anti-Selective aldol reactions of chiral alcohol substituted γ-benzyloxyl vinylogous urethanes and the synthesis of 3-benzyloxyl-4-hydroxylalkan-2-ones

The anti-selective aldol reaction of chiral alcohol-substituted γ-benzyloxy vinylogous urethanes is described. The use of (1S,2R,4R)-1-(hydroxydiphenylmethyl)-7,7-dimethylbicyclo[2,2,1]-heptan-2-ol as a chiral auxiliary in the aldol reaction of a vinylogous urethane enolate was found to provide anti-products in good yields with moderate to excellent enantioselectivities. The major anti-vinylogous urethane lactones were transformed into 3-benzyloxyl-4-hydroxylalkan-2-ones in good yields.     

Enantioselective construction of quaternary asymmetric carbon centers using an aldol reaction of trimethoxysilyl enol ethers catalyzed by lithium binaphtholate

An aldol reaction of 2,2-disubstituted trimethoxysilyl enol ethers with aldehydes catalyzed by a dilithium salt of (R)-3,3′-dichlorobinaphthol afforded the corresponding aldol adducts with quaternary carbon centers in high anti-selectivities (syn:anti = ∼1:50) and enantioselectivities (∼90% ee).     

Aldol reactions of 2-thioxotetrahydropyrimidin-4(1H)-ones: stereoregulations from endo- and exocyclic chiral centres

The steric regulations imparted by the substituent at N1 in lithium mediated asymmetric aldol reactions of conformationally restricted 3-aryl-1-((S)-1-phenylethyl)-2-thioxotetrahydropyrimidin-4(1H)-ones governed the formation of anti aldol adducts, by a kinetic reaction pathway. The preferential formation of the anti aldol diastereomers was also assisted by the steric effects of the electrophile through diastereofacial selection while the electronic effects of the aryl group at N3 remained subtle. Incorporation of an endocyclic methyl group at C6 witnessed the diastereoselective formation of an anti aldol adduct by regulation of π-facial selectivity. The absolute configurations of the aldol adducts were determined by computational calculations and NMR experiments, and confirmed by single crystal X-ray analysis.     

Chiral 1,2-diaminocyclohexane as organocatalyst for enantioselective aldol reaction

A simple and commercially available chiral 1,2-diaminocyclohexane as catalyst, hexanedioic acid as co-catalyst could efficiently catalyze the asymmetric aldol reaction in MeOH-H₂O. Cyclic ketones as aldol substrates gave the anti-β-hydroxyketone products with moderate to good yields, diastereoselectivity and enantioselectivity (up to 78% yield, >20:1 anti/syn, 94% ee). Hydroxyacetone as aldol substrate afforded the syn-α, β-dihydroxyketones as major products in up to 85% yield with good enantioselectivity (up to >20:1 syn/anti, 93% ee).     

Platinum(II) complex-catalyzed enantioselective aldol reaction with ketene silyl acetals in DMF at room temperature

[{(R)-binap}Pt(μ-OH)]₂2X is a weak Lewis acid, which can catalyze the enantioselective aldol reaction of aldehydes with ketene silyl acetals in DMF at room temperature. The platinum(II) complex-catalyzed the enantioselective aldol reaction of aldehydes with 1-methoxy-2-methyl-(1-trimethylsilyloxy)propene gave the corresponding aldols in high yields with enantioselectivity up to 92%. With 5 mol % loading of the complexes, the enantioselective aldol reaction of aldehydes with 1-benzyloxy-1-(trimethylsilyloxy)propene smoothly proceeded in DMF containing 10% HMPA as to predominantly give anti-propionates with enantioselectivity up to 89%, irrespective of the silyl nucleophile geometry.     

Spontaneous and diastereoselective aldol reactions of cyclic β-amino ketones in the presence of water

Direct aldol reactions of 4-methyl-1-piperidone, tropinone and granatanone (pseudopelletierine) take place spontaneously in the presence of water without any catalyst or additional reagents. The anti/syn-diastereoselectivity of the aqueous aldol reaction depends on the amount of water used. The syn-selectivity of the reaction is probably due to the thermodynamic control. Excellent atom economy and low E factors together with anti-selectivity as high as 98:2 for the tropinone aldol were obtained.     

