Selenoxides, chiral

Optically active selenoxides are known to be unstable toward racemization. An optically active selenoxide having a steroidal frame was obtained for the first time by Jones and co-workers in 1970.7 Enantiomeric selenoxides were prepared by Davis et al. in 1983,8 and an enantiomerically pure selenoxide was isolated for the first time by us in 1989.9 Many optically active selenoxides, which are kinetically stabilized by bulky substituents, were synthesized over the last two decades, and their stereochemistry and stability toward racemization were studied.3,5,10 Recently, some optically active selenoxides, which were thermodynamically stabilized by the intramolecular coordination of a Lewis base to the selenium atom, have been isolated. Optically active selenoxides 1 and 2 were obtained by optical resolution on chiral columns, and their stereochemistry and stability toward racemization under various conditions were clarified (Scheme 1).11,12... 

On the other hand, optically active telluroxides have not been isolated until recently, although it has been surmised that they are key intermediates in asymmetric synthesis.3,4 In 1997, optically active telluroxides 3, stabilized by bulky substituents toward racemization, were isolated for the first time by liquid chromatography on optically active columns.13,14 The stereochemistry was determined by comparing their chiroptical properties with those of chiral selenoxides with known absolute configurations. The stability of the chiral telluroxides toward racemization was found to be lower than that of the corresponding selenoxides, and the racemization mechanism that involved formation of the achiral hydrate by reaction of water was also clarified. Telluroxides 4 and 5, which were thermodynamically stabilized by nitrogen-tellurium interactions, were also optically resolved and their absolute configurations and stability were studied (Scheme 2).12,14... 

Chiral sulfonium ylides have been known for some 30 years, and their stereochemistry and properties have been studied.15 Optically active selenonium ylides were obtained by reacting selenoxides with 1,3-cyclohexanedione under asymmetric conditions by Sakaki and Oae in 1976 for the first time,16 and also optically resolved by fractional recrystallization of the diastereomeric mixtures in the early 1990s.17 In 1995, optically active selenonium ylides 6 were obtained in over 99% de by nucleophilic substitution of optically active chloroselenurane or selenoxide with active methylene compounds with retention of configuration.18 The absolute configurations were determined by X-ray analysis of one... 

Scheme 4.58 Chiral allenic sulfones from asymmetric selenoxide elimination.

Furthermore, the first catalytic synthesis of allenes with high enantiomeric purity [15c, 25] was applied recently to the pheromone 12 by Ogasawara and Hayashi [26] (Scheme 18.7). Their palladium-catalyzed SN2 -substitution process of the bromo-diene 16 with dimethyl malonate in the presence of cesium tert-butanolate and catalytic amounts of the chiral ligand (R)-Segphos furnished allene 17 with 77% ee. Subsequent transformation into the desired target molecule 12 via decarboxylation and selenoxide elimination proceeded without appreciable loss of stereochemical purity and again (cf. Scheme 18.5) led to the formation of the allenic pheromone in practically the same enantiomeric ratio as in the natural sample. 

Oxidation of chiral sulfonimines (R"S02N=CHAr)and chiral sulfamyl-imines (R RNS02N=CHAr)affords optically active 2-sulfonyloxaziridines and 2-sulfamyloxaziridines, respectively. These chiral, oxidizing reagents have been used in the asymmetric oxidation of sulfides to sulfoxides (15-68% ee), 11-13 selenides to selenoxides (8-9% ee] enolates to a-hydroxycarbonyl compounds (8-37% ee) and in the asymmetric epoxidation of alkenes (15-40% ee)... 

Abou-Basha and Aboul-Enein [22] presented an isocratic and simple HPLC method for the direct resolution of the clenbuterol enantiomers. The method involved the use of a urea-type CSP made of hS )-indoline-2-carboxylic acid and (R)-1 -(naphthyl) ethylamine known as the Chirex 3022 column. The separation factor (a) obtained was 1.27 and the resolution factor (Rs) was 4.2 when using a mobile phase composed of hexane-1,2-dichloroethane-ethanol (80 10 10, v/v/v). The (+)-enantiomer eluted first with a capacity factor (k) of 2.67 followed by a (—)-enantiomer with a k of 3.38. Biesel et al. [23] resolved 1-benzylcyclohexane-1,2-diamine hydrochloride on a Chirex D-penicillamine column. Gasparrini et al. [24] synthesized a series of the chiral selectors based on /ra s -1,2 - d i a m i n o eye I o hexane. The developed CSPs were used for the chiral resolution of arylacetic acids, alcohols, sulfoxides, selenoxides, phosphinates, tertiary phosphine oxides, and benzodiazepines. In another study, the same authors [25] described the chiral resolution of /i-aminocstcrs enantiomers on synthetic CSPs based on a re-acidic derivatives of trans- 1,2-diaminocyclohexane... 

Optical resolution of selenoxides by complexation is more efficient than that of sulfoxides. Although efficiency of the resolution for o- and />-tolyl-substituted sulfo- xides is not good, the efficiency for selenoxides with the same substituent is good. In order to clarify the mechanism of the efficient chiral recognition, X-ray crystal structure of a 1 1 complex of 14b and (-)-126f was studied.52... 

