Readily Enolized Carboxylic Acid Derivatives

Carboxylic acid derivatives that have a-substituents can exist as chiral compounds. The resolution of the enantiomers of such compounds is a useful process, leading to the preparation of a-amino acids, a-hydroxy adds and other a-substituted carboxylic acids and their derivatives in enantiomerically enriched form. In addition, the racemization of such compounds can be achieved by a deprotonation/reprotonation sequence, as shown in Fig. 9-13. 

The ease with which racemization of the carboxylic acid derivative occurs depends on the nature of the substrate. Carboxylic adds themselves are slow to racemize, since the carboxylic acid is initially deprotonated to form a carboxylate anion. 

Subsequent deprotonation to afford the carboxylic acid enolate requires the formation of a doubly deprotonated species, which is disfavored relative to the formation of an ester enolate. In fact, activated esters such as phenyl esters1291 or thioesters1301 are especially prone to racemization, since enolization is easier than for simple esters. 

Fulling and Sih reported one of the earliest examples to exploit racemization of carboxylic acid derivatives in order to achieve a dynamic kinetic resolution1311. The anti-inflammatory drug Ketorolac was prepared by hydrolysis of the corresponding ester. Whilst most lipases afforded the undesired enantiomer preferentially, a protease from Streptomyces griseus afforded the required (S)-enantiomer of product with good selectivity. The substrate was particularly prone to racemization since the intermediate enolate is well stabilized by resonance effects, although a pH 9 7 buffer was required to achieve a useful dynamic resolution reaction. Thus the acid was formed with complete conversion and with 76 % enantiomeric excess. 

Drueckhammer and co-workers have published details of a successful strategy for dynamic resolution in the hydrolysis of suitable thioesters130, 321. Trioctylamine was employed as the racemizing agent, which was effective for the racemization of a series of a-substituted thiopropionates. Specific examples include the hydrolysis of an ethylthioester using Pseudomonas cepacia lipase, the transesterification of an a-aryloxy trifluoroethylthioester with butanol and PS-30, as well as hydrolysis of a trifluoroethylthioester using Subtilisin Carlsberg (Fig. 9-15). 

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A common procedure in C-C-bond formation is the aldol addition of enolates derived from carboxylic acid derivatives with aldehydes to provide the anion of the [5-hydroxy carboxylic acid derivative. If one starts with an activated acid derivative, the formation of a [Mac lone can follow. This procedure has been used by the group of Taylor [137] for the first synthesis of the l-oxo-2-oxa-5-azaspiro[3.4]octane framework. Schick and coworkers have utilized the method for their assembly of key intermediates for the preparation of enzyme inhibitors of the tetrahydrolipstatin and tetrahydroesterastin type [138]. Romo and coworkers used a Mukaiyama aldol/lac-tonization sequence as a concise and direct route to 3-lactones of type 2-253, starting from different aldehydes 2-251 and readily available thiopyridylsilylketenes 2-252 (Scheme 2.60) [139]. 

Simultaneous treatment of a carbonyl compound with a Lewis acid and a tertiary amine or another weak base ( soft enolization ) can sometimes be used to generate enolates of sensitive substrates which would have decomposed under strongly basic reaction conditions [434]. Boron enolates, which readily react with aldehydes at low temperatures, can also be prepared in situ from sensitive, base-labile ketones or carboxylic acid derivatives [293, 295, 299]. Unwanted decomposition of a carbanion may also be prevented by generating it in the presence of an electrophile which will not react with the base (e.g. silyl halides or silyl cyanides [435]). 

Enolates prepared by deprotonation of carboxylic acid derivatives can also undergo elimination to yield ketenes. This is rarely seen with amides, but esters, thiolesters, imides, or N-acylsulfonamides can readily decompose to ketenes if left to warm to room temperature (Scheme 5.58). At -78 °C, however, even aryl esters can be converted into enolates stoichiometrically without ketene formation [462, 463],... 

