Nucleophilic attack initiation

The thermal recyclization of 4,4 -bis(acetamido)-3,3 -azofuroxan 195 to (nitrotriazol-2-yl) furoxan 196 has been shown to involve two consecutive MHR (99MC17) (Scheme 128). Intramolecular nucleophilic attack initiated the process. 

The Claisen condensation is initiated by deprotonation of an ester molecule by sodium ethanolate to give a carbanion that is stabilized, mostly by resonance, as an enolate. This carbanion makes a nucleophilic attack at the partially positively charged carbon atom of the e.ster group, leading to the formation of a C-C bond and the elimination ofan ethanolate ion, This Claisen condensation only proceeds in strongly basic conditions with a pH of about 14. 

The reaction of propiolic acid or its esters with 2-aminothiazole yields 7H-thiazolo[3.2o]pyTimidine 7-one (109) (Scheme 74) (273), The reaction probably proceeds by initial nucleophilic attack of 2-aminothiazole on the sp C followed by intramolecular addition of ring nitrogen to spC. 

Example You could explore the possible geometries of two molecules interacting in solution and guess at initial transition structures. For example, if molecule Aundergoes nucleophilic attack on molecule B, you could impose a distance restraint between the two atoms that would form a bond, allowing the rest of the system to relax. Simulations such as these can help to explain stereochemistry or reaction kinetics and can serve as starting points for quantum mechanics calculations and optimizations. 

Another very important reaction initially involving nucleophilic attack on an aldehyde carbonyl is the Wittig reaction. An yUd adds to the carbonyl forming a betaine intermediate which then decomposes to produce an olefin and a tertiary phosphine oxide. 

The reaction involves the nucleophilic attack of a peracid anion on the unionized peracid giving a tetrahedral diperoxy intermediate that then eliminates oxygen giving the parent acids. The observed rate of the reaction depends on the initial concentration of the peracid as expected in a second-order process. The reaction also depends on the stmcture of the peracid (specifically whether the peracid can micellize) (4). MiceUization increases the effective second-order concentration of the peracid because of the proximity of one peracid to another. This effect can be mitigated by the addition of an appropriate surfactant, which when incorporated into the peracid micelle, effectively dilutes the peracid, reducing the rate of decomposition (4,90). 

Addition of Grignard reagents and organolithium compounds to the pyridazine ring proceeds as a nucleophilic attack at one of the electron-deficient positions to give initially... 

Perhaps the most convincing evidence for nucleophilic attack at an unexpected ring position comes from the direct observation of intermediate Meisenheimer complexes in the NMR spectrum. When 2-chloro-3,6-diphenylpyrazine is treated with KNH2 in liquid ammonia, the intermediate (29) was observed directly (Scheme 8). It was postulated that this initially formed complex rearranges to (30) which gives the observed product by elimination of a chloride ion (73RTC708). 

Nucleophilic attack at sulfur is implicated in many reactions of 1,2,4-thiadiazoles generally, soft electrophiles attack at sulfur, cf. (150)— (151). -Butyllithium with 4,5-diphenyl-l,2,3-thiadiazole yields PhC = CPh, probably by initial nucleophilic attack at sulfur. 

Very little is known about nucleophilic attack on an unsubstituted carbon atom of pyrazoles and their aromatic derivatives (pyrazolones, pyrazolium ions). The SwAr reaction of halogenopyrazoles will be discussed in Section 4.04.2.3.7. Sulfur nucleophiles do not attack the ring carbon atoms of pyrazolium salts but instead the substituent carbon linked to nitrogen with concomitant dequaternization (Section 4.04.2.3.lO(ii)). The ring opening of pyrazolium salts by hydroxide ion occurs only if carbon C-3 is unsubstituted the exact mechanism is unknown and perhaps involves an initial attack of OH on C-3. 

Azirines react with enolate anions. Initial nucleophilic attack on phenyl 1-azirine by the enolate anion derived from acetophenone gives intermediate (223) which undergoes 1,2-bond cleavage, cyclization and hydroxyl group elimination to give pyrrole (226). 

Carbanions in the form of ylides also add to azirines. For example, treatment of 1-azirine (227) with dimethylsulfonium methylide gives 1-azabicyclobutane (229) in good yield (72JA2758). The addition of the methylene group occurs by initial nucleophilic attack by the ylide to give intermediate (228) which cyclizes with expulsion of dimethyl sulfide. 

