Stereoselective Reformatsky reactions

Stereoselective Reformatsky reaction. The Reformatsky reaction of the chiral 2-azetidinone 1 with 3-(2-bromopropionyl)-2-oxazolidone (2a) gives essentially a 1 1 mixture of the diastereomers 3a(3 and 3aa. However, introduction of two methyl groups at C4 in 2 markedly improves the (i-diastereoselectivity, as does an increase in the temperature from 0 to 67° (reflux, THF). The highest diastereoselectivity (95 5) is observed with the derivative of 4,4-dibutyl-5,5-pentamethylene-2-oxa-zolidone. The 3p-diastereomer is a useful intermediate to lp-methylcarbapenems.1... 

Scheme 14.6 Selected examples of stereoselective Reformatsky reactions.

Guided by the success of the Evans and related auxiliaries, several attempts were made to use enantiomerically pure a-bromoacyl oxazolidinones for stereoselective Reformatsky reactions. Fukuzawa and coworkers developed the reaction of various bromoacetyl oxazolidinones 323 as an alternative to an asymmetric acetate aldol addition. The conversion was mediated by samarium iodide and yielded P-hydroxy carbonyl compounds 325 with high diastereoselectivity in optimal combinations of auxiliary group and aldehyde. Among the different auxiliaries, the geminal dimethyl- and diphenyl-substituted ones performed better than the original Evans oxazolidinones. The stereochemical outcome was rationalized by assuming that an O-bound samarium(III) enolate reacts via a chair-like... 

The complexation of achiral metal enolates by chiral additives, e.g., solvents or complexing agents could, in principle, lead to reagent-induced stereoselectivity. In an early investigation, the Reformatsky reaction of ethyl bromoacetate was performed in the presence of the bidentate ligand (—)-sparteine20. The enantioselectivity of this reaction varies over a wide range and depends on the carbonyl Compound, as shown with bcnzaldehyde and acetophenone. 

Gemcitabine (Gemzar ) is prepared from the 2,2-difluoro-2-deoxyribose, itself available by the addition of the Reformatsky reagent of ethyl bromodifluoroace-tate on the (R)-2,3-0-isopropylidene glyceraldehyde. The condensation of the corresponding mesylate with di(trimethylsilyloxy)pyrimidine provides gemcitabine [93]. The control of the stereoselectivity of the Reformatsky reaction is difficult (Fig. 30) [95]. Other approaches involving the fluorination of D-pyranoses have been proposed (Fig. 31) [96]. 

A Rh-catalyzed Reformatsky reaction of chiral imine (24) led to the stereoselective preparation of the a,a-difluoro-jS-amino acid (25). 25 was converted to difluor-oalkene (26), and subsequently L-Val-i/r[(Z)CF=CH]Gly derivative (23) in greater than 82% for both steps. The samarium diiodide-mediated reductive transformation of the y,y-difluoro-a, S-enoates proceeded via successive two-electron transfers to form a dienolate species which upon kinetically controlled trapping with fert-BuOH formed 23 (Scheme 6). 

Particularly challenging is the use of chiral ligands in order to impose enan-tiocontrol on a Reformatsky reaction. Although preparatively useful levels of asymmetric induction have been described in the recent literature by using enantiomerically pure amino alcohol ligands43 this reaction has not yet reached a similar level of perfection as the enantioselective addition of other organozinc reagents to aldehydes in the presence of the same type of additives. Some selected examples of stereoselective Reformatsky type reactions which delineate the present state of the art are summarized in Scheme 14.6. 

More recently, Concellon has reported a stereoselective method for the formation of ( )-a,p-unsaturated esters that exploits a Sml2 Reformatsky reaction followed by an elimination.141 For example, ethyl dibromoacetate reacts with benzaldehyde in the presence of Sml2 to form samarium alkoxide 126, which is reduced further to give a second Sm(III) enolate 127. Elimination then affords ( )-a,p-unsaturated ester 128 in good yield (Scheme 5.90).141... 

Similar condensations can be accomplished with other types of stabilized carbanions, e.g. sulfonyl anions, as illustrated by equation (81). The resulting sulfonyl lactone (228) eliminates sulfinic acid on treatment with p-TsOH to furnish the a,3-unsaturated system (229).Spirolactonization is the result of the Reformatsky reaction of ester (231) with cyclic ketones. In equation (82), this reaction is applied to the synthesis of the lysergic acid precursor (232), which is formed stereoselectively from (230). ... 

Zhao and co-workers 48) reported the first synthesis of homoharringtonine (3) in 1980 (Scheme 20). Unsaturated keto acid 151, prepared either from 5,5-dimethyl-5-valeroIactone 150, or by chain extension from the commercially available bromide 149, was esterified with cephalotaxine to give the cephalotaxyl derivative 152, which reacted with methyl bromoacetate under Reformatsky conditions to yield a mixture of epimers of dehydro-homoharringtonine 153. This mixture was converted to homoharringtonine and its epimer by means of oxymercuration, as well as by acid catalysis. As in the aforementioned syntheses of harringtonine, the Reformatsky reaction proceeded with no stereoselectivity, and diastereomeric mixtures resulted from all of these approaches. 

Several workers have observed aldol reactions with enolates prepared by reductive removal of an o-heteroatom from a carbonyl compound. The classic example is the Reformatsky reaction, which is reviewed in Volume 2, Chapter 1.8. Dubois and coworkers have employed this method for the preparation of magnesium enolates. An important example from this study, which stimulated much of the subsequent work on aldol stereoselectivity, is shown in equation (21). 

Because of conflicting reports or inadequate controls, the question of kinetic or thermodynamic control of stereochemistry for reported Reformatsky reactions often has no satisfactory answer. Jacques and co-workers have concluded that Reformatsky reactions of benzaldehyde in refluxing benzene can be completed with kinetic stereoselection. The relatively high syn.anti ratios they observed, at least with small R groups (equation 36 and Table 4), are not those expected for equilibrated zinc chelates. 

The optimum approach to kinetic stereoselection in the Reformatsky reaction would appear to be the use of two-stage procedures, which allows the zinc aldolates to be formed at the lowest possible temperature. Gaudemar-Bardone and Gaudemar prepared a variety of zinc ester enolates in dimethoxymethane at 40 C which were then reacted at lower temperatures with benzaldehyde or with acetophenone (equation 38). Selected data from their study are shown in Table 5. If these data are the result of total kinetic control, as concluded by the authors, it is clear that the reactions exhibit only a modest kinetic stereoselectivity. 

Synthesis of a marine sterol, depresosterol (25), illustrates the utility of the homoenolate as a multifunctional, three-carbon building block. Homo-Reformatsky reaction between an alkoxytitanium homoenolate (11 Section 1.14.5.1) and an aldehyde (19) afforded the undesired Cram product (20) in a ratio of >6 1 (Scheme 29). Inversion of the stereochemistry at the sterically hindered C-22 position was achieved through internal solvolysis by taking advantage of the terminal ester function. Stereoselective hydroxymethylation of the lactone (22) followed by introduction of the C-26 and C-27 methyl groups to (23) afforded depresosterol (25). 

Thomas and cowoikers73 examined the reaction of 2-phenylcyclohexanone with a number of nucleophiles. The highest stereoselectivity was observed with a Reformatsky reaction of ethyl a-bromopropionate (equation 35). The exclusive product (25) corresponds to that expected from the most stable zinc aldolate (26) with the a-methyl away from the phenyl group. 

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