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A range of tertiary amines having electron-withdrawing groups were activated in situ by benzyne, generated from 2-(trimethylsilyl)phenyl triflate and a fluoride source, and participated in the Darzens-type reaction with carbonyl compounds, imines, and vinyl ketones to afford structurally diverse epoxides, aziridines, and cyclopropanes, respectively, in moderate to excellent yields with high trans-selectivity. The reaction involves in situ formation of unstrained ammonium ylides from tertiary amines and benzyne, proceeds in the absence of transition metals and strong bases, and tolerates a wide variety of functional groups.

The key factors for carbonyl-stabilised ammonium ylide-mediated epoxidation reactions were systematically investigated by experimental and computational means and the hereby obtained energy profiles provide explanations for the observed experimental results. In addition, we were able to identify the first tertiary amine-based chiral auxiliary that allows for high enantioselectivities and high yields for such epoxidation reactions.

Abstract Epoxide hydrolase Kau2 overexpressed in Escherichia coli RE3 has been tested with ten different racemic and meso α,β-disubstituted aromatic epoxides. Some of the tested substrates were bi-functional, and most of them are very useful building blocks in synthetic chemistry applications. As a general trend Kau2 proved to be an extremely enantioselective biocatalyst, the diol products and remaining epoxides of the bioconversions being obtained - with two exceptions - in nearly enantiomerically pure form. Furthermore, the reaction times were usually very short (around 1 h, except when stilbene oxides were used), and the use of organic co-solvents was well tolerated, enabling very high substrate concentrations (up to 75 g/L) to be reached. Even extremely sterically demanding epoxides such as cis- and trans-stilbene oxides were transformed on a reasonable time scale. All reactions were successfully conducted on a 1 g preparative scale, generating diol- and epoxide-based chiral synthons with very high enantiomeric excesses and isolated yields close to the theoretical maximum. Thus we have here demonstrated the usefulness and versatility of lyophilized Escherichia coli cells expressing Kau2 epoxide hydrolase as a highly enantioselective biocatalyst for accessing very valuable optically pure aromatic epoxides and diols through kinetic resolution of racemates or desymmetrization of meso epoxides.

The ring-opening of epoxides with potassium trifluoroborates proceeds smoothly in the presence of trifluoroacetic anhydride under metal-free conditions. The reactions are regioselective and afford a single diastereomer. Both electron-rich and electron-poor aryltrifluoroborates are tolerated.

A newly isolated Galactomyces geotrichum ZJUTZQ200 strain containing an epoxide hydrolase was used to resolve racemic ethyl 3-phenylglycidate (rac-EPG) for producing (2R,3S)-ethyl-3-phenylglycidate ((2R,3S)-EPG). G. geotrichum ZJUTZQ200 was verified to be able to afford high enantioselectivity in whole cell catalyzed synthesis of this chiral phenylglycidate synthon. After the optimization of the enzymatic production and bioresolution conditions, (2R,3S)-EPG was afforded with high enantioselectivity (e.e.S > 99%, E > 49) after a 8 h reaction. The co-solvents, pH buffer solutions and substrate/cell ratio were found to have significant influences on the bioresolution properties of G. geotrichum ZJUTZQ200. Based on the bioresolution product (2R,3S)-EPG, taxol's side chain ethyl (2R,3S)-3-benzoylamino-2-hydroxy- 3-phenylpropionate was successfully synthesized by a chemoenzymatic route with high enantioselectivity (e.e.S > 95%).

A new strain Agromyces mediolanus ZJB120203, capable of enantioselective epoxide hydrolase (EH) activity was isolated employing a newly established colorimetric screening and chiral GC analysis method. The partial nucleotide sequence of an epoxide hydrolase (AmEH) gene from A. mediolanus ZJB120203 was obtained by PCR using degenerate primers designed based on the conserved domains of EHs. Subsequently, an open reading frame containing 1167 bp and encoding 388 amino acids polypeptide were identified. Expression of AmEH was carried out in Escherichia coli and purification was performed by Nickel-affinity chromatography. The purified AmEH had a molecular weight of 43 kDa and showed its optimum pH and temperature at 8.0 and 35 C, respectively. Moreover, this AmEH showed broad substrates specificity toward epoxides. In this study, it is demonstrated that the AmEH could unusually catalyze the hydrolysis of (R)-ECH to produce enantiopure (S)-ECH. Enantiopure (S)-ECH could be obtained with enantiomeric excess (ee) of >99% and yield of 21.5% from 64 mM (R,S)-ECH. It is indicated that AmEH from A. mediolanus is an attractive biocatalyst for the efficient preparation of optically active ECH.

