Nitrile aldol reactions

The mechanism, stereoselectivity, and synthetic applications of the nitrile aldol reaction have been reviewed.75... 

Hydrolysis. Alcohols a dioxolanes, respectively, on t Michael reactions. Th< acceptors is promoted by CeC without solvent. A preparatki from organocerium derivative Li/Ce exchange. (The san a,a-difluoro-p-ketophosphoni Nitrile aldol reactions. CeClj-THjO. Addition of a ch... 

Nitrile aldol reactions. P-Hydroxy nitriles are formed in the presence of CeCl3 7H20. Addition of a chiral ligand (BINOL) increases the diastereoselectivity. 

Shibasaki and Kanai developed a catalytic enantioselective nitrile aldol reaction using CuOf-Bu-DTBM-SEGPHOS complex as a catalyst (Fig. 3) [27] (for other reports of direct catalytic nitrile aldol reactions, see [31, 32]). Despite moderate enantioselectivity, it is noteworthy that chemoselective generatimi of an enolate equivalent (copper ketene imide 6 in Fig. 4) is possible from acetonitrile in the presence of aldehydes containing more acidic a-protons. The pATa values of a-protons of acetonitrile and aliphatic aldehydes are 31.3 and ca. 23 (in DMSO), respectively. Key for the selective deprotonation from acetonitrile is the chemoselective interaction between soft Cu(I) and soft nitrile, which selectively acidifies a-protons of acetonitrile (Fig. 4, 5). 

A two-step sequence of nitrile oxide-olehn cycloaddition and reduction of the resulting A -isoxazolines offers a unique and attractive alternative to the classical aldol reaction and its many variants (2J). The procedure bypasses traditional problems, including enolate equilibrium and cross condensation (20). 

In the Thorpe reaction, the a carbon of one nitrile molecule is added to the CN carbon of another, so this reaction is analogous to the aldol reaction (16-38). The C=NH bond is, of course, hydrolyzable (16-2), so p-keto nitriles can be prepared in this manner. The Thorpe reaction can be done intramolecularly, in which case it is... 

Nitrile oxides are usually prepared via halogenation and dehydrohalogenation of aldoximes [11] or via dehydration of primary nitro alkanes (Scheme 1) [12]. However, it is important to note that nitrile oxides are relatively unstable and are prone to dimerization or polymerization, especially upon heating. 1,3-Dipolar cycioaddition of a nitrile oxide with a suitable olefin generates an isoxazoline ring which is a versatile synthetic intermediate in that it provides easy access to y-amino alcohols, )5-hydroxy ketones, -hydroxy nitriles, unsaturated oximes, and a host of other multifunctional molecules (Scheme 1) [5a]. Particularly for the formation of )5-hydroxy ketones, nitrile oxide-olefin cycioaddition serve as an alternative to the Aldol reaction. 

The addition reaction of enolates and enols with carbonyl compounds is of broad scope and of great synthetic importance. Essentially all of the stabilized carbanions mentioned in Section 1.1 are capable of adding to carbonyl groups, in what is known as the generalized aldol reaction. Enolates of aldehydes, ketones, esters, and amides, the carbanions of nitriles and nitro compounds, as well as phosphoms- and sulfur-stabilized carbanions and ylides undergo this reaction. In the next section we emphasize the fundamental regiochemical and stereochemical aspects of the reactions of ketones and aldehydes. 

A total synthesis of functionalized 8,14-seco steroids with five- and six-membered D rings has been developed (467). The synthesis is based on the transformation of (S)-carvone into a steroidal AB ring moiety with a side chain at C(9), which allows the creation of a nitrile oxide at this position. The nitrile oxides are coupled with cyclic enones or enol derivatives of 1,3-diketones, and reductive cleavage of the obtained cycloadducts give the desired products. The formation of a twelve-membered ring compound has been reported in the cycloaddition of one of the nitrile oxides with cyclopentenone and as the result of an intramolecular ene reaction, followed by retro-aldol reaction. 

Two stereoselective aldol reactions, followed by a nitrile oxide cycloaddition and a stereoselective late-stage epoxidation are the key steps in the total synthesis of myriaporones 1, 3, and 4 (436, 437, and 438). The synthesis allows... 

The bicyclic tropane ring of cocaine of course presented serious synthetic difficulties. In one attempt to find an appropriate substitute for this structural unit, a piperidine was prepared that contained methyl groups at the point of attachment of the deleted ring. Condensation of acetone with ammonia affords the piperidone, 17. Isophorone (15) may well be an intermediate in this process conjugate addition of ammonia would then give the aminoketone, 16. Further aldol reaction followed by ammonolysis would afford the observed product. Hydrogenation of the piperidone (18) followed then by reaction with benzoyl chloride gives the ester, 19. Ethanolysis of the nitrile (20) affords alpha-eucaine (21), an effective, albeit somewhat toxic, local anesthetic. 

The amino acid derived chiral oxazolidinone 188 is a very commonly used auxiliary in Diels-Alder and aldol reactions. However, its use in diastereoselective 1,3-dipolar cycloadditions is less widespread. It has, however, been used with nitrile oxides, nitrones, and azomethine ylides. In reactions of 188 (R = Bn, R =Me, R = Me) with nitrile oxides, up to 92% de have been obtained when the reaction was performed in the presence of 1 equiv of MgBr2 (303). In the absence of a metal salt, much lower selectivities were obtained. The same observation was made for reactions of 188 (R = Bn, R = H, R = Me) with cyclic nitrones in an early study by Murahashi et al. (277). In the presence of Znl2, endo/exo selectivity of 89 11 and up to 92% de was observed, whereas in the absence of additives, low selectivities resulted. In more recent studies, it has been shown for 188 (R =/-Pr, R = H, R =Me) that, in the presence of catalytic amounts of Mgl2-phenanthroline (10%) (16) or Yb(OTf)3(20%) (304), the reaction with acyclic nitrones proceeded with high yields and stereoselectivity. Once again, the presence of the metal salt was crucial for the reaction no reaction was observed in their absence. Various derivatives of 188 were used in reactions with an unsubstituted azomethine ylide (305). This reaction proceeded in the absence of metal salts with up to 60% de. The presence of metal salts led to decomposition of the azomethine ylide. 

Cyclizative condensations based on aldol-type reactions which conform to the llbd pattern have also been developed. Condensation of bis(alkoxycarbonylmethyl)amines or bis(cyanomethyl)amines with benzil affords 3,4-diarylpyrrole-2,5-dicarboxylic add esters or nitriles. These reactions frequently lead to partial hydrolysis of at least one of the alkoxycarbonyl substituents and if the 3,4-diarylpyrrole is the ultimate objective, work-up involving complete hydrolytic decarboxylation is appropriate (equation 119) (6lLA(639)l02, 65JOC859). 

An iron-catalyzed multicomponent reaction of aldehyde 4a, acetophenone, acetyl chloride and acetonitrile, which was used as the solvent, gave P-amino ketones such as 32 (Scheme 8.11) [41]. It was assumed that the sequence starts with an aldol reaction of aldehyde and ketone and then proceeds further with a displacement of a P-acetoxy group by the nucleophilic nitrile-nitrogen. 

In the synthesis we should not wish to make 21 as it would cyclise and, in any case, we d rather reduce nitrile, nitro and alkene all in the same step by catalytic hydrogenation. The very simple method used for the conjugate addition is possible only because of the slow aldol reaction of the hindered aldehyde 24. The aldol 25, also called a Henry reaction, needs a separate dehydration step but the three functional groups in 26 are reduced in one step in good yield.7... 

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