Nitrones enantioselective addition

Additions of organometallics to the C=N bond of imines, oximes, hydrazones, and nitrones have been reviewed, with emphasis on the issues of reactivity and selectivity. Recent advances in enantioselective addition to imines of ketones are highlighted. 

On the other hand, approaches to the use of catalytic amounts of chiral ligands have been developed. Thus, the use of a sub-stoichiometric amount (50 mol%) of DBNE (1) affords A,A-diphenylphosphinylamine with 85% in 69% yield121a. Similarly, 25 mol% of chiral aziridinyl alcohol 56 (R = - ) affords (V,(V-diphenylphosphinylamine with 65% in 60% yield123. In the enantioselective addition reaction of diethylzinc to a nitrone, 20 mol% of the metal alkoxide of diisopropyl tartrate 62 catalyzed the formation of a... 

It was also reported that diastereo- and enantioselective Mannich reactions of activated carbonyl compounds with a-imino esters were catalyzed by a chiral Lewis acid derived from Cu(OTf)2 and a bisoxazoline (BOX) ligand [31] [(Eq. (6)]. Catalytic enantioselective addition of nitro compounds to imines [32], and aza-Henry reactions of nitronates with imines [33] also proceeded under similar reaction conditions. 

High enantioselectivity has been achieved on addition of diethylzinc to benzaldehyde catalysed by a chiral diamine, (,S )-2-(A,A -disubstitutcd aminomethyl)pyrrolidine,116 and by chiral helical titanate complexes of tetradentate ligands.117 Enantioselective additions of dialkylzinc reagents to A,-(diphcnylphosphiiioyl)imines, promoted by aziridino alcohols,118 and to the carbon-nitrogen double bond of the nitrone 3,4-dihydroisoquinoline A-oxide, promoted by dicyclopentyl(R,R)-tartrate,119 have also been reported. 

Examples of the asymmetric functionalization of isoquinoline derivatives were reported in 2002. One example illustrated the enantioselective addition of ketene silyl acetal (82) to cyclic nitrone (81) catalyzed by a chiral titanium complex to prepare 1,2,3,4-tetrahydroisoquinoline (83) in 84% yield with 83% ee <02JA2888>. 

Silyl nitronates undergo enantioselective addition to aromatic aldehydes in the presence of an enantiomerically pure bifluoride derived from (7.103). In this approach the anti-adduct is the major diastereomer formed. Thus silyl nitronate (7.105) undergoes addition to benzaldehyde to give adduct (7.106) with high ee. Alternately the coupling of silyl nitronates can be achieved with high ee using Lewis acids such as copper bis-oxazoline catalyst (7.107) in combination with a fluoride... 

The second most important synthetic application of silyl nitronates in C-C bond-forming reactions is their fluoride-mediated addition to aldehydes. Silyl nitronates from secondary nitroalkanes lead to free nitro aldols such as (4), while those from primary nitro alkanes give silylated products. In contrast to the classical Henry reaction, the silyl variant is highly diastereose-lective with aldehydes, furnishing e yfAro-0-silylated nitro aldols (e.g. 5). It is important that the reaction temperature does not rise above 0 °C, otherwise threo/erythro equilibration takes place. The same erythro-nitio aldol derivatives are available by diastere-oselective protonation of silyloxy nitronates (eq 3) (usually the dr is >20 1), while the nonsilylated fAreo-epimers (R = H, dr = 7 3-20 1) are formed by kinetic protonation of lithioxy lithio nitronates in THF/DMPU (eq 4). Other recent modifications of the nitroaldol addition using titanium nitronates or ClSiRs in situ are less selective. It should also be mentioned that there are recent reports about the enantioselective addition of nitromethane to aldehydes in the presence of rare earth binaphthol complexes. 

In a more recent study on 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition reactions the use of succi-nimide instead of the oxazolidinone auxiliary was introduced (Scheme 6.19) [58]. The succinimide derivatives 24a,b are more reactive towards the 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition reaction with nitrone la and the reaction proceeds in the absence of a catalyst. In the presence of TiCl2-TADDOLate catalyst 23a (5 mol%) the reaction of la with 24a proceeds at -20 to -10 °C, and after conversion of the unstable succinimide adduct into the amide derivative, the corresponding product 25 was obtained in an endojexo ratio of <5 >95. Additionally, the enantioselectivity of the reaction of 72% ee is also an improvement compared to the analogous reaction of the oxazolidinone derivative 19. Similar improvements were obtained in reactions of other related nitrones with 24a and b. 

