Protection of Carbonyl Groups in Aldehydes and Ketones

Acetalization of D-mannitol (E) with acetone leads to the preferential blocking of the two terminal 1,2-diol moieties.  

3-Diols Both cis- and tran5-l,3-diols form cyclic acetals with aldehydes in the presence of an acid catalyst to furnish the corresponding benzylidene and ethylidene derivatives, respectively. 

Treatment of methyl a-D-glucopyranoside with benzaldehyde dimethyl acetal in the presence of camphorsulfonic acid (CSA) gives methyl 4,6-0-benzylidene-a-D-glucopyranoside.  

0-Acetals Acyclic and cyclic acetals are the most important carbonyl protecting groups of aldehydes and ketones, and also serve as efficient chiral auxiliaries for the synthesis of enantiomerically pure compounds.  

The acetal protective group is introduced by treating the carbonyl compound with an alcohol, an orthoester, or a diol in the presence of a Lewis acid catalyst. In recent years, several transition metal catalysts such as TiCl4 have been shown to offer major advantage over general Brpnsted acid catalysts.  

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Methods for the protection of the carbonyl group in aldehydes and ketones are considered in Section 5.8.8. 

Cyclic acetals are readily hydrolyzed in the presence of aqueous acid, but are not attacked by many basic, organometallic, and hydride reagents. These properties make them most useful as protecting groups for the carbonyl function in aldehydes and ketones. An example is the alkylation of an alkynyl anion with 3-iodopropanal 1,2-ethanediol acetal. 

Cyclic acetals are useful and common protecting groups for aldehydes and ketones, especially during the course of a total synthesis [8]. The successful synthesis of acetals frequently relies on the removal of water, a by-product of the reaction between the carbonyl compound and the corresponding diol. A Dean-Stark trap is often used for the removal of water as an azeotrope with benzene, but this method is not suitable for small-scale reactions. In addition, the highly carcinogenic nature of benzene makes it an undesirable solvent. Many of the reported catalysts for acetal synthesis such as p-toluenesulfonic acid and boron trifluoride etherate are toxic and corrosive. 

Our final example is a base-labile 4-(phenylsulfonyl)methyl-l,3-dioxolane protecting group for aldehydes and ketones.4 Protection is carried out by the reaction of diol 17,1 (obtained by dihydroxylation of ally phenyl sulfone) with a carbonyl compound in the presence of pyridinium p-toluene sulfonate [Scheme 2.17], Cleavage is accomplished by treatment with DBU. /erf-Butyldimethylsilyl ethers, p-toluenesulfonate esters, tetrahydropyranyl ethers, carboxylic esters and benzoates are well tolerated. A disadvantage to the use of 17.1 is the introduc-... 

Protection of carbonyl groups. Aldehydes and ketones are converted into acetals and ketals in high yield by reaction with (1) in refluxing benzene (TsOH catalysis) with azeotropic removal of water. Deprotection has been carried out by... 

The formation of a dithioacetal as an intermediate in organic synthesis is not new to most chemists. However, in recent years there has been a continuing improvement in the methods of preparation as well as the subsequent reactions. The early use of the dithioacetal group as a means to reduce carbonyl functions with Raney nickel has been expanded to extensive use as a protecting group, methylene blocking group and as an intermediate in the preparation of complex hydrocarbons, olefins, aldehydes and ketones. 

The carbonyl function, as present in aldehydes and ketones, is probably the most versatile functional group in organic chemistry and not surprisingly a great deal of work has been done on the protection and masking of aldehyde and ketone groups. 

The most commonly used protected derivatives of aldehydes and ketones are 1,3-dioxolanes and 1,3-oxathiolanes. They are obtained from the carbonyl compounds and 1,2-ethanediol or 2-mercaptoethanol, respectively, in aprotic solvents and in the presence of catalysts, e.g. BF, (L.F. Fieser, 1954 G.E. Wilson, Jr., 1968), and water scavengers, e.g. orthoesters (P. Doyle. 1965). Acid-catalyzed exchange dioxolanation with dioxolanes of low boiling ketones, e.g. acetone, which are distilled during the reaction, can also be applied (H. J. Dauben, Jr., 1954). Selective monoketalization of diketones is often used with good success (C. Mercier, 1973). Even from diketones with two keto groups of very similar reactivity monoketals may be obtained by repeated acid-catalyzed equilibration (W.S. Johnson, 1962 A.G. Hortmann, 1969). Most aldehydes are easily converted into acetals. The ketalization of ketones is more difficult for sterical reasons and often requires long reaction times at elevated temperatures. a, -Unsaturated ketones react more slowly than saturated ketones. 2-Mercaptoethanol is more reactive than 1,2-ethanediol (J. Romo, 1951 C. Djerassi, 1952 G.E. Wilson, Jr., 1968). 

X0 to hydroxy compounds. Lower temperatures favor ketone formation and sterically hindered carbonyls, such as 2-thienyl t-butyl ketone, are not reduced. The sensitivity of desulfurization to steric factors is evident by the failure to desulfurize 2,5-di-i-butyl-3-acetylthiophene. The carbonyl groups of both aldehydes and ketones can be protected by acetal formation, as particularly cyclic acetals are stable during desulfurization in methanol at room temperature. " The free aldehydes give primary alcohols on desulfurization. Another method to obtain only keto compounds is to oxidize the mixtures of ketone and secondary alcohol with CrOs after the desulfurization. - Through the desulfurization of 5,5 -diacetyl-2,2, 5, 2"-terthienyl (228), 2,15-hexadecandione (229) has been obtained, which... 

Selective reduction of ketones.1 This reagent can be used to effect selective reduction of the more hindered of two ketones by DIBAH or dibromoalane. Thus treatment of a 1 1 mixture of two ketones with 1-2 equiv. of 1 results in preferential complexation of the less hindered ketone with 1 reduction of this mixture of free and complexed ketones results in preferential reduction of the free, originally more hindered, ketone. An electronic effect of substituents on a phenyl group can also play a role in the complexation. This method is not effective for discrimination between aldehydes and ketones, because MAD-complexes are easily reduced by hydrides. MAD can also serve as a protecting group for the more reactive carbonyl group of a diketone. The selectivity can be enhanced by use of a more bulky aluminum reagent such as methylaluminum bis(2-f-butyl-6-( 1,1-diethylpropyl)-4-methylphenoxide). 

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