Resolution of Racemic Aldehydes

Scheme 2.2.5.12 Short enzymatic synthesis of L-fucose and hydrophobic analogues by aldolization-ketol isomerization, including kinetic resolution of racemic aldehyde precursors.

Preparation of enantiometrically pure aldehyde substrates for DHAP-dependent aldolase reactions has been accomplished by a combination of enzymatic and chemical methods. The lipase-catalyzed resolution of racemic aldehyde precursors has been accomplished by enantioselective acetate hydrolysis, as exhibited in the preparation of enantiomerically pure R- and S -glycidaldehyde acetals (Scheme 5.10).31 Regioselective ring opening of the epoxides, followed by acetal hydrolysis, generated the aldehydes in enantiomerically pure form. 

A few natural product syntheses feature the use of both acyclic and cyclic aldimines of either enantiomer of f-leucine f-butyl ester. Kinetic resolution of racemic aldehydes has also been achieved using L-f-leucine f-butyl ester. ... 

SCHEME 13.10 Thermodynamically controlled resolution of racemic aldehydes with FDP aldolase from RAMA. 

Yamaguchi, M., Hirama, M. Kinetic resolution of racemic aldehydes and ketones by the asymmetric Horner-Wadsworth-Emmons reaction. Chemtracts Org. Chem. 1994, 7,401-405. 

Parallel kinetic resolution is a developing area of asymmetric synthesis which facilitates the simultaneous conversion of both enantiomers of a racemic mixture into useful products. Pedersen and co-workers have recently reported the first Horner-Wadsworth-Emmons procedure that allows the parallel kinetic resolution of racemic aldehydes. 

FDP aldolase exhibits kinetic diastereoselectivity with unnatural chiral aldehyde acceptor substrates. However, even though there is significant discrimination ( 20 1) between the d- and t-enantiomers of the natural substrate Gly 3-P12S1, this is usually not the case with unnatural aldehydes. In fact, resolutions of racemic aldehydes are normally only successful if carried out under thermodynamic control. Often the aldol products can cyclize via formation of a hemiketal, leading to... 

Scheme 7.21. Additional examples of kinetic resolution of racemic aldehydes.

Kinetic resolution of racemic aldehyde 156 was employed in the construction of the subunit of iejimalide A (159), a marine macrolide exhibiting high cytotoxicity. Thus, the chiral -alkene 157 was obtained with 80% de using 27c, and then converted into the C(l)-C(5) fragment of iejimalide A [80, 95]. 

A variety of methods for the asymmetric syntheses of aziridine-2-carboxylates have been developed. They can be generally classified into eight categories based on the key ring-forming transformation and starting materials employed (i) cyclization of hydroxy amino esters, (ii) cyclization of hydroxy azido esters, (iii) cyclization of a-halo- and ot-sulfonyloxy-(3-amino esters, (iv) aziridination of ot, 3-unsaturated esters, (v) aziridination of imines, (vi) aziridination of aldehydes, (vii) 2-carboxylation of aziridines, and (viii) resolution of racemic aziridine-2-carboxylates. 

Since the addition of dialkylzinc reagents to aldehydes can be performed enantioselectively in the presence of a chiral amino alcohol catalyst, such as (-)-(1S,2/ )-Ar,A -dibutylnorephedrine (see Section 1.3.1.7.1.), this reaction is suitable for the kinetic resolution of racemic aldehydes127 and/or the enantioselective synthesis of optically active alcohols with two stereogenic centers starting from racemic aldehydes128 129. Thus, addition of diethylzinc to racemic 2-phenylpropanal in the presence of (-)-(lS,2/ )-Ar,W-dibutylnorephedrine gave a 75 25 mixture of the diastereomeric alcohols syn-4 and anti-4 with 65% ee and 93% ee, respectively, and 60% total yield. In the case of the syn-diastereomer, the (2.S, 3S)-enantiomer predominated, whereas with the twtf-diastereomer, the (2f ,3S)-enantiomer was formed preferentially. 

The dynamic resolution of an aldehyde is shown in Figure 8.40. The racemization of starting aldehyde and enantioselective reduction of carbonyl group by baker s yeast resulted in the formation of chiral carbon centers. The enantiomeric excess value of the product was improved from 19 to 90% by changing the ester moiety from the isopropyl group to the neopentyl group [30a]. 

TKase can be used as a tool for the kinetic resolution of racemic a-hydroxy aldehydes. For example, D-glyceraldehydes shows 66% of the rate compared with... 

Three years later. List and coworkers extended their phosphoric acid-catalyzed dynamic kinetic resolution of enoUzable aldehydes (Schemes 18 and 19) to the Kabachnik-Fields reaction (Scheme 33) [56]. This transformation combines the differentiation of the enantiomers of a racemate (50) (control of the absolute configuration at the P-position of 88) with an enantiotopic face differentiation (creation of the stereogenic center at the a-position of 88). The introduction of a new steri-cally congested phosphoric acid led to success. BINOL phosphate (R)-3p (10 mol%, R = 2,6- Prj-4-(9-anthryl)-C H3) with anthryl-substituted diisopropylphenyl groups promoted the three-component reaction of a-branched aldehydes 50 with p-anisidine (89) and di-(3-pentyl) phosphite (85b). P-Branched a-amino phosphonates 88 were obtained in high yields (61-89%) and diastereoselectivities (7 1-28 1) along with good enantioselectivities (76-94% ee) and could be converted into... 

