Library

Notes: Cob(I)alamin as Catalyst. 5. Communication [1]. Enantioselective Reduction of α,β-Unsaturated Carbonyl DerivativesThe cob(I)alamin-catalyzed reduction of an α,β-unsaturated ethyl ester in aqueous acetic acid produced the (S)-configurated saturated derivative 2 with an enantiomeric excess of 21%. The starting material 1 is not reduced at pH = 7.0 in the presence of catalytic amounts of cob(I)alamin (see Scheme 2). It is shown that the attack of cob(I)alamin and not of cob(II)alamin, also present in Zn/CH3COOH/H2O, accounts for the enantioselective reduction observed. All the (Z)-configurated starting materials 1, 3, 5, 7, 9 and 11 have been transformed to the corresponding (S)-configurated saturated derivatives 2, 4, 6, 8, 10 and 12, respectively. The highest enantiomeric excess revealed to be present in the saturated product 12 (32,7%, S) derived from the (Z)-configurated methyl ketone 11 (see Scheme 3 and Table 1). The reduction of the (E)-configurated starting materials led mainly to racemic products. A saturated product having the (R)-configuration with a rather weak enantiomeric excess (5.9%) has been obtained starting from the (E)-configurated methyl ketone 23 (see Scheme 5 and Table 2). The allylic alcohols 16 and 24 have been reduced to the saturated racemic derivative 17.

Notes: Cob(I)alamin as Catalyst. 4. Communication. Reduction of α,β-Unsaturated NitrilesUsing catalytic amounts of cob (I)alamin and an excess of metallic zinc as source of electrons 1-naphthonitril (5) has been reduced to (1-naphthyl)methylamin (6) and in small amounts to (1-naphthyl)methanol (7) and (1,2,3,4-tetrahydro-1-naphthyl)methanol (8) (5 ½ h, CH3COOH/H2O; s. Scheme 3). Starting from cyclododecylideneacetonitrile (15) similar conditions (68 h, CH3COOH/H2O) produced the amines 16-19 as well as the nitrogen free saturated aldehyde 20, the corresponding allylic alcohol 21 and the saturated derivative 22 (s. Scheme 6). It is deduced that the first attack of cob (I)alamin on an α,β-unsaturated nitrile might occur on both the nitrile dipole as well as on the carbon atom in β-position. Cob (I)alamin in aqueous acetic acid saturates the isolated double bonds in allylic alcohols and amines. In a slow reaction the two different aromatic rings of (1-naphthyl)methanol (7) have been reduced giving the corresponding tetrahydronaphthalene derivatives 8 and 12, and in one case the production of the octahydroderivative 14 has been observed in a low yield (s. Scheme 5).

Notes: A chiral economic synthesis of (R)- and (S)-muscone using the cyclofragmentation of epoxysulfonesStarting with isobutyric acid (2) and using a microbiological oxidation with pseudomonas putida (S)-β-hydroxy-iso-butyric acid (3) has been prepared. From this /pseudosymmetrical: (see text) intermediate the two enantiomeric bromo derivatives 8 (R) and 20 (S) have been synthesized (cf. scheme 4) by altering the sequence of the reactions (cf. scheme 3). A Grignard reaction starting from the two bromo compounds 8 and 20 and from cyclododecanone 1 produced after hydrogenolysis the two enantiomeric dialcohols 9 and 21 (1 + 8 → 9, 1 + 20 → 21, cf. scheme 5). The subsequent transformations led to the two enantiomeric olefin derivatives 12 and 24. Oxidation of 12 with peracid produced a mixture of the two epoxy-sulfones 13 and 14 (cf. scheme 6). The olefin-derivative 24 was oxidized to the corresponding mixture of 25 and 26. A one pot cyclofragmentation (cf. [4] and scheme 6) produced a mixture of (E)- and (Z)-3-methylcyclopentadec-4-en-1-one (13 + 14 → 15 + 16, 25 + 26 → 27 + 28). The final hydrogenation led to natural (R)- and unnatural (S-muscone (3-methylcyclopentadecanone). The achiral starting material has been transformed to the desired optically active target products without loss of material with undesired absolute configuration. The authors used the notion of chiral economic synthesis to characterize synthetic sequences with the above mentioned features.

