Subject allyl benzyl ethers

The outcomes of intramolecular cyclizations of hydroxy vinylepoxides in more complicated systems can be difficult to predict. In a study of the synthesis of the JKLM ring fragment of dguatoxin, epoxide 44 was prepared and subjected to acid-mediated cydization conditions (Scheme 9.24) [114]. Somewhat surprisingly, the expected oxepane 45 was not formed, but instead a mixture of tetrahydropyran 46 and tetrahydrofuran 47 was obtained, both compounds products of attack of the C6 and C5 benzyl ether oxygens, respectively, on the allylic oxirane position (C3). Repetition of the reaction with dimsylpotassium gave a low yield of the desired 45 along with considerable amounts of tetrahydropyran 48. 

These ideas will be discussed in the following subsections, where most of the attention will be devoted to the mechanistic smdies with aromatic esters, which have been the subject of an overwhelming majority of the research efforts. Nevertheless, the same reaction mechanism has been shown to be valid for the PFR of anilides, thioesters, sulfonates, and so forth. Furthermore, it is also applicable to the photo-Claisen rearrangement [i.e. the migration of alkyl (or allyl, benzyl, aryl,)] groups of aromatic ethers to the ortho and para positions of the aromatic ring [21,22]. 

The C-4 acids (183 and 184) have also been subjected to borane reduction conditions to afford alcohol 195 in 23-50% yield or 64% yield as the C-8 epimeric mixture (195 and 196, Scheme 29) [34, 49, 64]. The C-8 alcohol epimers 195 and 196 have been treated separately as a common intermediate for a number of C-4 derivatives including esters, ethers, and amines [34, 49, 64], Alcohols 195 and 196 was subjected to DCC, DMAP, and desired acid chloride or carboxylic acid in CH2CI2 affording ester analogs in 50-92% yield [64], Esters prepared include alkyl, aryl, and fluorenylmethyloxycarbonyl (Fmoc) protected amino acid derivatives (197 and 198) [64]. Ethers were prepared with various alkyl halides and Ag20 in CH3CN at 40 °C. Alkyl, allyl, and benzyl ethers were prepared in 45-80% yield (199 and 200) [34,64]. Alcohols 195 and 196 were then activated to the triflates and displaced by a variety of amines by treatment with trifluoromethanesulfonic anhydride and desired amine in 22% - quantitative yield over two steps (201 and 202)... 

With the conformational analysis in mind, our investigation commenced with the stereoselective formation of 2,3-trani-2,6-tran5-tetrahydropyrans. To determine the feasibility of the oxa-conjugate addition reaction for the stereoselective synthesis of 2,3-frans-2,6-trans-tetrahydropyrans, allyl alcohol (Z)-2.38a was prepared by dithiane coupling of (Z)-2.36 with (5)-glycidyl benzyl ether (2.37a) and subsequently subjected it to the tandem oxidation/oxa-conjugate addition reaction... 

More recently, van der Donk and coworkers reported radical cyclizations catalyzed by vitamin B12 using titanium(III) citrate as a stoichiometric reducing agent (Fig. 69, entry 17) [330]. Here /V-allylic 2-(isopropenyl) pyrroles 290 or allyl 2-phenylallyl ethers serve as the starting material in tandem hydrocobaltation/ radical 5-exo cyclization sequences giving dihydropyrrolizine derivatives 291 or 292. The mechanistic course is not completely clear. However, it is assumed that the reactions start with an initial hydrocobaltation of the isopropenyl unit in the presence of the allylic alkene (see Sect. 5.7). The benzylic cobalt intermediate is subject to homolysis of the very weak cobalt-carbon bond and initiates the radical 5-exo cyclization. Interestingly, the fate of the cyclized radical is dependent on the... 

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