P-Alkylated ketones

Ketones, in which one alkyl group R is sterically demanding, only give the trans-enolate on deprotonation with LDA at —12°C (W.A. Kleschick, 1977, see p. 60f.). Ketones also enolize regioseiectively towards the less substituted carbon, and stereoselectively to the trans-enolate, if the enolates are formed by a bulky base and trapped with dialkyl boron triflates, R2BOSO2CF3, at low temperatures (D A. Evans, 1979). Both types of trans-enolates can be applied in stereoselective aldol reactions (see p. 60f.). 

In cases where Noyori s reagent (see p. 102f.) and other enantioselective reducing agents are not successful, (+)- or (—)-chlorodiisopinocampheylborane (Ipc BCl) may help. This reagent reduces prochiral aryl and tert-alkyl ketones with exceptionally high enantiomeric excesses (J. Chandrasekharan, 1985 H.C. Brown, 1986). The initially formed boron moiety is usually removed hy precipitation with diethanolamine. Ipc2BCl has, for example, been applied to synthesize polymer-supported chiral epoxides with 90% e.e. from Merrifield resins (T. Antonsson, 1989). 

When aiomatics aie present, they can capture the intermediate vinyl cation to give P-aryl-a,P-unsatutated ketones (182). Thus acylation of alkyl or aryl acetylenes with acyhum salts in the presence of aromatics gives a,P-unsaturated ketones with a trisubstituted double bond. The mild reaction conditions employed do not cause direct acylation of aromatics. 

Hydroxyalkyl Alkyl Peroxides and Hydroxyalkyl Peroxyesters. The same stmctural restrictions discussed for the hydroxyhydroperoxides apply for the hydroxyalkyl alkyl peroxides, and those that exist are derived from aldehydes and certain ketones having electron-withdrawing groups, eg, polyfluorinated a,P-unsaturated ketones (136). 

A noteworthy development is the use of KH for complexing alkylboranes and alkoxyboranes to form various boron hydrides used as reducing agents in the pharmaceutical industry. Potassium tri-j -butylborohydride [54575-50-7] KB(CH(CH2)C2H )2H, and potassium trisiamylborohydride [67966-25-0] KB(CH(CH2)CH(CH2)2)3H, are usefiil for the stereoselective reduction of ketones (66) and for the conjugate reduction and alkylation of a,P-unsaturated ketones (67). 

Asymmetric induction by sulfoxide is a very attractive feature. Enantiomerically pure cyclic a-sulfonimidoyl carbanions have been prepared (98S919) through base-catalyzed cyclization of the corresponding tosyloxyalkylsulfoximine 87 to 88 followed by deprotonation with BuLi. The alkylation with Mel or BuBr affords the diastereomerically pure sulfoximine 89, showing that the attack of the electrophile at the anionic C-atom occurs, preferentially, from the side of the sulfoximine O-atom independently from the substituent at Ca-carbon. The reaction of cuprates 90 with cyclic a,p-unsaturated ketones 91 was studied but very low asymmetric induction was observed in 92. 

Begin not with the ketone itself, but with an a,P-unsaturated ketone in which the double bond is present on the side where alkylation is desired. Upon treatment with lithium in liquid NH3, such a ketone is reduced to an enolate... 

Among other methods for the preparation of alkylated ketones are (1) the Stork enamine reaction (12-18), (2) the acetoacetic ester synthesis (10-104), (3) alkylation of p-keto sulfones or sulfoxides (10-104), (4) acylation of CH3SOCH2 followed by reductive cleavage (10-119), (5) treatment of a-halo ketones with lithium dialkyl-copper reagents (10-94), and (6) treatment of a-halo ketones with trialkylboranes (10-109). 

Treatment of Na2pe(CO)4 with an acyl halide produces 143 that, when treated with an alkyl halide, gives a ketone or, when treated with an epoxide, gives an ot,P-unsaturated ketone. 

The imines are prepared by 16-12. The enamine salt method has also been used to give good yields of mono a alkylation of a,P-unsaturated ketones. Enamines prepared from aldehydes and butylisobutylamine can be alkylated by simple primary alkyl halides in good yields. N-alkylation in this case is presumably prevented by steric hindrance. 

