Sulfones, vinyl Michael addition

The (formal) Michael addition of nucleophiles to thiirene oxides and dioxides (formally vinyl sulfoxides and sulfones). 

Vinyl sulfones, being good Michael acceptors, have been regarded as useful reagents for carbon-carbon bond formation. Nucleophiles used often are organometallic reagents, enamines and enolate anions and the Michael addition products are usually obtained in... 

Cory and Renneboog53 have devised an efficient bicycloannulation for the synthesis of tricyclo[3.2.1.02,7]octane-6-one (66) as shown in equation 63. The method involves three steps (1) the enolate undergoes an initial conjugate addition to phenyl vinyl sulfone, (2) the resulting sulfone-stabilized carbanion undergoes an intramolecular Michael addition to the enone, and (3) the resulting enolate displaces phenylsulfinyl moiety from the tricyclooctanone. The amount of HMPA (3 mol equivalents) is critical for effective cyclization of the enolate. 

Three possible mechanisms may be envisioned for this reaction. The first two i.e. 1) Michael addition of R M to the acetylenic sulfone followed by a-elimination of LiOjSPh to yield a vinyl carbene which undergoes a 1,2 aryl shift and 2) carbometallation of the acetylenic sulfone by R M followed by a straightforward -elimination, where discarded by the authors. The third mechanism in which the organometallic reagent acts as an electron donor and the central intermediates is the radical anion ... 

Michael addition of nitromethane to D-glucose based vinyl sulfone 38 to afford nitro sugars 39 and 40 was also recently described (Scheme 15).37... 

Scheme 6.66 Products of the 12-catalyzed asymmetric Michael addition of a-alkyl cyanoacetates to vinyl sulfone and exemplary conversion of one adduct to the respective 3 amino acid. The values in parentheses were obtained after single recrystallization the absolute configurations of the products were not determined.

Scheme 6.92 Product range of the 79-catalyzed Michael addition of a-aryl cyanoacetates to phenyl vinyl sulfone and conversion of one exemplary adduct (R = Ph) to the corresponding protected 3-amino acid. The absolute configurations of the adducts were not determined.

The vinyl substituent at C-2 can also act as a Michael acceptor and reaction with certain nucleophiles gives rise to 1,4-addition compounds. For example, p-toluene-sulfonic acid catalyzed addition of thiols to 2-vinyl- or 2-isopropenyl-5(47/)-oxazolones 136 gave, almost exclusively, the Michael adducts 137 that were used... 

Other synthetic approaches via sulfones make use of the Michael addition and cycloaddition to vinyl sulfones (see [401] and [402] for reviews on vinyl sulfones as dienophiles and Michael acceptors). The... 

In a like manner, vinyl sulfoxides and sulfones can serve as the equivalents of vinyl and alkenyl cations via a process involving a Michael addition followed by an elimination.43 For example, addition of the enolate of the P-keto ester (168 Scheme 24) to phenyl vinyl sulfoxide (169) furnished, in 50% yield. 

Nitrones can be generated by Michael reaction of oximes with appropriate conjugated substrates.25 If a generated nitrone has a built-in dipolarophile, cyclization can ensue (Scheme 15). There are three synthetic variations on this theme.25a,b First, the oxime may contain the dipolarophile as in (56). Reaction of (56) with phenyl vinyl sulfone provided a quantitative yield of the tandem product as one stereoisomer. Alternatively, die dipolarophile can reside in the Michael substrate as in (57). Reaction of (57) with cyclohexanone oxime produced two isoxazolidines from competitive cyclization of the intermediate nitrone through six- and seven-membered carbocyclic transition states. It is also possible to carry out an intramolecular Michael addition followed by an intramolecular nitrone cyclization as in thermolysis of (58) to produce a tricyclic isoxazolidine. Very recently several examples of a tandem Diels-Alder, Michael addition, nitrone cyclization sequence have been reported.250... 

The Michael addition of oxygen nucleophiles to vinyl sulfones185 and the addition of dimethyl malonate and ethyl cyanoacetate to a,fl-unsaturated sulfones in the presence of Triton-B and K2CO3 have been studied.186... 

Cinchona alkaloids and their derivatives have been reported to catalyse the Michael addition of (V-heterocycles, such as benztriazole, to nitroalkenes in moderate to high enantioselectivities (<94% ee) 15 The thiourea derivative (149) catalysed Michael addition of thioacetic acid to a range of frafts-/f-nitrostyrenes to afford RCH(SAc)- CH2NO2 (<70% ee) 16 The thiourea derivative (149) and its congeners have been identified as efficient organocatalysts for the Michael addition of a-substituted cyano-acetates RCH(CN)C02Et to vinyl sulfones CH2=C(R)S02Ph (72-96% ee) 17 ... 

The first asymmetric direct Michael addition of enolizable aldehydes RCH2CH=0 to vinyl sulfones CH2=C(S02Ph)2 catalysed by /V-Pr -2,2 -bipyrrolidine (146) has been reported. The 1,4-adducts were obtained in good yields and enantioselectivities... 

Octahydronapthalene synthesis.1 An intramolecular version of this annelation using a Michael addition to a vinyl sulfone provides the octahydronapthalene unit (1) of compactin (2), a mevinic acid of interest as an inhibitor of cholesterol synthesis. 

Acceptor-substituted alkenes that are employed as substrates in Michael additions include a./l-unsaturated ketones (for example, see Figure 10.59), a,/3-unsaturated esters (Figure 10.60), and a,/3-unsaturatcd nitriles (Figure 10.61). The corresponding reaction products are bifunctional compounds with C=0 and/or C=N bonds in positions 1 and 5. Analogous reaction conditions allow Michael additions to vinyl sulfones or nitroalkenes. These reactions lead to sulfones and nitro compounds that carry a C=0 and/or a O N bond at the C4 carbon. 

Michael addition is a facile reaction between nucleophiles and activated olefins and alkynes in which the nucleophile adds across a carbon-carbon multiple bond [25], For the preparation of hydrogels, the hydroxyl, thiol or amine functionalities have been reacted with vinyl sulfones [26-28], acrylates [29-31], acrylamides [32], and maleimides [33, 34] (Scheme 2). 

As electron-rich olefins are more reactive, vinyl-sulfones are the most reactive species and are capable of reacting with thiols, amines, and even with small nucleophilic alcohol groups. Less reactive are acrylamides and acrylates, which are reactive towards amines and thiols. Maleimides are the least reactive of the mentioned species and allow selective addition of thiols in the presence of amines in the pH range 6.5-7.5. However, hydrolysis of the imide, especially at elevated pH values [35], may be a concern for certain applications. The mentioned Michael addition reactions do not require organic solvents and can be carried out at physiological temperature and pH [36], In acidic conditions, the reaction is either very slow or does not proceed because protonation removes the nucleophilic form in the case of amines, and the thiolate anion is usually the active species in Michael additions involving thiols [25],... 

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