Direct conversion of N-methoxy-N-methylamides (Weinreb amides) to ketones via a nonclassical Wittig reaction

[reaction: see text] N-Methoxy-N-methylamides (Weinreb amides) are converted efficiently into ketones by reaction with alkylidenetriphenylphosphoranes and in situ hydrolysis of the product.     

Highly anti-selective catalytic aldol reactions of amides with aldehydes

Barium phenoxide-catalyzed, highly anti-selective direct-type aldol reactions of amides with aldehydes have been developed. In the presence of a slight excess amount of an amide, the desired reactions proceeded smoothly under mild conditions, and a wide range of aromatic, heterocyclic, alpha,beta-unsaturated aldehydes were applicable to afford the desired adducts in high yields with high anti-selectivities. A catalytic, enantioselective reaction of an amide with an aldehyde using a chiral ligand is also described.     

Reactions between Weinreb amides and 2-magnesiated oxazoles: a simple and efficient preparation of 2-acyl oxazoles

Treatment of oxazole or 5-aryl oxazoles with i-PrMgCl smoothly generates the corresponding 2-Grignard reagents, which react with Weinreb amides to provide exclusively 2-acyl oxazole products.     

Water is an efficient medium for Wittig reactions employing stabilized ylides and aldehydes

Water is demonstrated to be an excellent medium for the Wittig reaction employing stabilized ylides and aldehydes. Although the solubility in water appears to be an unimportant characteristic in achieving good chemical yields and E/Z-ratios, the rate of Wittig reactions in water is unexpectedly accelerated.     

One-pot synthesis of aldehydes or ketones from carboxylic acids via in situ generation of Weinreb amides using the Deoxo-Fluor reagent

A one-pot, high yield conversion of carboxylic acids to the corresponding aldehydes and ketones is described. The highlight of this methodology is the in situ generation of Weinreb amides with the Deoxo-Fluor reagent, which undergo nucleophilic reaction with DIBAL-H and Grignard reagents.     

Synthesis of Weinreb amides via Pd-catalyzed aminocarbonylation of heterocyclic-derived triflates

The direct transformation of lactam-, lactone-, and thiolactone-derived triflates into N-methoxy-N-methyl or morpholine Weinreb amides has been realized using Pd-catalyzed aminocarbonylation under CO atmospheric pressure and at room temperature. The carbonylative coupling can be efficiently carried out with 2% of catalyst in the presence of Xantphos as a ligand. The amides smoothly react with nucleophiles to afford acylated aza-, oxa-, and thio-heterocycles. The proposed methodology could be advantageously exploited for the synthesis of dienones in which one of the double bonds is embedded in a heterocyclic moiety, as useful substrates for Nazarov cyclization.     

Michael reactions of titanium enolates of glycolic acid derivatives with the Weinreb and morpholine amides of acrylic acid

The conjugate additions of titanium enolates of glycolate-derived chiral oxazolidin-2-ones to various Michael acceptors have been evaluated as an entry to enantiopure 1,2,5-trioxygenated and related synthons. alpha,beta-unsaturated Weinreb and morpholine amides do react under suitable conditions and their adducts can be converted to diverse C1-C5 chiral fragments.     

Free fatty acid determination in plasma by GC-MS after conversion to Weinreb amides

Circulating free fatty acids (FFAs) play important physiological roles as contributing components in cellular structure as well as energy utilization. Elevated levels of circulating FFAs are associated with metabolic aberrations in humans. FFAs differ in chain length and saturation and may be altered in metabolically dysregulated conditions, such as type 2 diabetes mellitus. Potentially, alterations in circulating levels of specific FFAs could also be important in terms of prognostic value. Various methods have been used to analyze FFAs. In this study, a straightforward and accurate method for the determination of FFAs in plasma has been established and evaluated, through conversion of plasma FFAs into acid fluorides followed by conversion to Weinreb amides (dimethylamide). The method is mild, efficient, selective, and quantitative for FFAs, when analyzed with capillary gas chromatography tandem mass spectrometry. Standard curves were linear over the range of 1,000–20,000 ng/mL with a correlation coefficient (r ²) of 0.998, and coefficient of variation of triplicate analysis was <10 %. The gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC-MS) technique was reproducible and repeatable, and recoveries were above 90 %. From the generated MS spectra, five specific FFAs were identified. An explicit interest was the quantification of palmitate (C16:0) and palmitoleate (C16:1), which have been connected with detrimental and positive effects on the insulin-producing beta cells, respectively. The results demonstrate the suitability of Weinreb amides for efficient and rapid isolation of FFAs in plasma, prior to quantitative GC-MS analysis. We suggest that the method can be used as a routine standardized way of quantifying FFAs.     

