The Henry reaction

The Barton-Zard (BZ) pyrrole synthesis is similar both to the van Leusen pyrrole synthesis that uses Michael acceptors and TosMlC (Section 6.7) and the Montforts pyrrole synthesis using a,P-unsaturated sulfones and alkyl a-isocyanoacetates." An alternative to the use of the reactive nitroalkenes 1 is their in situ generation from P-acetoxy nitroalkanes, which are readily prepared via the Henry reaction between an aldehyde and a nitroalkane followed by acetylation. Examples are shown later. 

The nitro-dldolredcdon between nitrodlkdnes and carbonyl compounds to yieldfi-nitro alcohols was discovered in 1895 by Henry. Since dien, diis reaction has been used extensively in many important syndieses. In view of its significance, diere are several reviews on die Henry reaction." These reviews cover syndiesis of fi-nitro alcohols and dieir applications in organic synthesis. The most comprehensive review is Ref 3, which summarizes the literature before 1970. More recent reviews are Refs. 4 and 5, which summarize literatures on the Henry reaction published until 1990. 

The synthedc ndlity of the Henry reaction is shovm in Scheme 3.1, where fi-nitro alcohols are converted into fi-amino alcohols, amino sugars, ketones and other important compounds. 

Thus, various kmds of bases are effective in inducing the Henry reaction The choice of base and solvent is not crucial to carry out the Henry reaction of simple nitroalkanes v/ith aldehydes, as summarized in Table 3 1 In general, sterically hindered carbonyl or nitro compounds are less reactive not to give the desired ni tro-aldol products in good yield In such cases, self-condensation of the carbonyl compound is a serious side-reaction Several mochfied procedures for the Henry reaction have been developed... 

AljO cdn be used both as a base for the Henry reaction and as a dehydrating agent Thus, nitro ilkenes are simply prepared by mixing of aldehydes and nitro ilkanes with ATO and subsequent warming at 40 C fEq 3 30 ... 

Seebdch and co-workers have developed complementdry protocols for stereocontrol of the Henry reaction fScheme 3.12. ... 

The diastereoselectivity is observed in the Henry reaction using optical active niti o compounds or a-heteroatom substituted aldehydes. Lor example, the reaction of O-benzyl-D-lactal-dehyde with methyl 3-niti opropionate in the presence of neubal alumina leads to a mixture of three niti o-aldol products from which D-ribo isomer is isolated by direct crystallization. D-Ribo... 

The Henry reactions of A, ALdibenzyl-L-phenylalaninal with nitroalkanes using 1.2 equiv of tetrabutylammonium fluoride (TBAF) as the catalyst proceed in ahighly stereoselective manner, as shown in Eqs. 3.82 and 3.83. This reaction provides rapid and stereoselective access to important molecules containing 1,3-diamino-2-hydroxypropyl segments, which are cenhal structural subunit of the HIV protease inhibitor amprenavir (in Scheme 3.21). 

The Henry reaction of ketones with nitroalkanes in the presence of etbylenediamine gives allylic nitro compounds, which give a,fi-imsanirated carbonyl compounds via the Nef reaction fEq. 6.30. ... 

An elegant example of sequence of reactions involving the Henry reaction, the Michael reaction, and elimination of HNO is demonstrated in a short synthesis of anthracyclmones. Nitromethane is used to introduce the ClO-gronp simultaneously v/irh the C9-hydroxy group fEq. 7,136. ... 

From the foregoing it can be seen that the nitro group can be activated for C-C bond formation in various ways. Classically the nitro group facilitates the Henry reaction, Michael addition, and Diels-Alder reaction. Komblum and Russell have introduced a new substitution reaction, which proceeds via a one electron-transfer process The Spj l reactions have... 

The synthesis of cyclic nitroalkenes via nitration of cycloalkenes is summarized in Table 2.2. Acyclic nitroalkenes are more readily prepared via the Henry reaction than by nitration of alkenes (see Section 3.2.1). 

In general, the Henry reaction gives a mixture of diastereomers and enantiomers. The lack of selectivity is due to the reversibility of the reaction and the easy epimerization at the nitro-substituted carbon atom. Existing reviews have hardly mentioned the stereochemistry of the Henry reaction. Recently, Shibasaki has found that the modification of the Henry reaction can control the stereochemistry to give (3-nitro alcohols with high diastereo- and enantio-selectivity.6 In Section 3.3, the progress of the stereoselective Henry reaction and its application to biologically active compounds are discussed. 

The 3-nitro alcohols are generally obtained in good yield by the reaction of aldehydes with nitroalkanes in the presence of a catalytic amount of base. When aryl aldehydes are used, the (3-nitro alcohols formed may undergo elimination of water to give aryl nitroalkenes. Such side reactions are not always disadvantageous, for nitroalkenes are sometimes the ultimate target for the Henry reaction. The choice of reaction conditions is important to stop the reaction at the stage of 3-nitro alcohols in aromatic cases. 

