Stereospecificity and stereoselectivity in electrophilic substitution reactions of non-alpha-heterosubstituted organolithiums and stannanes: a rotationally restricted amide as an internal stereochemical marker.

The complete stereochemical course of a tin-lithium exchange/electrophilic quench sequence has been unambiguously determined by stereochemical characterization (using X-ray crystallography or NOE studies) at every step. Pairs of diastereoisomeric stannanes of known stereochemistry bearing atropisomeric amide substituents undergo tin-lithium exchange with alkyllithiums to give diastereoisomeric benzylic organolithiums whose stereochemistry can be assigned by NMR. For one atropisomer of the stannanes, the tin-lithium exchange is fully stereospecific and proceeds with retention of stereochemistry. The other atropisomer undergoes nonstereospecific tin-lithium exchange: the first reported example of a lack of stereospecificity in electrophilic substitution of tin for lithium. One of the diastereoisomeric atropisomeric organolithiums produced by the tin-lithium exchange is deuterated and alkylated with retention but stannylated with inversion of stereochemistry. The other is alkylated nonstereospecifically but stannylated with retention.     

Dynamic thermodynamic and dynamic kinetic resolution of 2-lithiopyrrolidines

Dynamic resolution has been studied as a method for the asymmetric synthesis of 2-substituted pyrrolidines. Highly enantioselective electrophilic substitutions of racemic 2-lithiopyrrolidines in the presence of a chiral ligand have been achieved. The organolithium compounds were prepared by tin-lithium exchange from the corresponding tributylstannanes and n-butyllithium or by deprotonation of N-(tert-butyloxycarbonyl)pyrrolidine with sec-butyllithium. A range of N-substituents and chiral ligands were investigated for the dynamic resolution. Electrophilic quench of the resolved diastereomeric 2-lithiopyrrolidine-chiral ligand complexes provided the enantiomerically enriched 2-substituted pyrrolidines. With N-alkyl derivatives, the resolution occurs conveniently at (or just below) room temperature and either enantiomer of the product can be formed by appropriate choice of the chiral ligand. The asymmetric induction occurs as a result of a thermodynamic preference for one of the diastereomeric complexes. The minor complex was found to have a faster rate of reaction with the electrophile. The use of N-allylic derivatives provides a means to prepare the N-unsubstituted pyrrolidine products. Best results were obtained with the N-2,3-dimethylbut-2-enyl derivative, and this N-substituent could be cleaved using 1-chloroethyl chloroformate. With N-Boc-2-lithiopyrrolidine, the enantioselectivity arises by a kinetic resolution and high levels of asymmetric induction in the presence of excess n-butyllithium can be obtained. Dynamic kinetic resolution of the N-Boc derivative is limited in the scope of electrophile that can be used.     

Asymmetric synthesis of 2-alkenyl-1-cyclopentanols via tin-lithium exchange and intramolecular cycloalkylation

[reaction: see text] We report a method for the synthesis of chiral cyclopentanes using tin-lithium exchange and cycloalkylation reactions. The sec-butyllithium/(-)-sparteine-mediated deprotonation of an alkyl carbamate and subsequent substitution furnishes a highly enantioenriched stannane as a stable carbanion equivalent. It was transformed into suitable cyclization precursors, which underwent tin-lithium exchange and stereoselective cycloalkylation when reacted with n-butyllithium, giving highly enantioenriched cyclopentanes in very good yields. A kinetic resolution was observed with a higher substituted stannane.     

Synthesis and reactivity of dipole-stabilized but unchelated alpha-aminoorganolithiums

Two N-methyl-5-lithio-2-pyrrolidinones have been prepared by tin-lithium exchange. These two alpha-aminoorganolithium compounds that are stabilized by an amide dipole, but not by chelation to the amide carbonyl. Both constitute test cases for comparing the stability and reactivity of "dipole-stabilized" and "unstabilized" alpha-aminoorganolithiums. We find that active methylene protons interfere with the reaction, so geminal disubstitution alpha to the amide carbonyl was necessary to suppress side reactions. These species do not react as efficiently as unstabilized alpha-aminoorganolithiums, or even as well as chelated dipole-stabilized alpha-aminoorganolithiums, toward typical electrophiles. The tin-lithium exchange to form these species was also not as facile as with other alpha-aminoorganostannanes.     

Preparation and applications of a novel bis(tributylstannyl)cyclopropane: a synthetic equivalent of a cyclopropane-1,2-dianion

The preparation of the novel trans-1,2-bis-stannylcyclopropane 4 is described. Its applications in Kosugi-Migita-Stille cross-coupling and in tin-lithium exchange reactions are presented and discussed.     

Synthetic Utility of α-Stannyl α,β-Unsaturated Esters as Reagents for β-Substituted Acrylate α-Anion Synthons: Tin-Lithium Exchange and Palladium-Catalized Coupling Reactions

The tin-lithium exchange and the palladium-catalized coupling reactions of the title compounds have been studied. The latter reaction was found to be more efficient for functionalizing the α-carbon of these esters.     

