On the Preparation of 2‐Substituted Cephalosporins,Part 2

Cephalosporin sulfoxides 1 and 2 containing an enone‐ or dienone‐type moiety at position 2 were treated with 2,3‐dimethylbuta‐1,3‐diene or diethyl azodicarboxylate to synthesize, in Diels? Alder reactions, the new cephalosporin derivatives 4 and 5 with a cyclic substituent (Scheme 1). Under the same conditions, ethyl diazoacetate and diazomethane reacted differently: while reactions of 1 and 3 with the former lead to compounds 7 – 10 corresponding to the 1,3‐dipolar cycloaddition route (Scheme 2), diazomethane produced only enol ethers 12 and 13 , respectively (Scheme 3). This difference could be rationalized by assuming two different reaction pathways: an orbital‐symmetry‐controlled concerted cycloaddition and an ionic one.