Disclosed in the present invention is a method for preparing a (?)-clausenamide compound of formula (I), comprising: firstly, catalyzing the asymmetrical epoxidation of trans-cinnamate using a chiral ketone derived from fructose or a hydrate thereof as a catalyst, and then subjecting the product to transesterification, oxidation, cyclization and reduction successively to finally obtain the optically pure (?)-clausenamide compound of formula (I).

A five-component catalyst assembly/aziridination reaction is described starting from an aldehyde, an amine, ethyl diazoacetate, B(OPh)3, and a molecule of a vaulted biaryl ligand (VAPOL or VANOL). A remarkable level of chemoselectivity was observed since, while 10 different products could have resulted from various reactions between the five components, an aziridine was formed in 85% yield and 98% ee and only two other products could be detected in 3% yield. Studies reveal that the first in a sequence of three reactions is an exceedingly rapid amine-induced assembly of an AMINOBOROX chiral Bronsted acid species from VAPOL and B(OPh)3, which is followed by imine formation from the amine and aldehyde and the concomitant formation of an IMINO-BOROX chiral Bronsted acid and finally the reaction of the imine with ethyl diazoacetate mediated by the IMINO-BOROX catalyst to give aziridine-2-carboxylic esters with very high diastereo- and enantioselectivity.

The 4-ulose and the 3-ulose, both derived in two steps from the α-methyl glycoside of N-acetyl-D-glucosamine (GlcNAc), act as organocatalysts in the asymmetric epoxidation of alkenes, with unprecedented complementary enantioselectivity. The best results are found with α,β-unsaturated esters as substrates, with enantiomeric ratios up to 90:10 and 11:89, respectively. Copyright

A general synthetic route allowing access to several spirocyclic N-carbethoxy-azabicyclo[3.2.1]octanones is developed. These novel ketones efficiently catalyse alkene epoxidation using Oxone with up to 91.5% ee.

An efficient method has been developed for the synthesis of epoxide from cinnamic esters without any catalyst. The reaction was performed in CH 3CN-water (4:1) using N,N-dibromo-p-toluenesulfonamide (TsNBr 2) in alkaline conditions. This procedure can be utilized for stereoselective synthesis of epoxides from cinnamic esters in excellent yield in a shorter reaction time with exclusive formation of the trans-isomer. The method was further extended successfully for styrenes. Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.

(Figure Presented) Figure Presentation Paired up: A highly active and enantioselective ion-pair epoxidation catalyst, consisting of an achiral Mn |||-salen complex and a chiral phosphate counteranion, mediates the epoxidization of a wide range of alkenes with high yields and enantioselectivities (see scheme). The unique role of the counteranion is to stabilize an enantiomorphic conformation of the cationic Mn catalyst.

Continuous flow methodology is described which allows the in situ generation of the highly effective oxidising agent HOF·MeCN from fluorine and wet acetonitrile and immediate reaction with alkenes to afford epoxides in high yield. The HOF·MeCN continuous flow oxidising system provides an environmentally benign process that is suitable for large scale synthesis and is atom efficient, because the only by-product is hydrogen fluoride which, in principle, could be recycled to produce fluorine by electrolysis. Crown Copyright

