Selectivity in 1,3-Dipolar Cycloadditions

The most common method for inducing asymmetry in 1,3-dipolar cycloadditions is by the application of chiral 1,3-dipoles, chiral dipolarophiles, or both, the latter always being the case for intramolecular reactions (5). First the reaction of chiral 1,3-dipoles will be described, then the reactions of chiral dipolarophiles, and finally the intramolecular reactions. In this chapter we have chosen to treat the diaster-eoselective reactions employing chiral auxiliaries separately in Section 12.3. 

Several different chiral 1,3-dipoles have been developed, especially for nitrones and azomethine ylides. In several cases, the chiral dipole has been developed specifically for the asymmetric synthesis of a target molecule and some examples of that will be given. 

22 led to a good endo/exo ratio and a high de in the reaction with diethyl fumerate (34). Nitrone 23 reacted with methyl acrylate to give a 44 21 0 0 ratio of the four possible diastereomers (35). 

Cyclic chiral nitrones generally offer better stereoselectivity than their acyclic counterparts. A more efficient shielding of one of the nitrone faces is often obtained due to the more rigid conformation of the cyclic nitrones. Furthermore, in this approach, ( /Z)-interconversion is avoided and cyclic nitrones are often more reactive since they, depending on the substitution pattern, are usually locked in the 

TBS = tributyl silyl m-CPBA = meta-chloro peroxy benzoic acid 

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Facial selectivity in 1,3-dipolar cycloadditions to cis-3,4-dimethylcyclobutene (73) (Scheme 1.21) was studied. Only phenylglyoxylo- and pyruvonitrile oxides lacked facial selectivities (anti syn = 1 1). All other nitrile oxides formed preferably anti-74. The anti/syn ratio increased from 60 40 (R = P-O2NC6K4) and 65 35 (R = Ph) to 87 13 and 92 8 for bulky ten-Bu and mesityl substituents, respectively. The transition-state structure of the cycloaddition of formonitrile oxide was determined using both HF/6-31G and B3LYP/6-31G methods. The... 

For the first time, DFT theory has been applied to a study of diastereofacial selectivity in 1,3-dipolar cycloadditions of nitrones to di-3,4-dimethylcyclobutene. ° The stereochemical outcome of the INAC reactions of nitrones (49) and (52) derived from 3-(9-allyl-D-hexoses is dependent only on the relative configuration at C(2,3), and thus 3-(9-allyl-D-glucose (48) and -o-altrose (threo configuration) afford oxepanes (50) selectively whereas 3-O-allyl-D-allose (51) and -D-mannose (erythro configuration) give tetrahydrofurans (53) and (54) selectively (Scheme 18). frani-2-Methylene-... 

Chiral cyclic nitrones that have been obtained from recoverable chiral sources (e.g. camphor, L-menthone) did provide excellent selectivities in 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition reactions with alkenes. 

SCHEME 5.28 The exolendo selectivity in 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition of nitrones with olefins. 

Concerted cycloaddition reactions provide the most powerful way to stereospecific creations of new chiral centers in organic molecules. In a manner similar to the Diels-Alder reaction, a pair of diastereoisomers, the endo and exo isomers, can be formed (Eq. 8.45). The endo selectivity in the Diels-Alder arises from secondary 7I-orbital interactions, but this interaction is small in 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition. If alkenes, or 1,3-dipoles, contain a chiral center(s), the approach toward one of the faces of the alkene or the 1,3-dipole can be discriminated. Such selectivity is defined as diastereomeric excess (de). 

Various kinds of chiral acyclic nitrones have been devised, and they have been used extensively in 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition reactions, which are documented in recent reviews.63 Typical chiral acyclic nitrones that have been used in asymmetric cycloadditions are illustrated in Scheme 8.15. Several recent applications of these chiral nitrones to organic synthesis are presented here. For example, the addition of the sodium enolate of methyl acetate to IV-benzyl nitrone derived from D-glyceraldehyde affords the 3-substituted isoxazolin-5-one with a high syn selectivity. Further elaboration leads to the preparation of the isoxazolidine nucleoside analog in enantiomerically pure form (Eq. 8.52).78... 

H(65)1889, 2005EJO3553>. Starting dihydro[l,2,4]triazolo[3, 4-4]benzo[l,2,4]triazines 482 readily react with aromatic aldehydes to yield iminium salts 483. These salts treated with a base (e.g., triethylamine) are deprotonated to reactive 1,3-dipolar azomethine imines 484. In contrast to related five-membered heterocycles, these compounds are relatively unstable on storage in the solid form and particularly in solution. Fortunately, this obstacle can be easily circumvented by their in situ preparation and subsequent 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition. These compounds can participate in 1,3-dipolar cycloadditions with both symmetric and nonsymmetric dipolarophiles to give the expected 1,3-cycloadducts in stereoselective manner. Selected examples are given in Scheme 82. 

Regio- and diastereoselectivity in 1,3-dipolar cycloadditions of nitrile oxides to 4-substituted cyclopent-2-enones was studied (238, 239). The reactions are always regioselective, while the diastereofacial selectivity depends on the nature of the substituents. Thus, 4-hydroxy-4-methylcyclopent-2-enone (75) gives preferably adducts 76a, the 76a 76b ratio warying from 65 35 to 85 15 (Scheme 1.22). 

Fig. 6.5. Prediction of regio selectivity of 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition. The energies of the HOMO and LUMO of each reactant (in units of electron volts) are indicated in parentheses.

