Sharpless oxidation with diethyl £- -tartrate

The asymmetric epoxidation of an allylic alcohol 1 to yield a 2,3-epoxy alcohol 2 with high enantiomeric excess, has been developed by Sharpless and Katsuki. This enantioselective reaction is carried out in the presence of tetraisopropoxyti-tanium and an enantiomerically pure dialkyl tartrate—e.g. (-1-)- or (-)-diethyl tartrate (DET)—using tcrt-butyl hydroperoxide as the oxidizing agent. 

In 1980, Katsuki and Sharpless described the first really efficient asymmetric epoxidation of allylic alcohols with very high enantioselectivities (ee 90-95%), employing a combination of Ti(OPr-/)4-diethyl tartrate (DET) as chiral catalyst and TBHP as oxidant Stoichiometric conditions were originally described for this system, however the addition of molecular sieves (which trap water traces) to the reaction allows the epoxidation to proceed under catalytic conditions. The stereochemical course of the reaction may be predicted by the empirical rule shown in equations 40 and 41. With (—)-DET, the oxidant approaches the allylic alcohol from the top side of the plane, whereas the bottom side is open for the (-l-)-DET based reagent, giving rise to the opposite optically active epoxide. Various aspects of this reaction including the mechanism, theoretical investigations and synthetic applications of the epoxy alcohol products have been reviewed and details may be found in the specific literature . 

The Sharpless reagent, i.e. Ti(OPr-i)4/TBHP/diethyl tartrate, has been tested in the asymmetric BV oxidation of mono and bicyclic butanones . Conversions are low in all cases and ee values range from moderate to good. The best result has been obtained with the most bulky bicyclic ketone of the series, oxidized to the corresponding lactone with ee values up to 75%, using (+)-diethyl tartrate as ligand (equation 79). The use of a modified Sharpless reagent, based on Ti-TADDOL catalyst , increased the reaction rates, but decreased the enantiomeric excesses . ... 

The oxidation of sulfides to sulfoxides by TBHP in the presence of Mo and V catalysts has been extensively studied.230,256 A modified Sharpless reagent,243 i.e. Ti(OPr )4/2 diethyl tartrate/1 H20, was used for the asymmetric oxidation of prochiral sulfides to sulfoxides with enantiomeric excess greater than 90% (equation 82).160,257... 

The known allylic alcohol 9 derived from protected dimethyl tartrate is exposed to Sharpless asymmetric epoxidation conditions with (-)-diethyl D-tartrate. The reaction yields exclusively the anti epoxide 10 in 77 % yield. In contrast to the above mentioned epoxidation of the ribose derived allylic alcohol, in this case epoxidation of 9 with MCPBA at 0 °C resulted in a 65 35 mixture of syn/anti diastereomers. The Sharpless epoxidation of primary and secondary allylic alcohols discovered in 1980 is a powerful reagent-controlled reaction.12 The use of titanium(IV) tetraisopropoxide as catalyst, tert-butylhydro-peroxide as oxidant, and an enantiopure dialkyl tartrate as chiral auxiliary accomplishes the epoxidation of allylic alcohols with excellent stereoselectivity. If the reaction is kept absolutely dry, catalytic amounts of the dialkyl tartrate(titanium)(IV) complex are sufficient. 

In order to prevent competing homoallylic asymmetric epoxidation (AE, which, it will be recalled, preferentially delivers the opposite enantiomer to that of the allylic alcohol AE), the primary alcohol in 12 was selectively blocked as a thexyldimethylsilyl ether. Conventional Sharpless AE7 with the oxidant derived from (—)-diethyl tartrate, titanium tetraisopropoxide, and f-butyl hydroperoxide next furnished the anticipated a, [3-epoxy alcohol 13 with excellent stereocontrol (for a more detailed discussion of the Sharpless AE see section 8.4). Selective O-desilylation was then effected with HF-triethylamine complex. The resulting diol was protected as a base-stable O-isopropylidene acetal using 2-methoxypropene and a catalytic quantity of p-toluenesulfonic acid in dimethylformamide (DMF). Note how this blocking protocol was fully compatible with the acid-labile epoxide. 

Let us turn now to the other coupling partner, aldehyde 58 it was synthesised by the pathway shown in Scheme 17.18. The first step was a Sharpless catalytic asymmetric epoxidation on ( )-crotyl alcohol with the oxidant derived from (—)-diethyl tartrate. An in situ derivatisation with r-butyldiphenylsilylchloride was then performed. The desired epoxide 59 was readily isolated in 76% overall yield after chromatography. Treatment of 59 with 2-lithio-l,3-dithiane in THF and 1,3-dimethyl-3,4,5,6-tetrahydro-2(l/7)-pyrimidinone (DMPU also known as N,N-... 