The general properties of Lecitase Ultra, a phospholipase manufactured and marketed by Novozymes, Denmark, have been studied after purification by ultrafiltration. The enzyme has a molecular mass of 35 KD, pH-optimum of 8.5, and appears to possess a single active site which exhibits both the lipase and phospholipase activities that increase in the presence of Ca2+ and Mg2+ ions. The enzyme is inhibited by heavy metal ions and surfactants, and does not accept p-nitrophenyl acetate and glycerol triacetate. Substrates, such as glycerol tributyrate and p-nitrophenyl palmitate, esters of N-acetyl-α-amino acids and α-hydroxy acids are readily accepted. Amino acids with aliphatic residues, such as alanine, isoleucine, and methionine, are hydrolyzed with high enantioselectivity for the l-enantiomer (E >100), but amino acids with aromatic residues such as phenylalanine and phenylglycine, and esters of α-hydroxy acids are hydrolyzed with low enantioselectivity (E = 1-5). Immobilization of the enzyme in a gelatin matrix (gelozyme) leads to a marginal improvement in the enantioselectivity for these substrates. However, a dramatic improvement in enantioselectivity is observed for ethyl 2-hydroxy-4-oxo-4-phenylbutyrate (E value increases from 4.5 to 19.5 with S-selectivity). Similarly, glycidate esters, such as ethyl trans-(±)-3-phenyl glycidate and methyl trans-(±)-3-(4-methoxyphenyl) glycidate, are selectively hydrolyzed with a remarkable selectivity towards the (2S,3R)-enantiomer providing unreacted (2R,3S)-glycidate esters (ee >99%, conversion 52-55%) by the immobilized enzyme.

(Chemical Equation Presented) A fructose-derived diacetate ketone has been shown to be an effective catalyst for asymmetric epoxidation. High ee values have been obtained for a variety of trans and trisubstituted olefins including electron-deficient α,β-unsaturated esters as well as certain cis olefins.

The synthesis and evaluation of two classes of inhibitors for SgTAM, a 4-methylideneimidazole-5-one (MIO) containing tyrosine aminomutase, are described. A mechanism-based strategy was used to design analogs that mimic the substrate or product of the reaction and form covalent interactions with the enzyme through the MIO prosthetic group. The analogs were characterized by measuring inhibition constants and X-ray crystallographic structural analysis of the co-complexes bound to the aminomutase, SgTAM.

A crude extract of Mung bean meal (Phaseolus radiatus) possessing epoxide hydrolase activity immobilized in gelatin gel (gelozyme) is employed in the stereoselective epoxide ring opening of glycidate esters. Thus, ethyl trans-(±)-3-phenyl glycidate 1a and methyl trans-(±)-3-(4-methoxyphenyl) glycidate 1b gave (2S,3R)-glycidate esters (ee >99% and 45% yield) with gelatin immobilized enzyme in diisopropyl ether. The corresponding (2R,3S)-enantiomer of 1a was hydrolyzed by an epoxide hydrolase to predominantly give the anti-product, ethyl (2R,3R)-2,3-dihydroxy-3-phenylpropanoate, with a diastereomeric excess of 78% and ee 94% (40%). A small amount (5%) of racemic syn-product was also obtained as a result of the spontaneous hydrolysis. In the case of 1b, the hydrolysis product was racemic due to high reactivity of the glycidate toward water.

A series of trinuclear manganese complexes coordinated with neutral bidentate nitrogen ligands, [Mn3L2-(OAc)6], were prepared from manganese acetate and the corresponding ligands. Using peracetic acid as the oxidant, the air- and moisture-stable manganese clusters exhibited excellent catalytic activity and selectivity in the epoxidation of olefins under mild conditions. The highest activity was observed with a trinuclear complex containing a 2-pyridylimino ligand, [Mn3(ppei) 2(OAc)6] (ppei = 2-pyridinal-1-phenylethylimine). With this system, the substrate scope was extremely wide to include terminal and electron-deficient double bonds of both aliphatic and aromatic alkenes. The high activity was undiminished under the reaction conditions even directly using a mixture of the pyridylimino ligands and manganese acetates, making this process more convenient. It was also observed that analogous trinuclear complexes, such as [Mn3(bipy)2(OAc)6] and [Mn 3(phen)2(OAc)6], displayed excellent activities. While radical intermediacy was inferred from the product distribution, kinetic data revealed that the epoxidation is roughly first-order in manganese cluster precursor and oxidant, respectively, and zero-order in olefin. These results led us to propose that the trinuclear complexes [Mn 3L2(OAc)6] serve as catalyst precursors that dissociate into monomeric species with the formulation of [MnL 2(OAc)2] under the reaction conditions.

