Nitrile oxides, alkenyl cyclization

The entropically enhanced cycloaddition rate of an intramolecular cycloaddition permits alkenyl nitrile oxides to cyclize in the presence of free amino groups, in contrast to intermolecular reactions. Since nitrile oxides have a wide spectrum of possible intermolecular reactions, they also react well in macro-cyclic cyclizations. 

For alkenyl nitrile oxides having the alkene in a cyclic structure, such as compound 141, high diastereoselectivities can be obtained (Scheme 12.47). Compound 141 is formed in situ, and undergoes a spontaneous cyclization to furnish 142 as the sole diastereomer. Toyota et al. (239) used the tricyclic isoxazoline 143 in the synthesis of (+)-pumiliotoxin C. 

Cyclization of nitrile oxides with a four-atom intervening chain to the alkene always leads to 5,6-fused bicylic isoxazolines possessing a bridgehead C—N double bond. This is in contrast to nitrone cycliza-tions where competition to form bridged bicyclic isoxazolidines is observed. The alkenyl oximes (73) and (74) cyclize in typical fashion via nitrile oxide intermediates (Scheme 21).33a>36 The stereochemistry of cyclization here was studied both experimentally and by calculation. The higher stereoselectivity observed with the (Z)-alkene is typical. (Z)-Alkenes cycloadd much slower than ( >alkenes in intermole-cular reactions this is attributed to greater crowding in the transition state. Thus, intramolecular cycloaddition of (Z)-alkenes depends on a transition state that is heavily controlled by steric factors. 

Scheme 7.12 Proposed mechanism for ruthenium-catalyzed oxidative alkenylation and cyclization of aromatic nitriles.

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