Chiral auxiliaries can be used in plenty of other reactions, and one of the most common types is the alkylation of enolates. Evans s oxazolidinone auxiliaries are particularly appropriate here because they are readily turned into enolizable carboxylic acid derivatives. 

Shortly after, the development of the intramolecular variant of this reaction was reported by Gaertzen and Buchwald [106]. A simple and flexible route to obtain dihydroisoindole and tetrahydroisoquinoline carboxylic acid derivatives was developed using the palladium-catalyzed intramolecular a-arylation of readily available a-amino acid esters (Scheme 8.58). The construction of quaternary carbon centers that tolerate a number of different substituents around the enolate center, including phenyl or bulky isopropyl groups, was reported. A number of different Af-substituents including alkyl, aryl, or carboxyl groups could be employed [106]. 

Methylenation of carboxylic acid derivatives The Tebbe reagent 3 is extremely valuable as a reagent for the methylenation of carboxylic acid derivatives, which is generally unsuccessful using phosphorus ylides. Esters and lactones are readily transformed into enol ethers (Table 4.3), especially when a Lewis base such as THE is present in the reaction mixture. In the methylenation of a,j8-unsaturated esters, the internal olefin is not involved in the reaction, and the configuration of the double bond is maintained (entry 4). When carbonyl compounds bearing a terminal double bond are subjected to the methylenation, significantly lower yields are observed (entries 6 and 11), which may be attributable to competitive formation of a titanacycle from titanocene-methylidene 4 and the terminal olefin. 

A method for enantioselective synthesis of carboxylic acid derivatives is based on alkylation of the enolates of N-acyl oxazolidinones." Two enantiomerically pure derivatives which are readily available have received the most study. The lithium enolates have the structures shown because of the tendency for the metal cation to form a chelate. 

The smooth conversion of the enol acetate (151) into an A -acyl derivative (152) under extremely mild conditions points to the high acylating capacity of these esters. This cleavage of isoxazolium salts is also caused by other anions of carboxylic acids, and thus they can be readily converted to reactive enol esters. A very convenient and specific synthesis of peptides due to Woodward et is based on... 

Vitamin C, also known as L-ascorbic acid, clearly appears to be of carbohydrate nature. Its most obvious functional group is the lactone ring system, and, although termed ascorbic acid, it is certainly not a carboxylic acid. Nevertheless, it shows acidic properties, since it is an enol, in fact an enediol. It is easy to predict which enol hydroxyl group is going to ionize more readily. It must be the one P to the carbonyl, ionization of which produces a conjugate base that is nicely resonance stabilized (see Section 4.3.5). Indeed, note that these resonance forms correspond to those of an enolate anion derived from a 1,3-dicarbonyl compound (see Section 10.1). Ionization of the a-hydroxyl provides less favourable resonance, and the remaining hydroxyls are typical non-acidic alcohols (see Section 4.3.3). Thus, the of vitamin C is 4.0, and is comparable to that of a carboxylic acid. 

Not surprinsingly, the aldol addition of the lithium enolates derived from these systems proved to be unsatisfactory. However, the derived zirkonium enolates in these and related systems have proven to be exceptional 176). The amides (171) and (172), each of which is readily derived from (S)-proline and (S)-valine respectively, exhibit good stereoselectivity with a range of aldehydes. The optical purity of the P-hydroxy amides (173) was very good (>95% e.e.). However, this method has a limitation which has been associated with the acidic conditions that are required to hydrolize these chiral amides (173) to their derived carboxylic acids (174). While... 

For some functionalized alkenylboranes, cleavage with methanol may be preferable to cleavage with a carboxylic acid. Relatively unhindered alkenyldialkylboranes, such as 9-alkenyl-9-BBNs, are readily cleaved by 1 equiv. of methanol under gentle heating. More hindered derivatives may require catalysis by 2,2-dimethylpropanoic acid, but these mild, almost neutral conditions may be beneficial for acid-labile functionalities. For example, methanolysis has been used for production of enol ethers e.g. equation 61). ... 