The invention relates to a novel compound (2R, 3R)-2 -hydroxy-3-amino-3-aryl-propionamide according to formula (1), wherein aryl A represents a substituted or unsubstituted aromatic ring, and to a process for the preparation of said compound of formula (1

[RuIV(2,6-Cl2tpp)Cl2], prepared in 90% yield from the reaction of [RuVI(2,6-Cl2tpp)O2] with Me3SiCl and structurally characterized by X-ray crystallography, is markedly superior to [RuIv(tmp)Cl2], [RuIV(ttp)Cl2], and [RuII(por)(CO)] (por = 2,6-Cl2tpp, F20-tpp, F28-tpp) as a catalyst for alkene epoxidation with 2,6-Cl2pyNO (2,6Cl2tpp = meso-tetrakis(2,6-dichlorophenyl)porphyrinato dianion; tmp = meso-tetramesitylporphyrinato dianion; ttp = meso-tetrakis(p-tolyl)porphyrinato dianion; F20-tpp = meso-tetrakis(pentafluorophenyl)porphyrinato dianion; F28-tpp = 2,3,7,8,12,13,17,18-octafluoro-5,10,15,20- tetrakis(pentafluorophenyl)-porphyrinato dianion). The "[Ru IV(2,6-Cl2tpp)Cl2] + 2,6-Cl 2pyNO" protocol oxidized, under acid-free conditions, a wide variety of hydrocarbons including 1) cycloalkenes, conjugated enynes, electron-deficient alkenes (to afford epoxides), 2) arenes (to afford quinones), and 3) Δ5-unsaturated steroids, Δ4-3- ketosteroids, and estratetraene derivatives (to afford epoxide/ketone derivatives of steroids) in up to 99% product yield within several hours with up to 100% substrate conversion and excellent regio- or diastereoselectivity. Catalyst [RuIv(2,6-Cl2tpp)Cl2] is remarkably active and robust toward the above oxidation reactions, and turnover numbers of up to 6.4 × 103, 2.0 × 104, and 1.6 × 104 were obtained for the oxidation of α,β-unsaturated ketones, arenes, and Δ5-unsaturated steroids, respectively.

We succeeded in a catalytic asymmetric epoxidation reaction of α,β-unsaturated esters via a conjugate addition of an oxidant using 2-10 mol % of the yttirium-chiral biphenyldiol catalyst. A variety of substrates with β-aryl and β-alkyl substituents were epoxidized efficiently, yielding the corresponding α,β-epoxy esters in up to 97% yield and 99% ee. Copyright

A recyclable catalytic system for the asymmetric dihydroxylation of olefins was developed by using a mono-quaternized bis-cinchona alkaloid ligand 3 and OsO4 combined with PEG or an ionic liquid. Both the catalytic components could be recovered and reused in five consecutive reactions without any additional OsO4 or ligand. The catalytic system is effective in the AD reactions of seven olefins.

A process for the asymmetric epoxidation of α,β-unsaturated carbonyl or sulphonyl compounds comprising : providing, in the absence of an aqueous phase, a catalyst/reagent composition comprising a poly-amino acid catalyst effective for catalysing the asymmetric epoxidation reaction, the poly-amino acid catalyst encapsulating an expoxidation reagent effective for epoxidation of α,β-unsaturated carbonyl or sulphonyl compounds; contacting the catalyst/reagent composition with an α,β-unsaturated carbonyl or sulphonyl compound substrate under conditions effective to provide at least partial asymmetric epoxidation of the substrate by the epoxidation reagent; and recovering the resulting asymmetric epoxide.

Enantiomerically enriched phenylglycidates, precursors of the taxol C-13 phenylisoserine side chain and diltiazem, were prepared by kinetic resolution of anti-2-bromo-3-hydroxy- and anti-3-hydroxy-2-iodophenylpropanoates to provide enantioriched (2R,3R)- and (2S,3S)-halohydrins. The bulkiness and inflexibility of bromo and iodo groups in halohydrins have made them inaccessible to the active site of most of the lipases utilized for the hydrolysis of their acyloxy derivatives. In a set of 22 hydrolases screened herein, including native as well as commercial enzymes, only Aspergillus niger (Lipase AS, AMANO) could catalyze the hydrolysis with high enantioselectivity (E = 176). The resolved halohydrins easily underwent transformation to the corresponding (2S,3R)- and (2R,3S)-phenylglycidates.

