Ring-opening nucleophilic substitution

The wide scope application of this transformation arises not only from the utility of epoxide compounds but also from the subsequent regiocontrolled and stereocontrolled nucleophilic substitution (ring-opening) reactions of the derived epoxy alcohol. These, through further functionalization, allow access to an impressive array of target molecules in enantiomerically pure form. 

Halogens Nitrogen Sulfur Phosphorus Nucleophilic substitution Ring-opening Addition... 

Ring-opening nucleophilic substitution Ring opening of oxiranes... 

With Oxygen Nucleophiles Aziridine ring-opening of 111 (Scheme 3.42) with water in the presence of a catalytic amount of TsOH gave the corresponding (3-hydrox-yphenylalanine derivative 121 in 72% yield as the major isomer [74], Treatment of N-(p-tolylsulfmyl) aziridine-2-carboxylates with TFA and subsequent aqueous workup resulted in the formation of j3-substituted serine derivatives [62, 63, 101]. Under these reaction conditions, not only was the aziridine ring opened, but also the N-sulfmyl group was removed treatment of 122 (Scheme 3.43) with TFA at 73 °C, for example, afforded 123 in 75% yield [101],... 

Although the use of amines in nucleophilic aliphatic substitution is problematic due to the mixtures of products that result, recall from Section 8.4C that amines are excellent nucleophiles for ring opening reactions of epoxides. This is because the inductive effect... 

The I/Mg exchange of 3-iodomethyl-l-oxacyclopentanone derivative 243 is followed by an intramolecular nucleophilic substitution and opening of the oxacydopentane ring leads after aqueous work-up to cydopropane derivative 244 (Scheme 4.50) [129]. 

There is an important difference in the regiochemistry of ring opening reactions of epoxides depending on the reaction conditions Unsymmetncally substituted epoxides tend to react with anionic nucleophiles at the less hindered carbon of the ring Under conditions of acid catalysis however the more highly substituted carbon is attacked... 

Nucleophilic ring opening of epoxides has many of the features of an 8 2 reac tion Inversion of configuration is observed at the carbon at which substitution occurs... 

As we ve just seen nucleophilic ring opening of ethylene oxide yields 2 substituted derivatives of ethanol Those reactions involved nucleophilic attack on the carbon of the ring under neutral or basic conditions Other nucleophilic ring openings of epoxides like wise give 2 substituted derivatives of ethanol but either involve an acid as a reactant or occur under conditions of acid catalysis... 

Nucleophilic Reactions. The strong electronegativity of fluorine results in the facile reaction of perfluoroepoxides with nucleophiles. These reactions comprise the majority of the reported reactions of this class of compounds. Nucleophilic attack on the epoxide ring takes place at the more highly substituted carbon atom to give ring-opened products. Fluorinated alkoxides are intermediates in these reactions and are in equiUbrium with fluoride ion and a perfluorocarbonyl compound. The process is illustrated by the reaction of methanol and HFPO to form methyl 2,3,3,3-tetrafluoro-2-methoxypropanoate (eq. 4). 

Nucleophilic Ring Opening. Opening of the ethyleneimine ring with acid catalysis can generally be accompHshed by the formation of an iatermediate ayiridinium salt, with subsequent nucleophilic substitution on the carbon atom which loses the amino group. In the foUowiag, R represents a Lewis acid, usually A = the nucleophile. 

Because of the rapid ring opening by the nucleophile, ayiridinium salts cannot usually be isolated. However, in a few cases it is possible to isolate such compounds (54), eg, at low temperatures, when the ayiridinium salts ate sparingly soluble or where there is steric hindrance to substitution. Stable ethyleneiminium salts can be prepared by reaction of ethyleneimine with acids not containing nucleophilic anions, for example HBF (55). 

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