Scheme 6 depicts a typical penicillin sulfoxide rearrangement (69JA1401). The mechanism probably involves an initial thermal formation of a sulfenic acid which is trapped by the acetic anhydride as the mixed sulfenic-acetic anhydride. Nucleophilic attack by the double bond on the sulfur leads to an episulfonium ion which, depending on the site of acetate attack, can afford either the penam (19) or the cepham (20). Product ratios are dependent on reaction conditions. For example, in another related study acetic anhydride gave predominantly the penam product, while chloroacetic anhydride gave the cepham product (7lJCS(O3540). The rearrangement can also be effected by acid in this case the principal products are the cepham (21) and the cephem (22 Scheme 7). Since these early studies a wide variety of reagents have been found to catalyze the conversion of a penicillin sulfoxide to the cepham/cephem ring system (e.g. 77JOC2887).

Fatty acids with odd numbers of carbon atoms are rare in mammals, but fairly common in plants and marine organisms. Humans and animals whose diets include these food sources metabolize odd-carbon fatty acids via the /3-oxida-tion pathway. The final product of /3-oxidation in this case is the 3-carbon pro-pionyl-CoA instead of acetyl-CoA. Three specialized enzymes then carry out the reactions that convert propionyl-CoA to succinyl-CoA, a TCA cycle intermediate. (Because propionyl-CoA is a degradation product of methionine, valine, and isoleucine, this sequence of reactions is also important in amino acid catabolism, as we shall see in Chapter 26.) The pathway involves an initial carboxylation at the a-carbon of propionyl-CoA to produce D-methylmalonyl-CoA (Figure 24.19). The reaction is catalyzed by a biotin-dependent enzyme, propionyl-CoA carboxylase. The mechanism involves ATP-driven carboxylation of biotin at Nj, followed by nucleophilic attack by the a-carbanion of propi-onyl-CoA in a stereo-specific manner. 

Numerous other reactions have been documented, most of which are initiated by nucleophilic attack on B. There is no evidence that electrophilic substitution of the borazine ring occurs and conditions required for such reactions in benzenoid systems disrupt the borazine ring by oxidation or solvolysis. However, it is known that the less-reactive hexamethyl derivative B3N3Mee (which can be heated to 460° for 3 h without significant decomposition)... 

There is some debate in the literature as to the actual mechanism of the Beirut reaction. It is not clear which of the electrophilic nitrogens of BFO is the site of nucleophilic attack or if the reactive species is the dinitroso compound 10. In the case of the unsubstituted benzofurazan oxide (R = H), the product is the same regardless of which nitrogen undergoes the initial condensation step. When R 7 H, the nucleophilic addition step determines the structure of the product and, in fact, isomeric mixtures of quinoxaline-1,4-dioxides are often observed. One report suggests that N-3 of the more stable tautomer is the site of nucleophilic attack in accord with observed reaction products. However, a later study concludes that the product distribution can be best rationalized by invoking the ortho-dinitrosobenzene form 10 as the reactive intermediate. 

Forty years after the initial proposal, Sweet and Fissekis proposed a more detailed pathway involving a carbenium ion species. According to these authors the first step involved an aldol condensation between ethyl acetoacetate (6) and benzaldehyde (5) to deliver the aldol adduct 11. Subsequent dehydration of 11 furnished the key carbenium ion 12 which was in equilibrium with enone 13. Nucleophilic attack of 12 by urea then delivered ureide 14. Intramolecular cyclization produced a hemiaminal which underwent dehydration to afford dihydropyrimidinone 15. These authors demonstrated that the carbenium species was viable through synthesis. After enone 13 was synthesized, it was allowed to react with N-methyl urea to deliver the mono-N-methylated derivative of DHPM 15. 

In an alternative reaction course, the primary amino group reacts with C-3, while the intermediate 134 undergoes cyclization either via nucleophilic attack by a Y function at the C-1 atom followed by elimination of HXR (also formed due to possible hydrolysis of the initial products and intermediates) or with involvement of one of the carbonyl groups (intermediates 132 and 136) (81UK1252 91UK103). 

Ring Transformation Reactions Initiated by Nucleophilic Attack. 284... 

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