Superior substrate control on diastereoselection in boric Lewis acid-promoted aldol reactions. Asymmetric synthesis of a 3,4-syn homologous series of ethyl 3,5-dihydroxy-2,4-dimethyl-5-phenylpentanoates

The BF₃·OEt₂-promoted aldol reaction of chiral syn- and anti-α-methyl-β-siloxy aldehydes with a silyl ketene acetal resulted in essentially complete syn Felkin selection. Even in the asymmetric aldol reaction using chiral oxazaborolidinones, the substrate control with respect to diastereoselection was found to overcome the promoter (catalyst) control which would normally occur depending on the stereocenter of the chiral boranes.     

l-Proline amide-catalyzed direct asymmetric aldol reaction of aldehydes with chloroacetone

l-Proline amides were evaluated for catalyzing the direct aldol reaction of 4-nitrobenzaldehyde with chloroacetone. The presence of 30 mol% (S)-pyrrolidine-2-carboxylic acid (2,4,6-trimethyl-phenyl)-amide catalyzed the direct aldol reactions of a range of aldehydes with chloroacetone to give anti-α-chloro-β-hydroxyketones with high regio-, diastereo- and enantioselectivity.     

The cooperative effect of a hydroxyl and carboxyl group on the catalytic ability of novel β-homoproline derivatives on direct asymmetric aldol reactions

Novel β-homoproline derivatives, 2-hydroxy-2-(pyrrolidin-2-yl)acetic acids (R,S)- and (S,S)-1a-d, were synthesized. All of the prepared compounds were used as organocatalysts in the direct asymmetric aldol reaction of 4-nitrobenzaldehyde with several ketones. Among these catalysts, (R)-2-hydroxy-2-((S)-pyrrolidin-2-yl)acetic acid (R,S)-1a showed good catalytic ability in the formation of aldol product 13 (up to 69% ee, 95% yield), which was similar to the results catalyzed by l-proline (71% ee, 96% yield). Relatively low yields and low enantioselectivities were observed in aldol reactions catalyzed by (S,S)-1a, for example, 13 was obtained in 55% yield and 13% ee. The aldol reaction catalyzed by the methyl-protected carboxylic acid 1b and esters 1c,d produced much lower chemical yields and enantioselectivities during the formation of 13. The cooperative effect of the (R)-configured hydroxyl group and the carboxyl group was found to play an important role in inducing enantioselectivity in the aldol reaction. Relatively high diastereoselectivities (anti:syn = 85:15) and enantioselectivity (anti, 83% ee) were observed in the aldol reactions of 4-nitrobenzaldehyde with cyclohexanone, which was catalyzed by (R,S)-1a.     

A DFT study of the origins of the stereoselectivity in the aldol reaction of bicyclic amino ketones in the presence of water

Experimental diastereoselectivities of the direct solvent-less (neat) aldol reactions of tropinone (8-methyl-8-azabicyclo[3.2.1]octan-3-one) and granatanone (pseudopelletierine, 9-methyl-9-azabicyclo[3.3.1]nonan-3-one) in the presence of catalytic amounts of water are most accurately reproduced by thermodynamic distributions of isomeric products calculated in the gas phase at the B3LYP/6-31g(d) level of theory. Less than 30% systematic errors, on average, exist in the predicted anti/syn-diastereomeric ratio (dr) for the solvent-less reaction of tropinone with several aromatic aldehydes. The CPCM-B3LYP/6-31g(d) method reproduces the anti/syn-diastereomeric ratio of the aqueous aldol reaction of tropinone with several aromatic aldehydes with reasonable deviation (0-88%), excellent (0-10)% agreement was found for the reactions of tropinone and granatanone with benzaldehyde. Qualitatively satisfactory agreement was also found for dr values in different solvents (DMF, THF, and Et₃N). The density functional theory (DFT) results support the notion of the thermodynamic control of the reaction.     

