Total synthesis of bassiatin and its stereoisomers: novel divergent behavior of substrates in Mitsunobu cyclizations

Total syntheses of the morpholine-2,5-dione, Bassiatin, and its stereoisomers have been completed. A key step in the syntheses was the Mitsunobu cyclization of hydroxyacid acyclic precursors. The hydroxyacid precursors are hindered alcohols and two substrates underwent Mitsunobu cyclization with retention of configuration. The other two substrates underwent Mitsunobu cyclization with either retention or inversion of configuration depending on reaction conditions. This divergence in outcome of the Mitsunobu reaction for the same substrate depending on effective concentration is novel.     

Mitsunobu Reaction: A Powerful Tool for the Synthesis of Natural Products: A Review

The Mitsunobu reaction plays a vital part in organic chemistry due to its wide synthetic applications. It is considered as a significant reaction for the interconversion of one functional group (alcohol) to another (ester) in the presence of oxidizing agents (azodicarboxylates) and reducing agents (phosphines). It is a renowned stereoselective reaction which inverts the stereochemical configuration of end products. One of the most important applications of the Mitsunobu reaction is its role in the synthesis of natural products. This review article will focus on the contribution of the Mitsunobu reaction towards the total synthesis of natural products, highlighting their biological potential during recent years.     

Capture-ROMP-release: application for the synthesis of O-alkylhydroxylamines

[reaction: see text] A new capture-ROMP-release method for chromatography-free purification of N-hydroxysuccinimde Mitsunobu reactions is described. The Mitsunobu reaction captures a variety of alcohols onto a norbornenyl N-hydroxysuccinimide monomer. Subjection of the resulting crude reaction mixture to ROM-polymerization generates a polymer that can be precipitated with methanol and filtered from the Mitsunobu byproducts. Treatment of the polymer with hydrazine releases the substrate from the water-soluble polymer, producing a variety of O-alkylhydroxylamines with good purity.     

Mitsunobu Reactions Catalytic in Phosphine and a Fully Catalytic System

The Mitsunobu reaction is renowned for its mild reaction conditions and broad substrate tolerance, but has limited utility in process chemistry and industrial applications due to poor atom economy and the generation of stoichiometric phosphine oxide and hydrazine by‐products that complicate purification. A catalytic Mitsunobu reaction using innocuous reagents to recycle these by‐products would overcome both of these shortcomings. Herein we report a protocol that is catalytic in phosphine (1‐phenylphospholane) employing phenylsilane to recycle the catalyst. Integration of this phosphine catalytic cycle with Taniguchi’s azocarboxylate catalytic system provided the first fully catalytic Mitsunobu reaction.     

Separation-friendly Mitsunobu reactions: a microcosm of recent developments in separation strategies

The Mitsunobu reaction is famous for its scope and power, but infamous for its separation headaches. Typically, the target product is enticed away from the reagent-derived byproducts by careful chromatography. The use of polymer-bound Mitsunobu reagents solves only half of the problem, because polymer-bound diethyl azodicarboxylate (DEAD) and phosphine reagents cannot be employed simultaneously. This article classifies, compares, and contrasts various emerging strategies for product isolation in Mitsunobu reactions. Because so many different strategies have been used, the Mitsunobu reaction is a microcosm for the new field of strategy level separations.     

An efficient synthesis of the 4'-epimer of 2-fluoronoraristeromycin

The 4'-epimer of 2-fluoronoraristeromycin was synthesized by employing bis-t-butoxycarbonyl (Boc) protected 2-fluoroadenine as a superior substrate for the Mitsunobu reaction with the appropriate cyclopentenol. Unlike the unsubstituted counterpart 2-fluoroadenine, this substrate is completely soluble in THF and resulted in a very good yield in the Mitsunobu coupling reaction as well as subsequent steps.     

The use of polymer-bound triphenylphosphine in the stereochemical inversion of secondary alcohols

Polymer-bound triphenylphosphine can replace triphenylphosphine in the Mitsunobu reaction to generate stereochemically inverted secondary alcohols. This method is comparable with the standard Mitsunobu reaction in terms of inversion of stereochemistry, yield, and reaction time, even for sterically very hindered secondary alcohols. The special merit of this reaction is that the excess polymer-bound triphenylphosphine and its by-products are easily removed by filtration from the reaction products.     

