Stereochemistry activation

Yajima A, Brussel ANV, Schripsema J, Nukada T, Yabuta G. Synthesis and stereochemistry-activity relationship of small bacteriocin, an autoinducer of the symbiotic nitrogen-fixing bacterium Rhizobium leguminosarum. Org. Lett. 2008 10(10) 2047-2050. 

Comments The diene A is symmetrical so it doesn t matter which double bond is attacked by the carbene. On the other hand, it may be difficult to stop carbene addition to the second double bond. The only control over the stereochemistry will be that the trans compound we want is more stable. Japanese chemists have recently synthesised optically active trans chrysanthemic acid by this route (Tetrahedron Letters. 1977, 2599). 

Strategy Problem 7 Synthesis of a single enantiomer. Many compounds such as pharmaceuticals, flavourings, and insect control chemicals must not only have the right relative stereochemistry but must be optically active too if tliey are to be of any use. Consider the strategy of synthesising one enantiomer ... 

An advantage that sulfonate esters have over alkyl halides is that their prepara tion from alcohols does not involve any of the bonds to carbon The alcohol oxygen becomes the oxygen that connects the alkyl group to the sulfonyl group Thus the configuration of a sulfonate ester is exactly the same as that of the alcohol from which It was prepared If we wish to study the stereochemistry of nucleophilic substitution m an optically active substrate for example we know that a tosylate ester will have the same configuration and the same optical purity as the alcohol from which it was prepared... 

The probabilities of the various dyad, triad, and other sequences that we have examined have all been described by a single probability parameter p. When we used the same kind of statistics for copolymers, we called the situation one of terminal control. We are considering similar statistics here, but the idea that the stereochemistry is controlled by the terminal unit is inappropriate. The active center of the chain end governs the chemistry of the addition, but not the stereochemistry. Neither the terminal unit nor any other repeat unit considered alone has any stereochemistry. Equations (7.62) and (7.63) merely state that an addition must be of one kind or another, but that the rates are not necessarily identical. 

The high degree of stereoselectivity observed with enzyme reactions provides further evidence as to the importance of dmg stereochemistry for pharmaceutical activity. 

Cromakalim (137) is a potassium channel activator commonly used as an antihypertensive agent (107). The rationale for the design of cromakalim is based on P-blockers such as propranolol (115) and atenolol (123). Conformational restriction of the propanolamine side chain as observed in the cromakalim chroman nucleus provides compounds with desired antihypertensive activity free of the side effects commonly associated with P-blockers. Enantiomerically pure cromakalim is produced by resolution of the diastereomeric (T)-a-meth5lben2ylcarbamate derivatives. X-ray crystallographic analysis of this diastereomer provides the absolute stereochemistry of cromakalim. Biological activity resides primarily in the (—)-(33, 4R)-enantiomer [94535-50-9] (137) (108). In spontaneously hypertensive rats, the (—)-(33, 4R)-enantiomer, at dosages of 0.3 mg/kg, lowers the systoHc pressure 47%, whereas the (+)-(3R,43)-enantiomer only decreases the systoHc pressure by 14% at a dose of 3.0 mg/kg. 

Antineoplastic Drugs. Cyclophosphamide (193) produces antineoplastic effects (see Chemotherapeutics, anticancer) via biochemical conversion to a highly reactive phosphoramide mustard (194) it is chiral owing to the tetrahedral phosphoms atom. The therapeutic index of the (3)-(-)-cyclophosphamide [50-18-0] (193) is twice that of the (+)-enantiomer due to increased antitumor activity the enantiomers are equally toxic (139). The effectiveness of the DNA intercalator dmgs adriamycin [57-22-7] (195) and daunomycin [20830-81-3] (196) is affected by changes in stereochemistry within the aglycon portions of these compounds. Inversion of the carbohydrate C-1 stereocenter provides compounds without activity. The carbohydrate C-4 epimer of adriamycin, epimbicin [56420-45-2] is as potent as its parent molecule, but is significandy less toxic (139). 

An asymmetric synthesis of estrone begins with an asymmetric Michael addition of lithium enolate (178) to the scalemic sulfoxide (179). Direct treatment of the cmde Michael adduct with y /i7-chloroperbenzoic acid to oxidize the sulfoxide to a sulfone, followed by reductive removal of the bromine affords (180, X = a and PH R = H) in over 90% yield. Similarly to the conversion of (175) to (176), base-catalyzed epimerization of (180) produces an 85% isolated yield of (181, X = /5H R = H). C8 and C14 of (181) have the same relative and absolute stereochemistry as that of the naturally occurring steroids. Methylation of (181) provides (182). A (CH2)2CuLi-induced reductive cleavage of sulfone (182) followed by stereoselective alkylation of the resultant enolate with an allyl bromide yields (183). Ozonolysis of (183) produces (184) (wherein the aldehydric oxygen is by isopropyUdene) in 68% yield. Compound (184) is the optically active form of Ziegler s intermediate (176), and is converted to (+)-estrone in 6.3% overall yield and >95% enantiomeric excess (200). 

The strategy of the catalyst development was to use a rhodium complex similar to those of the Wilkinson hydrogenation but containing bulky chiral ligands in an attempt to direct the stereochemistry of the catalytic reaction to favor the desired L isomer of the product (17). Active and stereoselective catalysts have been found and used in commercial practice, although there is now a more economical route to L-dopa than through hydrogenation of the prochiral precursor. 

The stereochemistry of pyrazolines and pyrazolidines has already been discussed (Section 4.04.1.4.3). Optically active A - and A -pyrazolines have seldom been described (77JA2740, 79CJC360), but cis-trans isomeric pairs are common. The C-4 acid-catalyzed epimerization involves the mechanism shown in Scheme 38 (70TL3099), but in spite of some inconclusive arguments the C-5 epimerization has never been established with certainty. 

While it may be convenient to use optically active reactants to probe the stereochemistry of substitution reactions, it should be emphasized that the stereochemistry of a reaction is a feature of the mechanism, not the means of determining it. Thus, it is proper to speak of a substitution process such as the hydrolysis of methyl iodide as proceeding... 

This particular reaction has quite a high activation energy, which suggests that a nonconcerted mechanism might be involved. An alternative explanation for the observed stereochemistry has been advanced. 

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