Dynamic kinetic and kinetic resolution of N-Boc-2-lithiopiperidine

Asymmetric substitution of 2-lithiopiperidines can be achieved by dynamic resolution; the organolithium is formed as a racemic mixture by proton abstraction (or tin-lithium exchange) and is resolved in the presence of a chiral ligand.     

Dynamic kinetic resolution of N-Boc-2-lithiopyrrolidine

Asymmetric substitution of the organolithium derived either from N-Boc-2-tributylstannylpyrrolidine by tin-lithium exchange or from N-Boc-pyrrolidine by deprotonation occurs in the presence of a commercially available chiral diamine ligand with high levels of enantioselectivity by a dynamic kinetic resolution pathway.     

Lithiation and Electrophilic Substitution of Dimethyl Triazones

The lithiation and electrophilic substitution of dimethyl triazones is described. Directed lithiation or tin-lithium exchange of dimethyl triazones afforded the corresponding dipole stabilized nucleophiles that were trapped with various electrophiles. Keto-triazone derivatives accessed by acylation of such nucleophiles were readily converted into the corresponding imidazolone heterocycles.     

A relative organolithium stability scale derived from tin-lithium exchange equilibria. Substituent effects on the stability of alpha-oxy- and alpha-aminoorganolithium compounds

Quantitative thermodynamic stability scales of organolithium compounds can be derived from measurements of tin-lithium exchange equilibria. A DeltaG(eq) scale of alpha-oxy- and alpha-aminoorganolithium compounds was established, and quantitative stabilization effects of O-alkyl, O-alkoxyalkyl, O-carbamoyl, N-carbamoyl, and O-carbonyl groups of the alpha-carbanion are presented. It has been found that an alpha-oxycarbanion is far better stabilized by a carbonyl group as the O-substituent than by an alkyl or alkoxyalkyl group, while the anion-stabilizing effects of the different O-carbonyl substituents are comparable. An N-carbamoyl group was found to have a somewhat higher stabilizing effect than its O-carbamoyl counterpart. NMR data are presented that show that benzylic N- or O-substituted carbanions have highly planarized structures where the negative charge is highly delocalized. The stability data obtained from the tin-lithium exchanges can be easily converted into "effective pK" data that are useful for predicting the acid-base behavior of this type of organolithium species.     

The effect of protecting groups on tin-lithium exchange in α-alkoxyalkyltrimethylstannanes

MOM-protected α-hydroxytrimethylstannanes do not undergo tin-lithium exchange cleanly as their tributyl-counterparts do. Other protecting groups (e.g. N,N-diethylcarbamate) allow for clean transmetalation to occur presumably due to the formation of a more stable α-alkoxyorganolithium species.     

The imidato-alkenyllithium route for the synthesis of the isoquinocycline-pyrrolopyrrole substructure

A convergent and effective synthesis of the pyrrolopyrrole substructure (CDEFG) of the isoquinocyclines is reported. A key step is a tin-lithium exchange of an imidato-alkenyltin compound (a ring G equivalent) and the subsequent acylation with a lactone. The resulting acetal is used successfully for the ring F closure to the pyrrolopyrrole. The sole formation of the isoquinocycline N,O-acetal epimer is in accordance with the proposed mechanism for the isomerization of quinocyclines to isoquinocyclines.     

Modeling and experiment reveal an unexpected stereoelectronic effect on conformation and scalar couplings of alpha-aminoorganostannanes, with possible relevance to the tin-lithium exchange reaction

The solution conformation of N-methyl-2-(tributylstannyl)piperidines has been determined through the use of vicinal 119Sn-13C coupling constants, revealing a conformational distortion caused by an unexpected stereoelectronic effect in some cases. Specifically, the "equatorial" conformer is distorted into a half-chair, in which the nitrogen lone pair eclipses the C-Sn bond. This distortion, which "costs" approximately 1 kcal/mol, correlates with a conformational dependence of geminal 119Sn-15N couplings and a possible correlation with reactivity in the tin-lithium exchange reaction.     

Generation of ketone dilithio α,β-dianions and their reactions with electrophiles

Ketone dilithio α,β- and α,β′-dianions can be generated by a tin-lithium exchange reaction of the lithium enolate of β-tributyltin substituted ketones. A chelation-aided approach, which employs β-dichlorobutyltin substituted ketones and n-BuLi, is also useful for the generation of ketone α,β-dianions having the Z-geometry at the alkene. The generated dianions can be transformed into substituted ketones by reaction with various carbon electrophiles.     

Asymmetric synthesis of enantio-enriched acyclic α-amino alkylstannanes and rearrangement behavior of carbanions thereof

An efficient stereocontrolled synthesis of enantio-enriched N-Boc-N-allyl-α-amino alkylstannanes and N,N-diallylic α-amino alkylstannanes starting from enantio-enriched α-hydroxy alkylstannane has been developed. The aza-Wittig rearrangement of enantio-defined N,N-diallyl-α-amino alkyllithium, generated by tin-lithium exchange, is shown to proceed predominantly with inversion of configuration at the Li-bearing carbon terminus.     

