Improved Synthesis of (3E,6Z,9Z)-1,3,6,9-Nonadecatetraene, Attraction Inhibitor of Bruce Spanworm, Operophtera bruceata, to Pheromone Traps for Monitoring Winter Moth, Operophtera brumata

Article abstract of DOI:10.1021/jf903468c

The winter moth, Operophtera brumata (Lepidoptera: Geometridae), is an early-season defoliator that attacks a wide variety of hardwoods and, in some cases, conifers. The insect is native to Europe but has become established in at least three areas of Nort

Full text of DOI:10.1021/jf903468c

1828 J. Agric. Food Chem. 2010, 58, 1828–1833
DOI:10.1021/jf903468c
Improved Synthesis of (3E,6Z,9Z)-1,3,6,9-Nonadecatetraene,
Attraction Inhibitor of Bruce Spanworm, Operophtera
bruceata, to Pheromone Traps for Monitoring Winter Moth,
Operophtera brumata
‡
A
SHOT
K
HRIMIAN,*,† DAVID R. LANCE,‡ VICTOR C. MASTRO
§
,
AND
J
OSEPH S. ELKINTON
†USDA-ARS, Invasive Insect Biocontrol and Behavior Laboratory, Beltsville Agricultural Research
Center, Building 007, Room 301, 10300 Baltimore Avenue, Beltsville, Maryland 20705, ‡USDA, APHIS,
PPQ, CPHST Otis Laboratory, Building 1398, Otis ANGB, Massachusetts 02542, and §Department of
Entomology, University of Massachusetts, Box 32410, Amherst, Massachusetts, 01003
The winter moth, Operophtera brumata (Lepidoptera: Geometridae), is an early-season defoliator that
attacks a wide variety of hardwoods and, in some cases, conifers. The insect is native to Europe but has
become established in at least three areas of North America including southeastern New England. The
female-produced sex attractant pheromone of the winter moth was identified as (3Z,6Z,9Z)-1,3,6,9-
nonadecatetraene (1), which also attracts a native congener, the Bruce spanworm, Operophtera
bruceata. Dissection, or (for certainty) DNA molecular testing, is required to differentiate between males
of the two species. Thus, a trapping method that is selective for winter moth would be desirable.
A geometric isomer of the pheromone, (3E,6Z,9Z)-1,3,6,9-nonadecatetraene (2), can reportedly inhibit
attraction of Bruce spanworm to traps without affecting winter moth catch, but use of the pheromone
and inhibitor together has not been optimized, nor has the synthesis of the inhibitor. This paper presents
two new syntheses of the inhibitor (3E,6Z,9Z)-1,3,6,9-nonadecatetraene based on the intermediate
(3Z,6Z)-3,6-hexadecadien-1-ol (4), which has also been utilized in the synthesis of the pheromone. The
syntheses combine traditional acetylenic chemistry and Wittig olefination reactions. In one approach,
2 was synthesized in 80% purity (20% being pheromone 1), and in the second, tetraene 2 of 96% purity
(and free of 1) was produced in 25% overall yield from dienol 4. The last method benefitted from a
refined TEMPO-mediated PhI(OAc)2 oxidation of 4 and a two-carbon homologation of the corresponding
aldehyde 7.
KEYWORDS: Winter moth; Operophtera brumata; Bruce spanworm; Operophtera bruceata; phero-
mone; inhibitor; synthesis; (3E,6Z,9Z)-1,3,6,9-nonadecatetraene
INTRODUCTION
time ago as (3Z,6Z,9Z)-1,3,6,9-nonadecatetraene, 1 (3,4). This com-
pound also attracts males of the Bruce spanworm, Operophtera
bruceata (3), which occurs transcontinentally in Canada and
northern United States and is very similar to the winter moth
in life history, hosts, and appearance. Dissection, or molecular
testing, is required to discriminate between males of the two
species. Thus, a trapping method that is selective for winter moth
would be potentially much more valuable than one that catches
both species. Underhill et al. (5) reported that a geometric iso-
mer of the pheromone, (3E,6Z,9Z)-1,3,6,9-nonadecatetraene (2),
can inhibit attraction of the Bruce spanworm to traps without
affecting winter moth catch. The only known synthesis of 2 (5)
relied on (2Z,5Z,8Z)-2,5,8-octadecatrien-1-ol, which is not read-
ily accessible, and we sought alternative methods to prepare this
inhibitor. In our pursuit of a pheromone-based attractant for
monitoring winter moth populations, we now report on two new
syntheses of tetraene 2.
