Nitrile enolates intramolecular reactions

The following example is an intramolecular reaction similar to the aldol reaction. A deprotonated nitrile (nitrile enolate) acts as a nucleophile and adds via an AdN to another nitrile. The acidic water workup is the reverse of imine formation. Section 10.5.2. 

To investigate the feasibility of employing 3-oxidopyridinium betaines as stabilized 1,3-dipoles in an intramolecular dipolar cycloaddition to construct the hetisine alkaloid core (Scheme 1.8, 77 78), a series of model cycloaddition substrates were prepared. In the first (Scheme 1.9a), an ene-nitrile substrate (i.e., 83) was selected as an activated dipolarophile functionality. Nitrile 66 was subjected to reduction with DIBAL-H, affording aldehyde 79 in 79 % yield. This was followed by reductive amination of aldehyde x with furfurylamine (80) to afford the furan amine 81 in 80 % yield. The ene-nitrile was then readily accessed via palladium-catalyzed cyanation of the enol triflate with KCN, 18-crown-6, and Pd(PPh3)4 in refluxing benzene to provide ene-nitrile 82 in 75 % yield. Finally, bromine-mediated aza-Achmatowicz reaction [44] of 82 then delivered oxidopyridinium betaine 83 in 65 % yield. 

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. 

During the coverage period of this chapter, reviews have appeared on the following topics reactions of electrophiles with polyfluorinated alkenes, the mechanisms of intramolecular hydroacylation and hydrosilylation, Prins reaction (reviewed and redefined), synthesis of esters of /3-amino acids by Michael addition of amines and metal amides to esters of a,/3-unsaturated carboxylic acids," the 1,4-addition of benzotriazole-stabilized carbanions to Michael acceptors, control of asymmetry in Michael additions via the use of nucleophiles bearing chiral centres, a-unsaturated systems with the chirality at the y-position, and the presence of chiral ligands or other chiral mediators, syntheses of carbo- and hetero-cyclic compounds via Michael addition of enolates and activated phenols, respectively, to o ,jS-unsaturated nitriles, and transition metal catalysis of the Michael addition of 1,3-dicarbonyl compounds. ... 

Hydride abstraction from dienyl tricarbonyl iron complexes furnishes cationic dienyl tricarbonyl iron complexes. For example, reaction of the diene-iron tricarbonyl complex (115) with triphenyhnethyl hexafluorophosphate followed by trimethylsilyl cyanide furnished with excellent regio- and stereoselectivity a new diene iron tricarbonyl complex (116) (Scheme 170). Excellent regio- and stereoselectivity is seen upon reaction of the cationic complex (116) with trimethylsilyl cyanide (TMS-CN) (Scheme 170). Reduction of the nitrile affords a spirocyclic lactam complex. Intramolecular cyclization of in situ formed enols furnishes spirocyclic compounds again with excellent stereoconfrol (Scheme 171). An interesting example of hydride transfer from a cyclohexadiene ring to a pendant aldehyde followed by nucleophilic addition is seen in Scheme 172. 

Intramolecular displacement of benzylic chlorides by nitrile anions was previously demonstrated as an efficient method making substituted pyrrolidines " however, the question of enanti-oselectivity was not addressed. Recent works on the synthesis of substituted cyclopentane showed that intramolecular enolate displacement of benzylic phosphate proceeded in clean inversion. Thus, it was envisioned that an appropriately substituted cyano phosphonate could be used to construct the pyrrolidine ring (Scheme 5.23). This intermediate could potentially be produced by the addition of a fert-butylamine to acrylonitrile. The desired amine could be produced via reaction... 

Lithium enolate 329 and a nitrile-furnished enamino ester 330, which on condensation with isocyanates/isothiocyanates gave N-3 substituted 331 (X = O, S) through a tandem nucleophilic addition-intramolecular aza-Michael reaction (Scheme 126) (09JFC1145). 

New syntheses of enamino-ketones by the ring-opening of isoxazoles with samarium di-iodide and with pentacarbonyliron, by the reaction of 2-alkyl-thiomethyl-3-alkylthioacrylophenones with amines, and by the intramolecular photoarylation of A -[2-(haloaryl)ethyl]-(3-enaminones, of enamino-diketones by the reaction of (3-chlorosulphonic acid chlorides with amines and by amino-methylenation of cyclic (3-dicarbonyl compounds, and of enamino-esters by aminomethylenation of esters and lactones and by the reaction of nitriles with magnesium enolates have been reported. 

The use of diphenylmethylenecyclopropanes, as opposed to methylenecyclo-propanes, greatly enhances the Pd°-induced [3 + 2] cycloaddition with alkenes to produce five-membered rings. A one-carbon ring-contraction route to cyclopentanes involves a high-pressure version of the known 1,3-dipolar addition of azides to O-silylated enolates, which removes some of the previously observed steric limitations of the reaction, so that the adduct (47) fragments, as shown, to produce the ring-contracted product (48). The intramolecular nitrile oxide... 

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