Lewis Acid-Mediated Cyclization of Allenyl Aryl Ketones.

The cyclization of a series of nonheterocyclic allenyl aryl ketones was examined using boron trifluoride etherate and indium triflate to mediate the reaction. Yields with BF3 were low in most instances due mainly to competitive destruction of the substrates. With In(OTf)3, there was less decomposition, and the yields of the cyclized product were much higher, but only for substrates with electron-donating substituents. Cyclization did not occur without those substituents. A computational study using the ωB97X-D/6-311+G(2d,p)//ωB97X-D/6-31+G(d,p) method confirmed better stability of the σ-complexed substrate by indium(III) and that meta-substituents on the phenyl ring of the substrate significantly influenced the activation barrier of the cyclization, whereas the effect of para-substituents was almost negligible. The computational results supported the idea that the cyclization is a 4π-electrocyclization and not a 5-endo-dig ring closure as had been proposed in the literature.

Computational Examination of (4 + 3) versus (3 + 2) Cycloaddition in the Interception of Nazarov Reactions of Allenyl Vinyl Ketones by Dienes.

A computational examination of the tandem Nazarov/cycloaddition process involving an allenyl vinyl ketone with a diene has been carried out using the ωB97X-D/6-311++G(d,p)//ωB97X-D/6-31+G(d,p) method with solvation modeled by SMD-PCM. The barrier for the initial Lewis acid mediated Nazarov reaction, which provided the intermediate cyclic oxylallyl cation, was higher than that for any subsequent cycloaddition. The barrier for the first step of a subsequent stepwise reaction did not vary much with the diene, and the lowest barrier was with the diene in its s-trans conformation. Stepwise formation of a (4 + 3) cycloaddition product was not energetically feasible, but (3 + 2) cycloaddition products could have been produced through low energy pathways. The barrier for a concerted (4 + 3) cycloaddition did depend upon the diene, which was always in an s-cis geometry. The barriers for the compact and the extended geometries for the transition states of (4 + 3) cycloadditions were not much different.

Nazarov reactions intercepted by (4 + 3) cycloadditions with oxygen-substituted dienes.

The oxyallyl cation intermediate from the Lewis acid mediated Nazarov reaction of an allenyl vinyl ketone was intercepted by acyclic, 2-silyloxy-substituted butadienes by highly regioselective (4 + 3) cycloadditions. Stereoselectivity was often modest, but in some instances steric interactions were responsible for high selectivity. The results are consistent with concerted (4 + 3) cycloadditions. In many instances, the (4 + 3) products were susceptible to fragmentation or rearrangement in the presence of the Lewis acid.

Torquoselectivity in the Nazarov reactions of allenyl vinyl ketones.

Nazarov reactions mediated by BF3-etherate of a series of carbon-substituted allenyl vinyl ketones provided intermediates in which substituents on the termini of the allenes had rotated away from the vinyl moieties, and these intermediates were trapped by (4 + 3)-cyclizations. A computational examination of the torquoselectivity of these Nazarov reactions confirmed a kinetic preference for the observed isomers and pointed to steric interactions and the degree of allene deformation as significant factors in determining the torquoselectivity. The study also suggested that the high proportion of one geometrical isomer in the Nazarov products might also be due to some preferential trapping of the major Nazarov intermediate.

Density Functional Theory Study of BF3-Mediated Additions of Enols and [(Trimethylsilyl)oxy]alkenes to an Oxyallyl Cation: Homologous Mukaiyama Reactions.