The winter moth, Operophtera brumata (L.), is a common
forest pest in Europe and was accidentally introduced into
Canada in the 1930s (1). It has since spread to other parts of
North America including New England. It is an occasional pest
within its native range, but its impact has been severe when
initially introduced into new areas. Release and establishment of
exotic parasitoids can largely bring populations under control to
the degree that winter moth is one of the standard examples of
success in classical biological control (2). In New England,
implementation of biological control is just beginning, and
effective trapping technology would be a great aid in detecting
winter moth in newly infested areas and monitoring populations.
The species’ female-produced sex pheromone was identified some
*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed [e-mail ashot.
ashot.khrimian@ars.usda.gov; telephone (301) 504-6138; fax (301) 504-
6580].
pubs.acs.org/JAFC
Published on Web 12/30/2009
© 2009 American Chemical Society

Article
J. Agric. Food Chem., Vol. 58, No. 3, 2010 1829
MATERIALS AND METHODS
2H), 2.06 (OH), 2.16 (tt, J = 7.2, 2.8), 2,46 (m, 2H), 3.15 (tt, J =
2.4, 2H), 3.72 (t, J = 6.2, 2H). The data are in good agreement
with those reported in the literature (9, 10).
Analytical Procedures. Gas chromatographic analyses were
conducted on a Shimadzu 17A gas chromatograph (Columbia,
MD) equipped with a flame ionization detector, Shimadzu
AOC-20s autosampler, and AOC-20i autoinjector. The column
used was a 15 m ꢀ 0.25 mm i.d., 0.25 μm, HP-5 (Agilent
Technologies, Santa Clara, CA). Analyses were conducted in
split mode using hydrogen as a carrier gas at 1.0 mL/min.
Analyses of the pheromone 1 and the analogue 2 were also
conducted on a 30 m ꢀ 0.25 mm i.d., 0.25 μm, DB-210 column
(Agilent J&W). Electron-impact (EI) mass spectra were obtained
at 70 eV with an Agilent Technologies 5973 mass selective
detector interfaced with an Agilent 6890N GC equipped with a
30 m ꢀ 0.25 mm i.d., 0.25 μm, HP-5MS capillary column. Helium
was used as the carrier gas at 1 mL/min. 1H NMR spectra were
obtained in CDCl3 on either Bruker AV-400 MHz or Bruker
AVIII-600 MHz instruments using TMS as an internal standard.
Chemical shifts are reported in δ units and coupling constants in
hertz. TLC analyses were conducted on Whatman AL SIL G/UV
plates using 20% ethanol solution of phosphomolybdic acid and/
or UV for visualization of spots. Flash chromatography was
carried out with 230-400 mesh silica gel (Fisher Scientific, Fair
Lawn, NJ).
Chemicals and Supplies. Unless otherwise specified, all reagents
were purchased from Aldrich Chemical Co. (Milwaukee, WI).
Lindlar catalyst, 5% Pd on CaCO3, lead poisoned, was purchased
from Strem Chemicals (Newburyport, MA). Reactions were
carried out under N2 in oven-dried glassware. Sodium sulfate
was used to dry reaction mixtures. Anhydrous tetrahydrofuran
(THF) and ether were obtained by distillation from sodium
benzophenone ketyl, and methylene chloride was distilled from
calcium hydride. 3-Butyn-1-ol was protected as a tetrahydro-
pyranyl ether in the presence of pyridinium p-toluenesulfonate (6)
instead of hydrochloric acid (7). The resultant ether was isolated
by distillation (bp 50 °C/3 mmHg) in 75% yield and 94% purity.
