Optically-pure

Crystallise the two lots of crude active aec. -octyl hydrogen phthalates separately twice from 90 per cent, acetic acid use 2 g. of acetic acid to each gram of soUd. The recrystaUised esters, if optically pure (8), will melt sharply at 75° if the melting points are below 75°, further recrystallisation is necessary. The yields of optically pure products, m.p. 75°, are 48 g. and 49 g. respectively. 

To obtain optically pure I- and daec.-octyl alcohols, steam distil the respective esters with 30 per cent, sodium hydroxide solution use the proportions 1 mol of ester to 2 mols of sodium hydroxide. Separate the alcohols from the steam distillate, dry over anhydrous potassium carbonate, and distil under diminished pressure. Both samples boU at 86°/20 mm. (9) and have the following rotations ... 

The optically pure salts have rotations in alcohol of [aj, —48-4° [a, ... 

Alkenes in (alkene)dicarbonyl(T -cyclopentadienyl)iron(l+) cations react with carbon nucleophiles to form new C —C bonds (M. Rosenblum, 1974 A.J. Pearson, 1987). Tricarbon-yi(ri -cycIohexadienyI)iron(l-h) cations, prepared from the T] -l,3-cyclohexadiene complexes by hydride abstraction with tritylium cations, react similarly to give 5-substituted 1,3-cyclo-hexadienes, and neutral tricarbonyl(n -l,3-cyciohexadiene)iron complexes can be coupled with olefins by hydrogen transfer at > 140°C. These reactions proceed regio- and stereospecifically in the successive cyanide addition and spirocyclization at an optically pure N-allyl-N-phenyl-1,3-cyclohexadiene-l-carboxamide iron complex (A.J. Pearson, 1989). 

A more eflicient and general synthetic procedure is the Masamune reaction of aldehydes with boron enolates of chiral a-silyloxy ketones. A double asymmetric induction generates two new chiral centres with enantioselectivities > 99%. It is again explained by a chair-like six-centre transition state. The repulsive interactions of the bulky cyclohexyl group with the vinylic hydrogen and the boron ligands dictate the approach of the enolate to the aldehyde (S. Masamune, 1981 A). The fi-hydroxy-x-methyl ketones obtained are pure threo products (threo = threose- or threonine-like Fischer formula also termed syn" = planar zig-zag chain with substituents on one side), and the reaction has successfully been applied to macrolide syntheses (S. Masamune, 1981 B). Optically pure threo (= syn") 8-hydroxy-a-methyl carboxylic acids are obtained by desilylation and periodate oxidation (S. Masamune, 1981 A). Chiral 0-((S)-trans-2,5-dimethyl-l-borolanyl) ketene thioketals giving pure erythro (= anti ) diastereomers have also been developed by S. Masamune (1986). 

Triflates of phenols are carbonylated to form aromatic esters by using PhjP[328]. The reaction is 500 times faster if dppp is used[329]. This reaction is a good preparative method for benzoates from phenols and naphthoates (473) from naphthols. Carbonylation of the bis-triflate of axially chiral 1,1 -binaphthyl-2,2 -diol (474) using dppp was claimed to give the monocarboxy-late 475(330]. However, the optically pure dicarboxylate 476 is obtained under similar conditions[331]. The use of 4.4 equiv. of a hindered amine (ethyldiisopropylamine) is crucial for the dicarbonylation. The use of more or less than 4.4 equiv. of the amine gives the monoester 475. 

The optically active 1,4-cyclohexenediol monoacetate 525, prepared by hydrolysis of the me.so-diacetate with lipase, was converted into the optically pure cyclohexenone 526 by an elimination reaction in the presence of ammonium formate. Optically active carvone (527) was prepared from 526[343],... 