Among the ethers of prolinol, (5)-2-methoxymethylpyrrolidinc [SMP, (S)-10] has found most applications. It is readily prepared from prolinol by the normal sodium hydride/iodo-methane technique9,13 (sec also Section 2.3. for O-alkylations of other amino alcohols) and is also commercially available. An improved synthesis from proline avoids the isolation of intermediates and gives the product (which is highly soluble in water) by continuous extraction14. SMP has been used as the lithium salt in deprotonation and elimination reactions (Section C.) and as an auxiliary for the formation of chiral amides with carboxylic acids, which in turn can undergo carbanionic reactions (Sections D.l.3.1.4., D.l. 1.1.2.. D.l. 1.1.3.1., in the latter experimental procedures for the formation of amides can be found). Other important derivatives are the enamines of SMP which are frequently used for further alkylation reactions via enolates (Sections D.l.1.2.2.. where experimental procedures for the formation of enamines are... 

Camphorsulfonyl chlorides 45 readily form amides by reaction with amines. On reduction of the carbonyl group, alcohols, e.g., 46 and 47, are obtained which are extremely useful auxiliaries for many purposes. Thus, esters are formed with carboxylic acids which may then undergo enolate reactions (SectionsD.1.1.1.3.2., D.l.5.2.1., D.3. and D.7.1.) or act as dienophiles and dipolar-ophiles (Sections D.l.6.1.1.1.2.2.1. and D.l.6.1.2.1.). Enol ethers of these auxiliaries give [2 + 2] cycloadditions with dichloroketene (Section D.l.6.1.3.), while carbamate derivatives have been used in acyliminium reactions (Section D.l.4.5.). Generally, steric hindrance in the sulfonamide group improves the stereoselectivity of the reactions and, therefore, the amides with diisopropylamine and dicyclohexylamine are used as auxiliaries both enantiomers of the dicyclohexyl derivative are commercially available. 

Several syntheses of chiral camphor derivatives make use of the CH acidity of the methylene group attached in a-position to the carbonyl function (C-3). Thus, isoamyl nitrite converts camphor to 3-isonitrosocamphor which readily undergoes hydrolysis to the yellow camphorquinone. Bromination leads to 3-bromocamphor which is sulfonated to 3-bromocamphor-3-sulfonic acid with concentrated sulfuric acid. 3-Lithiated camphor obtained with phenyllithium is carboxylated to endo- and exo-isomers of camphor carboxylic acid. The Claisen condensation of camphor with esters of carboxylic acids provides enolized chiral 1,3-diketones, converting metal cations to chiral metal chelates. 

Mixed condensations in which the nucleophilic enolate is derived from an ester have also been developed. Very strong bases have usually been used for enolate formation. For example, the lithium enolate of ethyl acetate is generated using lithium bis(trimethylsilyl)amide as the base. Condensation with carbonyl compounds proceeds readily (entry 13, Scheme 2.1) without apparent complications from proton-transfer reactions between the ester enolate and carbonyl compound. The dilithium salts of carboxylic acids can also add to carbonyl compounds (entry 14, Scheme 2.1). 

Important steps in the reaction are formation of an acyl halide and the enol derived from the acyl halide. The acyl halide is key because carboxylic adds do not form enols readily since the carboxylic acid proton is removed before the a hydrogen. Acyl halides lack the carboxylic acid hydrogen. 

Let s take an inventory (1) Ninhydrin is a carbonyl hydrate (Section 17-6) of the corresponding trione, whose central carbonyl group is activated by its two neighbors. (2) Two molecules of the indicator disassemble one molecule of the amino acid into B (containmg the amino nitrogen), an aldehyde (accounting for the RCH part), and CO2 (derived from the carboxy function). (3) Decarboxylations of carboxylic acids occur readily in the presence of 3-oxo (or similar) functions (Section 23-2). (4) The highly delocalized (hence colored Section 14-11) B is the enolate (Section 18-1) of an imine (Section 17-9). 

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