Triphenylphosphine-Diethyl Azodicarboxylate reaction with hydroxy acids

Cydization of P-hydroxy-a-amino esters under Mitsunobu reaction conditions is an alternative approach to aziridine-2-carboxylic esters [6b, 13-16], In this case the P-hydroxy group is activated by a phosphorus reagent. Treatment of Boc-a-Me-D-Ser-OMe 13 (Scheme 3.5) with triphenylphosphine and diethyl azodicarboxylate (DEAD), for example, gave a-methyl aziridinecarboxylic acid methyl ester 14 in 85% yield [15]. In addition to PPh3/DEAD [13b, 15], several other reagent combi-... 

Macrolactonization can also be achieved by the Mitsunobu reaction [44] with inversion of the configuration of the alcohol. The reaction principle and mechanism are demonstrated in Scheme 24. Addition of triphenylphosphine to diethyl azodicarboxylate (DEAD, 73) forms a quaternary phosphonium salt 74, which is protonated by hydroxy acid 11, followed by phosphorus transfer from nitrogen to oxygen yielding the alkoxyphosphonium salt 76 and diethyl hydrazinedicarboxy-late 75. Then, an intramolecular Sn2 displacement of the important intermediate 76 results in the formation of the lactone 15 and triphenylphosphine oxide. 

This method is unusually mild, using neutral conditions and low temperatures (20 °C and less). It tolerates a number of functional groups in the components (e.g. acetals, esters, alkenes, etc.)- The alcohol, the carboxylic acid and triphenylphosphine are treated dropwise in an inert solvent (dichloromethane, THF, ether) with diethyl azodicarboxylate (DEAD). The ester is formed rapidly. However, tedious chromatography is frequently required to remove the by-products, triphenylphosphane oxide and hydrazo ester. The main value of the reaction lies in the clean inversion of configuration at a secondary carbinol center and in its selectivity towards primary hydroxy groups (vide infra). Inversions are usually performed with benzoic or p-nitrobenzoic acid. The benzoates are purified and saponified with aqueous base to furnish the inverted alcohols in overall yields of ca. 50%. Elimination is the main side reaction. Thus, from (44) 75% of the desired Sn2 product (45) is formed, along with 25% of the elimination product (46) (equation 19). The mechanism of the reaction has been clarified to the point that betaine (47) is the pri-... 

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