Notes: Hydrogen bonds as presented in Figure 2 cannot account for the enantioselective attack of cob(I)alamin (4(I)) or heptamethyl cob(I)yrinate (5(I)) on one of the two enantiotopic faces of the substrates. The attack of the strongly nucleophilic 3dz2 orbital is preferentially directed to the re-side of the starting materials with (Z)-configuration and leads, after the highly stereoselective reductive cleavage of the Co, C bond, to saturated products with (S)-configuration in varying enantiomeric excesses (see Schemes 1, 3 and Table 1).

Notes: The cob (I)alamin- (1(I)) and the heptamethyl cob(I)ynnate- (2(I)) catalyzed transformation of an epoxide to the corresponding saturated hydrocarbon 3→4→5 is examined (see Schemes 1 and 3-5). Under the reaction conditions, the epoxyalkyl acetate 3 is opened by the catalysts with formation of appropriate (b̃-hydroxyalkyl)-corrinoid derivatives (13, 14, 17, 18, see Schemes 12 and 14). Triggered by a transfer of electrons to the Co-corrin-π system, the Co, C-bond of the intermediates is broken, generating the alkenyl acetate 4 (cf. Schemes 12 and 14) following an electrofugal fragmentation (cf. Schemes 2 and 12). The double bond of 4 is also attacked by the catalysts, leading to the corresponding alkylcorrinoids (15, 19, see Schemes 12 and 14) which in turn are reduced by electrons from metallic zinc, the electron source in the system, inducing a reductive cleavage of the Co, C-bond with production of the saturated monoacetate 5 (see Schemes 2, 5 and 12). In the cascade of steps involved, the transfer of electrons to the intermediate alkylcorrinoids (13-15, 17-19, see Schemes 12 and 14) is shown to be rate-limiting. Comparing the two catalytic species 1(I) and 2(I), it is shown that the ribonucleotide loop protects intermediate alkylcobalamins to some extent from an attack by electrons. The protective function of the ribonucleotide side-chain is shown to be present in alkylcobalamins existing in the base-on form (cf. Chap. 4 and see Scheme 14).

Notes: Cob(I)alamin as Catalyst. 7. Communication [1]. Retention of Configuration during the Reductive Cleavage of the Co, C-Bond of an AlkylcobalaminUsing catalytic amounts of cob(I)alamin (see Scheme 1) in aqueous acetic acid (-)-α-pinen (1) and (-)-β-pinen (2; s. Scheme 3) have been reduced. A large excess of metallic zinc served as electron source. The saturated products 5-8 (see Scheme 3) and the mechanistic aspects of their generation are discussed. The relative amounts of cis- (5) and trans-pinane (6) lead to the conclusion that the reductive cleavage of the Co, C-bond accompanied by H+ transfer in an alkylcobalamin occurs with retention of configuration. This result is in agreement with the corresponding cleavage of the Co,C-bond of an alkyl[hydroxy-diazaoctahydroporphinato]cobalt complex [9].

Notes: Synthesis of Stereisomeric Pinanthromboxane Derivatives and Evaluation of the Compounds as Platelet Aggregation InhibitorsStarting from the two enantiomeric myrtenols ((-)-1 and (+)-1; cf. Scheme 1), the synthesis of twelve stereoisomeric pinanthromboxane derivatives ((+)- and (-)-10, -11, -14, -15, -21 and -22) is described (cf. Schemes 1-4). Biological data from the evaluation as platelet aggregation inhibitors (cf. Table 6 and 7), thromboxane synthetase inhibitors (cf. Table 8) and from the assessment as antagonists of leukotriene E4 induced bronchoconstriction (cf. Table 9) are presented.

