Thiols Michael-type reactions

The attack by the thiolate anion on the N-oxide oxygen of 62 produces the intermediate sulfenic acid derivative 65, which, in the presence of thiols, further reacts with the thiolate anion, to give the oxime 66, which has been isolated among the reaction products. By contrast, spontaneous loss of the halide anion from 65 affords the ni-troso intermediate 67 that, by losing NO and the thiyl radical directly, or through 68, produces the a-nitrosoolefm 69. By a Michael type reaction with water this last product immediately yields the final oxime 70, which has been isolated among the reaction products. 

MICHAEL-TYPE REACTIONS OF THIOLS WITH ELECTRON-DEFICIENT C-C AND C=C BONDS... 

Michael-type reactions of thiols with a,p-unsaturated carbonyl compounds R R C=CHCOR ... 

When thiols are added to substrates susceptible to nucleophilic attack, bases catalyze the reaction and the mechanism is nucleophilic. These substrates may be of the Michael type or may be polyhalo alkenes or alkynes. As with the free-radical mechanism, alkynes can give either vinylic thioethers or dithioacetals ... 

The base-catalysed addition of thiols to Jt-electron-deficient alkenes is an important aspect of synthetic organic chemistry. Particular use of Triton-B, in place of inorganic bases, has been made in the reaction of both aryl and alkyl thiols with 1-acyloxy-l-cyanoethene, which behaves as a formyl anion equivalent in the reaction [1], Tetra-n-butylammonium and benzyltriethylammonium fluoride also catalyse the Michael-type addition of thiols to a,P-unsaturated carbonyl compounds [2], The reaction is usually conducted under homogeneous conditions in telrahydrofuran, 1,2-dimethoxyethane, acetone, or acetonitrile, to produce the thioethers in almost quantitative yields (Table 4.22). Use has also been made of polymer-supported qua-... 

The importance of chiral thiols and thioether linkages in biological systems has prompted intense investigation of the use of chiral amines [see e.g. 5-11] and ammonium salts [see e.g. 12] as agents for asymmetric induction in the Michael-type addition reaction. Considerable success has been achieved using chinchona alkaloids and their A-alkyl derivatives (see Chapter 12). 

Michael-type addition of a suitable nucleophile, e.g. thiols, on to the a,f)-unsaturated lactone. Such alkylation reactions are believed to explain biological activity, and, indeed, activity is typically lost if either the double bond or the carbonyl group is chemically reduced. In some structures, additional electrophilic centres offer further scope for alkylation reactions. In parthenolide (Figure 5.31), an electrophilic epoxide group is also present, allowing transannular cyclization and generation of a... 

The Michael-type addition, a nucleophilic addition of an anion to the carbon-carbon double bond of an a,(3-unsaturated ketone, aldehyde, nitrile, nitro, sulphonyl, or carboxylic acid derivative, provides a powerful tool for carbon-carbon bond formation. The reaction is most successful with relatively nonbasic ( soft ) nucleophiles such as thiols, cyanide, primary and secondary amines, and P-dicarbonyl compounds. There is often a competition between direct attack on the carbonyl carbon (1,2-addition) and conjugate addition (1,4-addition) when the substrate is an a,(3-unsaturated carbonyl compound. 

Treatment of pristinamycin IIa with meta-chloroperbenzoic acid afforded a compound to which the structure (79) was initially assigned, resulting from epoxidation of the more substituted double bond (12,13-C). This material did not display chemical properties characteristic of an epoxide as the assumed epoxide moiety remaining after treatment with nucleophilic reagents. Michael-type addition products on the dehydroproline ring were observed after treatment with thiols or amines (see Sect. 5.4.5). 2D-NMR analysis of the product from reaction of pristinamycin IIa with mCPBA showed that a transannular oxidative cyclization had taken place leading to formation of (80). The reaction can be considered to involve initial epoxidation of the 12,13-double bond followed by an intramolecular nucleophilic attack by the 37-hydroxy of the enol ether (Scheme 19). A similar transannular oxidative cyclization reaction has been reported for the reaction of l,5-dimethylcyclooct-4-en-l-ol with meta-chloroperbenzoic acid [125]. 

Michael-type addition of thiols to the dehydroproline double bond of pristinamycin IIa was investigated. Attempted reaction with alkyl thiols, substituted phenyl thiols, ethyl mercaptoacetate or hydroxy-substituted alkyl thiols using standard conditions [128] (but at room temperature) was unsuccessful. Moderate yields (up to 50%) to conjugate addition products from reaction of pristinamycin 11 with these thiols (Scheme 22) were obtained when the reaction was carried out in the presence of N,N-dimethylethanolamine (see below for discussion of the stereochemistry associated with the conjugate addition products). With sterically hindered thiols, for example, 2-mercapto-pyran, no reaction was observed even under catalytic conditions. Similar results to those described above were obtained for reaction of either of the alcohols (60) or (61). 

In comparison to the above results, Michael-type addition of most dialkylaminoalkyl thiols to the dehydroproline double bond of pristinamycin 11, or either of the alcohols (60) or (61) [129, 130], occurred readily in the absence of catalysts. The length of the chain between the sulfur and the nitrogen atoms played an important role in the feasibility of this reaction. For example, the order of reactivity for diethylaminoalkyl thiols was Et2NCH2CH2SH > Et2NCH2CH2CH2SH > Et2NCH2CH2CH2CH2SH ... 

---