Racemic compounds ketones, asymmetric reductive

The study of optical isomers has shown a similar development. First it was shown that the reduction potentials of several meso and racemic isomers were different (Elving et al., 1965 Feokstistov, 1968 Zavada et al., 1963) and later, studies have been made of the ratio of dljmeso compound isolated from electrolyses which form products capable of showing optical activity. Thus the conformation of the products from the pinacolization of ketones, the reduction of double bonds, the reduction of onium ions and the oxidation of carboxylic acids have been reported by several workers (reviewed by Feokstistov, 1968). Unfortunately, in many of these studies the electrolysis conditions were not controlled and it is therefore too early to draw definite conclusions about the stereochemistry of electrode processes and the possibilities for asymmetric syntheses. 

The asymmetric reduction of prochiral ketones to their corresponding enantiomerically enriched alcohols is one of the most important molecular transformations in synthetic chemistry (20,21). The products are versatile intermediates for the synthesis of pharmaceuticals, biologically active compounds and fine chemicals (22,23). The racemic reversible reduction of carbonyls to carbinols with superstoichiometric amounts of aluminium alkoxides in alcohols was independently discovered by Meerwein, Ponndorf and Verley (MPV) in 1925 (21—26). Only in the early 1990s, first successful versions of catalytic... 

Asymmetric reduction of prochiral ketones is one of most efficient method of the introduction of chirality in the synthesis of non-racemic biologically active compounds. Derived from chiral (S)-diphenyl prolinole the amino borate ester 1 has been prepared, fully characterized and used as highly effective catalyst for asymmetric reduction of ketons with borane. The optically pure alcohols 3 have been prepared using only 1 mol % of catalyst 1 in enantioselectivity up to 97%. 

In addition to molecules containing prochiral sites, racemic molecules can participate in catalytic asymmetric transformations. In some transformations, the stereocenter is destroyed in the course of the reaction, and equilibrating prochiral intermediates are formed. An example of such a process is the asymmetric arylation of ketones (Figure 14.8C). In other cases, one of the enantiomers of the substrate reacts with the asymmetric catalyst significantly faster than the other enantiomer. In this case, an enantioenriched product is formed, and the opposite enantiomer of the reactant remains. This last process is called a kinetic resolution and is illustrated for the conjugate reduction of enones via hydrosilylation (Figure 14.8D). In this case, the top and bottom faces of the C-C double bond are diastereotopic because reaction at each face of the enone generates diastereomeric products. This section of the chapter first presents the principles that relate to reactions at prochiral centers of achiral substrates and then presents the principles that relate to reactions of racemic or meso compounds. 

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