The addition of enols and [(trimethylsilyl)oxy]alkenes, bearing methyl substituents at various positions, to a cyclic, BF3-complexed oxyallyl cation has been studied at the M06/6-311G(d)//B3LYP/6-31G(d) level of theory. The reactions with the [(trimethylsilyl)oxy]alkenes are homologous Mukaiyama reactions, which have not been examined computationally previously. In most instances a number of transition states were located, and the difference in energy between these transition states was not large, which pointed to low levels of diastereoselectivity in the reactions of the oxyallyl cation model compound. The lowest energy transition states were those with a synclinal geometry in which the alkene was positioned over the cyclic oxyallyl cation, and the relative orientation of the alkene and the oxyallyl cation was rationalized in terms of stabilizing intermolecular interactions, revealed by NBO analysis, between one or more fluorines of the complexed BF3 and hydrogens on the alkene moiety, and between the oxygen on the alkene and the π-system of the oxyallyl cation. Because, in most instances with these simple models, two or more transition states of relatively low energy were located, predictions of diastereoselectivity in more complex examples that are based on simple models cannot be recommended.

Substituent-controlled reactivity in the Nazarov cyclisation of allenyl vinyl ketones.

Alkyl substitution α to the ketone of an allenyl vinyl ketone enhances Nazarov reactivity by inhibiting alternative pathways involving the allene moiety and through electron donation and/or steric hindrance. This substitution pattern also accelerates Nazarov cyclisation by increasing the population of the reactive conformer and by stabilising the oxyallyl cation intermediate. Furthermore, α substitution by an alkyl group does not alter the regioselectivity of interrupted Nazarov reactions when the oxyallyl cation intermediate is intercepted by addition of an oxygen nucleophile, or by [4+3] cyclisation with acyclic dienes. The regioselectivity of the Nazarov process for allenyl vinyl ketones was determined to be a result of an electronic bias in the oxyallyl cation intermediate. Computational data are consistent with this observation.

Vinylogous anionic processes in the formation and interconversion of tetracyclic ring systems.

Tandem oxy-Cope and transannular vinylogous aldol reactions and/or vinylogous retro-aldol, conjugate addition, and transannular vinylogous aldol reactions transformed some tricyclic vinyl enones into fused tetracycles under basic conditions. Mesylates derived from similar tetracyclic products underwent efficient skeletal reorganization via transannular ring-opening but then different modes of transannular ring-closure upon treatment with tert-butoxide.

Nazarov cyclizations of an allenyl vinyl ketone with interception of the oxyallyl cation intermediate for the formation of carbon-carbon bonds.

Treatment of an allenyl vinyl ketone with BF(3) x Et(2)O leads to a cyclic oxyallyl cation by a Nazarov reaction, and when this reaction is conducted in the presence of an acyclic diene, [4 + 3] and [3 + 2] products are obtained efficiently with high regio- and stereoselectivity. The proportion of [4 + 3] to [3 + 2] product depends on the substitution on the diene. Cyclic dienes react with the oxyallyl cation by forming only one carbon-carbon bond, but the site of bond formation can be affected by steric hindrance. Electron-rich alkenes intercept the allyl cation by forming one carbon-carbon bond, or two carbon-carbon bonds through [3 + 2] cyclization. In some instances, further treatment of the initial products with BF(3) x Et(2)O leads to equilibrated products in good yield.

2,3-Dihydro-4H-pyran-4-ones and 2,3-dihydro-4-pyridinones by cyclizations of alpha,beta-unsaturated 1,3-diketones.

A variety of alpha,beta-unsaturated 1,3-diketones cyclize to 2,3-dihydro-4H-pyran-4-ones in an acidic aqueous medium, with exceptions being alpha,beta-unsaturated 1,3-diketones in which the beta carbon is substituted by a phenyl group. Addition of 1-butanamine to the reaction medium results in the formation of 2,3-dihydro-4-pyridinones, which appear to arise via an initial 1,4-addition of the amine to the alpha,beta-unsaturated 1,3-diketones.

Computational Study of Engineered Cytochrome P450-Catalyzed C-H Amination: The Origin of the Regio- and Stereoselectivity.

