines two reactions the Michael Addition and the Aldol Condensation... 

Enolate D of Figure 13.71 can undergo an aldol reaction with the C=0 double bond of the ketone. The bicyclic compound A is formed as the condensation product. It is often possible to combine the formation and the consecutive reaction of a Michael adduct in a one-pot reaction. The overall reaction then is an annulation of a cyclohexenone to an enolizable ketone. The reaction sequence of Figure 13.71 is the Robinson annulation, an extraordinarily important synthesis of six-membered rings. 

Fig. 13.71. Tandem reaction I, consisting of a Michael addition and an aldol condensation Robinson annulation reaction for the synthesis of six-membered rings that are condensed to an existing ring.

The Michael reaction in combination with an aldol condensation provides a useful method for the construction of six-membered rings in a process termed the Robinson annulation. In the following example a tertiary amine is used as the base to catalyze the conjugate addition. Then, treatment with sodium hydroxide causes an intramolecular aldol condensation to occur. 

Q Predict the products of conjugate (Michael) additions, and show how to use these reactions in syntheses. Show the general mechanism of the Robinson annulation, and use it to form cyclohexenone ring systems. 

The Robinson annulation reaction combines a Michael reaction with an intramolecular aldol condensation to synthesize substituted ring systems. 

The Robinson annulation is a combination of two reactions covered in this chapter. First, a Michael reaction takes place between a nucleophilic donor (the diketone in this problem) and an a,(3-unsaturated carbonyl compound (the enone shown). The resulting product can cyclize in an aldol reaction. The base catalyzes both reactions. 

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