Mukai et al. (36,37) applied the chiral tricarbonyl(r -arene)chromium(0)-derived nitrone 24b in 1,3-dipolar cycloadditions with various alkenes, such as styrene 25 (Scheme 12.11). The analogous nonmetallic nitrone 24a was used in a reference reaction with 25, giving the isoxazohdine 26a with an endo/exo ratio of 82 18. By the apphcation of nitrone 24b in the 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition with 25, the endo/exo-selectivity changed significantly to give exo-26b as the only observable product. The tricarbonylchromium moiety effectively shielded one face of the nitrone, leading to high diastereofacial selectivity. The product exo- 26b was obtained with 96-98% de. 

Another type of chiral alkene applied in 1,3-dipolar cycloadditions are vinyl groups attached to chiral phosphine oxides or sulfoxides. Brandi et al. (150,151) used chiral vinyl phosphine oxide derivatives as alkenes in 1,3-dipolar cycloadditions with chiral nitrones. This group also studied reactions of achiral nitrones with chiral vinyl phosphine oxide derivatives. Using this type of substrate, fair endo/exo-selectivities were obtained. In reactions involving optically pure vinyl phosphine oxides, diastereofacial selectivities of up to 42% de were obtained. Chiral vinyl... 

Fluoro-substituted chiral vinyl sulfoxides such as 103 have been used in 1,3-dipolar cycloadditions with various benzonitrile oxides (Scheme 12.34) (158). The reaction proceeded slowly at room temperature, however, after 5-10 days the isoxazoline (104) was obtained with excellent de in good yield. In some cases, the product tends to eliminate the 5-methoxy substituent of the isoxazoline, thus, after loss of two chiral centers, an isoxazole is obtained (158,159). Other chiral suMnyl derivatives have also been used in 1,3-dipolar cycloadditions with nitrile oxides (160,161), and in one case a racemic vinyl phosphine was used in reactions with various nitrile oxides, but with moderate selectivities (151). 

The most commonly applied ot,p-unsaturated ester auxiliary is the menthol group. It is inexpensive and easy to handle. Several different menthyl 2-alkenoates (157), in particular acrylates, have been applied in 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition reactions (Scheme 12.51). The major drawback of the menthyl ester auxiliary in 1,3-dipolar cycloadditions are the poor selectivities often associated with these reactions, except for reactions with azomethine ylides. 

The a,p-unsaturated amides 180-188a have all been used in 1,3-dipolar cycloadditions with nitrile oxides, and some of them represent the most diastereoselective reactions of nitrile oxides. The camphor derivative 180 of Chen and co-workers (294), the sultam 181 of Oppolzer et al. (295), and the two Kemp s acid derived compounds 186 (296) and 187 (297) described by Curran et al. (296) are excellent partners for diastereoselective reactions with nitrile oxides, as very high diastereos-electivities have been observed for all of them. In particular, compound 186 gave, with few exceptions, complete diastereoselection in reactions with a wide range of different nitrile oxides. Good selectivities were also observed when using compounds 183 (298) and 184 (299-301) in nitrile oxide cycloadditions, and they have the advantage that they are more readily available. Curran and co-workers also studied the 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition of 187 with silyl nitronates. However, compared to the reactions of nitrile oxides, lower selectivities of up to 86% de were obtained (302). 

The use of chiral vinyl ethers in 1,3-dipolar cycloadditions with nitrones allows for the subsequent removal and recovery of the chiral group. Using the chiral vinyl ether 197 and the cyclic nitrone 77, the cycloaddition proceeded with high diastereoselectivity (Scheme 12.56). The endo/exo-selectivity was not given in this communication by Carmthers et al. (313), but this is of minor importance for the final outcome of this work, since one of the chiral centers was destroyed in the conversion of 198 into the final product 199. The chiral auxiliary can by recovered in this reaction sequence, and 199 was obtained with an optical purity of >95% ee. 

The direct cycloaddition adduct was oxidized, resulting in the hydroxylated isoxazoline product (316). Better selectivities were obtained in 1,3-dipolar cycloadditions of 204 with nitrile oxides (317,318). The 1,3-dipolar cycloadditions proceeded with concomitant loss of the boron group to give the isoxazoline products in up to 74% ee (318). The alkene 204 was also tested in reactions with nitrones. The reactions proceeded with poor yields, but high selectivities were observed in two cases (318). Gilbertson et al. (319) investigated the use of chiral ot,p-unsaturated hexacarbonyldiiron acyl complexes 205 as dipolarophiles in reactions with nitrones. Selectivities of up to >92% de were observed. The iron moiety was removed oxidatively after the cycloaddition and the thioester was hydrolyzed. 

Selectivity and reactivity in 1,3-dipolar cycloadditions of the nonclassical A,B-diheteropentalenes... 

The only concern is die cis stereochemistry of die cycloadduct O. If die planar azomethine ylide adopts the least sterically hindered W geometry, then the cis isomer will be produced as a pair of enantiomers. The use of d.v-stilbenc as the dipolarophile to obtain die all-cis geometry in one step would require that only die endo transition state produces product. Although endo transitions are favored in 1,3 dipolar cycloadditions, mixtures of diastereomers from the exo and endo transition states are usually formed. Catalytic hydrogenation has a higher facial selectivity and is much more likely to give a single diastereomer. 

Dipolarophiles most frequently employed in trapping of azomethine ylides are acetylenedicarboxylates and maleimides because they are much more reactive than most other dipolarophiles. Maleic anhydride is almost equal to maleimides in reactivity toward azomethine ylides, and furmarates and maleates rank next. These dipolarophiles are so highly reactive in 1,3-dipolar cycloadditions that most of the azomethine ylides cited in this article can be smoothly trapped as the corresponding cycloadducts. Accordingly, less reactive dipolarophiles are selected in this section in order to evaluate the reactivity of azomethine ylide 1,3-dipoles. 

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