An approach to the stereoselective synthesis of syn- and anti-1,3-diol derivatives. Retention of configuration in the Mitsunobu reaction

The Mitsunobu reaction typically proceeds with inversion of configuration at the hydroxyl center. However, with a series of hindered alcohols, the intramolecular version of the Mitsunobu reaction afforded exclusively the product of retention of configuration. A mechanistic rationale for this observation is discussed, wherein this atypical stereochemical outcome is attributed to steric congestion at the reaction center.     

Mitsunobu reactions of aliphatic alcohols and bulky phenols

Alkylation of hydrazinedicarboxylate (a Mitsunobu by-product) is not a notable problem in common Mitsunobu alkyl aryl etherification reactions. Good yields can be obtained with a wide range of solvents. However, this side reaction can cause yield reduction for the reactions of sterically hindered phenols and primary alcohols. To suppress the side reaction, solvent effect was investigated. It was found that hydrazinedicarboxylate is about five times less soluble in diethyl ether than in THF, and the yields are improved for ortho-substituted phenols of a wide range of steric hindrance using diethyl ether as the solvent instead of THF which is the more commonly used for Mitsunobu reactions.     

Regioselective <Emphasis Type="Italic">N</Emphasis>-alkylation of (2-chloroquinolin-3-yl) methanol with <Emphasis Type="Italic">N</Emphasis>-heterocyclic compounds using the Mitsunobu reagent

The Mitsunobu reaction is a well-established fundamental reaction and has been widely applied in organic synthesis. In this paper, under Mitsunobu conditions dehydration proceeds between (2-chloroquinolin-3-yl)methanol and nitrogen heterocyclic compounds such as quinazolinone, pyrimidone, 2-oxoquinoline in dry THF in the presence of triethylamine, triphenylphosphane and diethyl azodicarboxylate to give the corresponding products. As part of our recent research, we attempted to couple two N-heterocyclic compounds under Mitsunobu reaction conditions to provide efficient building blocks for natural product synthesis.     

Novel chiral bridged azepanes: stereoselective ring expansion of 2-azanorbornan-3-yl methanols

The reaction of 2-azanorbornan-3-yl methanols under Mitsunobu or mesylation conditions with various nucleophiles led to a series of chiral-bridged azepanes with configuration at C-4 dependent on the configuration of the starting alcohol. High yielding, stereoselective ring expansion to novel 2-azabicyclo[3.2.1]octane system occurred via aziridinium intermediates, which were specifically opened by nucleophilic attack at the more substituted carbon.     

Solid-phase synthesis of alkyl aryl ethers via the Ullmann condensation

Alkyl aryl ether formation is a frequently employed reaction in organic synthesis. Ullmann condensation is an alternative method to the widely used Mitsunobu reaction and is very useful in situations where application of the Mitsunobu reaction is limited. By application of this reaction to solid-phase synthesis of a series of alkyl aryl ethers, reaction conditions (catalyst, solvent, temperature, time, etc.) for a sterically hindered class of alcohols were investigated and optimized. A range of aryl halides was used to explore the scope of the reaction in solid phase.     

Multicomponent synthesis of dihydrobenzoxazepinones by coupling Ugi and Mitsunobu reactions

Various dihydrobenzo[f][1,4]oxazepin-5-ones have been convergently prepared in 2-3 steps by coupling Ugi and Mitsunobu reactions. Two alternative methodologies were used: in the first one the Ugi condensation was followed by a Mitsunobu cyclization (2 steps); in the second one an intermolecular Mitsunobu reaction was followed by a deprotection step and then by an intramolecular Ugi reaction. Also a "convertible" isocyanide was used.     

Regioselective esterification of vicinal diols on monosaccharide derivatives via Mitsunobu reactions

We have carried out a series of esterification reactions of secondary alcohols derived from d-glucose, d-mannose, and d-galactose via the Mitsunobu reaction. The benzoylation reaction of vicinal diols derived from monosaccharides under Mitsunobu conditions afforded monobenzoates with retention of stereochemistry only. The regioselectivity of these reactions depends on the stereochemistry of the sugar starting material. The Mitsunobu reactions on these diols may be used for the selective protection of other vicinal secondary hydroxyl groups.     

