Autoassembly of cage structures

Thed,l-(1a) andmeso-forms (1b) of α,α'-dihydroxy-α,α'-dimethyladipic acid, dilactone (3), diiminodilactone (4), and lactonolactam (5) were obtained by the reaction of acetonylacetone with KCN and HCl. The transformations of1 to the esters2, dilactone3 to la, and diiminodilactone4 to dilactone3 were studied. It was shown that3 can be readily obtained from la by thermolysis, acid catalysis, and DCC action as well as by acid catalyzed cyclization of2a, while dilactone3 can be obtained from1b and2b in negligible yield only under drastic conditions, obviously, due to the partial epimirization of themeso-forms. The mild thermolysis of1b leads totrans-lactonoacid (6), from which the ester7 has been obtained. The effective acid catalyzed cyclization of amides8 and9 to3, lactamoamide12 to5, and amide14 to model lactone13 was found. The NMR spectra of the products were studied, and a¹H NMR test was suggested for identification ofd,l- andmeso-forms1 and2. The stereochemistry of monolactones6, 7, 9, 10a, 10b, 11, and dilactone3 was established. The differences in the chemical behavior of α,α'-dihydroxyglutaric and adipic acids were explained by the significant reduction of the non-bonded interactions of the substituents in the corresponding monolactones during the transfer from 1,3- to 1,4-substituted systems.