Preparation and configurational stability of chiral chloro-[D1]methyllithiums of 98% enantiomeric excess

Enantiopure stannyl-[D1]methanol was converted to chloro-[D1]methylstannane under complete inversion of configuration using Ph3P/N-chlorosuccinimide in THF. It was transmetalated to stereospecifically give chloro-[D1]methyllithium (ee up to 98%). Its microscopic configurational stability was tested by performing tin-lithium exchange in the presence of benzaldehyde as the electrophile under various conditions. The macroscopic configurational stability was addressed by using the same electrophile but by adding it 30 s after the addition of MeLi used for transmetalation. Chloro-[D1]methyllithium is chemically very labile, however completely configurationally stable on both time scales up to the temperature of rapid decomposition (-78 degrees C).     

Synthesis of the aziridinomitosene skeleton by intramolecular Michael addition of alpha-lithioaziridines: an aromatic route featuring deuterium as a removable blocking group

A convergent synthetic route to the 1,2-aziridinopyrrolo(1,2-a)indole 34 has been developed. Key features of this route include the deuterium kinetic isotope effect to block undesired indole lithiation during tin-lithium exchange from 27a to 30a, the intramolecular Michael addition to generate the enolate 31a, and conversion into 34 by trapping with phenylselenenyl chloride. Reductive cleavage of the N-trityl group in 34 allows access to tetracyclic aziridinomitosenes containing the aziridine N-H subunit. Reduction of the C(9) ester in 34 with LAH gives the primary alcohol 35 with the correct C(9), C(9a), C(10) oxidation state corresponding to the aziridinomitosenes, and deprotection of 34 affords 37.     

Quantitative data on the effects of alkyl substituents and Li-O and Li-N chelation on the stability of secondary alpha-oxy-organolithium compounds

A DeltaG(eq) stability scale of secondary alpha-oxy-organolithium compounds was established from measurements of tin-lithium exchange equilibria in THF, and the quantitative effects of substituents at the anionic center on carbanion stability are presented. A new lead-lithium exchange equilibrium reaction was also investigated and shown to be a very useful alternative for the determination of the relative stability of the more sterically hindered organolithium compounds. Alkyl groups adversely affect the stability of organolithium compounds when attached to the carbon bearing the negative charge, but the extent of this effect is highly dependent on the nature of the rest of the substituents attached to the anionic center. Quantitative data on the stabilization imparted to organolithium compounds by Li-O and Li-N chelation have been determined for a variety of systems. The formation of four- and five-membered chelate rings leads to a considerable stabilization of the organolithium compound, while chelation through the formation of six-membered rings affords no extra stabilization to this type of organometallics. Multinuclear NMR experiments carried out on several alpha-oxy-organolithium compounds to determine their aggregation state are supportive of these species being monomers in THF solution.     

Complex-induced proximity effects: the effect of varying directing-group orientation on carbamate-directed lithiation reactions.

A series of selected bicyclic carbamates in which the range of accessible angles and distances between the carbonyl group and the proton removed in an alpha-lithiation reaction are structurally defined have been investigated. Oxazolidinones 7-10 undergo stereoselective lithiation-substitution reactions to provide cis-18-27 and cis-31-35 as the major diastereomers. Two series of competition experiments show that the conformationally restricted carbamates 7, 10, 11, and 15 undergo lithiation via complexes more efficiently than Boc amines 4-6. These results along with semiempirical calculations suggest that a small dihedral angle and a calculated distance of 2.78 A between the carbamate carbonyl oxygen and the proton to be removed are favorable for a carbamate-directed lithiation. A series of tin-lithium exchange experiments on cis- and trans-18 and (S)-39 indicate that the configurational stability of a carbamate-stabilized organolithium species may be enhanced by restrictive geometry.     

Alpha- vs ortho-lithiation of N-alkylarylaziridines: probing the role of the nitrogen inversion process

The lithiation reaction of monophenyl- and diphenylaziridines has been investigated in detail in an effort to understand why the former undergo exclusively or mainly ortho-lithiation while the latter are lithiated exclusively at the alpha-position. Evidence is reported that ruled out the possibility that the alpha-lithiation, observed for the diphenylaziridines, is the result of an ortho- to alpha-translocation phenomenon, thus substantiating a direct alpha-deprotonation process. The role of the aziridine nitrogen lone-pair has been considered: dynamics at the aziridine nitrogen as well as complex-induced proximity effects seem to be responsible for the observed regioselectivity in both monophenyl and diphenylaziridines. It turns out that, by tuning the reaction conditions for the lithiation of trans-1-alkyl-2-methyl-3-phenylaziridines, it is possible to generate with high regioselectivity alpha- and/or ortho-lithiated aziridines, which can be stereoselectively functionalized by electrophilic trapping. A regioselective ortho-functionalization of diphenylaziridines is made possible by halogen- or tin-lithium exchange and by deprotonation of bis-deuterated aziridines.