Asymmetric oxidation sulfoxides

Cyclodextrins, toroidal molecules composed of 6, 7 and 8 D-glucose units, are now commercially available at reasonable cost. They form inclusion compounds with a variety of molecules and often differentially include sulfoxide enantiomers29,30. This property has been used to partially resolve some benzyl alkyl, phenyl alkyl and p-tolyl alkyl sulfoxides. The enantiomeric purities after one inclusion process ranged from 1.1 % for t-butyl p-tolyl sulfoxide to 14.5% for benzyl r-butyl sulfoxide. Repeating the process on methyl p-tolyl sulfoxide (10) increased its enantiomeric purity from 8.1% to 11.4% four recrystallizations raised the value to 71.5%. The use of cyclodextrins in asymmetric oxidations is discussed in Section II.C.l and in the resolution of sulfmate esters in Section II.B.l. 

Davis and coworkers40 have developed use of diastereomerically pure 2-sulfonyl and 2-sulfamyloxaziridines for asymmetric oxidation of sulfides into sulfoxides (equation 7). The best results (using the sulfamyloxaziridines) range from 38 to 68% enantiomeric purity of the resultant sulfoxides. The structural diversity of such substituted oxaziridines, their... 

The application of this biphasic system to the asymmetric oxidation of arylmethylsulfides [9] did not lead to such successful results. Conversions (78-100%) and selectivities to sulfoxide (88-99%) were excellent, much better in general than in homogeneous phase, but enantioselectivities were always very low (up to 17% ee). 

Mikolajczyk and coworkers have summarized other methods which lead to the desired sulfmate esters These are asymmetric oxidation of sulfenamides, kinetic resolution of racemic sulfmates in transesterification with chiral alcohols, kinetic resolution of racemic sulfinates upon treatment with chiral Grignard reagents, optical resolution via cyclodextrin complexes, and esterification of sulfinyl chlorides with chiral alcohols in the presence of optically active amines. None of these methods is very satisfactory since the esters produced are of low enantiomeric purity. However, the reaction of dialkyl sulfites (33) with t-butylmagnesium chloride in the presence of quinine gave the corresponding methyl, ethyl, n-propyl, isopropyl and n-butyl 2,2-dimethylpropane-l-yl sulfinates (34) of 43 to 73% enantiomeric purity in 50 to 84% yield. This made available sulfinate esters for the synthesis of t-butyl sulfoxides (35). 

In 2008, Rykowski et al. reported the synthesis of optically active 2,2 -bipyridine alkyl sulfoxides by asymmetric oxidation of their corresponding readily accessible 2,2 -bipyridine alkyl sulfides. These sulfoxides were further evaluated as ligands for the enantioselective addition of ZnEt2 to benzaldehyde, providing only low enantioselectivities of up to 14% ee (Scheme 3.34). 

We have developed the efficient synthesis of the SERM drug candidate 1 and successfully demonstrated the process on a multiple kilogram scale to support the drug development program. A novel sulfoxide-directed borane reduction of vinyl sulfoxides was discovered. The mechanistic details of this novel reaction were explored and a plausible mechanism proposed. The sequence of asymmetric oxidation of vinyl sulfoxides followed by stereospecific borane reduction to make chiral dihydro-1,4-benzoxathiins was applied to the asymmetric synthesis of a number of other dihydro-1,4-benzoxathiins including the sweetening agent 67. 

The same catalysts have been investigated for the asymmetric oxidation of dialkyl sulfides using PhIO as the oxidant in CH3CN perfluorooctane.[54] Although the conversions (>80%) and selectivities to sulfoxides (>90%) were generally good, and the more heavily fluorinated catalysts could be recycled 4 times with only small drops... 

In addition, a recent report details a very efficient nonenzymatic method for the asymmetric oxidation of sulfides this employs an organo-vanadium species featuring the imine (38) (Scheme 25)[111]. A second, complementary strategy for the preparation of optically active sulfoxides involves the enantioselective oxidation of racemic sulfoxides. ... 

Asymmetric oxidation of sulfides and kinetic resolution of sulfoxides... 

ASYMMETRIC OXIDATION OF SULFIDES AND KINETIC RESOLUTION OF SULFOXIDES... 