The Hendrickson reagent and the Mitsunobu reaction: a mechanistic study

The alkoxytriphenylphosphonium ion intermediate of the Mitsunobu reaction can be generated using the Hendrickson reagent, triphenylphosphonium anhydride trifluoromethanesulfonate, 1. Strangely, while the reagent 1 can be used in place of the Mitsunobu reagents (triphenylphosphine and a dialkylazodicarboxylate) for the esterification of primary alcohols, secondary alcohols such as menthol undergo elimination. Evidence is presented to show that this unexpected result is due to the presence of trialkylammonium triflate salts. Such salts lead to a dramatic decrease in the rate of esterification relative to competing elimination. The Mitsunobu esterification of menthol with p-nitrobenzoic acid was re-examined and the occurrence of elimination reported for the first time. The presence of traces of tetrabutylammonium triflate led to a dramatic reduction in the yield of inverted ester and a corresponding increase in the yield of anti elimination product 2-menthene. The mechanism of the Mitsunobu reaction is discussed in the light of the dramatic salt effect on both the rate and outcome of the reaction and the possible involvement of ion pair clustering. In contrast, use of the reagent 1 resulted in syn elimination to give a 1:2 mixture of 2- and 3-menthenes. Finally, 1 and sodium azide can be used to convert a primary alcohol into an azide in high yield. There was no reaction under Mitsunobu conditions.     

An unexpected rearrangement during mitsunobu epimerization reaction of sugar derivatives

Mitsunobu reaction on the glucose derivative (3S,4R,5R,6R)-3,4,5, 7-tetrabenzyloxy-6-hydroxy-1-heptene yielded an unexpected rearrangement major product. Its structure was determined as (3R,4R, 5R,6S)-4,5,6,7-tetrabenzyloxy-3-hydroxy-1-heptene. The suggested rearrangement mechanism involves an initial intramolecular cyclization, followed by ring opening by the nucleophile p-nitrobenzoate. Product distribution of the Mitsunobu reaction was substrate-dependent, with the corresponding mannose derivative (the 3R epimer) giving less of the initial intramolecular reaction products and the corresponding galactose derivative (the 5S epimer) yielding almost exclusively the expected epimerization product. Varying the Mitsunobu reaction conditions (addition of base and using nonpolar solvent) led to the expected epimerization product of the glucose derivative.     

Mechanistic study of the Mitsunobu reaction

The Mitsunobu reaction occurs typically with inversion of configuration in secondary alcohol derivatives. In this paper, a mechanistic explanation for lactonizations of hindered alcohols under Mitsunobu conditions with retention is proposed. This involves the intermediacy of an acyloxyphosphonium salt followed by acyl transfer to the alcohol.     

Separation tagging with cyclodextrin-binding groups: Mitsunobu reactions with bis-(2-(1-adamantyl)ethyl) azodicarboxylate (BadEAD) and bis-(1-adamantylmethyl) azodicarboxylate (BadMAD)

A new method for separation tagging with cyclodextrin-binding groups is introduced and is exemplified in the context of the Mitsunobu reaction with adamantyl tags. HPLC experiments showed that molecules containing adamantyl groups were especially well retained on Sumichiral OA7500 β-methylated cyclodextrin bonded silica columns relative to many other types of molecules. Two new Mitsunobu reagents, bis-(1-adamantylmethyl) azodicarboxylate (BadMAD) and bis-(2-(1-adamantyl)ethyl) azodicarboxylate (BadEAD), were prepared, used in typical Mitsunobu reactions and separated with both β-methylated cyclodextrin bonded silica and standard silica.     

Capture-ROMP-release: application to the synthesis of amines and alkyl hydrazines

Application of a capture-ROMP-release strategy for the chromatography-free purification of Mitsunobu reaction products is described. Norbornenyl-tagged reagents are utilized for standard solution phase Mitsunobu chemistry. Post-reaction phase-switching is accomplished via in situ ring-opening metathesis polymerization (ROMP) followed by precipitation of the polymer with methanol. Release of the product from the polymer affords amines and alkyl hydrazine derivatives with good yields and purities.     

O-Alkylation versus C-alkylation under Mitsunobu conditions

A comparative study of the Mitsunobu reaction at C1 and C6 positions of mannose using bis(2,2,2-trifluoroethyl) malonate as nucleophile is disclosed. While C-alkylation was predominant at the C6 position, only O-alkylation occurred at the anomeric position of the carbohydrate. Some factors playing a role in the selectivity of the reaction are discussed and an inverse mechanism of the Mitsunobu reaction for the anomeric position is proposed.