Notes: During the cob(I)alamin(1(I))-catalyzed reduction of 3, intermediate formation of 2 and final generation of 4-10 was observed (see Scheme 1, cf. Tables 1 and 2). Identical products in similar ratios were generated starting from either 2 or 3. Accepting the intermediate formation of six interconnected cobalt complexes, i.e. A-F (cf. Scheme 2), the generation of all the products observed can be explained.

Notes: Cob(I)alamin as Catalyst. 6. Communication [1]. Formation and Fragmentation of Alkylcobalamins: the Nucleophilic Addition - Reductive Fragmentation EquilibriumIsolated olefines can be saturated using catalytic amounts of cob(I)alamin in aqueous acetic acid; as electron source an excess of zinc dust is added to the solution containing the homogeneous catalyst. During this overall hydrogenation of isolated double bonds intermediate alkylcobalamins are formed (compare e.g. Schemes 2, 4, 5, 7 and 12). Clear evidence is presented that the nucleophilic attack on the isolated double bond is carried out by cob(I)alamin and not by cob(II)alamin also present in the system (see Scheme 3b and 3c). As this catalytic saturation of olefins depends on the pH of the solution, characterized by a slow reaction at pH = 7.0 compared to the same reduction in aqueous acetic acid (see Scheme 2, 2 → 4, and Scheme 3a), it is reasonable to accept the participation of an electrophilic attack by a proton during the generation of alkylcobalamins. - We use the term nucleophilic addition to describe the formation of alkylcobalamins from a proton, an olefin and cob(I)alamin (compare Schemes 4-7 and 12).A special sequence of experiments showed the nucleophilic addition to be regioselective. Preferentially the higher substituted alkylcobalamin revealed to be produced. Therefore, the nucleophilic addition of cob(I)alamin follows the Markownikoff rule (compare chap. 4: formation and fragmentation of β-hydroxyalkylcobalamins).Under the reaction conditions applied the intermediate alkylcobalamins can be present in base-on and base-off forms. They are known to exist as octahedral complexes and might also be stable to some extent as tetragonal-pyramidal species. In addition the base-off forms can partially be protonated at the dimethylbenzimidazole moiety in aqueous acetic acid (compare Scheme 12). From this equilibrium of intermediate alkylcobalamins three modes of decay disclosed to be possible: (i) The reductive fragmentation leading to an olefin, a proton, and cob(I)alamin is the formal retro-reaction of the nucleophilic addition (see Schemes 2, 4 and 6-12). This equilibrium of an associated alkylcobalamin and the corresponding dissociation products revealed to be a fast process compared to the reductive cleavage of the Co, C-bond cited below (s. (iii)). (ii) As the second reaction pattern an oxidative fragmentation producing an olefin, a hydroxy anion (or water, respectively) and cob (III)alamin has been observed (see Schemes 7, 8, 10 and 12). (iii) The slow reductive cleavage of the Co, C-bond, initiated by addition of electrons (see [1a] [24]), was the third reaction path observed (see Schemes 2, 4-8 and 10-12). - The stereochemistry of the three transformations originating from the intermediate alkylcobalamins is unknown up to now. The antiperiplanar pattern of the fragmentation reactions presented in the Schemes has been chosen arbitrarily (see e.g. Scheme 12).

Notes: The olefinic system in 3β-methoxy-4-cholesten-6 a-ol (2) is reduced using cob (I)alamin (1(I); see Scheme 1) as catalyst, aqueous acetic acid as solvent and metallic zinc as electron source (cf. Schemes 2 and 3). Experimental evidence for an attack of 1(I) on both faces of the double bond is presented. By the same catalyst (1 R)-10, 10-dimethyl-2-pinene- 10-carbonitrile (9) is first transformed to the menthene derivative 11 (see Schemes 4 and 5). The ring opening is then followed by a fast saturation of the disubstituted olefinic system in 11, and ultimately the remaining double bond is reduced in a slow reaction. The cis-configurated saturated menthane derivative 16 is the main final product (16/17 ≈ 10:1).