The Henry reaction is catalyzed in homogeneous solution with various catalysts, as shown in Eq. 3.1. 

Table 3.1. Preparation of p-nitro alcohol by the Henry reaction...

A more effective catalyst for the Henry reaction is a polymer-supported base such as amberlyst A-21. Various P-nitro alcohols can he obtained with the help of amberlyst with or without solvent (Eq. 3.14).25 A recent report claims that amberlite IRA-420 (OH-form) or DOWEX-1 (OH-form) is more effective for the Henry reaction than amberlyst A-21.26 Poly-... 

Proazaphosphatrane, P(RNCH2CH2)3N, is an efficient catalyst for the Henry reaction, and various ketones give nitro-aldols by the reaction with nitromethane and other nitroalkanes (Eq. 3.20).21... 

Nitromethylation of aldehydes has been carried out in a one pot procedure consisting of the Henry reaction, acetylation, and reduction with sodium borohydride, which provides a good method for the preparation of l-nitroalkanes.16b 79 It has been improved by several modifications. The initial condensation reaction is accelerated by use of KF and 18-crown-6 in isopropanol. Acetylation is effected with acetic anhydride at 25 °C and 4-dimethylaminopyridine (DMAP) as a catalyst. These mild conditions are compatible with various functional groups which are often... 

Nitro alcohols prepared by the Henry reaction are important precursors for (3-amino alcohols. The reduction of the nitro group to the amino function is commonly carried out by hydrogenation in the presence of Raney Ni in EtOH or Pd/C in THF and MeOH (see Section 4.2). The conversion into 3-amino alcohols is also described in the Sections 3.2.5 and 3.3. 

In general, the Henry reaction proceeds in a non-selective way to give a mixture of anti (erythro) and syn (threo) isomers. Ab initio calculations on the Henry reaction suggest that free nitronate anions (not influenced by cations) react with aldehydes via transition states in which the nitro and carbonyl dipoles are antiperiplanar to each other. This kind of reaction yields anti-nitro alcohols. The Henry reaction between lithium nitronates and aldehydes is predicted to occur via cyclic transition states yielding syn-nitro alcohols as major products (Eq. 3.64).108... 

Barrett and coworkers have explored hetero-substituted nitroalkenes in organic synthesis. The Michael addition of nucleophiles to 1-alkoxynitroalkenes or 1-phenylthionitroalkenes followed by oxidative Nef reaction (Section 6.1) using ozone gives a-substituted esters or thiol esters, respectively.41 As an alternative to nucleophilic addition to l-(phenylthio)-nitroalkenes, Jackson and coworkers have used the reaction of nucleophiles with the corresponding epoxides (Scheme 4.4).42 Because the requisite nitroalkenes are readily prepared by the Henry reaction (Chapter 3) of aldehydes with phenylthionitromethane, this process provides a convenient tool for the conversion of aldehydes into ot-substituted esters or thiol esters. 

The Michael addition of nitroalkanes to election-deficient alkenes provides a powerful synthetic tool in which it is perceived that the nitro group can be transformed into various functionalities. Various kinds of bases have been used for this transformation in homogeneous solutions, or, alternatively, some heterogeneous catalysts have been employed. In general, bases used in the Henry reaction are also effective for these additions (Scheme 4.18).133... 

The review by Barrett (Ref. 127) documents synthetic application of hetero-substituted nitroalkenes (see also Chapter 4). 1-Chloro-l-nitroalkenes are readily obtained either by the Henry reaction of chloronitromethane with aldehydes or chlorination of l-nitroalkenes. Dauzonne and coworkers have used 1-chloro-l-nitroalkenes for construction of dihydrobenzo-furan or dihydrobenzopyran frameworks. (Eq. 5.83).133... 

The conversion of primary or secondary nitro compounds into aldehydes or ketones is normally accomplished by use of the Nef reaction, which is one of the most important transformations of nitro compounds. Various methods have been introduced forthis transformation (1) treatment of nitronates with acid, (2) oxidation of nitronates, and (3) reduction of nitroalkenes. Although a comprehensive review is available,3 important procedures and improved methods published after this review are presented in this chapter. The Nef reaction after the nitro-aldol (Henry reaction), Michael addition, or Diels-Alder reaction using nitroalkanes or nitroalkenes has been used extensively in organic synthesis of various substrates, including complicated natural products. Some of them are presented in this chapter other examples are presented in the chapters discussing the Henry reaction (Chapter 3), Michael addition (Chapter 4), and Diels-Alder reaction (Chapter 8). 

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