The tosylate of 2-dodecyn-1-ol (Advanced Synthesis Techno-
logies, San Ysidro, CA) was prepared using tosyl chloride and
powdered KOH in ether and was sufficiently pure (a single spot
on TLC) to be used in the alkylation step (8) (see below) without
further purification.
(3Z,6Z)-3,6-Hexadecadien-1-ol (4). 3,6-Hexadecadiyn-1-ol (3)
(13.69 g, 58.50 mmol) was dissolved in a mixture of methanol
(490 mL), cyclohexene (25 mL), and quinoline (1.89 mL) and
stirred in the presence of 5% Pd on CaCO3 (1.37 g) in a hydrogen
atmosphere. After about 8 h, the rate of hydrogen consumption
dropped from 4.70 to 0.23 mL/min, and GC analysis showed
almost no starting material present. The mixture was filtered
through a short pad of Celite, the pad was rinsed with MeOH
(50 mL), and the filtrate was concentrated and taken into ether/
hexanes, 1:1 (150 mL). The organic extract was washed with 5%
HCl and brine and then was dried and concentrated. Flash
chromatography with hexanes/ethyl acetate, 4:1, gave dienol 4
(12.41 g, yield 89%, purity 97% by GC on DB-5 column): GC-
MS (m/z, %) 238 (3, Mþ), 220 (2, Mþ - H2O), 152 (4), 135 (9),
1
121 (17), 107 (21), 93 (52), 79 (100), 67 (62), 55 (38); H NMR
(400 MHz) 0.89 (t, J = 6.8, 3H), 1.25-1.37 (m, 14H), 1.52 (OH),
2.06 (br dt, J ∼ 7.0, 2H), 2.38 (br dt, J ∼ 7.0, 2H), 2.83 (dd, J =
7.2, 2H), 3.67 (t, J = 6.4, 2H), 5.24-5.45 (m, 3H), 5.55 (dtt, J =
11.2, 7.6, 1.6, 1H); 13C NMR (CDCl3, 100 MHz) 14.34, 22.91,
25.97, 27.50, 29.54, 29.56, 29.78, 29.82, 29.85, 31.02, 32.13, 62.48,
125.53, 127.57, 130.89, 131.83. Mass spectrometric and NMR
data are in a close agreement with literature values (9). Mass
spectra of two minor impurities (total 3%) showed ions at m/z
222, apparently arising from a loss of H2O from molecular ions of
corresponding monoenic alcohols.
(3Z,6Z)-3,6-Hexadecadienyltriphenylphosphonium bromide (5)
was prepared following a published procedure (11). Dienol 4 was
first converted to (3Z,6Z)-1-bromo-3,6-hexadecadiene using tri-
phenylphosphine dibromide and imidazole (yield 88%), and
then the bromide reacted with triphenylphosphine in acetonitrile
(yield 92%).
(3Z,6Z,9Z)-1,3,6,9-Nonadecatetraene (1). A cis-olefination
procedure by Bestmann et al. (4), reacting acrolein with a phos-
phorane generated from bromide 5 using sodium bis(trimethyl-
silyl)amide at -75 °C was followed. The pheromone 1 at 95%
purity was isolated in 68% yield: GC-MS (m/z, %) 260 (5, Mþ),
219 (5), 206 (15), 147 (7), 133 (14), 119 (28), 106 (39), 91 (95), 80
(90), 79 (100), 67 (44), 55 (23), 43 (24), 41 (44) [data are consistent
1
3,6-Hexadecadiyn-1-ol (3). To a solution of 1-(tetrahydo-2H-
pyran-2-yloxy)-3-butyne (17.40 g, 0.11 mol) in dry THF (90 mL)
was added a solution of ethylmagnesium bromide in ether (39 mL
of 3 M; 0.12 mol), maintaining the temperature at ∼0 °C. The
resulting mixture was warmed in a water bath (30 °C) until ethane
evolution ceased (15-20 min). The solution was cooled to ∼0 °C,
and cuprous bromide (649 mg, 2.262 mmol) was added at once.
