Natural product synthesis ketones

Cleavage of silyloxiranes (e.g. 55) by methanol, leading to aldehydes or ketones (e.g. 56 Scheme 48), has found use in natural products synthesis (8UA1831, 80JA5004). 

The condensation reaction of a CH-acidic compound—e.g. a ketone 3—with formaldehyde 1 and ammonia 2 is called the Mannich reaction, the reaction products 4 are called Mannich bases. The latter are versatile building blocks in organic synthesis, and of particular importance in natural products synthesis. 

Some more complex examples of this reaction type from the field of natural product synthesis, using a ketone, a thioenol ether, or a phenyl function as an internal nucleophile, are found in references 171-173. 

The Pictet-Spengler reaction has mainly been investigated as a potential source of polycyclic heterocycles for combinatorial apphcations or in natural product synthesis [149]. Tryptophan or differently substituted tryptamines are the preferred substrates in a cyclocondensation that involves also aldehydes or activated ketones in the presence of an acid catalyst. Several versions of microwave-assisted Pictet-Spengler reactions have been reported in the hter-ature. Microwave irradiation allowed the use of mild Lewis acid catalysts such as Sc(OTf)3 in the reaction of tryptophan methyl esters 234 with different substituted aldehydes (aliphatic or aromatic) [150]. Under these conditions the reaction was carried out in a one-pot process without initial formation of the imine (Scheme 86). 

Stork first demonstrated the utility of protected cyanohydrins as acyl anion equivalents in 1971 [2]. The acetal-protected cyanohydrin 8 was transformed into the corresponding anion with LDA in THF/HMPA, which was then alkylated with a range of alkyl halides, including secondary bromides (Scheme 2). A mild acidic hydrolysis yielded a cyanohydrin, which provided the ketone after treatment with base. The Stork cyanohydrin alkylation and its variants have become important methods in natural product synthesis [3,4]. 

The domino process probably involves the chiral enamine intermediate 2-817 formed by reaction of ketone 2-813 with 2-815. With regard to the subsequent cy-doaddition step of 2-817 with the Knoevenagel condensation product 2-816, it is interesting to note that only a normal Diels-Alder process operates with the 1,3-bu-tadiene moiety in 2-817 and not a hetero-Diels-Alder reaction with the 1-oxa-l,3-butadiene moiety in 2-816. The formed spirocydic ketones 2-818/2-819 can be used in natural products synthesis and in medidnal chemistry [410]. They have also been used in the preparation of exotic amino adds these were used to modify the physical properties and biological activities of peptides, peptidomimetics, and proteins... 

Nitroalkenes prepared from aromatic aldehydes are especially useful for natural product synthesis. For example, the products are directly converted into ketones via the Nef reaction (Section 6.1) or indoles (Section 10.2) via the reduction to phenylethylamines (Section 6.3.2). The application of these transformations are discussed later here, some examples are presented to emphasize their utility. Schemes 3.3 and 3.4 present a synthesis of 5,6-dihydroxyindole66 and asperidophytine indole alkaloid,67 respectively. 

The asymmetric arylation of ketone enolates represents an attractive method for the preparation of optically active carbonyl compounds with a stereogenic quaternary center at the a-position to the carbonyl group. Such types of compounds are important intermediates for natural product synthesis. Replacement of BINAP by 109 provides... 

Ethylene glycol in the presence of an acid catalyst readily reacts with aldehydes and ketones to form cyclic acetals and ketals (60). 1,3-Dioxolane [646-06-0] is the product of condensing formaldehyde and ethylene glycol. Applications for 1,3-dioxolane are as a solvent replacement for methylene chloride, 1,2-dichloroethane, 1,1,1-trichloroethane, and methyl ethyl ketone as a solvent for polymers as an inhibitor in 1,1,1-trichloroethane as a polymer or matrix interaction product for metal working and electroplating in lithium batteries and in the electronics industry (61). 1,3-Dioxolane can also be used in the formation of polyacetals, both for homopolymerization and as a comonomer with formaldehyde. Cyclic acetals and ketals are used as protecting groups for reaction-sensitive aldehydes and ketones in natural product synthesis and pharmaceuticals (62). 

The regioselectivity of the migration in Baeyer-Villiger oxidation of ketones is very dependent upon substituents attached to carbon atoms adjacent to the ketone. In a study128 of the MCPBA oxidation of polyhydroxycyclohexanone derivatives, the regioselectivity of the reaction has been carefully identified. This should prove useful to synthetic chemists when planning to use this type of reaction, since cyclitols are important synthons in natural product synthesis. 

Enantiopure, bifunctional acyloins (a-hydroxy ketones) are versatile intermediates in natural product synthesis (also see Sect. 2.3, Fig. 11). In nature, the formation of a-hydroxy ketones is efficiently catalyzed by thiamine diphosphate-dependent enzymes transketolases, decarboxylases, and other lyases, such as BALs. A great portfolio of biotransformations, especially with benzaldehyde derivatives as starting materials, were realized [204]. 

As an obvious extension of the benzoin reaction, the cross-coupling of aldehydes or of aldehydes and ketones was first achieved with the thiamine-dependent enzyme benzoylformate decarboxylase. This linked a variety of mostly aromatic aldehydes to acetaldehyde to form the corresponding a-hydroxy ketones, both chemo- and stereoselectively [31]. Synthetic thiazolium salts, developed by Stetter and co-workers and similar to thiamine itself [32], have been successfully used by Suzuki et al. for a diastereoselective intramolecular crossed aldehyde-ketone benzoin reaction during the course of an elegant natural product synthesis [33], Stereocontrol was exerted by pre-existing stereocenters in the specific substrates, the catalysts being achiral. 

