Side-effects 3,3 -Sigmatropic rearrangement

The [2,3]- or [3,3]-sigmatropic rearrangements (Scheme 24) provide a means to introduce either the protected amine or the carbon atom which will become the carboxylic acid, while also positioning the double bond in the correct position for the alkene isosteres. Moreover, when starting from homochiral allyl alcohols, a very effective chirality transfer assures the stereospecific construction of the R1 and R2 side-chain stereochemistries. 

The [2,3]-Stevens rearrangement is a thermal sigmatropic rearrangement of an ammonium ylide (38) to form unnatural amino acid derivatives 39 (Scheme 12). Traditionally, the ammonium ylides have been formed through alkylation of aminoesters 36 with aUcyl halides 37 to form quaternary salts followed by treatment with base. Although effective, the harsh conditions lead to side products and limited substrate scope. More recently, the coupling of diazoesters 40 and allylic amines 41 in the presence of metals like copper, rhodium, and palladium has been developed for the direct constmction of ammonium ylides 38 via metal carbenoid intermediates. " Although this approach represented an advance over the traditional alkylation chemistry, the use of diazoesters still limits the synthetic utility of these reactions. 

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