Aluminum enolates via retroaldol reaction: catalytic tandem aldol-transfer—Tischtschenko reaction of aldehydes with aldol adducts of ketones to ketones

Bidentate aluminum chelates derived from biphenol, binaphthol and catechol were found to be efficient catalysts for aldol-transfer reactions of ketone to ketone aldol adducts with aliphatic or aromatic aldehydes giving rise to the formation of aldol adducts of ketones to the aldehydes. In the presence of an excess of an aliphatic aldehyde, a catalytic tandem aldol-transfer—Tischtschenko reaction is observed. The tandem reaction produces monoesters of 1,3-diols with high anti selectivity and with modest to good chemical yield. 1,2-Unsaturated aldehydes are less reactive in the aldol-transfer reaction and require 2-4 times higher load of the catalyst to be used than aliphatic and aromatic aldehydes. Poor diastereoselectivity was observed in the formation of α-substituted aldols and 2-substituted monoesters of anti-1,3-diols indicating that the aldol-transfer reaction is not diastereoselective with the catalysts studied. The utility of the highly 1,3-anti selective formation of diolmonoesters was found to be limited by acyl migration.     

Unexpected ambidoselectivity in crossed-aldol reactions of α-oxy aldehyde trichlorosilyl enolates

The ambido-, stereo- and enantioselectivity of the phosphoramide-promoted aldol reactions of α-oxy aldehyde trichlorosilyl enolates with benzaldehyde has been investigated. Analysis of the products from α-tert-butyldimethylsilyloxy α-deuterioacetaldehyde trichlorosilyl enolate confirmed that this 1,2-bis-silyloxyethene derivative reacted as a tert-butyldimethylsilyl enolate rather than trichlorosilyl enolate in the aldol reaction with very high ambidoselectivity. The phosphoramide-coordinated trichlorosilyl group acted as an organizing center for the aldol reaction. From the aldol process, excellent anti-diastereoselectivity could be achieved. The enantioselectivity remained moderate to low for both anti- and syn-diastereomer with a wide range of phosphoramide catalysts. α-Triisopropylsilyloxy, phenoxy and benzyloxy acetaldehyde trichlorosilyl enolates also reacted in a similar fashion with benzaldehyde to give aldol products with varying degrees of selectivities.     

Investigations of the stereoselectivity of the intramolecular Diels-Alder reaction of a spiculoic acid model system

Model linear precursors to the spiculoic acids were prepared and underwent thermally induced IMDA reactions. The configuration of C5 in the stereotriad was found to dominate any inherent endo/exo selectivity of the IMDA reaction. The isomer (2E,5S)-20 underwent the IMDA to give the spiculoic acid stereochemistry in 84% yield and 94% ds. The required stereotriads were synthesised using stereoselective substrate-controlled aldol reactions; an anti-boron aldol reaction, controlled by the π-facial preference of (S)-2-benzoyloxypentan-3-one ((S)-27) led to (5R)-(22) and a syn-titanium aldol reaction, under the stereocontrol of a chiral N-acylthiazolidinethione (42) led to (5S)-(22). Chain extension using standard Wittig, HWE and ‘modified’ Julia olefinations installed the diene and dienophile components giving the linear precursors to the IMDA reactions.     

Chiral base-catalyzed aldol reaction of trimethoxysilyl enol ethers: effect of water as an additive on stereoselectivities

An aldol reaction of trimethoxysilyl enol ether catalyzed by lithium binaphtholate is described. The aldol reaction of trimethoxysilyl enol ether derived from cyclohexanone under anhydrous conditions predominantly afforded the anti-aldol adduct with moderate enantioselectivity, whereas the reaction under aqueous conditions predominantly resulted in the syn-adduct and the enantioselectivity of the syn-adduct was considerably improved. The best enantioselectivity was obtained in the reaction of trimethoxysilyl enol ether derived from 1-indanone with cyclohexanecarboxaldehyde (97% ee (syn)). This is the first example of an aldol reaction of trimethoxysilyl enol ether catalyzed by a chiral base.     

Organocatalysis of asymmetric aldol reaction in water: comparison of catalytic properties of (S)-valine and (S)-proline amides

(S)-Valine amides containing (S)- or (R)-α-phenylethyl substituents at N¹ atom efficiently catalyze asymmetric aldol reactions between cyclic (heterocyclic) ketones and aromatic aldehydes in water, predominantly giving rise to the aldol anti-diastereomers in high yields (up to 98%) and enantiomeric excess (up to 94%).     

