Stereoselectivity compounds

A classical reaction leading to 1,4-difunctional compounds is the nucleophilic substitution of the bromine of cf-bromo carbonyl compounds (a -synthons) with enolate type anions (d -synthons). Regio- and stereoselectivities, which can be achieved by an appropiate choice of the enol component, are similar to those described in the previous section. Just one example of a highly functionalized product (W.L. Meyer, 1963) is given. 

Synthetically useful stereoselective reductions have been possible with cyclic carbonyl compounds of rigid conformation. Reduction of substituted cyclohexanone and cyclopentan-one rings by hydrides of moderate activity, e.g. NaBH (J.-L. Luche, 1978), leads to alcohols via hydride addition to the less hindered side of the carbonyl group. Hydrides with bulky substituents 3IQ especially useful for such regio- and stereoselective reductions, e.g. lithium hydrotri-t-butoxyaluminate (C.H. Kuo, 1968) and lithium or potassium tri-sec-butylhydro-borates or hydrotri-sec-isoamylborates (=L-, K-, LS- and KS-Selectrides ) (H.C. Brown, 1972 B C.A. Brown, 1973 S. Krishnamurthy, 1976). 

There is something that is not quite clear to me. Prof. Luisi asked about the creation of stereoselectivity in a system where there is none to start with, whereas you have been talking about systems in which you did have a stereoselective compound as a starting material which you then use to select the chiral compound. Have I understood this correctly  

This reaction has very broad application in organic synthesis, especially for the preparation of stereoselective compounds under catalytic conditions. 

Note that the relative spatial arrangement of the phenyl, amine, and hydroxyl functionahties are identical for (R)-alprenolol and (5)-sotalol. In addition to P-blocking activities, some of these compounds also possess potent local anaesthetic activity (see Anesthetics). The membrane stabilizing activity, however, is not stereoselective and correlates directly with the partition coefficient (hydrophobicity) of the compound. 

The coupling of alkenylboranes with alkenyl halides is particularly useful for the stereoselective synthesis of conjugated dienes of the four possible double bond isomers[499]. The E and Z forms of vinylboron compounds can be prepared by hydroboration of alkynes and haloalkynes, and their reaction with ( ) or (Z)-vinyl iodides or bromides proceeds without isomerization, and the conjugated dienes of four possible isomeric forms can be prepared in high purity. 

Alcohols can be synthesized by the addition of carbanions to carbonyl compounds (W.C. Still, 1976) or epoxides. Both types of reactions often produce chiral centres, and stereoselectivity is an important aspect of these reactions. 

In the last fifteen years macrolides have been the major target molecules for complex stereoselective total syntheses. This choice has been made independently by R.B. Woodward and E.J. Corey in Harvard, and has been followed by many famous fellow Americans, e.g., G. Stork, K.C. Nicolaou, S. Masamune, C.H. Heathcock, and S.L. Schreiber, to name only a few. There is also no other class of compounds which is so suitable for retrosynthetic analysis and for the application of modem synthetic reactions, such as Sharpless epoxidation, Noyori hydrogenation, and stereoselective alkylation and aldol reactions. We have chosen a classical synthesis by E.J. Corey and two recent syntheses by A.R. Chamberlin and S.L. Schreiber as examples. 

The addition of large enolate synthons to cyclohexenone derivatives via Michael addition leads to equatorial substitution. If the cyclohexenone conformation is fixed, e.g. as in decalones or steroids, the addition is highly stereoselective. This is also the case with the S-addition to conjugated dienones (Y. Abe, 1956). Large substituents at C-4 of cyclic a -synthons direct incoming carbanions to the /rans-position at C-3 (A.R. Battersby, 1960). The thermodynamically most stable products are formed in these cases, because the addition of 1,3-dioxo compounds to activated double bonds is essentially reversible. 

The Michael reaction is of central importance here. This reaction is a vinylogous aldol addition, and most facts, which have been discussed in section 1.10, also apply here the reaction is catalyzed by acids and by bases, and it may be made regioselective by the choice of appropriate enol derivatives. Stereoselectivity is also observed in reactions with cyclic educts. An important difference to the aldol addition is, that the Michael addition is usually less prone to sterical hindrance. This is evidenced by the two examples given below, in which cyclic 1,3-diketones add to o, -unsaturated carbonyl compounds (K. Hiroi, 1975 H, Smith, 1964). 

The most common stereoselective syntheses involve the formation and cleavage of cyclopentane and cyclohexane derivatives or their unsaturated analogues. The target molecule (aff-cts)-2-methyl-l,4-cyclohexanediol has all of its substituents on the same side of the ring. Such a compound can be obtained by catalytic hydrogenation of a planar cyclic precursor. Methyl-l,4-benzoquinone is an ideal choice (p-toluquinone M. Nakazaki, 1966). 

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