Nucleophilic substitutions epoxide opening

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. 

Epoxide opening with nucleophiles occurs at the less substituted carbon atom of the oxlrane ting. Cataiytic hydrogenolysis yields the more substituted alcohol. The scheme below contains also an example for trons-dibromination of a C—C double bond followed by dehy-drobromination with strong base for overall conversion into a conjugated diene. The bicycKc tetraene then isomerizes spontaneously to the aromatic l,6-oxido[l0]annulene (E. Vogel, 1964). 

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... 

The experimental observations combine with the principles of nucleophilic substitution to give the picture of epoxide ring opening shown in Figure 16.5. The nucleophile attacks the less crowded carbon from the side opposite the carbon-oxygen bond. Bond... 

Base-catalyzed epoxide opening is a typical S -2 reaction in which attack of the nucleophile takes place at the less hindered epoxide carbon. For example, 1,2-epoxypropane reacts with ethoxide ion exclusively at the less highly substituted, primary, carbon to give l-ethoxy-2-propanol. 

Cir—R S Nucleophilic substitution, conjugate addition and epoxide ring-opening h... 

Oxidation is the first step for producing molecules with a very wide range of functional groups because oxygenated compounds are precursors to many other products. For example, alcohols may be converted to ethers, esters, alkenes, and, via nucleophilic substitution, to halogenated or amine products. Ketones and aldehydes may be used in condensation reactions to form new C-C double bonds, epoxides may be ring opened to form diols and polymers, and, finally, carboxylic acids are routinely converted to esters, amides, acid chlorides and acid anhydrides. Oxidation reactions are some of the largest scale industrial processes in synthetic chemistry, and the production of alcohols, ketones, aldehydes, epoxides and carboxylic acids is performed on a mammoth scale. For example, world production of ethylene oxide is estimated at 58 million tonnes, 2 million tonnes of adipic acid are made, mainly as a precursor in the synthesis of nylons, and 8 million tonnes of terephthalic acid are produced each year, mainly for the production of polyethylene terephthalate) [1]. 

In contrast to the relative chemical stability of mono-epoxides, diol epoxides of fatty acids (10.52), which are formed from di-epoxides by EH, are subject to a different fate. In such metabolites, intramolecular nucleophilic substitution may occur, such that oxirane opening is accompanied by formation of a tetrahydrofuran ring [134], Such reactions of intramolecular nucleophilic substitution are discussed in detail in Sect. 11.9. In the case of diol epoxides of fatty acids, the resulting tetrahydrofuran-diols (10.53) are part of a much larger ensemble of oxygenated metabolites of fatty acids, the potential cytotoxicities of which are being evaluated [135]. 

In another development, the statin side chain en route to Atorvastatin (Lipitor , Pfizer) is synthesized via the key intermediate alkyl 3-hydroxy-4-cyanobutyrate (Figure 13.17). Instead of the currently practiced six-step route, a much more concise three-step route starts from epichlorohydrin via Cl chain length enhancement by both nucleophilic substitution of chloride and nucleophilic ring opening of the epoxide with cyanide to yield symmetric dicyanoisopropanol. Nitrilase action desymmetrizes the dinitrile intermediate with the creation of a chiral center in C3 to yield (R)-3-hydroxy-4-cyanobutyrate, which is esterified to the key intermediate ethyl (R)-3-hydroxy-4-cyanobutyrate. 

Rough guidelines for the prediction of regioselectivity in epoxide ring openings are summarized in Scheme 4.60. Under neutral or basic reaction conditions alkyl-or aryl-substituted epoxides react with most nucleophiles at the less substituted carbon atom [248-253]. Under acidic reaction conditions, however, product mixtures or preferential attack at the most substituted carbon atom can be observed. Acids can usually be used to enhance the reactivity of epoxides and to promote substitution at the site of an epoxide which forms a carbocation more readily. 

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