The two epimers (-)-1a and (-)-1b of the macrocyclic lactama kaloid 3-hydroxycelacinnine with the (2R,3R) and (2R,3S) absolute configurations, respectively, were synthesized by an alternative route involving macrocyclization with the regio- and stereoselective oxirane-ring opening by the terminal amino group (Schemes 2 and 6). Properly N-protected chiral trans-oxirane precursors provided (2R,3R)-macrocycles after a one-pot deprotection-macrocyclization step under moderate dilution (0.005-0.01M). The best yields (65-85%) were achieved with trifluoroacetyl protection. Macrocyclization of the corresponding cis-oxiranes was unsuccessful for steric reasons. Inversion at OH-C(3) via nucleophilic displacement of the cyclic sulfamidate derivative with NaNO2 led to (2R,3S)-macrocycles. The synthesized (-)-(2R,3S)-3-hydroxycelacinnine ((-)-1b) was identical to the natural alkaloid.

Highly enantioselective catalytic asymmetric epoxidation of α,β-unsaturated carboxylic acid imidazolides and simple amides was developed. In the presence of 5-10mol% of lanthanide-BINOL complexes, the reaction proceeded smoothly with high substrate generality. In particular, in the cases of α,β-unsaturated amides, there was nearly perfect enantioselectivity (>99% ee). The corresponding epoxides were successfully transformed into many types of useful chiral compounds such as α,β-epoxy esters, α,β-epoxy amides, α,β-epoxy aldehydes, α,β-epoxy β-keto ester, and α- and β-hydroxy carbonyl compounds. B3LYP density functional studies were performed to predict substrate reactivity.

An epoxysilane having an amide group at the a-carbon was synthesized from phenylacetylene. An amide-carbonyl stabilized oxiranylammonium was generated from the epoxysilane in THF with tetrabutylammonium fluoride (TBAF). The generated oxiranyl anion was found to have enough nucleophilicity with aldehydes to give moderate to good yields of the adducts. In some reactions, the oxiranylammonium was found to be configurationally unstable to give the epimers.

The results of the reaction between ethyl diazoacetate and carbonyl compounds catalysed by lanthanide triflates are described. Aldehydes, and α-unsubstituted and α-monosubstituted cyclohexanones react to give the selective formation of α,β-epoxy esters (g

Several α-substituted N-carbethoxytropinones have been evaluated as catalysts for asymmetric epoxidation of alkenes with Oxone, via a dioxirane intermediate. α-Fluoro-N-carbethoxytropinone (2) has been studied in detail and is an efficient catalyst which does not suffer from Baeyer-Villiger decomposition and can be used in relatively low loadings. This ketone was prepared in enantiomerically pure form using chiral base desymmetrization of N-carbethoxytropinone. Asymmetric epoxidation catalyzed by 2 affords epoxides with up to 83% ee. Among other derivatives tested, the α-acetoxy derivative 7 affords the highest enantioselectivities.

This paper describes a highly enantioselective epoxidation of α,β-unsaturated esters using the fructose-derived ketone 2 as catalyst and Oxone as oxidant. High ee's have been obtained for a number of trans and trisubstituted substrates (82-98% ee). The results described show that it is feasible for dioxiranes to effectively epoxidize electron-deficient olefins with high ee's. Copyright

A class of C2 and pseudo C2 symmetric ketones with one fused ring at each side of the carbonyl group have been prepared from quinic acid and found to be effective catalysts for the asymmetric epoxidation of a variety of olefins. Electron deficient olefins such as enones can be efficiently epoxidized. Encouragingly good enantioselectivity is also obtained for the epoxidation of styrenes. The studies show that the ketone conformation plays an important role in the reactivity and selectivity of the catalyst.

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Co(II)porphyrin (1a-d) acts as a versatile catalyst during the oxidation of a wide range of organic substrates at ambient conditions by using a combination of molecular oxygen and 2-methylpropanal. The versatility of these catalysts is demonstrated by oxidation of alkenes, allylic or benzylic substrates, alcohols, and hydrocarbons to the corresponding oxidized products at ambient conditions.

