Sulfoximines, reactions

Among heteroaromatic compounds able to react with nitrile oxides as dipo-larophiles, furan, probably, is the best known. Recently, a novel nitrile oxide was generated from a sulfoximine and converted in situ to a cycloadduct with furan (Scheme 1.25) (287). The starting racemic N-methyl-S-nitromethyl-S-phenylsul-foximine 124 was prepared in 87% yield via nitration of N,S-dimethyl-S-phenyl-sulfoximine. Reaction of 124 with p-chlorophenyl isocyanate and a catalytic quantity of triethylamine, in the presence of furan, afforded dihydrofuroisoxazole 125, the product of nitrile oxide cycloaddition, in 42% yield (65 35 diastereomer ratio). The reaction of 125 with phenyllithium and methyllithium afforded compounds 126, which are products formed by replacement of the sulfoximine group by Ph and Me, respectively. 

Asymmetric induction by sulfoxide is a very attractive feature. Enantiomerically pure cyclic a-sulfonimidoyl carbanions have been prepared (98S919) through base-catalyzed cyclization of the corresponding tosyloxyalkylsulfoximine 87 to 88 followed by deprotonation with BuLi. The alkylation with Mel or BuBr affords the diastereomerically pure sulfoximine 89, showing that the attack of the electrophile at the anionic C-atom occurs, preferentially, from the side of the sulfoximine O-atom independently from the substituent at Ca-carbon. The reaction of cuprates 90 with cyclic a,p-unsaturated ketones 91 was studied but very low asymmetric induction was observed in 92. 

Racemic 5-methyl-5 -(sodiomethyl)-A-(4-methylphenylsulfonyl)sulfoximine reacts with ketones to give an initial methylene transfer which produces an intermediate epoxide that is ring expanded to the oxctanc56. Application to 4-rerf-butylcyclohexanonc affords a single oxetane in 69% yield. While only achiral alkylidcne transfer reagents were utilized, in principle this reaction is amenable to the asymmetric synthesis of oxetanes. 

In contrast to allylic phosphine oxides, phosphonates, sulfones and sulfoxides, the chemistry of lithiated allylic sulfoximines has been less extensively developed25 27. The reaction of lithiated racemic A-phenyl-A -(4-rnethylphenyl)-S -(2-propenyl)sulfoximine with either 2-cy-clopentenone or 2-cyclohexenone gave a complicated mixture with 1,4-oc-ad ducts being slightly favored over the 1,4-7-adducts. The yields of these adducts were poor25. In contrast, lithiated racemic Ar-tert-butyldiphenylsilyl-5-phenyl-5,-(2-propenyl)sulfoximine gives mainly 1,4-y-ad-ducts on reaction with the same enones26. 

Chiral (-E)-vinyl-substituted sulfoximines, in which the iV-substituent was derived from (+)-norephedrine or ( —)-(S)-l-phenylethylamine2, underwent addition reactions with organolithi-um and organocopper reagents1,2. The diastereoselection ranged from moderate to good. 

Addition of nitrogen to the lone pair of sulfoxides or of oxygen to the lone pair of sulfilimines is quite common and leads to sulfoximines (see also Section II.G). Such reactions have been reviewed12,13. 

The authors observed that the reaction could be run using a 1/1 mixture of bis(sulfoximine) and Cu(OTf)2, at a 10 mol % ratio to give the expected product in excellent yield and high enantioselectivity (ratio endojexo 94/6 and 83% ee for 77 and up to 93% ee for 78). The authors studied next exhaustively how the other reaction parameters do influence the selectivity. They... 

Bolm et al. [108] prepared a C2-symmetric bis (sulfoximine) as ligand for the copper-catalyzed hetero-Diels-Alder reaction. The stereogenic sulfur atom being located near the AT-coordinating atom, these structures were assumed to be promising for asymmetric catalysis. Their Hgand (79 in Scheme 43) was synthesized by palladium-catalyzed N-aryl imination from 1,2-dibromobenzene and (S)-S-methyl-S-phenylsulfoximine with Pd2dba3 in 70% yield. 

From all these results, optically active sulfoximines, with their nitrogencoordinating site located at the close proximity to the stereogenic sulfur atom, have thus proven their efficiency as copper-ligands for asymmetric Diels-Alder and hetero Diels-Alder reactions. 

Sulfoximines bearing a chiral sulfur atom have recently emerged as valuable ligands for metal-catalysed asymmetric synthesis.In particular, C2-symmetric bis(sulfoximines), such as those depicted in Scheme 1.51, were applied to the test reaction, achieving enantioselectivities of up to 93% ee. The most selective ligand (R = c-Pent, R = Ph) of the series was also applied to the nucleophilic substitution reaction of l,3-diphenyl-2-propenyl acetate with substituted malonates, such as acetamido-derived diethylmalonate, which provided the corresponding product in 89% yield and 98% ee. 

Scheme 1.51 Test reaction with C2-symmetric bis(sulfoximines) ligands.

Scheme 1.52 Test reaction with sulfoximine ligands.

The same authors have previously reported the preparation of a series of various sulfoximine ligands, which were further investigated in the test reaction.In almost all the ligands, moderate enantioselectivities were observed for the product of the test reaction, except for a ligand bearing a hydroxyl group on the aryl substituent of the sulfur atom, which gave a 73% ee (Scheme 1.52). 

Scheme 1.53 Test reaction with BINOL-derived A -phosphino sulfoximines.

In order to prepare a new range of ligands incorporating both sulfoximine and phosphine moieties, Tye et al. reported, in 2001, the synthesis of a novel chiral phosphine-sulfoximine, which was tested as a ligand in the copper-catalysed 1,4-addition of ZnEt2 to enones. Whilst the reaction of acyclic enones gave the corresponding racemic 1,4-products, the best result was obtained upon... 

Scheme 5.8 Cu-catalysed Diels-Alder reaction with C 2-symmetric bis(sulfoximines) ligand.

Scheme 5.10 Cu-catalysed hetero-Diels-Alder reactions with Ci-S5mimetric mono-sulfoximine ligands.

---