Stereochemistry Nazarov cyclization

The coverage is intended to be comprehensive in the presentation of structural variation in precursors. Within each category the issues of scope, limitations and, where appropriate, stereochemistry will be addressed with representative examples. The Nazarov cyclization was most recently reviewed in 1983. Prior to that the reaction had been reviewed in the context of pentannulation. The related electrocy-... 

It is now well established that the Nazarov cyclization is a pericyclic reaction belonging to the class of electrocyclizations. As with all pericyclic reactions, mectuuiism and stereochemistry are inexorably coupled and any discussion of one feature must invoke the other. In this section the stereospecific aspects of the Nazarov cyclization are discussed, the stereoselective aspects of the reaction are dealt with individually in each of the following sections. 

The stereoselective synthesis of (+)-trichodiene was accomplished by K.E. Harding and co-workers. The synthesis of this natural product posed a challenge, since it contains two adjacent quaternary stereocenters. For this reason, they chose a stereospecific electrocyclic reaction, the Nazarov cyclization, as the key ring-forming step to control the stereochemistry. The cyclization precursor was prepared by the Friedel-Crafts acylation of 1,4-dimethyl-1-cyclohexene with the appropriate acid chloride using SnCU as the catalyst. The Nazarov cyclization was not efficient under protic acid catalysis (e.g., TFA), but in the presence of excess boron trifluoride etherate high yield of the cyclized products was obtained. It is important to note that the mildness of the reaction conditions accounts for the fact that both of the products had an intact stereocenter at C2. Under harsher conditions, the formation of the C2-C3 enone was also observed. 

The Nazarov cyclization is a four-electron cyclization and occurs thermally by a conrotatory process. The stereochemical outcome across the new carbon-carbon bond is often obscured by the loss of a proton at one of these centres during the cyclopentenone formation. If, however, the proton loss occurs exo to the five-membered ring or if the aUyl cation is quenched by a nucleophile, then the stereochemistry can be observed. For example, trapping the allyl cation by reduction with... 

Since steric hindrance disfavours cyclization for substrates with internal P-substitution, double-bond isomerization is often a competing pathway. Indeed, West found that reductive Nazarov cyclizations (see Section 3.4.S.2) of either trans- or cw-disubstituted enones 49a or 49b, both produced a single diastereomeric product 50a. The stereochemistry of 50a corresponds to a conrotatory cyclization of trans-isomer 49a, thereby indicating that while the trans-isomer 49a cyclizes, the cw-isomer 49b first isomerizes before cyclization. Recent studies by Frontier and co-workers on polarized Nazarov cyclizations also found that in the case of alkylidene p ketoester substrates (for example, see 46), reaction rates depended on the competing rate of isomerization, which depended on the nature of the P-... 

As with many asymmetric processes, there are three ways to control absolute stereochemistry in the Nazarov cyclization Asymmetry transfer, the use of chiral auxiliaries, or asymmetric catalysis. It is important to realize, however, that there are two distinct processes operating that determine the stereochemistry of the product. To control the absolute stereochemistry of the p-carbon atom(s), it is necessary to control the sense of conrotation, clockwise or counterclockwise (torquoselectivity, see Section 3.4.3). To control the absolute stereochemistry of the a-carbon atom however, it is necessary to control the facial selectivity for enol protonation. 

Perhaps the most elegant and attractive method to control absolute stereochemistry, however, is the use of asymmetric catalysis, and several examples of this approach have been applied to the Nazarov cyclization. Traimer and co-workers were the first to report a single example of a successfiil asymmetric Nazarov cyclization catalyzed by chiral scandium complex in 2003. In the exact same issue of the journal however, Aggarwal and co-workers reported a more in-depth study using copper pyBOX complexes. ... 

A stereochemical study of the synthesis of unsaturated 1,4-aminoalcohols via the reaction of unsaturated 1,4-alkoxyalcohols with chorosulfonyl isocyanate revealed a competition between an retentive mechanism and an SnI racemization mechanism, with the latter having a greater proportion with systems where the carbocation intermediate is more stable.254 An interrupted Nazarov reaction was observed, in which a nonconjugated alkene held near the dienone nucleus undergoes intramolecular trapping of the Nazarov cyclopentenyl cation intermediate.255 Cholesterol couples to 6-chloropurine under the conditions of the Mitsunobu reaction the stereochemistry and structural diversity of the products indicate that a homoallylic carbocation derived from cholesterol is the key intermediate.256 l-Siloxy-l,5-diynes undergo a Brpnsted acid-promoted 5-endo-dig cyclization with a ketenium ion and a vinyl cation proposed as intermediates.257... 

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