Oxepane

Fully saturated seven-membered heterocycles with one or two heteroatoms are normally in mobile twist-chair conformations (Section 5.17.1.1, Chapter 5.18) (b-77SH(2)123). Annelation and the introduction of exocyclic double bonds can have profound effects oxepan-2-one, for example, is in a near chair conformation (67JA5646). 

Large ring heterocyclic radicals are not particularly well known as a class. Their behavior often resembles that of their alicyclic counterparts, except for transannular reactions, such as the intramolecular cyclization of 1-azacyclononan-l-yl (Scheme 1) (72CJCH67). As is the case with alicyclic ethers, oxepane in the reaction with r-butoxy radical suffers abstraction of a hydrogen atom from the 2-position in the first reaction step (Scheme 2) (76TL439). 

Saturated large rings may form nitrogen radicals by H abstraction from N, or abstraction may occur in the a- or /3-positions in nonnitrogen systems. Oxepane gives the radical in the 2-position, with subsequent cleavage and reclosure of the intermediate carbenoid to cyclohexanol (Section 5.17.2.1.5). In unsaturated large systems a variety of reactions, unexceptional in their nature, are found. Some azepines can be brominated by A -bromosuc-cinimide others decompose under similar conditions (Section 5.16.3.7). 

Chemistry and biological activity of artemisinin (sesquiterpene y-lactone with oxepane fragment and transannular peroxide bridge) and related antimalari-als 99H(51)1681. 

As attractive as the transannular bridging of bis(thiolactones) to bicyclic bis(oxepane) frameworks is, our inability to convert the disulfide bridging product (see 25, Scheme 5) to a mmv-fused bre-vetoxin-type bis(oxepane) (see 28) necessitated the development of a modified, stepwise strategy. This new stepwise approach actually comprises two very effective methods for the construction of cyclic ethers the first of these is the intramolecular photo-induced coupling of dithioesters, and the second is the reductive cyclization of hydroxy ketones. We will first address the important features of both cyclization strategies, and then show how the combination of the two can provide an effective solution to the problem posed by trans-fused bis(oxepanes). 

Scheme 8. Oxepane synthesis by photo-induced ring closure of dithioesters. The term dithioester is used in this chapter to describe compounds of type 39 even though such systems are sometimes referred to as dithionoesters or dithioxoesters.

The reaction processes shown in Scheme 8 not only accomplish the construction of an oxepane system but also furnish a valuable keto function. The realization that this function could, in an appropriate setting, be used to achieve the annulation of the second oxepane ring led to the development of a new strategy for the synthesis of cyclic ethers the reductive cyclization of hydroxy ketones (see Schemes 9 and 10).23 The development of this strategy was inspired by the elegant work of Olah 24 the scenario depicted in Scheme 9 captures its key features. It was anticipated that activation of the Lewis-basic keto function in 43 with a Lewis acid, perhaps trimethylsilyl triflate, would induce nucleophilic attack by the proximal hydroxyl group to give an intermediate of the type 44. 

Having developed effective synthetic methodology for the construction of seven-membered cyclic ethers, we were confident that the problem of the frans-fused bis(oxepane) system could now be addressed on a solid foundation. It was our hope that the breve-toxin-type bis(oxepane) system could be assembled by a stepwise strategy utilizing both photochemical dithioester and reductive hydroxy ketone cyclization methods. 

Scheme 11. Bis(oxepane) synthesis using a photochemical dithioester cyclization and a reductive hydroxy ketone cyclization.

Stepwise Formation of the Bis(oxepane) System The Third-Generation Strategy... 

In contrast to the IJK system 86, compound 87 (Scheme 17a) poses a much steeper synthetic challenge it is during the course of the synthesis of 87 that the diabolical bis(oxepane) problem would have to be dealt with. At this phase of the project, we had benefited from a good deal of experience with the bis(oxepane) problem, and this experience provided the foundation for a conservative solution. Starting from FG ring system 105, it was hoped that rings E, D, C, B, and A could be annulated sequentially and in that order (Scheme 17c). 

Mori et al. have demonstrated the most dramatic uses of lithiated epoxides in natural product synthesis [62]. By employing the chemistry developed by Jackson, and subsequently performing a Lewis acid-catalyzed (BF3 OEt2) cyclisation, tetra-hydrofuran, tetrahydropyran, and oxepane rings are readily accessed this strategy is demonstrated by the synthesis of the marine epoxy lipid 173 (Scheme 5.40) [63]. 

Shimizu et al. have introduced an indirect route to stabilized lithiated epoxides. Treatment of dichlorohydrin 184 with 3 equiv. of vinyllithium in the presence of 3 equiv. of LTMP gave lithiated epoxide 185, which could be trapped with a range of electrophiles (e. g., Me3SnCl) to give 1,2-divinyl epoxides 186 these in turn underwent Cope rearrangements on heating to give oxepanes 187 (Scheme 5.43) [67]. 

Palladium-catalyzed cross-coupling with 187 gave a range of synthetically useful oxepanes. 

Other possible cyclizations may involve 5-epoxy alcohols such as the generic compound 2. In this case, two pathways are theoretically possible a more favored 6-exo cydization mode (Route c) giving rise to a THP ring, or an alternative 7-endo cydization mode providing an oxepane ring (Route d) (Eq. b, Scheme 8.1) [7]. 

For the synthesis of the complex natural product, the terminus six-membered ketone 55 had to be transformed into an oxepane ring. For this necessary transformation, the authors were attracted by the single-carbon homologation of a pyr-anone (a sort of ring-expansion) because, in prindple, it could be used in an iterative sense at any stage of the 6-endo cydization in their poly-TH P-based synthetic approach for the synthesis of trans-fused 6,7,6 (THP-oxepane-THP) and 6,7,7 (THP-oxepane-oxepane) ring systems [28]. Treatment of ketone 55 with TMSCHN2... 

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