Tetrahedral intermediate esters

TETRAHEDRAL INTERMEDIATE ESTER HYDROLYSIS MECHANISM CHYMOTRYPSIN SERPINS (Inhibitory Mechanism)... 

Carboxylic Alcohol acid Tetrahedral intermediate Ester Water... 

FIGURE 20 4 The mecha nism of acid catalyzed ester hydrolysis Steps 1 through 3 show the formation of the tetrahedral intermediate Dissociation of the tetrahe dral intermediate is shown in steps 4 through 6... 

Protonation of the carbonyl oxygen as emphasized earlier makes the carbonyl group more susceptible to nucleophilic attack A water molecule adds to the carbonyl group of the protonated ester m step 2 Loss of a proton from the resulting oxonium ion gives the neutral form of the tetrahedral intermediate m step 3 and completes the first stage of the mechanism... 

Once formed the tetrahedral intermediate can revert to starting materials by merely reversing the reactions that formed it or it can continue onward to products In the sec ond stage of ester hydrolysis the tetrahedral intermediate dissociates to an alcohol and a carboxylic acid In step 4 of Figure 20 4 protonation of the tetrahedral intermediate at Its alkoxy oxygen gives a new oxonium ion which loses a molecule of alcohol m step 5 Along with the alcohol the protonated form of the carboxylic acid arises by dissocia tion of the tetrahedral intermediate Its deprotonation m step 6 completes the process... 

The most important species m the mechanism for ester hydrolysis is the tetrahe dral intermediate Evidence m support of the existence of the tetrahedral intermediate... 

Once It was established that hydroxide ion attacks the carbonyl group in basic ester hydrolysis the next question to be addressed concerned whether the reaction is concerted or involves a tetrahedral intermediate In a concerted reaction the bond to the leaving group breaks at the same time that hydroxide ion attacks the carbonyl... 

In an extension of the work described m the preceding section Bender showed that basic ester hydrolysis was not concerted and like acid hydrolysis took place by way of a tetrahedral intermediate The nature of the experiment was the same and the results were similar to those observed m the acid catalyzed reaction Ethyl benzoate enriched m 0 at the carbonyl oxygen was subjected to hydrolysis m base and samples were isolated before saponification was complete The recovered ethyl benzoate was found to have lost a por tion of Its isotopic label consistent with the formation of a tetrahedral intermediate... 

Stage 1 The amine adds to the carbonyl group of the ester to give a tetrahedral intermediate The tetrahedral... 

In base the tetrahedral intermediate is formed m a manner analogous to that pro posed for ester saponification Steps 1 and 2 m Figure 20 8 show the formation of the tetrahedral intermediate m the basic hydrolysis of amides In step 3 the basic ammo group of the tetrahedral intermediate abstracts a proton from water and m step 4 the derived ammonium ion dissociates Conversion of the carboxylic acid to its corresponding carboxylate anion m step 5 completes the process and renders the overall reaction irreversible... 

Section 2010 Ester hydrolysis can be catalyzed by acids and its mechanism (Figure 20 4) is the reverse of the mechanism for Fischer esterification The reaction proceeds via a tetrahedral intermediate... 

Section 20 11 Ester hydrolysis m basic solution is called saponification and proceeds through the same tetrahedral intermediate (Figure 20 5) as m acid catalyzed hydrolysis Unlike acid catalyzed hydrolysis saponification is irreversible because the carboxylic acid is deprotonated under the reac tion conditions... 

Step 2 Nucleophilic addition of the ester enolate to the carbonyl group of the neutral ester The product is the anionic form of the tetrahedral intermediate... 

Hydrolysis. Esters are cleaved (hydroly2ed) into an acid and an alcohol through the action of water. This hydrolysis is cataly2ed by acids or bases. The mechanistic aspects of ester hydrolysis have received considerable attention and have been reviewed (16). For most esters only two reaction pathways are important. Both mechanisms involve a tetrahedral intermediate and addition-elimination reactions i7i7... 

There are large differences in reactivity among the various carboxylic acid derivatives, such as amides, esters, and acyl chlorides. One important factor is the resonance stabilization provided by the heteroatom. This decreases in the order N > O > Cl. Electron donation reduces the electrophilicity of the carbonyl group, and the corresponding stabilization is lost in the tetrahedral intermediate. 

Even alkyl benzoate esters give only a small amount of exchange imder basic hydrolysis conditions. This means that reversal of the hydroxide addition must be slow relative to the forward breakdown of the tetrahedral intermediate. ... 

The nucleophilic catalysis mechanism only operates when the alkoxy group being hydrolyzed is not much more basic than the nucleophilic catalyst. This relationship can be imderstood by considering the tetrahedral intermediate generated by attack of the potential catalyst on the ester ... 

Aminolysis of esters often reveals general base catalysis and, in particular, a contribution to the reaction rate fi om terms that are second-order in the amine. The general base is believed to function by deprotonating the zwitterionic tetrahedral intermediate. Deprotonation of the nitrogen facilitates breakdown of the tetrahedral intermediate, since the increased electron density at nitrogen favors expulsion of an anion ... 

Detailed mechanistic studies have been carried out on aminolysis of substituted aryl acetates and aryl carbonates. Aryl esters are considerably more reactive than alkyl esters because the phenoxide ions are better leaving groups than alkoxide ions. The tetrahedral intermediate formed in aminolysis can exist in several forms which differ in extent and site of protonation ... 

Insight into the factors that govern breakdown of tetrahedral intermediates has also been gained by studying the hydrolysis of amide acetals. If the amine is expelled, an ester is formed, whereas elimination of an alcohol gives an amide ... 

Nucleophilic participation is important only for esters of alcohols that have pK <13. Specifically, phenyl and trifluoroethyl esters show nucleophilic catalysis, but methyl and 2-chloroethyl esters do not. This result reflects the fete of the tetrahedral intermediate that results fi om nucleophilic participation. For relatively acidic alcohols, the alkoxide group can be eliminated, leading to hydrolysis via nucleophilic catalysis ... 

Protonation of the car bonyl oxygen activates the carbonyl group toward nucleophilic addition. Addition of an alcohol gives a tetrahedral intermediate (shown in the box in the preceding equation), which has the capacity to revert to starting materials or to undergo dehydration to yield an ester. 

The characteristic reaction of acyl chlorides, acid anhydrides, esters, and amides is nucleophilic acyl substitution. Addition of a nucleophilic reagent Nu—H to the carbonyl group leads to a tetrahedral intermediate that dissociates to give the product of substitution ... 

Among the available pieces of information are the observations that an alkaline solution of the carboxylic acid and alcohol does not generate the ester and that (for most esters) the postulated tetrahedral intermediate cannot be detected. Thus, the... 

R = CH3 and AR = C6H4NO2.) Actually Scheme XXV and Eq. (3-176) both take place, with some of the hydroxamic acid being formed directly and some via the intermediate. (Note that each of these reactions is itself complex, presumably occurring via a tetrahedral intermediate as shown in Scheme XXII for ester hydrolysis.)... 

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