Acetoxy-l,7-octadiene (40) is converted into l,7-octadien-3-one (124) by hydrolysis and oxidation. The most useful application of this enone 124 is bisannulation to form two fused six-membered ketonesfl 13], The Michael addition of 2-methyl-1,3-cyclopentanedione (125) to 124 and asymmetric aldol condensation using (5)-phenylalanine afford the optically active diketone 126. The terminal alkene is oxidi2ed with PdCl2-CuCl2-02 to give the methyl ketone 127 in 77% yield. Finally, reduction of the double bond and aldol condensation produce the important intermediate 128 of steroid synthesis in optically pure form[114]. 

Mixtures containing equal quantities of enantiomers are called racemic mixtures Racemic mixtures are optically inactive Conversely when one enantiomer is present m excess a net rotation of the plane of polarization is observed At the limit where all the molecules are of the same handedness we say the substance is optically pure Optical purity or percent enantiomeric excess is defined as... 

Thus a material that is 50% optically pure contains 75% of one enantiomer and 25% of the other... 

The observed rotation a of an optically pure substance depends on how many mol ecules the light beam encounters A filled polarimeter tube twice the length of another produces twice the observed rotation as does a solution twice as concentrated To account for the effects of path length and concentration chemists have defined the term specific rotation, given the symbol [a] Specific rotation is calculated from the observed rotation according to the expression... 

It IS convenient to distinguish between enantiomeis by prefixing the sign of iota tion to the name of the substance Foi example we lefei to one of the enantiomeis of 2 butanol as (+) 2 butanol and the othei as (—) 2 butanol Optically pure (+) 2 butanol has a specific rotation ol of +13 5° optically pure (—) 2 butanol has an exactly oppo site specific rotation ol of —13 5°... 

When optically pure 2 3 dimethyl 2 pentanol was subjected to dehydration a mixture of two alkenes was obtained Hydrogenation of this alkene mixture gave 2 3 dimethylpentane which was 50% optically pure What were the two alkenes formed in the elimination reaction and what were the relative amounts of each" ... 

Optically pure (S) (+) 2 butanol was converted to its methanesulfonate ester according to the reaction shown... 

Enantiomeric excess (Section 7 4) Difference between the per centage of the major enantiomer present in a mixture and the percentage of its mirror image An optically pure material has an enantiomenc excess of 100% A racemic mixture has an enantiomeric excess of zero... 

Optically pure (Section 7 4) Descnbing a chiral substance in which only a single enantiomer is present Orbital (Section 1 1) Strictly speaking a wave function i i It is convenient however to think of an orbital in terms of the probability i i of finding an electron at some point relative to the nucleus as the volume inside the boundary surface of an atom or the region in space where the probability of finding an electron is high... 

A variety of strategies have been devised to obtain chiral separations. Although the focus of this article is on chromatographicaHy based chiral separations, other methods include crystallisation and stereospecific ensymatic-catalysed synthesis or degradation. In crystallisation methods, racemic chiral ions are typically resolved by the addition of an optically pure counterion, thus forming diastereomeric complexes. 

Chiral synthetic polymer phases can be classified into three types. In one type, a polymer matrix is formed in the presence of an optically pure compound to moleculady imprint the polymer matrix (Fig. 10) (107,108). Subsequent to the polymerisation, the chiral template is removed, leaving the polymer matrix... 

In view of the ready availabiUty of optically pure lactic acid derivatives this reaction offers an attractive general method for the preparation of optically pure aromatic ester derivatives (41). Stereoselective alkylation (15—60% inversion) of ben2ene with optically active 1,2- 1,3- and 1,5-dihaloalkanes was also reported (42). 

Monoisopinocampheylborane [64234-27-17, IpcBH2 (6) is an important asymmetric hydroborating agent. It is prepared from a-pinene (7) either directiy or better by indirect methods. The product obtained by hydroboration of a-pinene [80-56-8] is an equiUbrium mixture. Optically pure monoisopinocampheylborane is best prepared from a-pinene via diisopinocampheylborane [1091-56-1] IPC2BH (8) (64,65). Both enantiomers are readily available. 

