Radical cyclizations intermolecular

The key features of Curran s productive and elegant tandem radical cyclization strategy are illustrated in a retrosynthetic analysis for hirsutene (1) (see Scheme 27). The final synthetic event was projected to be an intermolecular transfer of a hydrogen atom from tri-rc-butyltin hydride to the transitory tricyclic vinyl radical 131. The latter can then be traced to bicyclic tertiary radical 132 and thence to monocyclic primary radical 133 through successive hex-5-enyl-like radical cyclizations. It was anticipated that the initial radical 133 could be generated through the abstraction of the iodine atom from... 

Examples of the intermolecular C-P bond formation by means of radical phosphonation and phosphination have been achieved by reaction of aryl halides with trialkyl phosphites and chlorodiphenylphosphine, respectively, in the presence of (TMSlsSiH under standard radical conditions. The phosphonation reaction (Reaction 71) worked well either under UV irradiation at room temperature or in refluxing toluene. The radical phosphina-tion (Reaction 72) required pyridine in boiling benzene for 20 h. Phosphinated products were handled as phosphine sulfides. Scheme 15 shows the reaction mechanism for the phosphination procedure that involves in situ formation of tetraphenylbiphosphine. This approach has also been extended to the phosphination of alkyl halides and sequential radical cyclization/phosphination reaction. ... 

As with carbocation-initiated polyene cyclizations, radical cyclizations can proceed through several successive steps if the steric and electronic properties of the reactant provide potential reaction sites. Cyclization may be followed by a second intramolecular step or by an intermolecular addition or alkylation. Intermediate radicals can be constructed so that hydrogen atom transfer can occur as part of the overall process. For example, 2-bromohexenes having radical stabilizing substituents at C(6) can undergo cyclization after a hydrogen atom transfer step.348... 

Another possibility here is to use entropic acceleration. In this way, it is possible to use a substrate that first reacts in an intramolecular mode to give an intermediate, which then undergoes an intermolecular reaction with a second molecule. An impressive older example is a radical cyclization/trapping in the synthesis of prostaglandin F2a, as described by the Stork group [20]. A key step here is the radical transformation of the iodo compound 0-32 using uliu3Sril I formed in situ from... 

Curran2 has reviewed recent applications of the tin hydride method for initiation of radical chain reactions in organic synthesis (191 references). The review covers intermolecular additions of radicals to alkenes (Giese reaction) as well as intramolecular radical cyclizations, including use of vinyl radical cyclization. 

Turning from the intramolecular process to the intermolecular ones, we now extend our comparison of the thermal and cation-radical cyclizations. It is also interesting to take sonication into account as a route to initiate cyclizations. The reaction between 2-butenal A,A-dimethylhydrazone (a diene) and 5-hydroxy-l,4-naphthoquinone (a dienophile) gives such an opportunity. In toluene, at 20°C, the reaction follows as depicted in Scheme 7.28 (Nebois et al. 1996). 

Another practically promising example of intermolecular anion-radical cyclization is a zipper reaction of cyclic o-ethynylbenzenes (Bradshaw et al. 1994 Scheme 7.34). 

In addition to intermolecular reactions, C-glycosides can also be synthesized by intramolecular sequences. A radical cyclization is a very fast reaction, in particular 5-exo-trig cyclizations. Thus, intermediate anomeric radicals have only a short time window of reactivity before undergoing the desired cyclization. 

Intermolecular coupling of ketones and alkenes, promoted by SmH, occurs with excellent stereochemical control. In one such reaction, samarium(II) iodide has been used to prepare cyclobutanones and cyclobutanols from chiral, 6-oxohex-2-enoates (equation 137)520. The reaction is performed in THF in the presence of HMPT and occurs in good yield with excellent stereocontrol. If appropriately located carbonyl and alkene moieties are present in a molecule, then Sml2-HMPT can be used to form cyclooctanols by a radical cyclization process in some cases there is a reasonable degree of diastereoselectivity (equation 138)521,522. 

A tin-free radical cyclization of the xanthate 272 using dilauroyl peroxide (DLP), as the radical initiator, in chlorobenzene was used to give the 5//-pyrido[2,3-A azepin-8-one 273 (Scheme 35) <20040L3671>. The xanthate 272 was also made by an intermolecular free radical addition to allyl acetate, using the xanthate 271, as the radical precursor. Somewhat surprisingly in this latter case, intramolecular free radical attack on the pyridine ring did not take place. 

Intramolecular radical cyclization of Af-haloalkyl pyridinium salts (28) with Bu3SnH readily takes place to generate cyclic pyridinium salts (29) (eq. 5.16), although intermolecular radical alkylation with Bu3SnH does not work due to the direct reduction of the alkyl radical [39]. Since it is well known that natural quinolidine and indolidine... 

The occurrence of the indole subunit is well established within the class of natural products and pharmaceutically active compounds. Recently, the Reissig group developed an impressive procedure for the assembly of highly functionalized in-dolizidine derivatives, highlighting again the versatility of domino reactions [8]. The approach is based on a samarium(II) iodide-mediated radical cyclization terminated by a subsequent alkylation which can be carried out in an intermolecular - as well as in an intramolecular - fashion. Reaction of ketone 3-11 with samarium(II) iodide induced a 6-exo-trig cyclization, furnishing a samarium enolate intermediate... 

INTERMOLECULAR RADICAL ADDITIONS TO ALKYNES CASCADE-TYPE RADICAL CYCLIZATIONS... 

In contrast to intramolecular cyclizations, the intermolecular addition of O-centered radicals to ti systems as initiating step in complex radical cyclization cascades has only recently attracted considerable attention. The reason for the low number of papers published on O radical addition to alkenes and alkynes could originate from the perception that O-centered radicals, such as alkoxyl radicals, RO, or acyloxyl radicals, RC(0)0", may not react with 7t systems through addition at rates that are competitive to other pathways, for example, allylic hydrogen abstraction and p-fragmentation in the case of RO" or decarboxylation in the case of RC(0)0" (Scheme 2.9). 

---