Prolinol amide

As with the above pyrrolidine, proline-type chiral auxiliaries also show different behaviors toward zirconium or lithium enolate mediated aldol reactions. Evans found that lithium enolates derived from prolinol amides exhibit excellent diastereofacial selectivities in alkylation reactions (see Section 2.2.32), while the lithium enolates of proline amides are unsuccessful in aldol condensations. Effective chiral reagents were zirconium enolates, which can be obtained from the corresponding lithium enolates via metal exchange with Cp2ZrCl2. For example, excellent levels of asymmetric induction in the aldol process with synj anti selectivity of 96-98% and diastereofacial selectivity of 50-200 116a can be achieved in the Zr-enolate-mediated aldol reaction (see Scheme 3-10). 

The highly nucleophilic (S)-prolinol amide enolate (164) (M = Li) was alkylated employing a range of alkyl halides. The carboxylic acids (167) were obtained in chemical yields of 78-96% and outstanding optical yields 177). 

Attempts to use the lithium enolates of the prolinol amides in the aldol condensation were unrewarding, for these reactions proved stereorandom. On protecting the hydroxyl... 

A pictorial representation of the opposing diastereoselectivities of alkyl halides and epoxides is shown in Figure 1 A similar electrophile dependence upon diastereoselectivity was first noted in the alkylation of prolinol amide enolates. ... 

In 1978, Larcheveque and coworkers reported modest yields and diastereoselectivities in alkylations of enolates of (-)-ephedrine amides. However, two years later, Evans and Takacs and Sonnet and Heath reported simultaneously that amides derived from (S)-prolinol were much more suitable substrates for such reactions. Deprotonations of these amides with LDA in the THF gave (Z)-enolates (due to allylic strain that would be associated with ( )-enolate formation) and the stereochemical outcome of the alkylation step was rationalized by assuming that the reagent approached preferentially from the less-hindered Jt-face of a chelated species such as (133 Scheme 62). When the hydroxy group of the starting prolinol amide was protected by conversion into various ether derivatives, alkylations of the corresponding lithium enolates were re-face selective. Apparently, in these cases steric factors rather than chelation effects controlled the stereoselectivity of the alkylation. It is of interest to note that enolates such as (133) are attached primarily from the 5/-face by terminal epoxides. ... 

Myers has studied the remarkable chemistry of cyclic silyl ketene acetals 14 prepared from optically active (5)-prolinol propionamides and dichlorodimethylsi-lane (Eq. (8.5)) [7]. The reactive species is generated upon deprotonation of the prolinol amide and treatment with the silyl dichloride. The enoxysilane may be purified by distillation under reduced pressure and utilized in aldol additions to afford on/i-adducts 15 in >99% diastereomeric purity. 

It is generally true that restrictions on conformational mobility minimize the number of competing transition states and simplify analysis of the factors that affect selectivity. Chelation of a metal by a heteroatom often provides such restriction and also often places the stereocenter of a chiral auxiliary in close proximity to the a-carbon of an enolate. This proximity often results in very high levels of asymmetric induction. A number of auxiliaries have been developed for the asymmetric alkylation of carboxylic acid derivatives using chelate-enforced intraannular asymmetric induction. The first practical method for asymmetric alkylation of carboxylic acid derivitives utilized oxazolines and was developed by the Meyers group in the 1970 s (Scheme 3.16a), whose efforts established the importance and potential for chelation-induced rigidity in asymmetric induction (reviews [77-79]). In 1980, Sonnet [80] and Evans [81,82] independently reported that the dianions of prolinol amides afford more highly selective asymmetric alkylations (Scheme 3.16b). 

In 1982, Evans reported that the alkylation of oxazolidinone imides appeared to be superior to either oxazolines or prolinol amides from a practical standpoint, since they are significantly easier to cleave [83]. As shown in Scheme 3.17, enolate formation is at least 99% stereoselective for the Z(0)-enolate, which is chelated to the oxazolidinone carbonyl oxygen as shown. From this intermediate, approach of the electrophile is favored from the Si face to give the monoalkylated acyl oxazolidinone as shown. Table 3.6 lists several examples of this process. As can be seen from the last entry in the table, alkylation with unactivated alkyl halides is less efficient, and this low nucleophilicity is the primary weakness of this method. Following alkylation, the chiral auxiliary may be removed by lithium hydroxide or hydroperoxide hydrolysis [84], lithium benzyloxide transesterification, or LAH reduction [85]. Evans has used this methology in several total syntheses. One of the earliest was the Prelog-Djerassi lactone [86] and one of the more recent is ionomycin [87] (Figure 3.8). 

Evans and Takacs prepared several chiral auxiliaries derived from amino alcohols such as valinol or prolinol. Prolinol amides such as 473 preferentially form the (Z)-enolate (474) over the ( )-enolate (475). Alkylation proceeds with chelation control and good diastereoselectivity (from the si face) to give the alkylated products 476 and 477, favoring 476 as shown in Table 9.14.23 L20 enolate (474) is preferred over... 

Table 9.14. Selectivity in the Alkylation Reaction of Prolinol Amide Enolates...

The investigations of Enders, Evans, and others have demonstrated the versatility of chiral auxiliaries based on the proline skeleton [80]. Katsuki designed and utilized a C2-symmetric, 2,5-disubstituted pyrrolidine auxiliary for asymmetric enolate alkylations (Equation 10) [81]. Enolates prepared from 112 generally undergo alkylations with superb diastereoselectivity dr >95 5). However, in contrast to the prolinol amide-derived systems described above, accessibility of the chiral auxiliary hinged upon a multi-step synthetic preparation involving resolution, and the hydrolytic removal of the auxiliary necessitated considerably harsher reaction conditions. 

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