Ring-closing olefin

Partially hydrogenated oxepin-4-one system is convenient as a starting material for the synthesis of diverse oxepane-based compounds, such as peptidomimetics. A simple, five-step synthesis of one of the oxepin-4-ones from BOC-D-phenylalanine (Scheme 20) is developed using olefin ring-closing metathesis (RCM), as the final step (BOC = f-butoxycarbonyl) <2003TL5511>. 

A.B. Smith and co-workers have devised an efficient strategy for the synthesis of the cylindrocyclophane family of natural products. Olefin ring-closing metathesis was used for the assembly of the [7,7]-paracyclophane skeleton. During their investigations they discovered a remarkably efficient CM dimerization process, that culminated in the total synthesis of both (-)-cylindrocyclophane A and (-)-cylindrocyclophane F. They established that the cross metathesis dimerization process selectively led to the thermodynamically most stable member of a set of structurally related isomers. Out of three commonly used ROM catalysts, Schrock s catalyst proved to be the most efficient for this transformation. 

Scheme 13 Synthesis of indoles using a two-step olefination/ring-closing metathesis strategy.

Ashworth IW, Carboni D, Hither IH, et al. On the relationship between structure and reaction rate in olefin ring-closing metathesis. Chem Commun. 2010 46(38) 7145-7147. 

SCHEME 35 Synthesis of macrocyclic IRAP inhibitors by olefin ring closing metathesis. 

Acyclic diene molecules are capable of undergoing intramolecular and intermolec-ular reactions in the presence of certain transition metal catalysts molybdenum alkylidene and ruthenium carbene complexes, for example [50, 51]. The intramolecular reaction, called ring-closing olefin metathesis (RCM), affords cyclic compounds, while the intermolecular reaction, called acyclic diene metathesis (ADMET) polymerization, provides oligomers and polymers. Alteration of the dilution of the reaction mixture can to some extent control the intrinsic competition between RCM and ADMET. 

As stated above, olefin metathesis is in principle reversible, because all steps of the catalytic cycle are reversible. In preparatively useful transformations, the equilibrium is shifted to one side. This is most commonly achieved by removal of a volatile alkene, mostly ethene, from the reaction mixture. An obvious and well-established way to classify olefin metathesis reactions is depicted in Scheme 2. Depending on the structure of the olefin, metathesis may occur either inter- or intramolecularly. Intermolecular metathesis of two alkenes is called cross metathesis (CM) (if the two alkenes are identical, as in the case of the Phillips triolefin process, the term self metathesis is sometimes used). The intermolecular metathesis of an a,co-diene leads to polymeric structures and ethene this mode of metathesis is called acyclic diene metathesis (ADMET). Intramolecular metathesis of these substrates gives cycloalkenes and ethene (ring-closing metathesis, RCM) the reverse reaction is the cleavage of a cyclo-... 

A systematic investigation of the ring-closing metathesis of 138 in the synthesis of a range of fourteen-membered ring lactams 139 and lactones has been reported by Weiler. The geometry of the resulting double bond was determined, the position of the olefin was broadly varied. The ratios obtained were compared to that derived from molecular mechanics calculations, Eq. (15), Table 4 [34]. 

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