Cytochrome P450 enzymes were recently engineered to catalyze the C-H amination reaction of aryl sulfonyl azides with excellent regio- and stereoselectivity (Arnold and co-workers J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2014 , 136 , 15505 ). The mechanism of this reaction was studied by quantum mechanical (QM)/molecular mechanical (MM) calculations in this work. The C-H activation is found to be a stepwise process consisting of hydrogen abstraction (H-abstraction) of the reactive C-H bond by an iron nitrenoid cofactor to produce the biradical intermediate and subsequent radical rebinding to form the final product. The rate of rotation of the carbon radical center was estimated to be much faster than that of radical rebinding, which implies that the H-abstraction does not determine the stereoselectivity. For mutant A, the H-abstraction step has a barrier of 16.7 kcal/mol, which is 3.0 kcal/mol higher than that of the following radical rebinding step. The H-abstraction step determines the regioselectivity, but the radical rebinding step determines the stereoselectivity. Barriers of these two steps are 16.1 and 27.5 kcal/mol, respectively, for mutant B. It is different from mutant A in that the radical rebinding step has the higher barrier and determines both the regio- and stereoselectivity. The initial distances between the hydrogens of reactive C-H bonds and the iron nitrenoid were found to not correlate with their reactivities. The calculated barriers are qualitatively consistent with the experimentally observed regio- and stereoselectivity with the exception of the stereoselectivity of mutant B. The lower barriers of mutant A presumably come from the stabilization effect of the H-bond between G265 and the sulfone O. This H-bond does not exist in mutant B. The conformation of the protein backbone, with the exception of the active site, does not change much (RMSD < 0.05) along the reaction pathway.

Synthesis of the tetracyclic core of the kempanes by a ring-closing metathesis strategy.

[reaction: see text] The synthesis of the tetracyclic ring system of the kempane diterpenes was achieved through the highly regio- and stereoselective Diels-Alder reaction of an isopropenyl-diene with 2,6-dimethyl-p-benzoquinone, addition of an allyl group, and ring-closing metathesis of the isopropenyl and allyl groups.

A Pauson-Khand and ring-expansion approach to the aquariane ring system.

[Structure: see text] The carbocyclic ring system of the aquariolide diterpenes has been synthesized by two routes involving a diastereoselective Pauson-Khand reaction and subsequent ring expansion. In one route, a tetracyclic enone was elaborated to generate the nine-membered ring by Grob fragmentation. In the second approach, a spirocyclic tricycle underwent a facile anionic oxy-Cope rearrangement to complete the synthesis of the desired ring system.

Diels-Alder Reactions of 5-Alkyl-1,3-cyclopentadienes.

Facial selectivity in the Diels-Alder reactions of 1,3-cyclopentadienes substituted at C-5 by a variety of simple alkyl groups has been assessed with a number of dienophiles. The results are consistent with an explanation based on steric hindrance. Syn addition is more favored with sterically less demanding dienophiles. Diene 6, which is substituted at C-5 with methoxymethyl, shows a remarkable preference for syn addition with less encumbered dienophiles. This may indicate a conformational difference in its syn transition state relative to the transition states for addition syn to methyl, ethyl, or n-butyl substituents (dienes 1, 4, and 5). Dienophiles are more reluctant to add syn to the larger C-5 group with 1,2,3,4,5-pentamethyl-1,3-cyclopentadiene (2) and derivatives (3, and 7) and conformational effects become very important when C-5 bears two alkyl groups, as in dienes 3 and 7.

An ab Initio Study of Facial Selectivity in the Diels-Alder Reaction.

