Racemic alcohol lactonization

Various bicyclic racemic alcohols have been resolved by asymmetric hydrolysis of their corresponding esters. Generally, the exo isomers appear to be far inferior substrates compared with the endo substrates. eq 4 illustrates the resolution of a bicyclic derivative of the Corey lactone type. ... 

Treatment of the enone (69) with an excess of the diene (70) in the presence of aluminium trichloride and 4,4-thiobis-(6-t-butyl-3-methylphenol) gave the tricyclic ketone (71) (40%) as the sole Diels-Alder product. Reduction then afforded the lactone (72) whose constitution and stereochemistry were established by X-ray analysis. Finally, demethylation gave the racemic alcohol (73) which differs from the quassin skeleton only in the stereochemistry at C-9. The Diels-Alder reaction also plays a key role in two other de novo syntheses. The ring A seco-derivative (75) has been prepared from the adduct (74), and the ring A nor-compound (77), a possible intermediate for the synthesis of quassimarin (78), has been obtained from the Diels-Alder product (76). ... 

Distinct NMR resonances were first observed for the enantiomers of 2,2,2-trifluoro-l-phenylethanol in the presence of (/ )-phenylethylamine. With (/ )-2-naphthylethylamine the magnitude of the non-equivalence was increased. A systematic study of a series of aryl alcohols in the presence of amines showed a consistent correlation between the sense of non-equivalence and the absolute configuration of the alcohol. From the simple solvation models proposed, the reciprocality of the CSA approach is evident, i.e. if chiral A can be used to assay racemic B then chiral B can be used to assay racemic A. With this in mind 1 -(9-anthryl)-2,2,2-trifluoroethanol (15a) was developed as a CSA for chiral amines. It is also effective with alcohols, lactones, a-amino acid esters, a-hydroxy acid esters and sulphoxides and is the most widely used chiral solvating agent. Other more specific solvating agents have been developed. Kagan has developed A -(3,5-dinitrobenzoyl)-l-phenylethylamine,forexample, as a CSA specifically for the assay of chiral sulphoxides prepared from sulphides by a modified Sharpless oxidation (section 6.3.2). 

A. Asymmetric Hydrolysis of Racemic Esters and Asymmetric Esterification or Lactonization of Racemic Alcohols... 

Oxazolones (azlactones) are a form of activated lactones, so they are included in this section. CAL-B is an effective catalyst for the DKR of various racemic four-substituted-5 (4H)-oxazolones, in the presence of an alcohol, yielding optically active N-benzoyl amino acid esters as illustrated in Figure 6.24 [40]. Enantioselective biotransformations of lactides [72,73] and thiolactones ]74] have also been reported. 

Acetalization of oxo aldehydes is used to protect sensitive aldehyde products, especially in asymmetric hydroformylation preventing racemization of an a-chiral aldehyde product [18-22,27]. Acetal formation can also be applied to the synthesis of monocyclic or spirocyclic pyranes as potential precursors and building blocks for natural products such as pheromones or antibiotics. A representative example is the synthesis of the pyranone subunit of the Prelog-Djerassi lactone. For this purpose, various 1,2-disubstituted homoal-lylic alcohols were used (Scheme 3) [32],... 

Pahnans et al. prepared 5 by the reaction of [RuCl2(p-cymene)]2 and 2-phenyl-2-aminopropionamide in the presence of potassium carbonate. They used 5 in an iterative tandem catalysis for the synthesis of chiral oligoesters. The enzymatic ring opening of 6-methyl-e-caprolactone was combined with ruthenium-catalyzed alcohol racemization to produce optically active oligomers of 6-methyl-e-capro-lactone [23] (Scheme 1.17). 

This chiral column has been shown successfully to resolve enantiomeric mixtures (or racemates) of aromatic alcohols including l,l -bi-2-naphthol and its analogues (p. 836), aromatic hydroxy (or alkoxy) carboxylic esters and amides, amino acid derivatives, sulphoxides, cyclic imides and amides, lactones, etc. Even this list should not be regarded as limiting. The potential of this method, coupled with the simplicity of operation will undoubtedly be extensively developed and explored in the coming years. 

While diketene remains a very important synthetic precursor, there has been increasing interest in the chemistry of a-methylene-/3-lactones, 3-methylene-2-oxetanones. However, unlike diketene, which can be readily synthesized by the dimerization of aldehydic ketenes, there are few methods for the synthesis of a-methylene-/3-lactones in the literature. Recent strategies for the preparation of the compounds are discussed in Section 2.05.9.2. The kinetic resolution of racemates of alkyl-substituted a-methylene-/3-lactones has been carried out via a lipase-catalyzed transesterification reaction with benzyl alcohol (Equation 21) <1997TA833>. The most efficient lipase tested for this reaction was CAL-B (from Candida antarctica), which selectively transesterifies the (A)-lactone. At 51% conversion, the (R)-f3-lactone, (R)-74, and (A)-/3-hydroxy ester, (S)-75, were formed in very high enantio-selectivities (up to 99% ee). 

