Regioselectivity nitriles

A classical way to achieve regioselectivity in an (a -i- d -reaction is to start with a-carbanions of carboxylic acid derivatives and electrophilic ketones. Most successful are condensations with 1,3-dicarbonyl carbanions, e.g. with malonic acid derivatives, since they can be produced at low pH, where ketones do not enolize. Succinic acid derivatives can also be de-protonated and added to ketones (Stobbe condensation). In the first example given below a Dieckmann condensation on a nitrile follows a Stobbe condensation, and selectivity is dictated by the tricyclic educt neither the nitrile group nor the ketone is enolizable (W.S. Johnson, 1945, 1947). 

Hydrolysis of Nitriles. The chemical hydrolysis of nitriles to acids takes place only under strong acidic or basic conditions and may be accompanied by formation of unwanted and sometimes toxic by-products. Enzymatic hydrolysis of nitriles by nitrile hydratases, nittilases, and amidases is often advantageous since amides or acids can be produced under very mild conditions and in a stereo- or regioselective manner (114,115). 

Frontier molecular orbital theory correctly rationalizes the regioselectivity of most 1,3-dipolar cycloadditions (73JA7287). When nitrile ylides are used as 1,3-dipoles, the dipole... 

Isothiazolylphosphonate 29 (Section II.B.2) reacted with 1,3-dipoles such as diazomethane and nitrile oxides, affording regioselectively 30a,b or 32. By reacting 30b and 32 with bases, pyrazolylphosphonate 31 and isoxazolylsulfonamide 33 were obtained (01T(57)5453). 

In 2000, it was proposed that the regioselectivity of the [3 + 2] cycloaddition of fullerenes could be modified under microwave irradiation. Under conventional heating, N-methylazomethine yhde and fullerene-(C7o) gave three different isomeric cycloadducts because of the low symmetry of C70 vs. Ceo. Using microwave irradiation and o-dichlorobenzene as a solvent, only two isomers were obtained, the major cycloadduct 114 being kinetically favored (Scheme 39) [75]. The same authors had previously reported the 1,3-dipolar cyclo addition of pyrazole nitrile oxides, generated in situ, to Geo under either conventional heating or microwave irradiation. The electrochemical characteristics of the cycloadduct obtained with this method made this product a candidate for photophysical apphcations [76]. 

Hoesch reaction. In most cases, a Lewis acid is necessary zinc chloride is the most common. The reaction is generally useful only with phenols, phenolic ethers, and some reactive heterocyclic compounds (e.g., pyrrole), but it can be extended to aromatic amines by the use of BCls. Acylation in the case of amines is regioselectively ortho. Monohydric phenols, however, generally do not give ketones " but are attacked at the oxygen to produce imino esters. Many nitriles... 

The mechanism of formation of pyridines from a,P-unsatuiated nitriles and active cyano compounds has been investigated. These processes proceed through a Michael adduct which undergoes a regioselective cyclization to the corresponding pyridine <96H(43)33>. 

Hence ketone (1) might be made by regioselective alkylation of (2) but this is doubtful. A safer route is to disconnect the ethyl group to leave nitrile (3) which can certainly be made by alkylation of nitrile (4) as there is only one site for enolisation. 

The addition of mesityl nitrile oxide to stable derivatives of a germanethi-one21 and a germaneselone22 is closely related to the addition of nitrones. The reaction is regioselective again, with formation of the germanium-oxygen bond. 

Several strategies have been proposed to improve the regioselectivity of nitrile oxide cycloaddition. Kanemasa and coworkers have reported high-rate acceleration and regioselectivity in nitrile oxide cycloadditions to the magnesium alkoxides of allylic and homoallylic alcohols (Eq. 8.64)."... 

Organocobalt complexes catalyze the cyelocotrimerization of acetylenes and nitriles, which affords pyridine and benzene derivatives (100). (Cyclo-pentadienyl)cobalt complexes such as CoCp(COD) favor pyridine formation (100), and modification of the Cp ligand has considerable influence on the activity of the catalyst and the chemo- and regioselectivity of the catalytic process (101). 

