Natural products asymmetric olefin epoxidation

Optically active epoxides are important building blocks in asymmetric synthesis of natural products and biologically active compounds. Therefore, enantio-selective epoxidation of olefins has been a subject of intensive research in the last years. The Sharpless [56] and Jacobsen [129] epoxidations are, to date, the most efficient metal-catalyzed asymmetric oxidation of olefins with broad synthetic scope. Oxidative enzymes have also been successfully utilized for the synthesis of optically active epoxides. Among the peroxidases, only CPO accepts a broad spectrum of olefinic substrates for enantioselective epoxidation (Eq. 6), as shown in Table 8. 

Peroxidases have been used very frequently during the last ten years as biocatalysts in asymmetric synthesis. The transformation of a broad spectrum of substrates by these enzymes leads to valuable compounds for the asymmetric synthesis of natural products and biologically active molecules. Peroxidases catalyze regioselective hydroxylation of phenols and halogenation of olefins. Furthermore, they catalyze the epoxidation of olefins and the sulfoxidation of alkyl aryl sulfides in high enantioselectivities, as well as the asymmetric reduction of racemic hydroperoxides. The less selective oxidative coupHng of various phenols and aromatic amines by peroxidases provides a convenient access to dimeric, oligomeric and polymeric products for industrial applications. 

Enantioselective oxidation is one of the most important and yet useful transformations in organic synthesis, and the asymmetric phase-transfer catalysis has made notable contributions to this field. The stereoselective epoxidation of electron-deficient olefins with peroxides is a representative example, and Taylor demonstrated the synthetic utility of this system by accomplishing the total syntheses of three natural products of manumycin family, (-l-)-MT 35214 131, (-l-)-manumycin A 132, " and (—)-alisamycin 133 (Scheme 4.31). The syntheses were undertaken by the... 

Optically active epoxides are found in many natural products [213] and are highly versatile intermediates and building blocks. Asymmetric epoxidations of double bonds have long been employed using metal-mediated methods such as the Sharpless [214] and Jacobsen-Katsuki [215, 216] epoxidation. Metal-free asymmetric epoxidations are mostly mediated by chiral dioxiranes and oxaziridines. Dioxiranes or their respective precursor ketones represent some of the oldest and most versatile organocatalysts for the asymmetric epoxidation of olefins. They are particularly useful for unfunctionalized trans-, disubstituted, trisubstituted and terminal olefins [217-224]. 

---