Usually, after an enolate ion is generated from an ocP-unsaturated ketone, it is converted to the P-alkylated product as shown above. But it is often possible to have the enolate react with some other electrophile (tandem vicinal difunctionalization), in some cases at the O and in other cases at the C. For example, if an alkyl halide R X is present (R = primary alkyl or allylic), and the solvent is 1,2-dime-thoxyethane, the enolate (66) can be alkylated directly. Thus, by this method, both the a and p positions of a ketone are alkylated in one synthetic operation (see also 15-23). 

NHC-promoted enolate formation from an enal, followed by a desymmetrising aldol event to generate P-lactones and loss of CO, has been exploited by Scheidt and co-workers to generate functionalised cyclopentenes 240 in high ee from enal substrates 238 (Scheme 12.52) [94]. Interestingly, the use of alkyl ketones in this reaction manifold allows the isolation of the p-lactone intermediates with acyclic diketones, P-lactones 239 are formed with the R group anti- to the tertiary alkox-ide, while with cyclic diketones the P-lactone products have the R group with a syn relationship to the alkoxide [95]. 

Another approach in the use of chiral S/P ligands for the hydrosilylation reaction of ketones was proposed more recently by Evans et Thus, in 2003, these workers studied the application of new chiral thioether-phosphinite ligands to enantioselective rhodium-catalysed ketone hydrosilylation processes. For a wide variety of ketones, such as acyclic aryl alkyl and dialkyl ketones as well as cyclic aryl alkyl ketones and also cyclic keto esters, the reaction gave high levels of enantioselectivity of up to 99% ee (Scheme 10.44). 

The 1,3-dipolar addition to terminal alkenes of nitrile oxides, generated from nitromethylene derivatives of bicycloheptane, provides 9,ll-ethano-13,15-isoxazolinoprostanoids, PGH analogs, with alkyl, phenyl, or additional heterocyclic fragment in the oo-chain (461). Chemical transformations of 9,11-ethano-13,15-isoxazolinoprostanoids furnish prostanoids with bifunctional fragments of P-hydroxyketone and a-aminoalcohol in the oo-chain. The reaction of P-hydroxy ketones with methanesulfonyl chloride gives rise to prostanoids with an enone component in the oo-chain. 9,ll-Ethano-16-thiaprostanoids have been prepared, for the first time, by nucleophilic addition of thiols to the polarized double bond in the oo-chain. The 1,3-dipolar addition to terminal alkenes of nitrile oxides, generated from nitromethylene derivatives of bicycloheptane provides 9,ll-ethano-13,15-isoxazolinoprostanoids with an alkyl, phenyl, or additional heterocyclic fragment in the oo-chain (462). 

More specific evidence came from affinity labeling with molecules which could react with specific amino acid group sat or adjacent to the substrate site. These labels were substrate analogues and competitive inhibitors. Substituted aryl alkyl ketones were used. TV-p-toluene-sulphonyl-L-phenylalanine chloromethyl ketone (TPCK) blocked the activity of chymotrypsin. Subsequent sequence analysis identified histidine 57 as its site of binding (see Hess, 1971, p 213, The Enzymes, 3rd ed.). Trypsin, with its preference for basic rather than aromatic residues adjacent to the peptide bond, was not blocked by TPCK but was susceptible to iV-p-toluenesulphonyl-L-lysine chloromethyl ketone (TLCK) (Keil, ibid, p249). 

On the basis of this empirical relationship, the absolute configuration of the dextrorotatory alcohols formed in the reduction of a series of aryl alkyl ketones (75) with (—)-quinine-LAH in ether was assigned as R (84). Reduction of a series of a,p-unsaturated ketones (76) with (- )-quinine-LAH gave a product mixture consisting mainly of dextrorotatory unsaturated alcohols (77) (85). The unsaturated alcohols 77 were shown to have the R configuration. 

In summary, a number of effective chiral reducing agents have been developed based on the modification of LAH. Excellent results have been obtained with aryl alkyl ketones and a,p-acetylenic ketones. However, dialkyl ketones are reduced in much lower enantiomeric excess. This clearly indicates that steric effects alone do not control stereoselectivity in these reductions. Systematic studies have been carried out with the objective of designing improved reagents. A better understanding of the mechanisms and knowledge of the active species is required in order to provide more accurate models of the transition states of the key reduction steps. 

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