Pentaerythritol cryptands

Similar pentaerythritol cryptands have been prepared by a slight modification of the above approach. Although the general strategy is as illustrated in Eq. (8.11), atfetal formation is accomplished by reaction of pentaerythritol with paraformaldehyde. This reaction leads to diacetal 12 which is hydrolyzed in dilute H2SO4 to yield the monoacetal, 13. The latter is then used in a fashion similar to that described in Eq. 8.10, above. 

An even more complicated nomenclature problem arises with the closely related all-oxygen cryptands. These compounds do not utilize nitrogen as the three-chain junction. Most examples of this class of compounds have utilized pentaerythritol or glycerol as the junction. This naturally imparts a somewhat lower flexibility to the molecule than would be present in the nitrogen-containing cases. Structures of two such molecules are illustrated below. 

Coxon and Stoddart have directed their attention to the formation of penta-erythritol-derived cryptands. With these molecules, the strategy was to block one pair of hydroxyl groups as an acetal and form a crown from the remaining diol. In the first of the two reports cited above, this was accomplished by treating the 0-benzylidine derivative of pentaerythritol with base and diethylene glycol ditosylate. The crown was then treated with a mixture of UAIH4 and BF3 which gives partial reduction of the acetal as shown in (8.9), above. The monoprotected diol could now be treated in a fashion similar to that previously described and the benzyloxy cryptand (77) would result. The scheme is illustrated below as Eq. (8.10). 

An established area of application of macrocyclic polyethers is the stereoselective complexation of chiral guest primary alkylammonium salts by optically active host macrocycles. Full details of the resolution, optical stability, and inclusion into chiral hosts of the binaphthol (84), and also of the chiral recognition properties of crowns [e.g. (85)] based on simple carbohydrate precursors, have been reported this year. An extension of the latter work" utilizes derivatives of the more complex carbohydrates D-glucose and D-galactose. The macrobicyclic polyethers (86) derived from D-glycerol or pentaerythritol have been suggested as potential chiral (at the bridgeheads) cryptands. 

Anhydroerythritol has been converted into 1,4-anhydro-DL-threitol by chloride displacement of a toluene-p-sulphonyloxy-group. The dimethyl [2]-cryptand (59) has been obtained in a five-step synthesis from pentaerythritol, and was shown to form strong complexes with potassium ions in deuteriochloro-form-carbon disulphide solution. ... 

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