The method does not require optically pure a-pinene because 100% enantiomeric excess (ee) is achieved by crystallisation of the intermediate TMEDA-2IpcBH2 adduct, where TMEDA = (CHg )2NCH2CH2N(CH3 )2 (tetramethylethylenediamine). Other chiral monoalkylboranes derived from 2-alkyl- and 2-phenylapopinene are slightly more selective reagents as compared to monoisopinocampheylborane (66—68). 

The conversion of chiral boronic esters iato optically pure B-aIkyl-9-BBN derivatives followed by reaction with a-bromoketones, a-bromoesters, or a-bromonitriles leads to the homologated P-chiral ketones, esters, and nitriles, respectively (526). 

Many of the physical properties are not affected by the optical composition, with the important exception of the melting poiat of the crystalline acid, which is estimated to be 52.7—52.8°C for either optically pure isomer, whereas the reported melting poiat of the racemic mixture ranges from 17 to 33°C (6). The boiling poiat of anhydrous lactic acid has been reported by several authors it was primarily obtained duriag fractionation of lactic acid from its self-esterification product, the dimer lactoyUactic acid [26811-96-1]. The difference between the boiling poiats of racemic and optically active isomers of lactic acid is probably very small (6). The uv spectra of lactic acid and dilactide [95-96-5] which is the cycHc anhydride from two lactic acid molecules, as expected show no chromophores at wavelengths above 250 nm, and lactic acid and dilactide have extinction coefficients of 28 and 111 at 215 nm and 225 nm, respectively (9,10). The iafrared spectra of lactic acid and its derivatives have been extensively studied and a summary is available (6). 

Many notable examples of the synthesis of complex natural products from optically pure starting materials have been reported (70). One synthesis of considerable interest is that of taxol [33069-62-4] (74), a potent antitumor agent used clinically. The starting material (73) used ia the first total synthesis of taxol is produced ia enantiomericaHy pure form from inexpensive and readily available /-camphor [464-48-2] (72) (73). 

Optically Active PO. The synthesis of optically pure PO has been accompHshed by microbial asymmetric reduction of chloroacetone [78-95-5] (90). (3)-2-Meth5loxirane [16088-62-3] (PO) can be prepared in 90% optical purity from ethyl (3)-lactate in 44% overall yield (91). This method gives good optical purity from inexpensive reagents without the need for chromatography or a fermentation step. (3)-PO is available from Aldrich Chemical Company, having a specific rotation [0 ] ° 7.2 (c = 1, CHCl ). 

This chemical bond between the metal and the hydroxyl group of ahyl alcohol has an important effect on stereoselectivity. Asymmetric epoxidation is weU-known. The most stereoselective catalyst is Ti(OR) which is one of the early transition metal compounds and has no 0x0 group (28). Epoxidation of isopropylvinylcarbinol [4798-45-2] (1-isopropylaHyl alcohol) using a combined chiral catalyst of Ti(OR)4 and L-(+)-diethyl tartrate and (CH2)3COOH as the oxidant, stops at 50% conversion, and the erythro threo ratio of the product is 97 3. The reason for the reaction stopping at 50% conversion is that only one enantiomer can react and the unreacted enantiomer is recovered in optically pure form (28). 

Industrial Synthetic Improvements. One significant modification of the Stembach process is the result of work by Sumitomo chemists in 1975, in which the optical resolution—reduction sequence is replaced with a more efficient asymmetric conversion of the meso-cyc. 02Lcid (13) to the optically pure i7-lactone (17) (Fig. 3) (25). The cycloacid is reacted with the optically active dihydroxyamine [2964-48-9] (23) to quantitatively yield the chiral imide [85317-83-5] (24). Diastereoselective reduction of the pro-R-carbonyl using sodium borohydride affords the optically pure hydroxyamide [85317-84-6] (25) after recrystaUization. Acid hydrolysis of the amide then yields the desired i7-lactone (17). A similar approach uses chiral alcohols to form diastereomic half-esters stereoselectivity. These are reduced and direedy converted to i7-lactone (26). In both approaches, the desired diastereomeric half-amide or half-ester is formed in excess, thus avoiding the cosdy resolution step required in the Stembach synthesis. 

---