Sodium borohydride reaction with epoxides

In analogy with the peracid attack on steroidal double bonds, the formation of the bromonium ion, e.g., (81a), occurs from the less hindered side (usually the a-side of the steroid nucleus) to give in the case of the olefin (81) the 9a-bromo-l l -ol (82). Base treatment of (82) provides the 9 5,1 l S-oxide (83). Similarly, reaction of 17/3-hydroxyestr-5(10)-en-3-one (9) with A -bromosuccinimide-perchloric acid followed by treatment with sodium hydroxide and sodium borohydride furnishes the 3, 17 5-dihydroxy-5a,l0a-oxirane. As mentioned previously, epoxidation of (9) with MPA gives the 5, 10 -oxirane. °... 

The azidohydrins obtained by azide ion opening of epoxides, except for those possessing a tertiary hydroxy group, can be readily converted to azido mesylates on treatment with pyridine/methanesulfonyl chloride. Reduction and subsequent aziridine formation results upon reaction with hydrazine/ Raney nickel, lithium aluminum hydride, or sodium borohydride/cobalt(II)... 

Alkylation of enamines with epoxides or acetoxybromoalkanes provided intermediates for cyclic enol ethers (668) and branched chain sugars were obtained by enamine alkylation (669). Sodium enolates of vinylogous amides underwent carbon and nitrogen methylation (570), while vicinal endiamines formed bis-quaternary amonium salts (647). Reactions of enamines with a cyclopropenyl cation gave alkylated imonium products (57/), and 2-benzylidene-3-methylbenzothiazoline was shown to undergo enamine alkylation and acylation (572). A cyclic enamine was alkylated with methylbromoacetate and the product reduced with sodium borohydride to the key intermediate in a synthesis of the quebrachamine skeleton (57i). 

The importance of reactions with complex, metal hydrides in carbohydrate chemistry is well documented by a vast number of publications that deal mainly with reduction of carbonyl groups, N- and O-acyl functions, lactones, azides, and epoxides, as well as with reactions of sulfonic esters. With rare exceptions, lithium aluminum hydride and lithium, sodium, or potassium borohydride are the... 

The third method makes use of the one-flask procedure, which is advantageous from the preparative point of view. However, opening of certain stereoisomeric epoxides (263) with selenophenol suffers from low regioselectivity, resulting in a low yield of the final product. The other disadvantage is the basic reaction-medium occasioned by the method used for the generation of selenophenol, namely reduction of diphenyl diselenide with sodium borohydride in solution in anhydrous alcohol (see Ref. 356) some epoxides are sensitive to basic media. However, David (see Ref. 356) did not observe side reactions in his syntheses of 256. 

The use of numerous polymer-supported optically active phase transfer catalysts was further extended by Kelly and Sherrington11351 in a range of phase transfer reactions including a variety of displacement reactions, such as sodium borohydride reductions of prochiral ketones, epoxidation of chalcone, addition of nitromethane to chalcone and the addition of thiophenol to cyclohexanone. Except in the chalcone epoxidation, all the examined resin catalysts proved to be very effective. However, with none of the chiral catalyst system examined was any significant ee achieved. The absence of chiral induction is a matter of debate, in particular over the possible reversibility of a step and the minimal interaction within an ion pair capable of acting as chiral entities in the transition state and/or the possible degradation of catalysts and leaching. 

Mitsunobu reaction as well as by mesylation and subsequent base treatment failed, the secondary alcohol was inverted by oxidation with pyridinium dichromate and successive reduction with sodium borohydride. The inverted alcohol 454 was protected as an acetate and the acetonide was removed by acid treatment to enable conformational flexibility. Persilylation of triol 455 was succeeded by acetate cleavage with guanidine. Alcohol 456 was deprotonated to assist lactonization. Mild and short treatment with aqueous hydrogen fluoride allowed selective cleavage of the secondary silyl ether. Dehydration of the alcohol 457 was achieved by Tshugaejf vesLCtion. The final steps toward corianin (21) were deprotection of the tertiary alcohols of 458 and epoxidation with peracid. This alternative corianin synthesis needed 34 steps in 0.13% overall yield. 

Treatment of 2,3 Cpoxy-l-amines with Lewis acid induces a rearrangement to aziridinium ions that react efficiently with a nucleophiles to give functionalized hydroxy sulfides or hydroxy amines (Equation 23) <1997SL11>. Under the influence of ethylaluminium chloride, an epoxide tethered to an azide undergoes Lewis acid-assisted cyclization followed by an intramolecular Schmidt reaction and subsequent in situ reduction of the intermediate iminium species upon addition of sodium borohydride (Scheme 8). This protocol was used as a key step in a novel synthesis of indolizidine alkaloids of pharmaceutical interest <20030L583, 2004JOC3093>. 

In the reaction between peroxymercurials and sodium borohydride, epoxide formation and deoxymercuration compete with hydrogenodemercuration (Scheme 30). Except for the synthesis of t-butyl... 

Sodium borohydride (NaBH4), a relatively mild reducing agent, reduces epoxides only sluggishly except for nitro epoxides. In the mixed solvent f-butyl alcohol and methanol, sodium borohydride can reduce aryl-substituted epoxides, terminal epoxides and cyclohexene oxide, to the corresponding alco-hols. The regiochemistry of this reaction is nearly the same as that with LAH. For example the reduc-... 

Because of the low reactivity of sodium borohydride, functional groups such as carbamonyl, carbonyl, nitro and cyano groups, which are generally reduced with LAH, can tolerate the reaction conditions. For example, it has been used for the selective reduction of an epoxy group in an u>-cyano epoxide (equation 15).2 ... 

Reduction of epoxides. The reaction of diborane alone with epoxides is complicated. Thus 1,2-butylene oxide requires 48 hrs. and gives a mixture of butanols (96% 2-butanol and 4% 1-butanol) in only 48% yield. The reaction with trisub-stituted epoxides is even more complicated and only trace amounts of simple alcohols are formed. Brown and Yoon1 found that the presence of trace amounts of sodium or lithium borohydride greatly enhances the rate of reaction and modifies the course to give predominantly anti-Markownikov opening of the epoxide ring. Thus 1-methylcyclohexene oxide is reduced mainly to m-2-methylcydohexanol ... 

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