When ene-nitrile oxidoisoquinolium betaine 131 was heated as a dilute solution in toluene to 120 °C (Scheme 1.15), near quantitative conversion to the cycloadduct 133, resulting from the undesired regioselectivity, was observed. While the near complete conversion to cycloadduct 133 of oxidoisoquinolinium betaine 131 indeed demonstrated complete avoidance of the conjugate addition pathway in favor of cycloaddition, initial production of undesired isomeric cycloadduct 133 (instead of 136) was disappointing. Notably, cycloadduct 133 is expected to be less kinetically favored based on frontier molecular orbital (FMO) analysis (assuming dipole HOMO-controlled cycloaddition) of the putative transition state. This result stands in contrast to the cycloaddition of nitroalkene oxidoisoquinolinium betaine... 

A positive feature of the reaction is that nitrile oxides are more regioselective, in cycloadditions to methylenecyclopropanes, compared to nitrones. Only traces (up to 5%) of the 4-spirocyclopropane regioisomers are generally observed with methylenecyclopropanes unsubstituted on the exocyclic double bond. The yields are only moderate, but higher with more stable nitrile oxides (Table 27, entries 5, 6, 10-12). 

Albeit nitrile oxides are more regioselective than nitrones towards MCP, in cycloadditions with alkylidenecyclopropanes they show a lower regiocontrol than nitrones. The same trend, however, on passing from electron-donating to electron-withdrawing substituents is observed. Benzylidenecyclopropane (156) gives (entry 1, Table 28) only a 1 4 mixture (compared with 1 19 with nitrone... 

Reaction yields and regioselectivity were comparable, or better, than those obtained with more simple nitrile oxides. Examples of the use of an optically active (R)-4-chloro-valeronitrile JV-oxide for the synthesis of non-racemic isoxa-lines 371d and 371e are also reported [93]. 

Independent work by Schmid93 and by Padwa94 on the photochemistry of 2H-azirines has shown that irradiation of such systems leads in the first instance to the formation of nitrile ylids (nitrilium betaines). Subsequent 1,3-addition to a variety of dipolarophiles affords five-membered heterocycles. These additions take place in a stereospecific and regioselective manner thus, irradiation of the diphenyl-2f/-azirine 117 in the presence of dimethyl maleate leads to the formation of the two isomeric 1-pyrrolines... 

The cobalt-catalyzed cooligomerization of diynes with nitriles allows a simple one-step synthesis222 of condensed pyridine derivatives including difficultly accessible 5,6,7,8-tetrahydroisoquinolines223 The synthesis is a versatile one in that pyridines condensed with five- and seven-membered carbocyclic rings can also be achieved in moderate yield in similar fashion. Additional attractive features of this simple synthesis are the formation of condensed isoquinolines by the use of functionalized nitriles and the pronounced regioselectivity observed when dissymmetrical diacetylenes are employed (Scheme 148).222... 

Isoxazole (as well as isoxazoline, and isoxazolidine) analogues of C-nucleosides related to pseudouridines 25 and 27 have been regioselectively synthesized by 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition (1,3-DC) of nitrile oxides (and nitrones) derived from uracyl-5-carbaldehyde 24 and 2,4-dimethoxypyrimidine-5-carbaldehyde 26 respectively <06T1494>. 

Isoxazolines 38 and 39 were obtained in different ratios by direct cycloaddition of 4-t-butylbenzonitrile oxide with acids 35 (R = H, path B) and by the intermediate formation of cyclodextrin derivatives 36 and 37 followed by basic hydrolysis and acidification (path A). The reversed regioselectivity as well as an increased rate of the cycloaddition step could be explained through the temporary association of the nitrile oxide with the cyclodextrin to give the inclusion complex 40 <06CEJ8571>. 

The application of microwaves to the cycloaddition reactions of allyl alcohols 180 with nitrile oxides not only achieved a substantial reduction of the reaction time and an improvement of the adduct yields, but also altered the regioselectivity of the cycloaddition in favor of the nonhydrogen bond-directed cycloadduct 182 (Scheme 9.55) [105]. 

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