A cobalt-catalyzed combinatorial synthesis of various β-phenylisoserine derivatives is described. This methodology is applied to a one-pot synthesis of pyrrolidine- containing α-hydroxyamide core structure, β-phenylisoserine-valine dipeptide isostere and

A cobalt-catalyzed combinatorial synthesis of various β-phenylisoserine derivatives is described. This methodology is applied to a one-pot synthesis of pyrrolidine- containing α-hydroxyamide core structure, β-phenylisoserine-valine dipeptide isostere and

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A novel, neutral catalytic cycle for the synthesis of epoxides from carbonyl compounds and diazo compounds using catalytic quantities of transition metal salts and sulfides has been developed.In this catalytic cycle, the diazo compounds is decomposed by the transition metal salt to give a metallocarbene, and this is picked up to the sulfide to give a sulfur ylide, which then reacts with the aldehyde to give an epoxide and returns the sulfide back into the catalytic cycle.To obtain good yields of epoxides it is necessary to maintain a low concentration of the diazo compound (by slow addition), otherwise dimerisation of the diazo compound is the dominant reaction.Factors affecting the outcome of the reaction were studied.The reactions are relatively insensitive to solvent, but are sensitive to the structure of the sulfide, the metal salt and the concentration.Unhindered sulfides give good yields of epoxides with any metal salt, but with hindered sufides higher yields are obtained with Cu(acac)2 than with Rh2(OAc)4.The yields of epoxides are sensitive to sulfide concentration especially when using substoichiometric amounts of sulfides.Higher concentration leads to faster rates of formation and subsequent reaction of the sulfur ylides, and consequently to higher yields.This novel catalytic cycle has also been applied to base-sensitive aldehydes.We found that our new catalytic cycle for epoxidation gives much improved yields of epoxides compared to those obtained by traditional sulfur ylide chemistry and is tolerant to a wide variety of sensitive functional groups.Ketones also participate in the catalytic cycle, although they give reduced yields of epoxides compared to aldehydes and require a slightly elevated temperature. - Keywords: catalysis; diazo compounds; epoxidations; sulfur ylides; synthetic methods

A versatile cobalt catalyzed protocol for the epoxidation of α,β unsaturated esters or amides followed by its cleavage with aniline and its derivatives to afford substituted β-phenyl isoserine derivative has been developed.

Methylrhenium trioxide (CH3ReO3 or MTO) catalyzes several classes of reactions of ethyl diazoacetate, EDA. It is the first high valent oxo complex for carbene transfer. Under mild conditions and in the absence of other substrates, EDA was converted to a 9:1 mixture of diethyl maleate and diethyl fumarate. In the presence of alcohols, α-alkoxy ethyl acetates were obtained in good yield. The yields dropped for the larger and more branched alcohols, the balance of material being diethyl maleate and fumarate. An electron-donating group in the para position of phenols favors the formation of α-phenoxy ethyl acetates. The use of EDA to form α-thio ethyl acetates and N-substituted glycine ethyl esters, on the other hand, is hardly affected by the size or structure of the parent thiol or amine, with all of these reactions proceeding in high yield. MTO-catalyzed cycloaddition reactions occur between EDA and aromatic imines, olefins, and carbonyl compounds. Three-membered ring products are formed: aziridines, cyclopropanes, and epoxides, respectively. The reactions favor the formation of trans products, and provide a convenient route for the preparation of aziridines. Intermediate carbenoid and nitrenoid species have been proposed. In the presence of an oxygen source such as an epoxide, ethyl diazoacetate and azibenzil are converted to an oxalic acid monoethyl ester and tobenzil; at the same time the epoxide was converted to an olefin. These results provide further support for the proposed intermediate, a cyclic species containing Re, O, and CHCO2Et (or, occasionally, CPhC(O)Ph)in a three-membered ring.

Epoxidation of base sensitive aldehydes can be achieved by a new catalytic cycle which requires the slow addition of a diazocompound to a solution of an aldehyde containing catalytic quantities of a sulfide and catalytic quantities of rhodium acetate.

2-chloro-3-keto esters were quantitatively hydrogenated to syn and anti 2-chloro-3-hydroxyester by asymmetric hydrogenation with chiral ruthenium (II) catalysts prepared in-situ from (COD)Ru(2-methylallyl)2 in presence of atropisomeric ligands such as MeO-Biphep and Binap, giving enantioselectivity up to 99%, 2-chloro-3-hydroxy esters were treated with different bases to give (E)-and (Z)-2,3-epoxyalkanoates in 65-90% yields with 84-97% ee.

Cis- and trans-glycidic esters may be synthesized in high enantiomeric purities by cyclisation with potassium carbonate in DMF of the corresponding syn- or anti-2-chloro-3-hydroxyesters, prepared by microbial reduction of 2-chloro-3-oxoesters. In contrast, more basic media such as sodium ethylate afford exclusively the trans-isomer, whatever the stereochemistry of the starting 2-chloro-3-hydroxyester is. Cyclisation of deuterated compounds showed that this result was due to a rapid isomerisation of the syn esters into anti isomers before cyclisation. An application of this reaction to the synthesis of (2R,3R)-3-phenylisoserine is described.