Facial selectivities in the Diels-Alder reactions of 5-substituted 1,3-cyclopentadienes with a variety of dienophiles are predicted reliably at the ab initio HF/6-31G level. The ranges of activation energies for syn addition are large relative to those for anti addition, which are all similar to the activation energy for cyclopentadiene itself. Partitioning the activation energy into diene deformation, dienophile deformation, and diene-dienophile interaction energies shows that the major factor in determining facial selectivity is in the energy required to deform the diene into its transition state geometry. Deformation of the 5-fluoro-, 5-hydroxy-, and 5-amino-1,3-cyclopentadienes into their syn transition state geometries is predicted to require less energy than deformation of cyclopentadiene itself, which is in accord with experimental observation of syn addition with these dienes. The first definition of an ab initio steric factor is presented which correlates very well with syn activation energies. This indicates that facial selectivity with these dienes is primarily due to steric hindrance between the dienophile and the plane-nonsymmetric groups on the diene. However, we have also identified a significant lone pair-lone pair interaction with the reacting nitrogens when the dienophile is 1,2,4-triazoline-3,5-dione.

Selective formation of angular tricyclic compounds by ruthenium-mediated ring-rearrangement metathesis.

Unsaturated spirocyclic substrates bearing two alkenyl chains underwent ruthenium-mediated ring-rearrangement metathesis through relaying cyclohexene and cycloheptene moieties to give angularly fused tricyclics. In some instances where two products were expected, high degrees of selectivity were observed. In one instance the structural parameter leading to selectivity was very subtle; in others the transformation favoured the formation of products with a cis-fused cyclohexene moiety. An unusual transformation involving ring-opening, double-bond migration, and then ring-closing was observed.

Synthesis of 5-hydroxycyclopent-2-enones from allenyl vinyl ketones via an interrupted Nazarov cyclization.

Treatment of an allenyl vinyl ketone with trifluoroacetic acid leads to Nazarov cyclization, and the intermediate carbocation is trapped efficiently by trifluoroacetate. Hydrolysis of the ester with methanol and basic alumina provides, in good to excellent overall yield, a 5-hydroxycyclopent-2-enone in which the alcohol is predominantly trans to a substituent at C-4.

Reactions of 1,2-bis(trimethylsilyloxy)cycloalkenes with the diethyl acetals of aldehydes.

[reaction: see text] Lewis acid-mediated reactions of 1,2-bis(trimethylsilyloxy)cyclobutene with acetals derived from a variety of aldehydes, followed by treatment with Amberlyst 15 resin in TFA, yielded 1,3-cyclopentanedione products, but reactions with 3,3-dimethyl-1,2-bis(trimethylsilyloxy)cyclobutene led to 1,2-cyclopentanediones. Reactions of 1,2-bis(trimethylsilyloxy)cyclopentene gave intermediates that did not undergo skeletal rearrangement with Amberlyst 15 resin in TFA.

cis-3,5-Cyclohexadiene-1,2-diol derivatives: facial selectivity in their Diels-Alder reactions with ethylenic, acetylenic and azo dienophiles.

The Diels-Alder reactions of maleimide with the acetonide derivative (6a) of cis-3,5-cyclohexadiene-1,2-diol (1a) in various solvents showed facial selectivities ranging from 1 : 1 to 1 : 9. The same derivative 6a reacted in benzene with ethylenic dienophiles with generally modest facial selectivity, but acetylenic dienophiles added exclusively anti to the oxygen functions of 6a. Dimerization of cyclic acetals 6a and 7 was mainly, but for 6a not exclusively, by anti addition with respect to both the diene and the dienophile partners. Reactions of azo dienophiles with derivatives of 1a were predominantly by anti addition, but the diol itself (1a) gave the syn adduct as the major product.

Synthetic studies toward the kempane diterpenes. Construction of a key tricyclic intermediate.

A synthetic sequence is described for construction of the tricyclic portion (35) of kempane diterpenes. The central stereochemistry was established by a Diels-Alder addition of 2,6-dimethyl-para-benzoquinone to a 5-membered, dithiane-protected diene, and the addition of acetylide, with very high chemoselectivity, provided a suitably functionalized handle that will be incorporated into the final seven-membered ring. The remaining stereogenic centres about the decalin moiety were established by a series of equilibration and reduction steps.