Phenacyl carboxylates

Phenacyl esters, easily prepared from carboxylic salts and phenacyl bromide nnder phase transfer catalysis, regenerate the original carboxylic acid by treatment with sodinm hydrogen telluride in DMF.  

The reaction involves the attack by anionic tellurium at the phenacyl methylene group. 

Cleavage of phenacyl esters (typical procedure)f To a solution of NaHTe (prepared by heating powdered tellurium (1.28 g, 10 mmol) and NaBH4 (0.75 g. 15 mmol) under Nj in DMF at 80-90°C for 30 min, and then cooling at room temperature) is added a solution of phenacyl benzoate (1.92 g, 8 mmol) in DMF (30 mL). An instantaneous reaction takes place and the mixture is stirred at room temperature for 20 min. The solvent is evaporated and the mixture poured into H2O (100 mL) and fdtered to remove the tellurium. The basic filtrate is washed with ether and then the aqueous solution is acidified with 6 N HCl and extracted with ether (3x50 mL). The ether extract is dried (MgS04) and evaporated to give benzoic acid (1.11 g (91%) m.p. 121-122°C). 

In general the acids obtained by the above procedure are essentially pure. 

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Carboxylic Acids, Benzylthiouronium salts (p. 349), Phenacyl esters (p. 349), /(-Bromophenacyl esters (p. 349), N Benz lamides (p. 350), -Nitrobenzyl esters (p. 350). 

Isotubaic acid — see Benzofuran-5-carboxylic acid, 4-hydroxy-2-isopropyl-Isouramil occurrence, 3, 144 5-Isoxalones potentiometry, 6, 11 Isoxanthopterin, 6-acetonyl-structure, 3, 276 Isoxanthopterin, 3,8-dimethyl-rearrangements, 3, 309 Isoxanthopterin, 6-methoxy-3,8-dimethyl-synthesis, 3, 297 Isoxanthopterin, 6-methyl-bromination, 3, 301 Isoxanthopterin, 8-methyl-synthesis, 3, 319 Isoxanthopterin, 6-phenacyl-structure, 3, 276... 

Xanthopterin, 7,7-dimethyl-7,8-dihydro-synthesis, 3, 315 Xanthopterin, 7-methyl-synthesis, 3, 303 Xanthopterin, 7-phenacyl-structure, 3, 276 Xanthopterin, 3,5,7-trimethyl-Claisen condensation, 3, 303 Xanthopterin-7-carboxylic acid reactions... 

Photolytic cleavage reactions (e.g., of o-nitrobenzyl, phenacyl, nitrophenylsul-fenyl derivatives) take place in high yield on irradiation of the protected compound for a few hours at 254-350 nm. For example, the o-nitrobenzyl group, used to protect alcohols, amines, and carboxylic acids,has been removed by irradiation. Protective groups that have been removed by photolysis are described at the appropriate places in this book in addition, the reader may wish to consult five review articles. 

Phenacyl esters can be prepared from the phenacyl bromide, a carboxylic acid, and potassium fluoride as base. These phenacyl esters can be cleaved by irradiation (313 nm, dioxane or EtOH, 20°, 6 h, 80-95 % yield, R = amino acids > 300 nm, 30°, 8 h, R = a gibberellic acid, 36-62% yield ). Another phenacyl derivative, RC02CH(C0C6H5)C6H3 3,5-(0CH3)2, cleaved by irradiation, has also been reported. ... 

Phenacyl esters can be prepared from the phenacyl bromide, a carboxylic acid. 

Phenacyl-6-aminopenicillate HCI D-Phenylglycyl Chloride HCI 4-Hydro xy-1,5-naphthyridine-3-carboxylic acid-N-succinimide ester... 

