Quinine/quinidine-based catalysts

Quinine/Quinidine-Based Catalysts (e.g., Cinchona Alkaloids). 265... 

Further evidence for the formation of intermediate compounds in catalytic reactions is afforded by the observation (a) that optically active camphor is formed from optically inactive (racemic) camphor carboxylic acid in the presence of the d- or /-forms of quinine, quinidine or nicotine and (6) that optically active bases, e.g., quinidine, catalyze the synthesis of optically active mandelonitrile from benzaldehyde and hydrocyanic acid.10 These results hardly admit of any other interpretation than the intermittent production of a catalyst-reactant compound. 

We have studied this reaction in considerable detail (88) and have found that when one uses quinine (eq. [25]) or any one of the chiral bases, a variety of aldehydes react with ketene to form the corresponding p-lactones in excellent chemical and nearly quantitative enantiomeric yields. Equation [25] exemplifies the reaction. Note that mild basic hydrolysis of the lactone furnishes a trichlo-rohydroxy acid that was prepared earlier by McKenzie (89). If one uses quinidine as catalyst, the process furnishes the natural (S)-malic acid. Note that ketene first acylates the free hydroxyl group of quinine, so that the actual catalyst is the alkaloid ester. 

Very recently, using structurally varied PTCs based on quinine, quinidine, dihydroquinine, and dihydroquinidine, Berkessel and coworkers conducted the asymmetric epoxidation of 2-methylnaphthoquinone (precursor of vitamin K3) with an aqueous solution of NaOCl at —10 °C in chlorobenzene [18], Among these new catalysts, the phase-transfer catalyst 13 bearing an extra chiral moiety at the quinudidine nitrogen atom provided an enantioseledivity of 79% ee with good yield (86%). However, it was found that the best results were achieved with the readily... 

In addition to the immobilization of boron-derived catalysts, other commonly used homogeneous catalysts have been supported on polymers. Sharpless and others [82-87] prepared various quinine-based catalysts to achieve asymmetric dihydroxylations of alkenes. Initial studies were performed with catalyst 109 (Fig. 3), obtained by co-polymerization of 9-(4-chlo-robenzoyl)quinidine with acrylonitrile [82]. 

The asymmetric hydrogenation of C—O bonds have now been achieved in optical yields up to 95%, rivalling the performance of alkenes. Here also, rhodium complexes have been used almost exclusively, but some success has been obtained with cobalt catalysts. Using [Co(HDMG)2] in presence of optically active bases, benzil could be reduced to benzoin (equation 54) in an optical yield of 78%. Quinine or quinidine were the chiral bases employed. The best optical yields were obtained with quinine (60). It was found that when benzylamine was also present, the rate of hydrogenation was greatly enhanced without any decrease in the optical yield.276... 

The first examples of asymmetric Michael additions of C-nudeophiles to enones appeared in the middle to late 1970s. In 1975 Wynberg and Helder demonstrated in a preliminary publication that the quinine-catalyzed addition of several acidic, doubly activated Michael donors to methyl vinyl ketone (MVK) proceeds asymmetrically [2, 3], Enantiomeric excesses were determined for addition of a-tosylnitro-ethane to MVK (56%) and for 2-carbomethoxyindanone as the pre-nudeophile (68%). Later Hermann and Wynberg reported in more detail that 2-carbomethoxy-indanone (1, Scheme 4.3) can be added to methyl vinyl ketone with ca 1 mol% quinine (3a) or quinidine (3b) as catalyst to afford the Michael-adduct 2 in excellent yields and with up to 76% ee [2, 4], Because of their relatively low basicity, the amine bases 3a,b do not effect the Michael addition of less acidic pre-nucleophiles such as 4 (Scheme 4.3). However, the corresponding ammonium hydroxides 6a,b do promote the addition of the substrates 4 to methyl vinyl ketone under the same mild conditions, albeit with enantioselectivity not exceeding ca 20% [4],... 

Later, Lawrence and coworker obtained somewhat better results by employing silanes as hydride donors and cinchona-based ammonium fluorides as nucleophilic catalysts (Scheme 5.29) [36], Among the N-alkylated quinine and quinidine fluorides screened in their study, the N-benzylquinidinium fluoride 40 was identified as the... 

Based on the experiences on the Diels-Alder reaction of 2-pyrones [20], Deng et al. have investigated the stereoselective Diels-Alder reaction of 2-pyrones and a,(3-unsaturated ketones. They also found that primary amines lo and lp derived from quinine and quinidine, respectively, werethe optimal iminium catalysts (5 mol%). The acid additive has a crucial effect on the efficiency of the reaction. TFA (20 mol%) gave the best results, and the Michael reaction, as a side reaction, could also be prohibited. 

Most reports on organocatalytic sulfa-Michael reactions are based on Br0nsted base catalysis, in order to activate pro-nucleophiles containing a S H or a Se—H bond. The early works, appeared in the lates 1970s, featured natural cinchona alkaloids 1-4 as basic catalysts (Figure 14.1). In their seminal works, Wynberg and co-workers employed less than 1 mol% of quinine 1 as chiral catalyst for the conjugated addition of arenethiols to 2-cyclohexen-l-ones. The enantiocontrol was unsatisfactory with benzyhnercaptan [6]. The quasi-enantiomeric catalyst quinidine 2 furnished the... 

---