Trienes cationic cyclization

Scheme 10.1 gives some representative examples of laboratory syntheses involving polyene cyclization. The cyclization in Entry 1 is done in anhydrous formic acid and involves the formation of a symmetric tertiary allylic carbocation. The cyclization forms a six-membered ring by attack at the terminal carbon of the vinyl group. The bicyclic cation is captured as the formate ester. Entry 2 also involves initiation by a symmetric allylic cation. In this case, the triene unit cyclizes to a tricyclic ring system. Entry 3 results in the formation of the steroidal skeleton with termination by capture of the alkynyl group and formation of a ketone. The cyclization in Entry 4 is initiated by epoxide opening. 

Closely related to the polyepoxide cascade procedure for the synthesis of polycyclic systems is Corey s biomimetic-type, nonenzymatic, oxirane-initiated (Lewis acid-promoted) cation-olefin polyannulation. By this strategy, compound 96, containing the tetracyclic core of scalarenedial, was constructed by exposure of the acyclic epoxy triene precursor 95 to MeAlCl2-promoted cyclization reaction conditions (Scheme 8.25) [45]. 

Diels-Alder catalysis.1 This radical cation can increase the endo-selectivity of Diels-Alder reactions when the dienophile is a styrene or electron-rich alkene. This endo-selectivity obtains even in intramolecular Diels-Alder reactions. Thus the triene 2, a mixture of (Z)- and (E)-isomers, cyclizes in the presence of 1 to 0° to the hydroindanes 3 and 4 in the ratio 97 3. Similar cyclization of (E)-2 results in 3 and 4 in the ratio 98 2 therefore, the catalyst can effect isomerization of (Z)-2 to (E)-2. Even higher stereoselectivity is observed when the styrene group of 2 is replaced by a vinyl sulfide group (SC6H5 in place of QHtOCT ). 

It is now principally important to consider trienes with the general formula MeCH=CH-CH= CH-CH2-CH2-CH2-CH=CHR. Such trienes contain moieties both of the diene and dienophile types within the framework of the same molecule. On initiation by the ArjN cation-radical, cycli-zation takes place. Tetrahydroindanes are formed. The trienes of R=PhS, p-MeOCgH4CH2, and H have been studied. The third triene, R=H, contains the dienophile fragment of lowered oxidizability it is not cyclized at all. The diene synthesis proceeds in the cases of the first two trienes only (Harirchian and Bauld 1987 see Scheme 7.23). 

Although most attention has focussed on a cationic mechanism in the oxidative cyclization of squalene [20]. Breslow was concerned with the possibility that nature utilizes a free-radical pathway [21]. and studied the addition of benzoyloxy radical to trans, trani-famesyl acetate [22]. The benzoyloxy radicals generated by CuCl-catalyzed thermal decomposition and copper(II) benzoate was added to provide a termination mechanism. Excluding any intervention of a carbocationic process, Breslow obtained a tran -decalin compound (20 30% yield) bearing an exomethylene moiety. As pointed out by Breslow, despite a limited biochemical interest , this work evidenced a new synthetic reaction of considerable potential . An application shortly followed with the first example of a triple cyclization by Julia [23]. Triene isomers 40 were treated by benzoylperoxide in benzene and alforded after saponification alcohol 41 in 12% yield as a single diastereomer (relative stereochemistry confirmed by an X-ray analysis) with a similar tra 5-decalin system (A and B rings. Scheme 14). 

A reaction called the Johnson polyene cyclization (based on the Stork-Eschenmoser hypothesis) converts triene A into the polycyclic molecule B. When first discovered, an initially formed carbocation at one end of the polyene reacted with a nearby alkene to form a ring containing a new cation. This reacted with another nearby alkene, etc. The reaction was plagued by low yields and formation of polymeric material and decomposition products. This transformation required many years to perfect and two improvements were the use of a cyclopentenol unit on the left to initiate the sequence, which became a cyclopentene unit, and an alkyne unit on the right to end the sequence by generating a methyl ketone. Briefly discuss why these two improvements helped the problems inherent to this reaction. 

Both geraniol and nerol have been shown to undergo cyclization to c -p-mentha-2,8-dien-l-ol on treatment with the novel tris(/ -bromophenyl)ammoniumyl radical cation, (37). The reagent X is becoming a popular choice for as a one-electron oxidant in a variety of electron-transfer reactions. The mechanism postulated involves the initial formation of a delocalized radical cation that undergoes cyclization, deprotonation, and dehydrogenation to a cyclic triene, that is protonated followed by hydration to give the product. 

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