An alternative method for dialkyl peroxide synthesis is the nucleophilic addition of an alkyl hydroperoxide to an alkene under acid catalysis reported by Davies and coworkers (Scheme 31, path B) ". A similar reaction is the nucleophilic addition of alkylhy-droperoxides to vinyl ethers under acid catalysis, producing perketals. Perketals can be deprotected under mild conditions (THF/water/acetic acid) and this hydroperoxide protection-deprotection sequence has been used by Dussault and Porter as a means for the resolution of racemic hydroperoxides (see also Section II.A.2) . In this respect more detailed studies were carried out with the perketals 75, which were prepared via reaction of alkyl hydroperoxides with vinyl ethers (Scheme 33). Weissermel and Lederer reported that in the presence of teri-butyl hypochlorite, a-chlorodialkyl peroxides can be formed in yields between 12% and 45% (Scheme 31, path C)". a-Alkoxydialkyl peroxides and diperoxyacetals were prepared by Rieche and coworkers via acid catalyzed reaction of one or two equivalents of alkyl hydroperoxides with acetals, ketals or aldehydes (Scheme 31, path D)" or by methylation of the corresponding a-alkoxy hydroperoxides with diazomethane (yields 11%, 27%)" . The diperoxyacetals 76 were isolated in yields ranging from 39 to 77%. 

The rabbit FruA discriminates the enantiomers of its natural substrate with a 20 1 preference for D-GA3P (12) over its L-antipode [202], Assistance from anionic binding was revealed by a study on a homologous series of carboxylated 2-hydroxyaldehydes which showed optimum enantioselectivity when the distance of the charged group equaled that of 12 (Scheme 15, Fig. 11) [299], The resolution of racemic substrates is not, however, generally useful since the kinetic enantioselectivity for nonionic aldehydes is rather low [202], 3-Azido substituents (69) can lead to an up to 9-fold preference of enantiomers in kinetically controlled experiments [300] while hydroxyl (70 preference for the... 

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). 

Wilson RM, Jen WS, MacMillan DWC (2005) Enantioselective organocatalytic intramolecular Diels-Alder reactions. The asymmetric synthesis of solana-pyrone D. J Am Chem Soc 127 11616-11617 Xie JH, Zhou ZT, Kong WL, Zhou QL (2007) Ru-catalyzed asymmetric hydrogenation of racemic aldehydes via dynamic kinetic resolution efficient synthesis of optically active primary alcohols. J Am Chem Soc 129 1868-1869... 

A second example of the allylboration of a metal carbonyl containing substrate is a highly group- and face-selective allylboration of a meso iron-diene dialdehyde complex (eq 6). Efficient kinetic resolutions of racemic diene aldehyde-Fe(CO)3 complexes have also been demonstrated. ... 

The MgBr2-promoted additions are strongly substrate-controlled. As a result it is possible to effect kinetic resolution of racemic y-oxygenated allylic stannanes thereby circumventing the need to employ enantioenriched stannane. The degree of enantio discrimination is somewhat dependent upon the y-oxygen substituent as illustrated by the additions to a threonine-derived aldehyde given in Eq. (46) [66]. 

The aldol reaction of a silyl enol ether proceeds in a double and two-directional fashion, upon addition of an excess amount of an aldehyde, to give the silyl enol ether in 77 % isolated yield and more than 99 % ee and 99 % de (Sch. 33) [92]. This asymmetric catalytic aldol reaction is characterized by kinetic amplification of product chirality on going from the one-directional aldol intermediate to the two-directional product. Further transformation of the pseudo C2 symmetric product still protected as the silyl enol ether leads to a potent analog of an HIV protease inhibitor. Kinetic resolution of racemic silyl enol ethers by the BINOL-Ti catalyst (1) has been reported by French chemists [93]. 

Application of the Sharpless procedure for the kinetic resolution of racemic allyl alcohols [Ti(0/Pr)4 BuOOH and L- or D-DET] to such a process provided an optically active dihy-drop)Tan together with enantiomerically pure unreacted furylcarhinol [6]. The Casiraghi approach leads to 2,3-unsaturated furanoses (or amino furanoses) hy an acid-catalyzed reaction of 2-(trimethylsilyloxy)furan with sugar aldehydes or aminoaldehydes. 

Roush has explored this strategy to affect an interesting kinetic resolution of racemic y-alkoxyallenylstannanes derived by transmetalation of 355 in the presence of non-racemic aldehyde 357, yielding 358 (Scheme 5.2.75). 

Scheme 5.2.75 Kinetic resolution of racemic 356 in reactions with nonracemic aldehyde 357...

The late 1990s saw the development of an alternative methodology for the enzymatic resolution of racemic amines using transaminases. Transaminases are pyridoxal phosphate 50 dependent enzymes that catalyze the transfer of an amine group to a carbonyl compound (amine group acceptor), such as a ketone, aldehyde, or keto add (Figure 14.19). 

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