Ylids, sulfur carbonyls

In the first step of the conversion catalyzed by pyruvate decarboxylase, a carbon atom from thiamine pyrophosphate adds to the carbonyl carbon of pyruvate. Decarboxylation produces the key reactive intermediate, hydroxyethyl thiamine pyrophosphate (HETPP). As shown in figure 13.5, the ionized ylid form of HETPP is resonance-stabilized by the existence of a form without charge separation. The next enzyme, dihydrolipoyltransacetylase, catalyzes the transfer of the two-carbon moiety to lipoic acid. A nucleophilic attack by HETPP on the sulfur atom attached to carbon 8 of oxidized lipoic acid displaces the electrons of the disulfide bond to the sulfur atom attached to carbon 6. The sulfur then picks up a proton from the environment as shown in figure 13.5. This simple displacement reaction is also an oxidation-reduction reaction, in which the attacking carbon atom is oxidized from the aldehyde level in HETPP to the carboxyl level in the lipoic acid derivative. The oxidized (disulfide) form of lipoic acid is converted to the reduced (mer-capto) form. The fact that the two-carbon moiety has become an acyl group is shown more clearly after dissocia-... 

The simplest sulfur ylids are formed from sulfonium salts 69 by deprotonation in base. These ylids react with carbonyl compounds to give epoxides.18 Nucleophilic attack on the carbonyl group 70 is followed by elimination 71 of dimethylsulfide 72 and formation of the epoxide 73. You should compare diagram 71 with diagram 23 in chapter 15. The phosphonium ylid reacted by formation of a P-0 bond and an alkene in the Wittig reaction. The sulfonium compound reacts by formation of a C-O bond 71 as the S-O bond is much weaker than the P-0 bond. The sulfonium salt 69 can be reformed by reaction of 72 with Mel. 

Just as sulfur ylids react with the carbonyl of an aldehyde or ketone to give an epoxide, tellurium ylids react with imines to give an aziridine. The reaction of an aUyhc tellurium salt, RCH=CHCH2Te Bu2 Br, with lithium hexamethyldisila-zide in HMPA/toluene leads to the tellurium yhd via deprotonation. In the presence of an imine, the ylid add to the imine and subsequent displacement of Bu2Te generates an aziridine with a pendant vinyl group. ... 

The ylid forms in the usual way but can t reach across the ring to attack the carbonyl group so it has to do conjugate addition instead. It also has to attack from the top face as it is teth -- there. Completion of the cyclopropane-forming reaction leaves the sulfur still attached to fc angular methyl group, from which it is freed by Raney nickel. This reaction shows that si— sulfonium ylids can do conjugate addition - they just prefer not to. 

Reactions of chiral allylic boranes with carbonyl compounds Reactions of chiral allyl boranes with imines Asymmetric Addition of Carbon Nucleophiles to Ketones Addition of alkyl lithiums to ketones Asymmetric epoxidation with chiral sulfur ylids Asymmetric Nucleophilic Attack by Chiral Alcohols Deracemisation of arylpropionic acids Deracemisation of a-halo acids Asymmetric Conjugate Addition of Nitrogen Nucleophiles An asymmetric synthesis of thienamycin Asymmetric Protonation... 

A very different type of chemistry occurs when sulfur ylids add to carbonyl compounds. Epoxides are formed and recent progress with chiral sulfur ylids allows good asymmetric induction in this reaction. The easily prepared C2 symmetric sulfide 96 reacts with alkyl halides and then with aryl and alkyl aldehydes to give good yields of trans epoxides 97 with reasonable ees.19... 

The key part of the molecule for reactivity is the thiazolium salt in the middle. The proton between the N and S atoms can be removed by quite weak bases to form an ylid. You saw sulfonium ylids in Chapter 46, and there is some resemblance here, but this ylid is an ammonium ylid with extra stabilization from the sulfur atom. The anion is in an sp orbital, and it adds to the reactive carbonyl group of pyruvate.. ... 

A polymeric sulfur ylid reagent containing dimethylsulfonium methylide was synthesized by Tanimoto et al. (1967) from a copolymer of p-vinylphenylmethyl thioether, styrene, and DVB, according to Scheme 12-17. The reagent was used for the synthesis of epoxides from the carbonyl compounds. It was claimed that, in addition to simplifying the procedure for isolation of the products, the polymeric reagent is nonodorous and convenient to handle, compared to the noxious, volatile, low-molecular-weight sulfides used in classical syntheses. 

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