Substrates control

Stereoselective epoxidation can be realized through either substrate-controlled (e.g. 35 —> 36) or reagent-controlled approaches. A classic example is the epoxidation of 4-t-butylcyclohexanone. When sulfonium ylide 2 was utilized, the more reactive ylide irreversibly attacked the carbonyl from the axial direction to offer predominantly epoxide 37. When the less reactive sulfoxonium ylide 1 was used, the nucleophilic addition to the carbonyl was reversible, giving rise to the thermodynamically more stable, equatorially coupled betaine, which subsequently eliminated to deliver epoxide 38. Thus, stereoselective epoxidation was achieved from different mechanistic pathways taken by different sulfur ylides. In another case, reaction of aldehyde 38 with sulfonium ylide 2 only gave moderate stereoselectivity (41 40 = 1.5/1), whereas employment of sulfoxonium ylide 1 led to a ratio of 41 40 = 13/1. The best stereoselectivity was accomplished using aminosulfoxonium ylide 25, leading to a ratio of 41 40 = 30/1. For ketone 42, a complete reversal of stereochemistry was observed when it was treated with sulfoxonium ylide 1 and sulfonium ylide 2, respectively. ... 

In light of the previous discussions, it would be instructive to compare the behavior of enantiomerically pure allylic alcohol 12 in epoxidation reactions without and with the asymmetric titanium-tartrate catalyst (see Scheme 2). When 12 is exposed to the combined action of titanium tetraisopropoxide and tert-butyl hydroperoxide in the absence of the enantiomerically pure tartrate ligand, a 2.3 1 mixture of a- and /(-epoxy alcohol diastereoisomers is produced in favor of a-13. This ratio reflects the inherent diasteieo-facial preference of 12 (substrate-control) for a-attack. In a different experiment, it was found that SAE of achiral allylic alcohol 15 with the (+)-diethyl tartrate [(+)-DET] ligand produces a 99 1 mixture of /(- and a-epoxy alcohol enantiomers in favor of / -16 (98% ee). 

Scheme 2. Substrate-controlled epoxidation of 12 and reagent-controlled epoxidation of 15.

Ruano has reported substrate-controlled asymmetric ylide aziridination by treatment of enantiopure sulfinyl imines 117 with dimethyloxosulfonium methylide 118 to form terminal aziridines [63], The chiral tert-butylsulfinyl group was shown... 

Syntheses of nonracemic vinylaziridines by reagent- or substrate-controlled... 

Boland applied this methodology to Garner s aldehyde, and found the addition to be substrate-controlled rather than reagent-controlled (Scheme 9.13b) [68]. Viny-lepoxide 15 could thus also be obtained with high diastereoselectivity with achiral 9-MeO-9-BBN. 

Substrate control by a chiral aldehyde addition with steric approach control ... 

Very few optically active cyanohydrins, derived from ketones, are described in the literature. High diastcrcosclectivity is observed for the substrate-controlled addition of hydrocyanic acid to 17-oxosteroids27 and for the addition of trimethyl(2-propenyl)silane to optically active acyl cyanides28. The enantioselective hydrolysis of racemic ketone cyanohydrin esters with yeast cells of Pichia miso occurs with only moderate chemical yields20. 

In Ugi four-component reactions (for mechanism, see Section 1.4.4.1.) all four components may potentially serve as the stereodifferentiating tool65. However, neither the isocyanide component nor the carboxylic acid have pronounced effects on the overall stereodiscrimination60 66. As a consequence, the factors influencing the stereochemical course of Ugi reactions arc similar to those in Strecker syntheses. The use of chiral aldehydes is commonly found in substrate-controlled syntheses whereas the asymmetric synthesis of new enantiomerically pure compounds via Ugi s method is restricted to the application of optically active amines as the chiral auxiliary group. 

The latter work is a rare example in which a high stereoselectivity was reported for a substrate-controlled Ugi synthesis. In asymmetric Ugi reactions carried out with removable chiral auxiliaries, however, high diastei eoselections were achieved (see Section 1.4.4.3.1.). 

Asymmetric Bond Formation with Substrate Control... 

Another important point to consider is that of control. As Fig. 2.17 shows, when the enzymes are almost saturated the rate hardly changes with the concentration of the substrate, implying that the rate of product formation cannot be controlled by [S]. Of course, control is optimally possible in the low substrate concentration regime. Hence, in cases where substrate control of the rate is important, the reaction should ideally proceed in the region of [S] between 5 and IOKm. 

The substrate-controlled addition of 18 to 19 proceeded with good enantioselec-tivity and was used to prepare the epoxide (+)-dispalure, a gypsy moth pheromone.184... 

Reactions proceeding through a monocyclic TS with substrate control These reactions exhibit predictable stereoselectivity determined by the monocyclic... 

There are many reports on the asymmetric addition of nucleophiles to carbon-nitrogen double bonds [6]. However, the majority of these reports are based on substrate control and rely on chiral auxiliaries in imines. Moreover, almost all of these reports are just for aldo-imine cases [7]. 

Most recently new applications for substrate-controlled branched-selective hydroformylation of alkenes substituted with inductively electron-with drawing substituents have emerged. A recent example is the hydroformylation of acrylamide with a standard rhodium/triphenylphosphine catalyst, which yields the branched aldehyde exclusively (Scheme 4) [40]. Reduction of the aldehyde function furnishes 3-hydroxy-2-methylpropionamide, which is an intermediate en route to methyl methacrylate. 

Diastereoselective hydroformylation can be achieved in special cases through passive substrate control in which conformational preferences are transferred in the corresponding selectivity-determining hydrometalation step [4-6]. A recent example is the highly diastereoselective hydroformylation of a kainic acid derivative (Scheme 17) [64], The selective formation of the major diastereomer has been explained via a reactive substrate conformation in which allylic 1,2-strain has been minimized. In this situation the czs-positioned methylene carbonylmethoxy group controls the catalyst attack to occur from the si face exclusively. 

Scheme 17 Diastereoselective hydroformylation of a kainic acid derivative relying on passive substrate control...

Alternatively, substrate control of diastereoselectivity can rely on attractive catalyst substrate interactions. This requires in general special functional groups which allow for a directed hydroformylation, which is summarized in Sect. 6 (vide infra). 

Although significant progress in the field of asymmetric hydroformylation has been made, it is limited to a rather narrow substrate scope. An alternative approach to a stereoselective hydroformylation might employ substrate control of a chiral alkenic starting material. Of particular use... 

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