Sodium enones

Triethylammonium formate is another reducing agent for q, /3-unsaturated carbonyl compounds. Pd on carbon is better catalyst than Pd-phosphine complex, and citral (49) is reduced to citronellal (50) smoothly[55]. However, the trisubstituted butenolide 60 is reduced to the saturated lactone with potassium formate using Pd(OAc)2. Triethylammonium formate is not effective. Enones are also reduced with potassium formate[56]. Sodium hypophosphite (61) is used for the reduction of double bonds catalyzed by Pd on charcoal[57]. 

If the equilibrium were established rapidly, reduction of the free ketone as it formed would result in a substantial loss of product. Lithium enolates are more covalent in character than are those of sodium and potassium and consequently are the least basic of the group. This lower thermodynamic basicity appears to be paralleled by a lower kinetic basicity several workers have shown that lithium enolates are weaker bases in the kinetic sense than are those of sodium and potassium." As noted earlier, conjugated enones... 

Conjugate addition of methyl magnesium iodide in the presence of cuprous chloride to the enone (91) leads to the la-methyl product mesterolone (92) Although this is the thermodynamically unfavored axially disposed product, no possibility for isomerization exists in this case, since the ketone is once removed from this center. In an interesting synthesis of an oxa steroid, the enone (91) is first oxidized with lead tetraacetate the carbon at the 2 position is lost, affording the acid aldehyde. Reduction of this intermediate, also shown in the lactol form, with sodium borohydride affords the steroid lactone oxandrolone... 

The hydrogeh atom bound to the amide nitrogen in 15 is rather acidic and it can be easily removed as a proton in the presence of some competent base. Naturally, such an event would afford a delocalized anion, a nucleophilic species, which could attack the proximal epoxide at position 16 in an intramolecular fashion to give the desired azabicyclo[3.2.1]octanol framework. In the event, when a solution of 15 in benzene is treated with sodium hydride at 100 °C, the processes just outlined do in fact take place and intermediate 14 is obtained after hydrolytic cleavage of the trifluoroacetyl group with potassium hydroxide. The formation of azabi-cyclo[3.2.1]octanol 14 in an overall yield of 43% from enone 16 underscores the efficiency of Overman s route to this heavily functionalized bicycle. 

All that remains before the final destination is reached is the introduction of the C-l3 oxygen and attachment of the side chain. A simple oxidation of compound 4 with pyridinium chlorochro-mate (PCC) provides the desired A-ring enone in 75 % yield via a regioselective allylic oxidation. Sodium borohydride reduction of the latter compound then leads to the desired 13a-hydroxy compound 2 (83% yield). Sequential treatment of 2 with sodium bis(trimethylsilyl)amide and /(-lactam 3 according to the Ojima-Holton method36 provides taxol bis(triethylsilyl ether) (86 % yield, based on 89% conversion) from which taxol (1) can be liberated, in 80 % yield, by exposure to HF pyridine in THF at room temperature. Thus the total synthesis of (-)-taxol (1) was accomplished. 

The diastereoselective intramolecular Michael addition of /(-substituted cyclohexcnoncs results in an attractive route to ra-octahydro-6//-indcn-6-ones. The stereogenic center in the -/-position of the enone dictates the face selectivity, whereas the trans selectivity at Cl, C7a is the result of an 6-exo-trig cyclization. c7.v-Octahydro-5//-inden-5-ones are formed as the sole product regardless of which base is used, e.g., potassium carbonate in ethanol or sodium hydride in THF, under thermodynamically controlled conditions139 14°. An application is found in the synthesis of gibberellic acid141. 

Under thermodynamically controlled conditions, using triethylamine as base for the addition of enones to 5 and sodium methoxide in methanol as base for the addition of a,/ -unsaturated esters, the diastereomeric ratios of 6 range from 95 5 to 97 3. The excellent diasteroselectivities are retained in the Michael addition of 5 to -substituted enones and esters, however, modest synjami selectivities are found212,213. 