The fragmentation of cyclobutyl ketones has also been exploited in natural product synthesis. For example, Sorensen utilised the Sml2-mediated fragmentation of cyclobutyl ketone 27 in a synthesis of guanacastepene A and E ... 

Metal enolates have played a Umited role in the metal-catalyzed isomerization of al-kenes . As illustrated in a comprehensive review by Bouwman and coworkers, ruthenium complex Ru(acac)3 (51) has been used to isomerize a wide range of substituted double bonds, including aUylic alcohols (131), to the corresponding ketones (132) (equation 38) . The isomerization of aUylic alcohols affords products that have useful applications in natural product synthesis and in bulk chemical processes. An elegant review by Fogg and dos Santos shows how these complexes can be used in tandem catalysis, where an alkene is subjected to an initial isomerization followed by a hydroformylation reaction ... 

In a second part, the reactivity of a-phenylselanyl enolates, derived from ketones, esters, lactones and a,/i-unsatm ated carbonyl compounds, is discussed. Alkylation, aldolisation and Michael reactions are considered as the use of selenium-stabilized carbanions in the natural product synthesis. Others a-fimctionalyzed species are also presented. 

Chiral Ligand of LiAlH4 for the Enantioselective Reduction of a,p-Unsaturated Ketones. Enantioselective reductions of a,p-unsaturated ketones afford optically active ally lie alcohols which are useful intermediates in natural product synthesis. Enantioselective reduction of a,p-unsaturated ketones with LiAlH4 modified with chiral amino alcohol (1) affords optically active (S)-allylic alcohols with high ee s. When 2-cyclohexen-l-one is employed, (5)-2-cyclohexen-l-ol with 100% ee is obtained in 95% yield (eq 2). This is comparable with the results obtained using LiAlH4-chiral binaphthol and chiral 1,3,2-oxazaborolidine. ... 

A direct and satisfactory procedure for tertiary alkyl-alkynyl coupling has been developed by Negishi and Baba, who used trialkynylaluminums readily obtainable from the corresponding alkynyllithiums and anhydrous AICI3 [92]. For instance, tris(l-hexynyl)aluminum underwent a remarkably clean reaction with 1-adamantyl bromide to produce cross-coupled product 96 in 96 % yield. It is noteworthy that the reaction enables novel geminal alkyl-alkynylation of ketones this reaction should find a considerable application in natural product synthesis (Sch. 60). 

Homoconjugate additions of secondary amines to cyclopropyl ketones catalysed by acid have been reported as well as formation of certain 5,6-dihydro-4H-l,2-oxazines with hydroxylamine hydrochloride. Demuth and Mikhail have recently demonstrated that cyclopropanes of the tricyclo[3.3.0.0 ] octan-3-one type can be selectively converted to functionalized bicyclic compounds with different kinds of electrophilic/nucleophilic reagents (equation 41) the products have extensively been exploited for natural product synthesis ". ... 

Alkoxycyclopropanes are commonly prepared from alkyl enol ethers by one of the Simmons-Smith modifications (see Chapter 7). According to Wenkert and coworkers they are cleaved by strong acids to the a-methylated carbonyl compound, thus establishing an overall a-methylation of a ketone or an aldehyde (equation 64). This method has often been used for natural product synthesis (e.g. valerane " ). 

The stereochemical outcome of the addition of carbanions to ketones yielding tertiary alcohols (or secondary alcohols in the case of aldehydes) is variable and depends on the substrate, the counterion and the solvent. Numerous applications of this strategy to natural product synthesis from carbohydrates can be found in the literature and this approach was fruitful in pioneering syntheses of polyketide-type products. Here again, the template effect of the sugar plays a tremendous role in the stereochemical outcome of the reaction. Chelation controlled nucleophilic addition can also be used to form chiral centers in a highly predictable way. 

Numerous methods for the reduction of ketones and aldehydes to the corresponding secondary and primary alcohols, such as the use of several complex metal hydrides, have found wide application in organic synthesis. Lithium aluminum hydride (LiAlH4) and sodium borohydride (NaBH4) are the most popular of these achiral reagents. However, since a natural product synthesis has to fulfill demands in terms of both efficiency and stereoselectivity, these methods can seldom be used with prochiral substrates. 

Alkynic ketones have been used extensively in natural product synthesis, due in large part to the contributions of Midland and coworkers and the development of generd methods for enantioselective reduction of this moiety to afford optically active propargyl alcohols using chiral trialkylboranes. Furthermore, the derived alkynic alcohol is a versatile system which can be manipulated directly into cis-or rra 5-allylic alcohols and as a precursor for vinylorganometallic species. This section will briefly cover progress made in the direct acylation of alkynic organolithiums with the acylation protocol d veloped by Weinreb (see also Section 1.13.2.7). 

The original Shapiro reaction involves the preparation of unfiinctionalized alkenes from ketone tosyl-hydrazones by quenching of the in situ generated alkenyllithium reagents with water. Recent applications of this reaction in natural product synthesis include the synthesis of 9(0)-methanoprostacyclin (Scheme 12), the in vitro conversion of humulene to A ( -capnellene (Scheme 13), the synthesis of die basic skeleton of isoadsirene (equation S2) ° and the total synthesis of the eudesmanolides rothin A and rothin B (equation 53). ... 

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