Stereoisomers center

The cyclization to form very congested quaternary carbon centers involving the intramolecular insertion of di-, tri-, and tetrasubstituted alkenes is particularly useful for natural products synthesis[l36-138], In the total synthesis of gelsemine, the cyclization of 166 has been carried out, in which very severe steric hindrance is e.xpected. Interestingly, one stereoisomer 167... 

When a molecule contains two chirality centers as does 2 3 dihydroxybutanoic acid how many stereoisomers are possible ... 

Only three not four stereoisomeric 2 3 butanediols are possible These three are shown m Eigure 7 10 The (2R 3R) and (2S 3S) forms are enantiomers of each other and have equal and opposite optical rotations A third combination of chirality centers (2R 3S) however gives an achiral structure that is superimposable on its (2S 3R) minor image Because it is achiral this third stereoisomer is optically inactive We call achiral mole cules that have chnahty centers meso forms The meso form m Eigure 7 10 is known as meso 2 3 butanediol... 

Fischer projection formulas can help us identify meso forms Of the three stereoisomeric 2 3 butanediols notice that only in the meso stereoisomer does a dashed line through the center of the Fischer projection divide the molecule into two mirror image halves... 

Many naturally occurring compounds contain several chirality centers By an analysis similar to that described for the case of two chirality centers it can be shown that the maximum number of stereoisomers for a particular constitution is 2" where n is equal to the number of chirality centers... 

When two or more of a molecule s chirality centers are equivalently substituted meso forms are possible and the number of stereoisomers is then less than 2" Thus 2" represents the maximum number of stereoisomers for a molecule containing n chirality centers... 

Steroids are another class of natural products with multiple chirality centers One such compound is cholic acid which can be obtained from bile Its structural formula IS given m Figure 7 12 Cholic acid has 11 chirality centers and so a total (including cholic acid) of 2" or 2048 stereoisomers have this constitution Of these 2048 stereoiso mers how many are diastereomers of cholic acid s Remember Diastereomers are stereoisomers that are not enantiomers and any object can have only one mirror image Therefore of the 2048 stereoisomers one is cholic acid one is its enantiomer and the other 2046 are diastereomers of cholic acid Only a small fraction of these compounds are known and (+) cholic acid is the only one ever isolated from natural sources... 

Eleven chirality centers may seem like a lot but it is nowhere close to a world record It is a modest number when compared with the more than 100 chirality centers typ ical for most small proteins and the thousands of chirality centers present m nucleic acids A molecule that contains both chirality centers and double bonds has additional opportunities for stereoisomerism For example the configuration of the chirality center m 3 penten 2 ol may be either R or S and the double bond may be either E or Z There fore 3 penten 2 ol has four stereoisomers even though it has only one chirality center... 

Section 7 10 When a molecule has two chirality centers and these two chirality cen ters are not equivalent four stereoisomers are possible... 

Section 7 12 For a particular constitution the maximum number of stereoisomers is 2" where n is the number of structural units capable of stereochemical variation—usually this is the number of chirality centers but can include E and Z double bonds as well The number of stereoisomers is reduced to less than 2" when there are meso forms... 

Wnte the organic products of each of the following reactions If two stereoisomers are formed show both Label all chirality centers / or 5 as appropriate... 

Relative to each other both hydroxyl groups are on the same side m Fischer pro jections of the erythrose enantiomers The remaining two stereoisomers have hydroxyl groups on opposite sides m their Fischer projections They are diastereomers of d and L erythrose and are called d and l threose The d and l prefixes again specify the con figuration of the highest numbered chirality center d Threose and l threose are enan tiomers of each other... 

Erythro (Section 7 11) Term applied to the relative configura tion of two chirality centers within a molecule The erythro stereoisomer has like substituents on the same side of a Fischer projection... 

Merrifield method See solid phase peptide synthesis Meso stereoisomer (Section 7 11) An achiral molecule that has chirality centers The most common kind of meso com pound IS a molecule with two chirality centers and a plane of symmetry... 

Multiple Chiral Centers. The number of stereoisomers increases rapidly with an increase in the number of chiral centers in a molecule. A molecule possessing two chiral atoms should have four optical isomers, that is, four structures consisting of two pairs of enantiomers. However, if a compound has two chiral centers but both centers have the same four substituents attached, the total number of isomers is three rather than four. One isomer of such a compound is not chiral because it is identical with its mirror image it has an internal mirror plane. This is an example of a diaster-eomer. The achiral structure is denoted as a meso compound. Diastereomers have different physical and chemical properties from the optically active enantiomers. Recognition of a plane of symmetry is usually the easiest way to detect a meso compound. The stereoisomers of tartaric acid are examples of compounds with multiple chiral centers (see Fig. 1.14), and one of its isomers is a meso compound. 