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We have developed a new catalytic cycle for the synthesis of epoxides from carbonyl compounds and diazocompounds.These reactions are mediated by catalytic quantities of rhodium acetate (0.01 eq.) and dimethyl sulfide (0.2 eq.).In this catalytic cycle, phenyl diazomethane is decomposed by rhodium acetate to give a metallocarbene and this reacts with the sulfide to give a sulfur ylide which in turn reacts with the aldehyde to give an epoxide and returns the sulfide back into the catalytic cycle.The use of catalytic amounts of chiral sulfides gives non-racemic epoxides.It has been found that other diazocompounds can be used in the catalytic cycle e.g.N,N-diethyl diazoacetamide.In addition, it has been found that substitution of aldehydes for enones furnishes cyclopropanes, and substitution with imines gives aziridines.For the preparation of terminal epoxides, diazomethane could not be used instead of phenyl diazomethane.Instead, it was discovered that terminal epoxides could be prepared using diethyl zinc, chloroiodomethane, dimethyl sulfide and an aldehyde.A second catalytic cycle for epoxidation has therefore been developed.Key Words catalytic, asymmetric synthesis, sulfur ylide, epoxide, aziridine, cyclopropane, rhodium acetate, Simmons Smith.

A broad study of the (salen)Mn(III)-catalyzed asymmetric epoxidation of cis-cinnamate esters reveals that the steric properties of the ester group have a profound influence on enantioselectivity in the epoxidation reaction, with bulkier esters affording highest ee's.The sensitivity of the reaction selectivity to the steric properties of the cis-alkene are consistent with a "skewed" side-on approach of olefin to the metal -oxo.The electronic properties of the substrate arene ring substituents do not correlate with epoxidation ee, but instead with the cis/trans partitioning of product formation.Evidence is provided for a non-polar inter mediate in a stepwise oxygen-atom-transfer mechanism.The presence of pyridine N-oxide derivatives has a significant effect on catalysts rates and total turnovers, but negligible influence on the stereoselectivity of epoxidation.A mechanistic basis for the role of these additives is proposed.The synthetic applicability of the cinnamate epoxidation methodology is illustrated in the highly enantioslective synthesis of diltiazem.

Second order rate coefficients for the epoxidation of trans-ethyl cinnamate (3) and cyclohexene (4) by dimethyldioxirane have been obtained in a number of binary solvents.These data were treated by the Kamlet-Taft multi-parameter solvent effect equation.T

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Stannylcarbamate 1 proved to be a selective agent for generating organotin(IV) enolates from α-halo ketones.Thus, a Darzens reaction was achieved under mild and neutral conditions.The reaction took place without any side reactions and even with aliphatic α-halo ketones bearing enolizable α'-hydrogens.Various types of α,β-epoxy ketones and esters were obtained in this one-pot reaction.The stereoselectivity of the reaction was influenced by changing the halogen substituent of the α-halo ketones and by additives.Moreover, the present method could be appliedto γ- and δ-halo ketones as enolate precursors, and five- and six-membered cyclic compounds were obtained.

2-Chloro-3-aryl-3-oxopropionic acid esters are reduced by microorganisms to syn- and/or anti-2-chloro-3-hydroxy-3-arylpropionates, in competition with dechlorination and decarboxylation reactions. Using selected strains, it is possible to obtain enantiomerically pure chlorohydroxyesters, which were converted to the corresponding phenylglycidic esters with high stereospecificity.

The reduction of 2-nosyloxy-3-keto esters is an effective method for the preparation of 3-hydroxy-2-nosyloxy esters.The reduction is stereoselective for the syn isomer.The anti isomer can be produced as the major product by the addition of p-nitrobenzenesulfonyl peroxide to ketene bis-silyl acetal derivatives of 3-hydroxy esters.The diastereomers are separable chromatographically and can be converted stereospecifically to glycidic esters and 2-azido-3-hydroxy esters.As such they appear to have excellent potential as versatile synthetic intermediates for the synthesis of 1,2,3-trifunctional substances.