The condensation of nitro compounds and imines, the so-called aza-Henry or nitro-Mannich reaction, has recently emerged as a powerful tool for the enantioselective synthesis of 1,2-diamines through the intermediate /3-amino nitro compounds. The method is based on the addition of a nitronate ion (a-nitro carbanion), generated from nitroalkanes, to an imine. The addition of a nitronate ion to an imine is thermodynamically disfavored, so that the presence of a protic species or a Lewis acid is required, to activate the imine and/or to quench the adduct. The acidic medium is compatible with the existence of the nitronate anion, as acetic acid and nitromethane have comparable acidities. Moreover, the products are often unstable, either for the reversibility of the addition or for the possible /3-elimination of the nitro group, and the crude products are generally reduced, avoiding purification to give the desired 1,2-diamines. Hence, the nitronate ion is an equivalent of an a-amino carbanion. 

N-donor ligand. The reaction appears to proceed via an acyclic iminoplatinum(II) intermediate that undergoes a subsequent intramolecular cyclization. Some mechanistic aspects of this versatile reaction have been elucidated.225,226 A4-l,2,4-oxadiazolines have been prepared by the [2+3] cycloaddition of various nitrones to coordinated benzonitrile in m-[PtCl2( D M SO)(PhCN)] precursors.227,228 Racemic and chiral [PtCl2(PhMeSO)(PhCN)] complexes have also been used in order to introduce a degree of stereoselectivity into the reaction, resulting in the first enantioselective synthesis of A4-l,2,4-oxadiazolines, which can be liberated from the complexes by the addition of excess ethane-1,2-diamine. 

Diastereoselective intramolecular cycloaddition of nitrones is useful for constructing nitrogen- containing cyclic structures. The reaction serves as a key step in a number of natural product syntheses.63 Tufarriello and coworkers have used this strategy for preparing cocaine and other alkaloids.74 As a classical example, enantioselective total synthesis of (+)-luciduline is presented in Scheme 8.13, in which a useful feature of the 1,3-dipolar addition of nitrones is nicely illustrated.75... 

In addition to this, asymmetric 1,3-dipolar cyclization reactions of nitrones with olefins,40 41 catalytic enantioselective cyanation of aldehydes,42 catalytic enantioselective animation,43 and aza-Michael reactions44 have been reported, and high enantioselectivities are observed. 

Asymmetric additions of Reformatsky-type reagents to nitrones 258a and 258b have also been reported (Scheme 139). The reagents were prepared in situ from ZnEt2 and the corresponding iodoacetic acid ester. Diisopropyl (R,R)-tartrate 262 was employed as a chiral inductor. Enantioselectivities varied significantly the best results were obtained at 0 °C when a nitrone was added to the reaction mixture over a 2 h period. 

Addition of organometalic compounds to nitrones is known as an efficient method of enantioselective synthesis of primary amines that can be easily obtained by the reduction of hydroxylamines which are the products of nucleophilic addition. 

To carry out enantioselective alkylation of 2-thiazolyl nitrone (319) (Scheme 2.136), chiral additives presented in Fig. 2.22 and Lewis acids (MgBr2, Et2AlCl,... 

Transformation of chiral nitrones into enantiomer enriched a-chiral N -hydroxylamines and their derivatives, has been successfully employed in the enantioselective synthesis of (+ )-(R)- and (—)-(S)-zileuton (216). An expeditious synthesis of thymine polyoxin C (347), based on the stereocontrolled addition of 2-lithiofuran (a masked carboxylate group) to the A-benzyl nitrone derived from methyl 2,3-O-isopropylidene-dialdo-D-ribofuranoside, is described (Scheme 2.151) (194). 

Addition of Lithiated Sulfoxides and Sulfones Nucleophilic addition of lithiated methylaryl sulfoxides (384) to nitrones of various structures proceeds easily and in good yields (622). The reactions are applied to the synthesis of optically active a-substituted and a,a-disubstituted hydroxylamines, to secondary amines (623), and to enantioselective syntheses of alkaloids (624). The preferred approach to (+ )-euphococcinine is based on the use of homochiral 3-sullinyl nitrones (385) (Scheme 2.167). 

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