A carboxylic acid (not the salt) can be the nucleophile if F is present. Mesylates are readily displaced, for example, by benzoic acid/CsF. Dihalides have been converted to diesters by this method. A COOH group can be conveniently protected by reaction of its ion with a phenacyl bromide (ArCOCH2Br). The resulting ester is easily cleaved when desired with zinc and acetic acid. Dialkyl carbonates can be prepared without phosgene (see 10-21) by phase-transfer catalyzed treatment of primary alkyl halides with dry KHCO3 and K2C03- ... 

M Bodanszky, J Martinez. Side reactions in peptide synthesis. 8. On the phenacyl group in the protection of the p-carboxyl function of aspartyl peptides. J Org Chem 43, 3071, 1978. 

Phenacyl esters of benzoic acid, of amino acid derivatives, and of gib-berillin A3 undergo photolytic cleavage at >313 nm, giving, in each case, the free carboxylic acid and the corresponding acetophenone (see Scheme 29) 84,85 -pijg yjeijs Qf free carboxylic acids (33-96%) vary considerably,... 

Nucleophilic attack by iV-methylaniline is favoured by electron-withdrawing groups on the amide and acyloxyl side chains. A series of / ara-substituted Af-acetoxy-Af-butoxy-benzamides (138) (Table 6) gave a weak but positive Hammett correlation with a constants (p = 0.13, r = 0.86) °. The analogous reactions of pyridine with para-substituted phenacyl halides in methanol afforded a similar Hammett correlation a, p = 0.25) . The bimolecular rate constants for the limited series of Ai-benzoyloxy-A-benzyloxybenzamides (139) in Table 6 correlated strongly with Hammett a constants (p = 1.7, r = 0.97) °. Stabilization of developing carboxylate character supported the computed charge redistribution in the transition state ... 

Sodium salts of carboxylic acids, including hindered acids such as mesitoic, rapidly react with primary and secondary bromides and iodides at room temperature in dipolar aprotic solvents, especially HMPA, to give high yields of carboxylic esters.679 The mechanism is Sn2. Another method uses phase transfer catalysis.680 With this method good yields of esters have been obtained from primary, secondary, benzylic, allylic, and phenacyl halides.681 In another procedure, which is applicable to long-chain primary halides, the dry carboxylate salt and the halide, impregnated on alumina as a solid support, are subjected to irradiation by microwaves in a commercial microwave oven.682 In still another method, carboxylic acids... 

Selective oxidation of polymethylpyrimidines. 2,4-Di- and 2,4,6-trimethyl-pyrimidines are selectively oxidized to 4-carboxylic acids by a slight excess of Se02 in pyridine. Yields are about 40-65%. This increased reactivity of a 4-methyl group of polymethylpyrimidines is also observed in reaction with ethyl nitrite in liquid ammonia to form 4-aldoximcs and with ethyl benzoate in the presence of KOC2H to form phenacyl derivatives. 

Selenophenes (195) have been obtained by the condensation of phenacyl bromides with /S-aminovinyl selenoketones, readily obtained from chloroimmonium salts (194) (76S521). The reaction of o-methylselenobenzaldehyde with chloroacetone gives directly an excellent yield of 2-acetylbenzo[6]selenophene (196) (72BSF1643). However, the reaction with bromoacetic acid yields not only the corresponding 2-carboxylic acid (197), but also the self-condensation product (198). 

Most photocleavable linkers for carboxylic acids used today are based on the photoisomerization of 2-nitrobenzyl esters and on the light-induced cleavage of phen-acyl esters (Figure 3.10). Several possible mechanisms have been proposed for the photolytic cleavage of benzoin esters. One of the most recent is the dissociation of the excited phenacyl ester into a carboxylate and a phenacyl cation ( photosolvolysis , Figure 3.10 [136]). 

Phenacyl halides tend, for instance, to alkylate carboxylates faster than anilines phenols, as illustrated by the example shown in Scheme 6.19 [76]. 

Banerjee, A. Falvey, D. E. Protecting groups that can be removed through photochemical electron transfer mechanistic and product studies on photosensitized release of carboxyl-ates from phenacyl esters. J. Org. Chem. 1997, 62, 6245-6251. 

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