Reductive cleavage of epoxides

Reduction of epoxide 21 with lithium aluminium hydride gave a crystalline branched-chain methyl heptoside derivative 24. The NMR spectra of compounds 21 and 24 were very similar. In the spectrum of compound 24 the disappearance of the two sharp doublets at r 6.80 and 7.45 (2 protons) and the appearance of a singlet at r 8.65 (3 protons) is consistent with the reductive cleavage of epoxide 21 to give a substance 24 with a methyl substituent. The multiplet at r 7.40-8.50 ( 5 protons ) was assigned to the four protons of the two methylene groups and the hydroxylic proton. 

Reductive cleavage of epoxides,1 Epoxides are usually reduced by hydride reagents, particularly LiAlH4, by attack at the less-substituted carbon to provide the more-substituted alcohol. However, reductions with Zn(BH4)2 adsorbed on Si02 in THF at 25° can show the opposite regioselectivity. Thus the epoxide of a 1-alkene is... 

Reductive cleavage of epoxides is successful primarily for terminal epoxides 1,2-disubstituted epoxides give alkenes by elimination of Li20, unless they are cyclic, in which case the secondary organolithium may be trapped with stereoselectivity at the former C-0 bond ... 

The aminocyclitol d-48 was synthesized from l-218 (Scheme 28).103 Since direct peroxyacid oxidation of the exo-methylene group of compound l-218 had been shown to give selectively the undesired /<-spiro epoxide,35 102 it was first converted into l-219, followed by oxidation with m-CPBA to give the desired x-spiro epoxide d-220 (80%). The alcohol d-221 obtained in 73% yield by reductive cleavage of epoxide d-220 with lithium triethylborohydride (LiBHEt3) in THF was formed as a 2 3 mixture of two alcohols. However, hydrolysis of d-221 with hydrochloric acid gave d-48 (94%), which was further characterized by conversion into the pentaacetyl derivative 222 (82%). 

The esters of deoxy compounds, used in Routes B and C, are prepared either from the products of reductive cleavage of epoxides, or from deoxy sugar derivatives synthesized by some other specific route. Sulfonyloxy substituents are eliminated in a basic medium or, as in the reaction of methyl 4,6-0-benzylidene-3-deoxy-2-0-p-tolylsulfonyl-a-D-aro6mo-hexo-side (75) (73), by heating the compound with soda-lime. In the carbo-... 

Super-hydride (LlBEt H) has been shown to be more effective than other reagents (e.g.. LAH) for reductive cleavage of epoxides and sulphonate esters. Thus methyl a-abequioslde (3) was obtained in 94 yield on reduction of the epoxy-sugar sulphonate (4), while... 

The hydrogenolyaia of cyclopropane rings (C—C bond cleavage) has been described on p, 105. In syntheses of complex molecules reductive cleavage of alcohols, epoxides, and enol ethers of 5-keto esters are the most important examples, and some selectivity rules will be given. Primary alcohols are converted into tosylates much faster than secondary alcohols. The tosylate group is substituted by hydrogen upon treatment with LiAlH (W. Zorbach, 1961). Epoxides are also easily opened by LiAlH. The hydride ion attacks the less hindered carbon atom of the epoxide (H.B. Henhest, 1956). The reduction of sterically hindered enol ethers of 9-keto esters with lithium in ammonia leads to the a,/S-unsaturated ester and subsequently to the saturated ester in reasonable yields (R.M. Coates, 1970). Tributyltin hydride reduces halides to hydrocarbons stereoselectively in a free-radical chain reaction (L.W. Menapace, 1964) and reacts only slowly with C 0 and C—C double bonds (W.T. Brady, 1970 H.G. Kuivila, 1968). 

Regioselectivity of C—C double bond formation can also be achieved in the reductiv or oxidative elimination of two functional groups from adjacent carbon atoms. Well estab llshed methods in synthesis include the reductive cleavage of cyclic thionocarbonates derivec from glycols (E.J. Corey, 1968 C W. Hartmann, 1972), the reduction of epoxides with Zn/Nal or of dihalides with metals, organometallic compounds, or Nal/acetone (seep.lS6f), and the oxidative decarboxylation of 1,2-dicarboxylic acids (C.A. Grob, 1958 S. Masamune, 1966 R.A. Sheldon, 1972) or their r-butyl peresters (E.N. Cain, 1969). 

After epoxidation of the terminal olefin in syn-89 the pyrrolidine 91 was formed by reductive cleavage of the Cbz-protection and concomitant Sn2 cyclization of the free amine to epoxide 90. In five additional steps (+)-preus-sin (2) was synthesized with an overall yield of 19%. After AT-methoxycar-bonylation and oxidation of the alcohol to an aldehyde the alkyl side chain was introduced by a Wittig reaction. 

