Conjugate addition synthesis

While 319 could be converted into the required enone 320, no amount of trying allowed further progress with the synthesis. Conjugate addition occurred but other reactions followed. The answer was bromination. This gave a mixture of mono-, di-, and tri-brominated pyrroles but they all cyclised with HUnig s base to a mixture of protected 300 brominated in various places from which agelastatin was finally made. 

There are a handful of examples where amino acids with ring sizes of seven members and larger have been prepared using the carboxyl refunctionalization reaction just shown. Reaction of anhydride 7.29H with ammonia, for example, gave amide-acid 7.30. Hofmann rearrangementl of the amide led to cfs-2-aminocyclo-heptane-1-carboxylic acid, 731. An alternative synthesis conjugate addition of ammonia to cycloheptenecarboxylic acid, 7.32. This reaction gave rra/is-2-amino-cycloheptane-1-carboxylic acid, 7.33. 

Diels-Alder reaction (Section 10 12) Conjugate addition of an alkene to a conjugated diene to give a cyclohexene denva tive Diels-Alder reactions are extremely useful in synthesis... 

The methodology used in the preparation of RU 486 (84) and other ll -steroids is shown. Conjugate addition of a cuprate reagent to the a,P-unsaturated epoxide (85) provides the liP-substituted steroid (86) stereospecificaHy (131). Subsequent steps lead to the synthesis of RU 486 (84). 

The primary disadvantage of the conjugate addition approach is the necessity of performing two chiral operations (resolution or asymmetric synthesis) ia order to obtain exclusively the stereochemicaHy desired end product. However, the advent of enzymatic resolutions and stereoselective reduciag agents has resulted ia new methods to efficiently produce chiral enones and CO-chain synthons, respectively (see Enzymes, industrial Enzymes in ORGANIC synthesis). Eor example, treatment of the racemic hydroxy enone (70) with commercially available porciae pancreatic Hpase (PPL) ia vinyl acetate gave a separable mixture of (5)-hydroxyenone (71) and (R)-acetate (72) with enantiomeric excess (ee) of 90% or better (204). 

The use of thiocyanic acid for thiirane synthesis is usually compatible with many functional groups found in natural steroids. The method has found application in androstanes, pregnanes, cholestanes, cholanates and cardeno-lides. However, the presence of a,j5-unsaturated carbonyl groups may decrease the yield of the thiocyanatohydrin due to conjugate addition of thiocyanic acid. Indeed, the 1,4-addition of thiocyanic acid has been carried... 

The Paal synthesis of thiophenes from 1,4-diketones, 4-ketoaldehydes and 1,4-dialdehydes has found great use in the synthesis of medicinally active compounds, polymers, liquid crystals and other important materials. Furthermore, the discovery of the catalyzed nucleophilic 1,4-conjugate addition of aldehydes, known as the Stetter reaction (Eq. 5.4.1), has enabled widespread use of the Paal thiophene synthesis, by providing 1,4-diketones from readily available starting materials. ... 

An interesting application of the Paal thiophene synthesis was documented for the synthesis of a polystyrene-oligothiophene-polystyrene copolymer. In the Stetter reaction of aldehyde 13 and P-dimethylaminoketone 14, in situ generation of the a,p-unsaturated ketone preceded nucleophilic 1,4-conjugate addition by the acyl anion... 

H )-Euranones are useful building blocks in the synthesis of a variety of organic compounds. In addition, they often serve as valuable synthetic intermediates in the stereoselective construction of substituted y-butyrolactones via conjugated addition to the Q ,/3-unsaturated carbonyl moiety or catalytic hydrogenation of the double bond (88JOC1560). 

The reaction of a cyclic ketone—e.g. cyclohexanone 1—with methyl vinyl ketone 2 resulting in a ring closure to yield a bicyclic a ,/3-unsaturated ketone 4, is called the Robinson annulation This reaction has found wide application in the synthesis of terpenes, and especially of steroids. Mechanistically the Robinson annulation consists of two consecutive reactions, a Michael addition followed by an Aldol reaction. Initially, upon treatment with a base, the cyclic ketone 1 is deprotonated to give an enolate, which undergoes a conjugate addition to the methyl vinyl ketone, i.e. a Michael addition, to give a 1,5-diketone 3 ... 

Conjugate addition of methyl magnesium iodide in the presence of cuprous chloride to the enone (91) leads to the la-methyl product mesterolone (92) Although this is the thermodynamically unfavored axially disposed product, no possibility for isomerization exists in this case, since the ketone is once removed from this center. In an interesting synthesis of an oxa steroid, the enone (91) is first oxidized with lead tetraacetate the carbon at the 2 position is lost, affording the acid aldehyde. Reduction of this intermediate, also shown in the lactol form, with sodium borohydride affords the steroid lactone oxandrolone... 

The much simpler steroid, 253, was fortuitously found to fulfill this role when injected into animals. Its lack of oral activity was overcome by incorporation of the 7a-thioacetate group. Reaction of the ethisterone intermediate, 77b, with a large excess of an organomagnesium halide leads to the corresponding acetylide salt carbonation with CO2 affords the carboxyllic acid, 251. This is then hydrogenated and the hydroxy acid cy-clized to the spirolactone. Oppenauer oxidation followed by treatment with chloranil affords the 4,6-dehydro-3-ketone (254). Conjugate addition of thiolacetic acid completes the synthesis of spironolactone (255), an orally active aldosterone antagonist. ... 

The Hantsch pyridine synthesis provides the final step in the preparation of all dihydrop-yridines. This reaction consists in essence in the condensation of an aromatic aldehyde with an excess of an acetoacetate ester and ammonia. Tlie need to produce unsymmetrically subsrituted dihydropyridines led to the development of modifications on the synthesis. (The chirality in unsymmetrical compounds leads to marked enhancement in potency.) Methyl acetoacetate foniis an aldol product (30) with aldehyde 29 conjugate addition of ethyl acetoacetate would complete assembly of the carbon skeleton. Ammonia would provide the heterocyclic atom. Thus, application of this modified reaction affords the mixed diester felodipine 31 [8]. 

Recently, elegant synthesis of ruin -MRS carbapenum has been reported. Sequential reaction of nitromethane via conjugate addition-elimination to a,fi-unsanirated esters followed by Pd-catalyzed subsdnidon of the residdng allyl nitro compound with the naphthosultam affords the allyladon product which is an and fEq. 7.20. ... 

---