Nitroaldolization

Sequential radical cyclizations are also featured in an efficient and clever synthesis of the cedrane framework 83 (see Scheme 15).30 Compound 81, the product of a regioselective Diels-Alder reaction between isoprene (79) and nitroethylene (80), participates in a nitroaldol reaction (Henry reaction) with 5-methyl-4-hexenal in the presence of a basic resin to give 82. Because the nitro group in... 

Due to the reversibility of this nitroaldol reaction, the easy epimerization at the nitro-sub-stituted carbon, and the often low yields in reactions with nitro compounds other than ni-tromethane, few stereoselective additions have been reported. Highly stereoselective reactions are known for the synthesis of cyclic systems (see Section 1.3.5.6.6.). 

However, deprotonation of rc-rf-butyldimethylsilyl-protected products 2 (prepared according to the classical Henry conditions )22, and consecutive reprotonation, provides the silylated nitroaldols 2 with high (R, R ) selectivity. Deprotonation of 2 by treatment with lithium diisopropylamide in tetrahydrofuran at — 78 C furnishes nitronates which are stable against / -elimination at that temperature. Protonation of these intermediates is achieved with an acetic acid/tetrahydrofuran (1 1) solution at —100 C. To achieve maximum yields, the mixture should be warmed up slowly before aqueous workup. 

To a stirred mixture of 0.2 mol of the nitroalkane, 7.8 mL of EtOH and 0.39 mL of 10 N aq sodium hydroxide is added 0.2 mol of the freshly distilled aldehyde, with the temperature being maintained at 30 35 C. After approximately two thirds of the aldehyde has been added, an additional 0.39 mL of 10 N aq sodium hydroxide and 1.5 mL of water are added, then the aldehyde addition is continued. The mixture is stirred at 38 C for 65 h and is then treated with ca. 4 mL of 2 N aq hydrochloric acid to pH 7. It is extracted with hexane and the combined extract is washed with three 50-mL portions of water and sat. aq NaCl, dried over MgSOj and evaporated to give the crude nitroaldol which is purified by bulb-to-bulb distillation. 

In the presence of a catalytic amount of tetrabutylammonium fluoride, either freshly dried over molecular sieves22 or as the trihydrate16, silylnitronates 2 derived from primary nitroalkanes react readily at — 78 C or below, via their in situ generated nitronates. with aromatic and aliphatic aldehydes to give the silyl-protected (/J, S )-nitroaldol adducts 3 in excellent yield4,22-24-26,27. Silylnitronates, derived from secondary nitroalkanes. afford the adducts in 30 40% overall yield24. In contrast to the classical Henry reaction (vide supra), the addition of silylnitronates to aldehydes is irreversible. Ketones are unreaetive under such conditions. 

To achieve reproducible (R. . ) selectivities in these nitroaldol reactions pure, distilled /m-butyldimcthylsilylnitronates and anhydrous tetrabutylammonium fluoride should be used22. The corresponding trimethylsilylnitronates furnish mixtures of (R, S )- and (R, R )-isomers22. 

Aluminum oxide catalyzed addition of ethyl nitroacetate to racemic 2,3-cpoxy aldehydes 7 affords substituted 4,5-dihydroisoxazole 2-oxides through a regio- and stereospecific tandem nitroaldol cyclization process. High diastereoselectivities are observed in the reaction of cis-epoxyaldehydes to yield the ethyl, vi7 -4.5-dihydro-4-hydroxy-5-( I -hydroxyalkyl)-3-isoxazole-carboxylate 2-oxides, with tram configuration at the ring positions, whereas reactions of trans-and 3,3-disubstituted 2,3-epoxyaldehydes proceed with lower selectivities28. 

Condensation of a series of methyl glycopyranosiduloses with nitromethane provides isomeric nitroaldol adducts, precursors of branched-chain amino sugars30. The isomers are separable by chromatography. 

A variety of 1,5-dialdehydes 9 react in a double nitroaldol reaction with nitroalkanes to give 6-membered carbo- and heterocyclic owMran. -2-nitro-l,3-diols 10 which can be transformed into the enantiomcrically pure derivatives via enantiosclcctive saponification of their diacetates with pig liver esterase5. 

Intermolecular reaction of the mannose-derived 2,3-0-isopropylideiie-a-D-/y.vc>-pentodialdo-l,4-furanoside 13 affords a diastereomeric mixture of nitroalcohols 14. Upon fluoride-catalyzed desilylation, a stereoisomerically pure nitrocyclitol 15 was obtained from a successive intramolecular nitroaldol reaction as a consequence of the reversibility of the nitroaldol reaction which, in this case, allows the equilibration of isomers through open-chain intermediates33. 

The nitroaldol reaction or Henry reaction is a powerful and highly versatile carbon-carbon bond-forming reaction, allowing a plethora of key molecular frameworks, such as p-hydroxynitroalkanes, 1,2-amino alcohols or a-hydroxy carboxylic acids to be synthesised in a straightforward manner. Therefore, the development of practical catalytic asymmetric versions of this reaction is still largely desirable. The first catalytic asymmetric nitroaldol reaction was reported in 1992, " but despite its long history, relatively few chiral ligands have... 