After 15 min of stirring, a solution of crude of 2-dodecyn-1-yl
tosylate (34.30 g, 0.10 mol) in THF (60 mL) was added, main-
taining the temperature at 0-5 °C. The mixture was stirred at that
temperature for 30 min, allowed to warm to 25 °C, stirred for an
additional 45 min, and then poured into a cold, saturated solution
of ammonium chloride. The organic material was extracted with
ether (3 ꢀ 100 mL), and the combined ether extract was washed
twice with a NH4Cl solution and dried. After evaporation of the
solvent, the remainder was dissolved in methanol (100 mL)
containing pyridinium p-toluenesulfonate (2.5 g) and heated at
50-60 °C until complete deprotection was achieved. The mixture
was concentrated on a rotary evaporator, taken into hexanes/
ether, 1:1, washed with water, and dried. Concentration of the
extract furnished crude alcohol (28.29 g), which was purified in
small batches by flash chromatography with hexanes/ethyl acet-
with those previously reported (4)]; H NMR (400 MHz) 0.89
(t, J = 6.8, 3H), 1.20-1.40 (m, 14H), 2.06 (br dt, J ∼ 7.0, 2H),
2.82 (br dd, J ∼ 6.8, 2H), 2.98 (dd, J = 6.4, 2H), 5.13 (br d, J =
10.0, 1H), 5.22 (dd, J = 17.0, 2.0, 1H), 5.39 (m, 5H), 6.03 (br dd,
J ∼ 10.8, 1H), 6.68 (dddd, J = 17.0, 10.8, 10.0, 1.2, 1H); 13C
NMR 14.34, 22.91, 25.88, 26.31, 27.50, 29.56 (two C), 29.79,
29.83, 29.88, 32.14, 117.62, 127.55, 127.63, 129.17, 129.53, 130.67,
130.80, 132.20. NMR data are in close agreement with those
previously reported (9, 11, 12).
Wittig Trans-olefination of Acrolein with Salt 5. Butyllithium
(820 μL of 2.5 M in hexanes; 2.05 mmol) was added to the
suspension of phosphonium salt 5 (1.182 g, 2.1 mmol) in THF/
ether mixture (4 mL þ 3 mL) at -70 °C. The dark brown solution
was stirred at this temperature for 20 min, then a solution of
acrolein (138 μL, 2.06 mmol) in ether (150 μL) was added, and the
mixture was stirred for another 30 min. The resulting light yellow
suspension was treated slowly with a second equivalent of BuLi
(820 μL of 2.5 M) at -73 °C, upon which a dark brown color was
restored. After 20 min of stirring, the reaction mixture was slowly
quenched with HCl (543 μL of 3.77 M in ether; 2.05 mmol),
maintaining the temperature below -70 °C. The cooling bath was
removed, and the mixture was diluted with THF (20 mL), stirred
at 25 °C for 5 h, and then poured into saturated NH4Cl solution.
The mixture was extracted with hexanes (3 ꢀ 20 mL), and the
1
ate, 3:2, to provide 3 (yield 80%, 99% pure by GC): H NMR
(400 MHz) 0.89 (t, J = 7.0, 3H), 1.27 (m, 12H), 1.49 (tt, J = 7.5,

1830 J. Agric. Food Chem., Vol. 58, No. 3, 2010
Khrimian et al.
combined organic extracts were washed with water, dried, and
concentrated. The residue was flash chromatographed with
hexanes to give the olefination product (300 mg, 57%) as a 4:1
mixture of 2 and 1 as determined by GC analysis on DB-210
capillary column. Repeating the above procedure while adding
the second equivalent of BuLi at -30 to -40 °C gave 2/1 in a
51:49 ratio.