Optically active y-alkoxycyclopentenones have become popular in the diastereoselective synthesis of hms-3,4-disubstituted cyclopentanones. The Michael addition to these cyclic enones catalyzed by sodium ethoxide in ethanol277 or by potassium tm-butoxide278 279 proceeds under kinetic control trans with respect to the y-substituent. 

A portion of the product was heated to reflux with methanolic sodium methoxide to convert it into the thermodynamic mixture of trans- (ca. 65%) and cis- (ca. 35%) isomers. Small amounts of the isomers were collected by preparative gas chromatography using an 8 mm. by 1.7 m. column containing 15% Carbowax 20M on Chromosorb W, and each isomer exhibited the expected spectral and analytical properties. The same thermodynamic mixture of isomers was prepared independently by lithium-ammonia reduction5 of 2-allyl-3-methyl-cyclohex-2-enone [2-Cyclohexen-l-one, 3-methyl-2-(2-propcnyl)-],6 followed by equilibration with methanolic sodium methoxide. 

Dimethylphenylsilyl lithium (1 mmol, above THF solution) was added to copper(i) iodide (0.5 mmol) at — 23 °C, and the mixture was stirred at this temperature for 4h. The enone (0.75-0.5mmol) was then added, and stirring was continued at —23 °C for 0.5 h. The mixture was then poured on to ice(25 g)/HCl(5 ml), and extracted with chloroform (3 x 25 ml). The combined extracts were filtered, washed with HCI (25ml, 3m), water (25 ml), saturated sodium hydrogen carbonate solution (25 ml) and water (25 ml), and dried. Concentration and purification by preparative t.l.c. (eluting solvent 3 7 ether petrol) gave the /J-silylketone (40-99%). 

Chemo- and stereoselective reduction of (56) to (55) is achieved In highest yield by sodium borohydride in ethanol. The isolated ketone is reduced more rapidly than the enone and (55) is the equatorial alcohol. Protection moves the double bond out of conjugation and even the distant OH group in (54) successfully controls the stereochemistry of the Simmons-Smith reaction. No cyclopropanation occurred unless the OH group was there. Synthesis ... 

The reaction of the aldehyde 174, prepared from D-glucose diethyl dithio-acetal by way of compounds 172 and 173, with lithium dimethyl methyl-phosphonate gave the adduct 175. Conversion of 175 into compound 176, followed by oxidation with dimethyl sulfoxide-oxalyl chloride, provided diketone 177. Cyclization of 177 with ethyldiisopropylamine gave the enone 178, which furnished compounds 179 and 180 on sodium borohydride reduction. 0-Desilylation, catalytic hydrogenation, 0-debenzyIation, and acetylation converted 179 into the pentaacetate 93 and 5a-carba-a-L-ido-pyranose pentaacetate (181). 

In a general method for the selective reduction of ketones in presence of conjugated enones, this is effected by the tetrahydroborate in 1 1 methanol-dichloromethane at 75°C. In favourable cases the reaction is carried out at 20°C in dichloromethane containing a little acetic acid. It should be noted that addition of acetic acid to sodium tetrahydroborate in methanol-dichloromethane leads to vigorous evolution of much hydrogen. 

Due to the importance of this heterocycle in medicinal chemistry, solid-phase synthesis of derivatives based on this condensation reaction have been investigated. The first report in this area uses a sodium benzenesulfinate resin 247 and gives access in five steps and good overall yields to a library of imidazo[l,2- ]pyridines 248 functionalized at C-2 with an enone moiety <2002OL3935>. Later on, the preparation of libraries of compounds related to 250 or 251 from Rink amide resin 249 have been published (Scheme 68) <2003TL6265>. 

Reduction of conjugated carbonyl compounds using stoichiometric amounts of the ammonium salt shows little advantage over the sodium salt in acidic methanol [11] with both reagents producing allylic alcohols (58-88% for acyclic compounds and 15-64% for cyclic compounds) by selective 1,2-reduction of the conjugated systems. Aldehydes, ketones and conjugated enones are also reduced by tetra-n-butylammonium cyanoborohydride in HMPA [11, 12], whereas haloalkanes and alkanesulphonic esters are cleaved reductively under similar conditions [13]. 

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