Construction of anti-1,2-diols bearing chiral tertiary alcohol moiety using free hydroxyacetone as aldol donor by imidazole-based prolineamide catalyst

A direct aldol reaction of free hydroxyacetone and activated ketone has been firstly achieved with a newly developed imidazole-based prolineamide catalyst. The adducts anti-1,2-diols bearing a chiral tertiary alcohol moiety were obtained in high yield (up to 92%) and stereoselectivity (up to 15:1 dr and 90% ee).     

Highly stereoselective anti-aldol reactions catalyzed by simple chiral diamines and their unique application in configuration switch of aldol products

Chiral derivatives of trans-1,2-diaminocyclohexane with different N,N-dialkyl groups in well-defined orientations have been synthesized, and applied as catalysts for the asymmetric aldol reaction between a variety of aldehydes and ketones. Enantiomeric catalyst 1j catalyzed the reaction in ethanol and provided excellent diastereoselectivity and enantioselectivity. Significantly, simple replacement of organic solvents with water switched the products of the aldol reactions from anti to syn configuration. Such catalytic reactions led to the products with anti to syn diastereoselectivity up to 99:1 in ethanol, while in water gave the products with syn to anti diastereoselectivity up to 99:1.     

A highly enantioselective,moderately anti-selective aldol reaction using a novel hydrazone moiety as stereo director

The use of novel hydrazones as stereo directors with a view to develop a highly enantioselective, anti-diastereoselective aldol addition procedure has been investigated. A number of proline-derived hydrazones were produced and their effectiveness in directing simple alkylation of aza-enolates investigated. The most promising of these hydrazones were then used in the aldol reaction. The substituent on the oxygen of the proline had a profound effect on both the magnitude and the sense of asymmetric induction. The optimum hydrazone for the formal aldol reaction between pentanone and propionaldehyde gave a diastereoselectivity of 37% in favour of the anti-isomer while both isomers had an ee of 83–84%.     

Chiral phosphine oxide BINAPO as a Lewis base catalyst for asymmetric allylation and aldol reaction of trichlorosilyl compounds

Chiral phosphine oxide BINAPO, which was readily prepared from chiral phosphine BINAP, exhibited good catalytic activities in the reaction of trichlorosilyl compounds via hypervalent silicate intermediates. The allylation of aldehydes with allyltrichlorosilanes in the presence of a catalytic amount of BINAPO gave the allylated adducts in good enantioselectivities (up to 79% ee) wherein a combination of diisopropylethylamine and tetrabutylammonium iodide as additives was crucial to accelerate the catalytic cycle. ³¹P NMR analysis of the phosphine oxide suggested that the amine promoted the dissociation of phosphine oxide from silicon atom. BINAPO also promoted the enantioselective aldol reaction of aldehydes with trichlorosilyl enol ethers in the presence of diisopropylethylamine as an additive to afford the corresponding aldol adducts in high diastereo- and enantioselectivities (up to syn/anti=1/25, 96% ee (anti)).     

A chiral primary-tertiary-1,2-diamine as an efficient catalyst in asymmetric aldehyde–ketone or ketone–ketone aldol reactions

A novel chiral 1,2-diaminocyclohexane derivative, (1R,2R)-N¹-n-pentyl, N¹-benzyl-1,2-cyclohexanediamine, was designed, synthesized and applied as a catalyst in a number of aldol reactions between ketones and aryl aldehydes. Reactions between acetone and aryl aldehydes gave aldol products with moderate to good yields and with excellent enantioselectivity (up to yield 85%, ee 98%), while reactions between cyclohexanone and aryl aldehydes provided anti-β-hydroxyketone products with excellent yields, diastereoselectivity and with enantioselectivity (up to 82% yield, anti/syn ratio 99:1, ee 99%). The aldol reactions between acetone and isatins were investigated, which afforded excellent yields and enantioselectivity (up to 95% yield, 98% ee). The (R)- and (S)-isomers of convolutamydine A were obtained with 95% yield and 96% ee, and 95% yield and 94% ee, respectively.