Organozinc alkylation

Various catalytic or stoichiometric asymmetric syntheses and resolutions offer excellent approaches to the chiral co-side chain. Among these methods, kinetic resolution by Sharpless epoxidation,14 amino alcohol-catalyzed organozinc alkylation of a vinylic aldehyde,15 lithium acetylide addition to an alkanal,16 reduction of the corresponding prochiral ketones,17 and BINAL-H reduction18 are all worth mentioning. 

Chiral to side-chain units can also be obtained by various catalytic and stoichiometric asymmetric synthesis as well as by resolution (30). Scheme 14 shows the preparation of these side-chain units using kinetic resolution by the Sharpless epoxidation (31), amino alcohol-catalyzed organozinc alkylation of a vinylic aldehyde (32), lithium acetylide ad-... 

Organozinc reagents aie not nearly as reactive towaid aldehydes and ketones as Grig-nai d reagents and organolithium compounds but are intermediates in certain reactions of alkyl halides. 

Organozinc reagents have been used in conjunction with a-bromovinylboranes in a tandem route to Z-trisubstituted allylic alcohols. After preparation of the vinylborane, reaction with diethylzinc effects migration of a boron substituent with inversion of configuration and exchange of zinc for boron.176 Addition of an aldehyde then gives the allylic alcohol. The reaction is applicable to formaldehyde alkyl and aryl aldehydes and to methyl, primary, and secondary boranes. 

Nickel acetylacetonate, Ni(acac)2, in the presence of a styrene derivative promotes coupling of primary alkyl iodides with organozinc reagents. The added styrene serves to stabilize the active catalytic species, and of the derivatives examined, m-trifluoromethylstyrene was the best.274... 

Reactions of Organozinc Reagents with Alkyl, Aryl, and Alkenyl Halides 405... 

Metal-catalyzed cross-coupling reactions between organozinc derivatives and alkyl halides 405... 

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