The above procedure can be exploited for the asymmetric oxidation of racemic sulfoxide1 1, and high stereoselection can be frequently observed. Moreover unreacted / -sulfoxides were always recovered as the most abundant enantiomers, kinetic resolution and asymmetric oxidation being two enantioconvergent processes. Thus, by the combined routes, higher enantioselectivity can be observed with dialkyl sulfoxides, usually obtained with poor to moderate e.e.s. 

An attractive route to chiral sulfoxides is based on asymmetric oxidation of unsymmetrical sulfides by means of chiral oxidizing reagents. The first asymmetric oxidation of sulfides with optically active pera-cids (eq. [1]) has been independently described in 1960 by two groups headed by Montanan (36) in Italy and by Balenovic (37) in... 

According to this correlation model, in which the principles of steric control of asymmetric induction at carbon (40) are applied, the stereoselectivity of oxidation should depend on the balance between one transition state [Scheme 1(a)] and a more hindered transition state [Scheme 1(6)] in which the groups and R at sulfur face the moderately and least hindered regions of the peroxy acid, respectively. Based on this model and on the known absolute configuration of (+)-percamphoric acid and (+)-l-phenylperpropionic acid, the correct chirality at sulfur (+)-/ and (-)-5 was predicted for alkyl aryl sulfoxides, provided asymmetric oxidation is performed in chloroform or carbon tetrachloride solution. Although the correlation model for asymmetric oxidation of sulfides to sulfoxides is oversimplified and has been questioned by Mislow (41), it may be used in a tentative way for predicting the chirality at sulfur in simple sulfoxides. 

In contrast to asymmetric oxidation of unsymmetrical sulfides with chiral peracids, microbial oxidation usually gives much better results. Thus, optically active phenyl benzyl sulfoxide was prepared by oxidation of the parent sulfide via fermentation with Aspergillus niger, NRRL 337, with 18% optical purity (42). Similarly, asymmetric... 

Asymmetric oxidation of sulfides to sulfoxides occurs in the presence of chiral catalysts. It was found (53) that oxidation of benzyl methyl sulfide with iodine suspended in (i )-2-methyl-2-phenylsuccinate 33 buffer gives optically active benzyl methyl sulfoxide 34 having 6.35% optical purity. Much higher asymmetric... 

Preparation of various enantiomerically pure sulfoxides by oxidation of sulfides seems feasible in the cases where asymmetric synthesis occurs with ee s in the range of 90% giving crystalline products which can usually be recrystallized up to 100% ee. Aryl methyl sulfides usually give excellent enantioselectivity during oxidation and are good candidates for the present procedure. For example, we have shown on a 10-mmol scale that optically pure (S)-(-)-methyl phenyl sulfoxide [a]p -146 (acetone, o 1) could be obtained in 76% yield after oxidation with cumene hydroperoxide followed by flash chromatographic purification on silica gel and recrystallizations at low temperature in a mixed solvent (ether-pentane). Similarly (S)-(-)-methyl o-methoxyphenyl sulfoxide, [a]p -339 (acetone, o 1.5 100% ee measured by HPLC), was obtained in 80% yield by recrystallizations from hexane. 

Oxidation of chiral sulfonimines (R"S02N=CHAr)and chiral sulfamyl-imines (R RNS02N=CHAr)affords optically active 2-sulfonyloxaziridines and 2-sulfamyloxaziridines, respectively. These chiral, oxidizing reagents have been used in the asymmetric oxidation of sulfides to sulfoxides (15-68% ee), 11-13 selenides to selenoxides (8-9% ee] enolates to a-hydroxycarbonyl compounds (8-37% ee) and in the asymmetric epoxidation of alkenes (15-40% ee)... 

In combination with H2O2 (salen)Mn(III) complexes 173a, b, i-n have also been employed by Jacobsen and coworkers as catalysts for the asymmetric oxidation of sulfides to sulfoxides, without a need for additives. From the structurally and electronically different Mn-salen catalysts screened, 173i turned out to be the most active and selective one (equation 58) . While dialkyl sulfides underwenf uncafalyzed oxidation with H2O2, aryl alkyl sulfides were oxidized only slowly compared wifh fhe cafalyzed pathway. Using... 

---