Novel chiral thiolated amino alcohols have been recently synthesised and then evaluated by Vilaivan el al. as a potential new class of ligands for Cu-catalysed nitroaldol reactions. Amino alcohol ligands bearing Ai-(2-alkyl-thio)benzyl substituents provided only modest enantioselectivities (22-46% ee) while those carrying Al-2-thienylmethyl substituents provided better enantioselectivities of up to 75% ee for the nitroaldol reaction between p-nitro-benzaldehyde and nitromethane. A range of aromatic aldehydes were acceptable substrates giving moderate to high enantioselectivities of up to 88% ee, as shown in Scheme 10.32. 

In addition, highly enantioselective nitroaldol reactions were performed by Bandini et al. by using a new class of C2-symmetric oligothiophene ligands, in 2007. Thus, associated to copper, these C2-symmetric bis(amino) ligands allowed the synthesis of a wide range of enantiomerically enriched nitroalcohols... 

The Henry (nitroaldol) reaction was reported under very mild reaction conditions, in aqueous media using a stoichiometric amount of a nitroalkane and an aldehyde, in NaOH 0.025 M and in the presence of cetyltrimethylammonium chloride (CTAC1) as cationic surfactant (Eq. 8.94) 240 Good to excellent yields of (i-nitroalkanol are obtained. Under these conditions several functionalities are preserved, and side-reactions such as retro-aldol reaction or dehydration of 2-nitroalcohols are avoided. 

Scheme 30 Reductive intramolecular Henry reaction, nitroaldol reaction, mediated by Cu H...

The concept for the synthesis of4-hydroxy-4,5-dihydroisoxazoles by Righi and coworkers was discussed earlier, in Chapter 7. Here, an extension of this methodology by utilizing polymer-bound nitroacetate (hydroxylated Merrifield resin) is described [10], Thus, the one-pot domino oxidation/nitroaldol cyclization of aziridine 10-28 with immobilized nitroacetate 10-29 furnished 10-30 which, after detachment from the resin, led to the desired product 10-31 in good yield and excellent trans-selectivity (Scheme 10.7). 

Scheme 10.7. Domino oxidation/nitroaldol/1,3-dipolar cycloaddition process.

Molecular modeling studies revealed a similar binding mode for (5)-2-nitro-1 -phenylethanol in the catalytic center of ///)HNL as was determined experimentally for (5)-mandelonitrile, preserving all mechanistically important polar interactions with active-site residues. This implies that the mechanism for the cyanohydrin reaction applies to the nitroaldol reaction as well. 

Purkarthofer, T., Gruber, K., Gruber-Khadjawi, M,et al. (2006) A biocatalytic Henry reaction - the hydroxynitrile lyase from Hevea brasiliensis also catalyzes nitroaldol reactions. Angewandte Chemie (International Edition in English), 45, 3454-3456. 

Gruber-Khadjawi, M., Purkarthofer, T. Skranc, W. et al. (2007) Hydroxynitrile lyase-catalyzed enzymatic nitroaldol (Henry) reaction. Advanced Synthesis and Catalysis, 349, 1445-1450. 

Verkade and co-workers have shown the usefulness of their phosphazanes in various stoichiometric as well as catalytic reactions <1999PS(144)101>. Compound 290 was used to promote the cyanohydration of benzaldehyde with trimethylsilyl cyanide (TMSCN). The cyanohydrin was isolated in 95% yield, but no enantioselectivity was noticed <2002JOM(646)161>. Compounds 291 and 292 were attached to dendrimers and shown to be effective in the catalysis of Michael reactions, nitroaldol reactions, and aryl isocyanate trimerizations <2004ASC1093>. 

The IMDAF (intramolecular Diels-Alder furan) precursors 492 were prepared via Michael addition of nucleophiles possessing an unsaturated tether 491 to furoyl nitroalkene 490. Furyl nitroalkene 490 was prepaperd via the nitroaldol (Flenry) reaction. Compound 492 was heated in appropriate solvent such as toluene, xylene, etc., to provide the IMDAF cycloadducts 65 and 66 (Table 16) <2005JOC2235>. 

The nitroaldol reaction of methyl nitroacetate (199, Scheme 38) with 1,2 3,4-di-0-isopropylidene-a-D-ga/acfo-hexodialdo-l,5-pyranose (200) and 2,3-O-isopropyli-dene-D-glyceraldehyde (202) catalyzed by silica gel proceeded in almost quantitative yield, with high selectivity for attack on the aldehyde carbonyl group, giving derivatives 201 and 203, respectively. Two of the four possible diastereomers were detected as main products, and were obtained as a mixture. For the nitroaldol reaction with 200 gave similar results in either the presence or absence of silica gel, whereas the reaction with 202 did not proceed in its absence, showing that catalytic action of silica is mandatory in this case.176... 

SCHEME 38. Nitroaldol reaction of methyl nitroacetate with hexodialdo-l,5-pyranose 200 and 2,3-0-isopropylidene-D-glyceraldehyde (202) catalyzed by silica gel. 

Yet another approach to the synthesis of five-membered cyclic nitronates (5) is based on the Henry condensation of a-halo-substituted aldehydes (9) with primary AN followed by cyclization of nitroaldols (Scheme 3.14, Eq. 4) to give five-membered nitronates containing the hydroxy group at the C-4 atom. 

For a review about nitroaldol and the Henry reaction, see Rosini and Ballini.120... 

The nitroaldol (Henry) reaction has been recognized as a powerful synthetic tool and has also been utilized in the construction of numerous natural products and other useful compounds. As shown in Scheme 1, we succeeded in realizing the first exam-... 

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