l-Proline amides catalyze direct asymmetric aldol reactions of aldehydes with methylthioacetone and fluoroacetone

Direct aldol reactions of aldehydes with methylthio- and fluoroacetone catalyzed by proline amides have been investigated. l-Prolinamide 5e was found to be the best catalyst. Under the optimized reaction conditions, a series of aromatic and aliphatic aldehydes reacted smoothly with methylthioacetone, to generate 1-methylthio-4-hydroxyketones 3 in good yields and with high regio- and enantioselectivities. Excellent enantioselectivities of up to 98% ee were observed for aromatic aldehydes and even higher enantioselectivities of >99% ee were observed for aliphatic aldehydes. Asymmetric direct aldol reactions of fluoroacetone with aldehydes in the presence of 20 mol % of 5e preferentially occurred at the fluoromethyl group, yielding products with high enantioselectivities (up to 98% ee).     

DBP ylides: Wittig reagents for synthesis of E-alkenes from aldehydes

Phosphorus ylides based on the dibenzophosphole (DBP) ring system convert aldehydes into trans-disubstituted oxaphosphetanes with good to excellent selectivity. Decomposition at 70–110° affords alkenes with E:Z ratios from 6:1 to > 100:1.     

Asymmetric synthesis of beta-amino carbonyl compounds with N-sulfinyl beta-amino Weinreb amides

[reaction: see text] Diverse organometallic reagents readily add to enantiopure N-sulfinyl beta-amino Weinreb amides providing the corresponding, stable, N-sulfinyl beta-amino carbonyl compounds in good to excellent yields. This new methodology represents a general solution to the problem of beta-amino carbonyl syntheses, which are important chiral building blocks and constituents of natural products. N-Sulfinyl beta-amino Weinreb amides are prepared by reaction of the potassium enolate of N-methoxy N-methylacetamide with sulfinimines (N-sulfinyl imines) or lithium N,O-dimethylhydroxylamine with N-sulfinyl beta-amino esters.     

Direct conversion of aldehydes to amides,tetrazoles, and triazines in aqueous media by one-pot tandem reactions

A variety of aldehydes reacted with iodine in ammonia water at room temperature to give the nitrile intermediates, which were trapped by addition of hydrogen peroxide, sodium azide, or dicyandiamide to produce their corresponding amides, tetrazoles, and 1,3,5-triazines in modest to high yields. The one-pot tandem reactions were conducted in water media, and the products were obtained simply by extraction or filtration.     

Different N-C-N formation reactions of aromatic aldehydes and thiohydantoins controlled by Lewis acid promoters

A three-component reaction of aromatic aldehydes, acetonitrile, and 2-thiohydantoins promoted by TiCl₄ was discovered, and a different N-C-N bond-forming reaction took place with FeCl₃, AlCl₃ or BF₃·Et₂O as promoter. The thiohydantoin derivatives 1 and 3 were synthesized in moderate to high yields. A plausible mechanism for the formation of 1 and 3 is suggested.     

Reactions of furan aldehydes 4. Oxidation-reduction reactions of furfural with monohydric alcohols

Furfural oxidizes aliphatic and alicyclic alcohols at 70–100°C under the action of sodium alcoholate to aldehydes and ketones, and then participates in a crotonate condensation. At 0–10°C the alcohol is not oxidized but the adduct with alkoxide ion is oxidized to form an alkyl furoate.For Communication 3, see [1].Translated from Khimiya Geterotsiklicheskikh Soedinenii, No. 1, pp. 25–28, January, 1993.     

Synthesis of enamides from aldehydes and amides

A range of double unsaturated amides (15, 19, and 21), obtained by cross-coupling reactions was reacted with aldehydes to hemiaminals. Heating the hemiaminals in the presence of Ac₂O and pyridine affected clean conversion to the corresponding enamides, such as 42, 45, and 47. Alternatively, N,S-acetals were prepared which were oxidized to the sulfones. Treatment with base also gave the enamides, favoring the cis-isomer. However, this method is less general. Application of these methods led to the natural products lansiumamide-A (30_cis), lansiumamide-I (31) and lansiumamide-B (32).