Prolinol silyl ethers aldol reactions

Detailed mechanistic studies of this reaction have been undertaken hy several teams. Michael addition of the simplest enolisahle aldehyde, acetaldehyde, poses a significant challenge due to high auto-aldol reactivity of acetaldehyde. List and coworkers used prolinol silyl ether eatalysts to promote enantioselective Michael addition of acetaldehyde to nitroalkenes.The key to successful accomplishment of this transformation was slow addition of acetaldehyde via a syringe pump. 

Acetaldehyde 34, which is the simplest of all enolizable carbonyl compounds but highly reactive as an electrophile, is an inexpensive and versatile two-carbon nucleophile in enamine-based Mannich reactions. Mannich reactions of acetaldehyde as a donor with aryl or alkyl substituted N-Boc-imines 90 are effectively catalyzed by (S) -proline (13) in moderate yield but excellent enantioselectivity (Table 28.6, entries 1 and 2) [47]. Chemical yields are improved up to 87% when N-benzoyl (Bz)-imine is employed in the presence of diaryl prolinol silyl ether 85 with p-nitrobenzoic acid (entry 3) [48]. To suppress side reactions, such as self-aldol reactions, the moderate nucleophilicity of the axially chiral amino sulfonamide 23 is particularly useful for this type of Mannich reaction these conditions give the corresponding adducts 91 in good yield and excellent stereoselectivity (entries 4 and 5) [49]. 

Hong and co-workers entirely exploited the ability of amine catalysts to promote cascade reactions by different mechanisms. They applied a one-pot oxa Michael-Michael-Michael-aldol reaction for the synthesis of conicol, a marine terpenoid isolated from Aplidium conicum (Scheme 11.32). Using diphenyl prolinol silyl ether 12,... 

Non-catalyzed aldol reactions via hypervalent silicon species have also been studied. An aldol reaction between aldehydes and silyl enol ethers of amides was reported by Myers [105]. The reaction can be conducted under mild conditions to produce anti aldol without Lewis acid or base catalysts (Sch. 62). Asymmetric induction was particularly high when the (Z)-silyl ketene A/,0-acetal derived from prolinol was used. 

Chiral tetrahydrothiophenes are compounds displaying important biological activities. They were obtained also through an enantioselective domino sulfa-Michael-Michael process of a,(3-unsaturated aldehydes with ethyl 4-mercapto-2-butenoate [47]. While catalyst 17a turned out to be ineffective, the diarylprolinol silyl ether 17b afforded cyclic products with high to excellent enantio- and diastereoselectivity (Scheme 14.16a). A closely related sulfa-Michael aldol process was developed by using 3-mercapto a-carbonyl esters as reaction partners. The best stereoselectivity and yield were obtained with diaryl prolinol 17c in the presence of small amounts of H2O (Scheme 14.16b) [48]. 

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