Another route to a methyl-branched derivative makes use of reductive cleavage of spiro epoxides ( ). The realization of this process was tested in the monosaccharide series. Hittig olefination of was used to form the exocyclic methylene compound 48. This sugar contains an inherent allyl alcohol fragmenC the chiral C-4 alcohol function of which should be idealy suited to determine the chirality of the epoxide to be formed by the Sharpless method. With tert-butvl hydroperoxide, titanium tetraisopropoxide and (-)-tartrate (for a "like mode" process) no reaction occured. After a number of attempts, the Sharpless method was abandoned and extended back to the well-established m-chloroperoxybenzoic acid epoxida-tion. The (3 )-epoxide was obtained stereospecifically in excellent yield (83%rT and this could be readily reduced to give the D-ribo compound 50. The exclusive formation of 49 is unexpected and may be associated with a strong ster chemical induction by the chiral centers at C-1, C-4, and C-5. 

Examples of the reductive cleavage of steroid epoxides arc extremely abundant, since theee substances serve as excellent synthetic intermediates for introducing various functions into the steroid nucleus. 

A facile synthesis of 180 with a better yield has been developed as follows. O-Deacetylation of 51 with hydrochloric acid gave DL-(l,3/2)-3-bromomethyl-5-cyclo-hexene-1,2-diol (181). Stereospecific epoxidation of 181 with mCPBA and subsequent acetylation gave-the epoxide (182), which afforded the exocyclic methylene derivative (183) by dehydrobromination with silver fluoride [51]. Reductive cleavage of the oxirane ring of 183 with lithium aluminium hydride, followed by acetylation yielded... 

Equatorially positioned methyl-branched derivatives may be obtained by reductive cleavage of spiro epoxides [94], Thus the Peterson olefination of 188gives the exocyclic 3 -methylene function in 189. By means of a Sharpless epoxidation the allylic 4"-hydroxy group should determine the chirality of the resulting epoxide. However, the Sharpless method does not show any reaction neither in a monosaccharide model system nor in this trisaccharide precursor [95]. Amazingly, the classical epoxidation with m-chloroperbenzoic acid is employed to give exclusively the desired (3"R) epoxide 190 in excellent yield. These results may be associated with a sufficient chiral induction of the stereochemical information at C-l", C-4", and C-5". A subsequent reduction furnishes the original E-D-C trisaccharide sequence 191 of mithramycin [95, 96]. 

The deoxygenation of epoxides is not of great preparative value since it involves some loss of stereochemical integrity and the alkenes produced are more readily approached in other ways. Reductive cleavage of ozonides, for example, using triphenylphosphine, commonly forms part of the ozonolysis procedure for conversion of alkenes into carbonyl compounds. If a carbonyl compound is treated with an appropriate P(III) reagent then the reverse process may occur—reductive coupling to form a new C=C double bond. This has found a particularly important... 

Hydration with boranes proved difficult due to extensive reductive cleavage of the epoxide (Scheme 45). The best results (54%) were achieved with borane in THF. The subsequent oxidation with basic hydrogen peroxide led to the primary alcohol as well as to saponification of the acetate. Selective protection of the primary alcohol 397 as trichloroethyl carbonate was followed by oxidation with RuCl3/NaI04, thereby producing not only the y-lactone but also the cyclic ketone. 

Reductive cleavage of cyclic ethers This complex is effective for reductive cleavage of cyclic ethers. The order of reactivity is epoxide > oxetane > tetrahydrofurane>tetrahydropyrane>oxepane. It is less effective for cleavage of acyclic ethers, except for methyl ethers. The reaction involves formation of a complex of the ethereal oxygen with aluminum r-butoxide followed by Sn2 displacement with lithium triethylborohydride. Steric and electronic Victors are involved, but yields are >90% in favorable cases. 

Reductive cleavage of oxetanes. Oxetanes, like epoxides (3, 186), arc readily reduced by lithium in ethylenediaminc (EDA). Thus the oxetane (1) is reduced to a mixture of two alcohols. (2) and (3), in the ratio 3 1. The usefulness of this reduction... 

In contrast to the reductive cleavage of 1-methylcyclohexene epoxide with LiAlH4 or, better, with LiEtjBH to produce 1-methylcyclohexanol, reduction of the epoxide with sodium cyanoborohydride in the presence of boron trifluoride etherate furnishes cE-2-methylcyclohexanol. In this case, complexation of the epoxide oxygen with the Lewis acid BF3 now directs hydride addition to the more substituted carbon, which can better sustain the induced partial positive charge. 

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