When additional substituents ate bonded to other ahcycHc carbons, geometric isomers result. Table 2 fists primary (1°), secondary (2°), and tertiary (3°) amine derivatives of cyclohexane and includes CAS Registry Numbers for cis and trans isomers of the 2-, 3-, and 4-methylcyclohexylamines in addition to identification of the isomer mixtures usually sold commercially. For the 1,2- and 1,3-isomers, the racemic mixture of optical isomers is specified ultimate identification by CAS Registry Number is fisted for the (+) and (—) enantiomers of /n t-2-methylcyclohexylamine. The 1,4-isomer has a plane of symmetry and hence no chiral centers and no stereoisomers. The methylcyclohexylamine geometric isomers have different physical properties and are interconvertible by dehydrogenation—hydrogenation through the imine. 

As a result of having two chiral centers, four stereoisomers of ascorbic acid are possible (Table 1) (Fig. 2). Besides L-ascorbic acid (Activity = 1), only D-araboascorbic acid (erythorbic acid (9)) shows vitamin C activity (Activity = 0.025-0.05). The L-ascorbic acid stmcture (1) in solution and the soHd state are almost identical. Ascorbic acid crystallizes in the space group P2 with four molecules in the unit cell. The crystal data are summarized in Table 2. 

Diastereomers include all stereoisomers that are not related as an object and its mirror image. Consider the four structures in Fig. 2.3. These structures represent fee four stereoisomers of 2,3,4-trihydroxybutanal. The configurations of C-2 and C-3 are indicated. Each stereogenic center is designated J or 5 by application of the sequence rule. Each of the four structures is stereoisomeric wife respect to any of fee others. The 2R R and 25,35 isomers are enantiomeric, as are fee 2R, iS and 25,3J pair. The 21 ,35 isomer is diastereomeric wife fee 25,35 and 2R,3R isomers because they are stereoisomers but not enantiomers. Any given structure can have only one enantiomer. All other stereoisomers of feat molecule are diastereomeric. The relative configuration of diastereomeric molecules is fiequently specified using fee terms syn and anti. The molecules are represented as extended chains. Diastereomers wife substituents on the same side of the extended chain are syn stereoisomers, whereas those wife substituents on opposite sides are anti stereoisomers. 

Since chirality is a property of a molecule as a whole, the specific juxtaposition of two or more stereogenic centers in a molecule may result in an achiral molecule. For example, there are three stereoisomers of tartaric acid (2,3-dihydroxybutanedioic acid). Two of these are chiral and optically active but the third is not. 

The reason that the third stereoisomer is achiral is that the substituents on the two asymmetric carbons are located with respect to each other in such a way that a molecular plane of symmetry exists. Compounds that incorporate asymmetric atoms but are nevertheless achiral are called meso forms. This situation occurs whenever pairs of stereogenic centers are disposed in the molecule in such a way as to create a plane of symmetry. A... 

Since the presence of a plane of symmetry in a molecule ensures that it will be achiral, one a q)ro h to classification of stereoisomers as chiral or achiral is to examine the molecule for symmetry elements. There are other elements of symmetry in addition to planes of symmetry that ensure that a molecule will be superimposable on its mirror image. The trans,cis,cis and tmns,trans,cis stereoisomers of l,3-dibromo-rranj-2,4-dimethylcyclobutaijte are illustrative. This molecule does not possess a plane of symmetry, but the mirror images are superimposable, as illustrated below. This molecule possesses a center of symmetry. A center of symmetry is a point from which any line drawn through the molecule encouniters an identical environment in either direction fiom the center of ixnimetry. 

Because the configuration at C-2 is lost on enolization, the enediol intermediate can revert either to D-glucose or to D-mannose. Two stereoisomers that have multiple chirality centers but differ in configuration at only one of them are refened to as... 

Before leaving this biosynthetic scheme, notice that PGE2 has four chirality centers. Even though aiachidonic acid is achiral, only the stereoisomer shown in the equation is fonned. Moreover, it is fonned as a single enantiomer. The stereochemistry is controlled by the interaction of the substrate with the enzymes that act on it. Enzymes offer a chiral envuonment in which biochemical transfonnations occur and enzyme-catalyzed reactions almost always lead to a single stereoisomer. Many more examples will be seen in this chapter. 

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