Tandem reactions carbocyclic compounds

Feringa and co-workers described the tandem addition-aldol cyclization protocol leading to the formation of 6,6-, 6,7-, and 6,8-annulated bicyclic systems (Scheme 68).39 Using Cu(n)-29 as catalyst and functionalized organozinc reagents as nucleophiles, the conjugate addition reaction followed by aldol cyclization can offer highly enantioselec-tive annulation products (up to 98% ee). This method can be used in the synthesis of carbocyclic compounds, such as steroids, terpenes, and other natural products. 

The addition of thiyl and sulfonyl radicals, either in stoichiometric or in catalytic amounts, is used as the first step of tandem processes which have been widely applied to prepare carbocyclic compounds. The catalytic procedure will be further described in Section 5.5.4.3 during the discussion of cascade processes involving fragmentation reactions. The mechanism of the stoichiometric procedure, which can involve thiols, disulfides, or any sulfonyl radical precursor, is represented in Scheme 7. It consists of (i) the initial addition step, (ii) the cyclization with formation of the final radical species, and (iii) the quenching of the final radical to give the product. 

The tandem-Knoevenagel-ene reaction is a powerful tool to synthesize five-and six-membered carbocycles.2 5 The process is exemplified by the diastereoselective synthesis of 4a. Compound 4a has been obtained In both enantiomeric forms and as a racemate according to the procedure described here. The sequence includes the Knoevenagel reaction of citronellal, 1, and dimethyl malonate, 2, followed by the intramolecular ene cyclization of the chiral 1,7-diene 3 to yield the trans 1,2-disubstituted products 4a and 4b. Whereas the thermal cyclization of 3 at 160°C provides 4a and 4 b in a ratio of only 89.7 10.3, the Lewis acid... 

Cyclic (hetero- and carbocyclic) vinyl sulfoxides have been prepared by a tandem Michael addition/Homer olefination reaction of a-phosphorylvinyl sulfoxides and carbonyl compounds bearing a nucleophilic center. Using optically active a-phosphorylvinyl sulfoxides a series of enantiomeric cyclic vinyl sulfoxides in which the chiral sulfinyl group is bonded to a chromene, pyrrazolyne, quinoline or cyclopen-tene ring, has been obtained. The H-W-E reaction of aldehydes with sulfinimine-derived 3-oxo pyrrolidine phosphonates (228) represents a new method for the asymmetric synthesis of ring-functionalized cw-2,5-disubstituted 3-oxo pyrrolidines (229) (Scheme 90). ... 

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