Three synthetic approaches were used to provide armodafinil during the process development by Cephalon/Novasep.34 Since the racemic modafinil is commercially available, the resolution via preferential crystallization of modafinic acid 6 was employed for phase I clinical trials and was subsequently replaced by large-scale chiral chromatography. Meanwhile, an economical enantioselective synthetic route was developed by using asymmetric oxidation catalyzed by a titanium (IV) isopropoxide and diethyl tartrate with cumene hydroperoxide (the Sharpless/Kagan system).363... 

Hie first of Sharpless s reactions is an oxidation of alkenes by asymmetric epoxidation. You met vanadium as a transition-metal catalyst for epoxidation with r-butyl hydroperoxide in Chapter 33, and this new reaction makes use of titanium, as titanium tetraisopropoxide, Ti(OiPr)4, to do the same thing. Sharpless surmised that, by adding a chiral ligand to the titanium catalyst, he might be able to make the reaction asymmetric. The ligand that works best is diethyl tartrate, and the reaction shown below is just one of many that demonstrate that this is a remarkably good reaction. 

Oxidation in the presence of chiral titanium tartrate (modified Sharpless method). Inspired by the Sharpless asymmetric epoxidation48 of allylic alcohols with hydroperoxides in the presence of chiral titanium complex [diethyl tartrate (DET) and Ti(0-i-Pr)4], Kagan and co-workers46 and Modena and co-workers47 developed almost at the same time two variations of this reaction leading to o.p. sulfoxides with high enantiomeric purity. 

Starting from (+)-diethyl tartrate (2), bromobutenolide 18 was obtained in nine steps. Three of the four C=C double bonds were built up using a Wittig reaction (11—>12), an Ando- y Q Horner-Wadsworth-Emmons reaction (13— 15) and (3-elimination (16 18). From (-)-actinol (3) stannane 23 and sulfone 24 were synthesized in 9 and 13 steps, respectively. Their common intermediate, alkyne 22, was synthesized using methoxycarbonylation. Sharpless asymmetric epoxidation and Ci-elongation with lithio trimethylsilyldiazomethane. Stannane 23 was obtained upon hydrostannylation and TBS deprotection. Sulfone 24 was obtained after addition to methyl tetrolate, reduction, Mukaiyama redox condensation, acetylation and catalytic oxidation. 

The oxidation of sulfides to sulfoxides can be made asymmetric by using one of the important reactions we introduced in the last chapter—the Sharpless asymmetric epoxidation. The French chemist Henri Kagan discovered in 1984 that, by treating a sulfide with the oxidant t-butyl hydroperoxide in the presence of Sharpless s chiral catalyst (Ti(0 Pr)3 plus one enantiomer of diethyl tartrate), the oxygen atom could be directed to one of the sulfide s two enantiotopic lone pairs to give a sulfoxide in quite reasonable enantiomeric excess (ee). 

Optically active sulfoxides can also be prepared by asymmetric oxidation of sulfides. However, numerous papers have reported very low enantioselectivity." Only one report, " using a modified Sharpless reagent, H20/Ti(0Pr )4/diethyl tartrate/BuKX)H, described asymmetric oxidation of alkyl aryl sulfoxides with good enantiomeric excesses 75 to 95%. 

A modified Sharpless reagent has been developed by Kagan [503, 814], Modena [502, 814] and their coworkers. This new catalyst is formed by mixing water, Ti(0/-Pr)4, and diethyltartrate in a ratio of 1/1/2. The modified catalyst promotes enantioselecfrve oxidation of arylalkylsulfides by fert-BuOOH, and chiral sulfoxides are produced with excellent enantiomeric excesses (> 90%). Lower selectivities are observed from dialkylsulfides. From (R,R) or (5 S)-diethyl tartrate, either sulfoxide enantiomer can be obtained. The use of cumene hydroperoxide as the oxidant may improve the enantioselectivity. Uemura and coworkers obtained similar results by replacing the tartrates in these complexes with binaph-thols [815],... 

Kagan and Pitchen ° and Modena and coworkers independently reported the oxidation of sulfides to sulfoxides using modified Sharpless epoxidation catalyst (titanium/diethyl tartrate). By 1987, Kagan had already reported a catalytic variation of the reaction and an improved catalytic system allows for the use of lower (10 mol%) loading of catalyst. For example, sulfide (5.143) undergoes sulfoxidation with good enantioselectivity. An alternative catalyst based on Ti(0 Pr)4 and BINOL is also effective for sulfoxidation, providing up to 96% ee. ... 

Allylic alcohols are converted to epoxides by oxidation with tert-hutyl hydroperoxide in the presence of certain transition metals. The most significant aspect of this reaction— called the Sharpless epoxidation— is its high enantioselectivity when carried out using a combination of tert-hutyl hydroperoxide, titanium(IV) isopropoxide, and diethyl tartrate. 

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