Viridifloric /3-lactone, 143, has been identified as one of the pheromone components of a complex mixture of volatiles released by the pheromone glands of the male Idea leuconoe butterfly during courtship <1996BMC341>. A racemic mixture of both diastereoisomers was synthesized in four steps from the dilithio salt of 3-methylbutyric acid 144 alkylation with ethanal, dehydration of the secondary alcohol with phosphorus pentoxide, dihydroxylation of the C-C double bond with osmium tetraoxide, and finally formation of the /3-lactone by cyclization with sulfonyl chloride. By comparison with the sample isolated from I. leuconoe, the absolute configuration was established to be (2V,3V)-2-hydroxy-2-(l-methylethyl)-3-butanolide 143. 

Methods for the capillary gas chromatographic separation of optical isomers of chiral compounds after formation of diastereoisomeric derivatives were developed. Analytical aspects of the GC-separation of diastereoisomeric esters and urethanes derived from chiral secondary alcohols, 2-, 3-, 4- and 5-hydroxy-acid esters, and the corresponding jf- and -lactones were investigated. The methods were used to follow the formation of optically active compounds during microbiological processes, such as reduction of keto-precursors and asymmetric hydrolysis of racemic acetates on a micro-scale. The enantiomeric composition of chiral aroma constituents in tropical fruits, such as passion fruit, mango and pineapple, was determined and possible pathways for their biosynthesis were formulated. 

An intramolecular diastereoselective Refor-matsky-type aldol approach was demonstrated by Taylor et al. [47] with an Sm(II)-mediated cy-clization of the chiral bromoacetate 60, resulting in lactone 61, also an intermediate in the synthesis of Schinzer s building block 7. The alcohol oxidation state at C5 in 61 avoided retro-reaction and at the same time was used for induction, with the absolute stereochemistry originating from enzymatic resolution (Scheme II). Direct re.solution of racemic C3 alcohol was also tried with an esterase adapted by directed evolution [48]. In other, somewhat more lengthy routes to CI-C6 building blocks, Shibasaki et al. used a catalytic asymmetric aldol reaction with heterobimetallic asymmetric catalysts [49], and Kalesse et al. used a Sharpless asymmetric epoxidation [50]. 

All the foregoing syntheses of 0,0,0-orthoesters required at least two steps because 0,0,0-orthoesters cannot usually be prepared directly from esters by reaction with alcohols under add conditions analogous to the preparation of acetals from aldehydes and ketones. There are some exceptions.237 -239 For example. reaction of the racemic mixture of cis- and fraftf-lactones in Scheme 2.115 with (/ ,/ )-butane-2,3-diol in refluxing benzene afforded a mixture of four diastereoisomeric orthoesters (99%) in the ratio 6 6 1 1 that could be sepa-... 

To demonstrate the versatility of his S3mthesis strategy Yamada used ketoester 151 as relais substance to S3mthesize two further picrotoxane alkaloids isolated from Dendrobium species, nobilonine (90) and 2-hydroxydendrobine (87) (Scheme 14) (84). Monobromination of 151 with bromine in dioxane and subsequent treatment with water resulted in hydroxy-y-lactam 152, whereas attempts to hydroxylate 151 by Barton oxidation led to rearrangements. Chemo- and stereoselective reduction with zinc borohydride converted 152 into the en fo-alcohol. To counterbalance the unfavorable conformational equilibrium this alcohol had to be converted into the alcoholate to achieve lactonization. Chemoselective reduction of the hydroxylac-tam moiety of lactone 153 again followed Borch s protocol, which led in this case to boron complexed amino compounds necessitating successive acid treatment to obtain racemic 2-hydroxydendrobine (87) in low yield accompanied by dendrobine (82). 2-Hydroxydendrobine (87) was converted into nobilonine (90) by Eschweiler-Clark methylation. 

The most famous asymmetric oxidation catalyst, Sharpless-Katsuki complex [Ti(0-iPr)4, t-BuOOH and ester of tartaric acid], used for the asymmetric epoxidation of allylic alcohols can also oxidize prochiral and racemic cyclobutanones 7.25 and 7.27 to enan-tiomerically enriched lactones 7.26 and 7.28, respectively. 

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