Chiral sulfoxides or selenoxides.1 This oxaziridine (1) is generally more effective than the modified Sharpless reagent of Kagan (13, 52) for enantioselective oxidation of alkyl aryl sulfides or selenides to the corresponding sulfoxides or selenoxides. The polar Cl groups of 1 improve both rate and the enantioselectivity. 

Recently, Wirth and Uehlin further extended the selenium-based solid-phase assisted chemistry by introducing a new polymer-bound chiral selenium electrophile 29. Regio-and stereoselective 1,2-methoxyselenylation of propenylbenzene gave intermediate adduct 30 which was cleaved by oxidative elimination via the selenoxide to yield the corresponding allylmethyl ether (Scheme 12) [38]. 

Certain chiral epoxides can be prepared from fl-hydroxyselenides (e.g., 43), typically intermediates for allylic alcohol synthesis. The novel reactivity of these substrates seems to be restricted to those cyclic compounds in which the hydroxy and the selenoxide groups can achieve an antiperiplanar disposition [95TL5079],... 

Cyclohexyl selenides 162 can be prepared from the 4-substituted cyclohexanones via the selenoketals and upon oxidation with chiral oxidants, compounds 163 were obtained in high yields and with excellent stereoselectivities. Some representative examples are summarized in Table 5 and it is obvious that only the Davies oxidant 158 is leading to high enantiomeric excesses in the product 163 whereas under Sharpless oxidation conditions no selectivity is obtained. The titanium complex formed in the Sharpless oxidant may promote the racemization of the intermediate selenoxide by acting as a Lewis acid catalyst, while the aprotic nature of the Davies oxidant 158 slows down racemization dramatically. 

Similar reactions were also achieved by the formation of diastereomeric optically active selenoxides as intermediates in the elimination reaction. Optically active ferrocenyl diselenide 19 was used in selenenylations of alkynes generating vinyl selenides of type 164. Oxidation of the selenides was performed with mCPBA under various reaction conditions which afforded the corresponding chiral selenoxides, which, after elimination, afforded axial chiral allenecarboxylic ester derivatives 165 in high enantioselectivities (R = Me 89% ee, R=Et 82% ee, R = C3H7 85% ee) (Scheme 47)>85 87... 

Others CPSs have been prepared in a similar way and characterized at different steps by physicochemical methods. For example, the structure of the chiral selector iV-[2 -(5)-hydroxypropyl]-Ar, /V -bis(3,5- dichlorobenzoyl)-(f ,f )-tra i- 1,2-diamino-cyclohexane was solved by X-ray analysis and its absolute configuration confirmed unambiguously [73]. These CPS phases were used to resolve a large number of racemic mixtures belonging to different classes of organic compounds, such as a-aryloxyacetic acids, alcohols, sulfoxides, selenoxides, phosphinates, amino acids, amino alcohols, etc. 

It has long been known that appropriately substituted [2.2]paracyclophanes are chiral, chemically stable and do not racemize under normal reaction conditions. With these seemingly ideal prerequisites for use in chiral synthesis, it is perhaps surprising that only three examples have appeared in the literature, all of them in recent years (Scheme 8). Reich employed [2.2]paracyclo-phane-derived selenides such as 24 to administer chirality transfer in selenoxide [2,3] sigmatropic rearrangements. Using this methodology, he was able to synthesize optically active linalool 25... 

The cycloaddition of chiral (-)menthylcarbodiimide with prochiral ketenes affords chi-rally selective cycloadducts In the reaction of an optically active alcohol with dicy-clohexylcarbodiimide complete inversion of the configuration occurs after hydrolysis. " Treatment of arenesulfenic acids with alcohols, thiols or secondary amines in the presence of optically active carbodiimides affords the corresponding optically active arenesulfenic acid derivatives. DCC is used to convert an optically active selenoxide into the corresponding optically active selenimide with TsNHa. ... 

Selenoxides derived from unsymmetrical selenides are chiral and stable toward pyramidal inversion at room or even higher temperatures. They are produced enantioselectively by the use of chiral oxidants such as the Sharpless reagent or camphor-derived oxaziridines or diastereoselectively with achiral oxidants when one of the selenide substituents is itself chiral (see Section 9). Racemic selenoxides have been resolved by chromatography over chiral adsorbents. Chiral selenoxides racemize readily in water, particularly under acid-catalyzed conditions, presumably via the intermediacy of achiral selenoxide hydrates (equation 2). 

A number of useful enantioselective syntheses can be performed by attaching a chiral auxihary group to the selenium atom of an appropriate reagent. Examples of such chiral auxiliaries include (49-53). Most of the asymmetric selenium reactions reported to date have involved inter- or intramolecular electrophilic additions to alkenes (i.e. enantioselective variations of processes such as shown in equations (23) and (15), respectively) but others include the desymmefrization of epoxides by ringopening with chiral selenolates, asymmetric selenoxide eliminations to afford chiral allenes or cyclohexenes, and the enantioselective formation of allylic alcohols by [2,3]sigmafropic rearrangement of allylic selenoxides or related species. 

Very recently, the enantioselective protonation of simple enolates was developed [41] using diastereoisomerically pure y-hydroxyselenoxides, derived from the 2-exo-hydroxy-lO-bornyl group, as chiral compounds. The selenoxides 84, containing various aryl groups, were prepared by treatment of the corresponding isomerically pure chloroselenuranes 85 with sodium hydrogen carbonate [41c] (Eq. 17 ... 

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