3.47 (br dd, J = 7.2, 2H), 3.73 (s, 3H, OCH3), 5.33 (m, 1H),
5.37-5.44 (m, 3H), 5.80 (dt, J = 11.7, 3.2, 1H, H-2), 6.19 (dt, J =
11.7, 7.5, 1H, H-3); 13C NMR (CDCl3, 151 MHz) 14.29, 22.89,
25.99, 27.50, 27.75, 29.55 (two C), 29.79, 29.83, 29.89, 32.14,
51.23, 119.42, 126.16, 127.54, 130.56, 130.93, 148.39, 166.92.
Anal. Calcd for C19H32O2: C, 78.02; H, 11.05. Found: C, 77.63;
H, 11.09.
Methyl (2E,5Z,8Z)-2,5,8-Octadecatrienoate (6). Method A:
(2E,5Z,8Z)-2,5,8-Octadecatrien-1-ol (8). To a stirred solution
of ester 6 (392 mg, 1.34 mmol) in anhydrous CH2Cl2 (8 mL) was
added diisobutylaluminum hydride (2.8 mL of 1.0 M in hexanes,
2.8 mmol) at -70 °C. After 30 min, the reaction was observed to
have gone to completion by TLC (hexanes/ethyl acetate, 3:1). The
reaction mixture was diluted with hexanes/ether, 3:1 (60 mL),
then quenched with a saturated NH4Cl solution (17 mL) at
-35 °C and allowed to warm to room temperature. After
additional stirring for 20 min, the solid was filtered, the layers
were separated, the aqueous layer was extracted with hexanes/
ether, 1:1 (50 mL), and the combined organic extracts were
washed with saturated NH4Cl, brine, and then dried. The solu-
tion was concentrated and chromatographed with hexanes/ethyl
acetate, 4:1, to yield alcohol 8 (300 mg, 85%) of 93% purity: GC-
MS (m/z, %) 246 (Mþ - H2O, 12), 192 (4), 133 (13), 119 (25), 105
CrO3 Py. Dried over P2O5, freshly powdered chromium(VI)
3
oxide (600 mg, 6 mmol) was added to a solution of dry pyridine
(970 μL, 12 mmol) in dichloromethane (13 mL) at 0-5 °C. The
mixture was slowly warmed to room temperature and stirred for
an additional 30 min. Dienol 3 (238 mg, 1 mmol), dissolved in
dichloromethane (1 mL), was added slowly at 20 °C. After 1.5 h,
anhydrous ether (20 mL) was added, and the resulting mixture
was filtered through a pad of anhydrous MgSO4. The precipitate
was thoroughly washed with an additional amount of dry ether
(50 mL), and washings were combined. The solvent was evapo-
rated, and the residue was dissolved in CH2Cl2 (5 mL) and added
to a solution of methyl (triphenylphosphoranylidene)acetate (501
mg, 1.5 mmol) in CH2Cl2 (15 mL) at 22 °C. After 2 h, or when the
TLC (CH2Cl2) showed no intermediate aldehyde 7 present, the
mixture was concentrated and chromatographed with hexanes/
CH2Cl2, 2:3, to yield 35 mg of a mixture containing 64% of the
2Z isomer (see Method B) and 23% of the desired ester 6 and
126 mg of a product containing 88% ester 6. The second fraction
was chromatographed on 15% AgNO3 on SiO2 with hexanes/
ethyl acetate, 10:1, to give 113 mg (39%) 6 at 96% purity: GC-MS
(m/z, %) 292 (Mþ 3), 261 (3), 238 (16), 139 (71), 119 (26), 111 (32),
91 (48), 79 (100), 67 (69), 55 (44), 41 (49); 1H NMR (600 MHz)
0.89 (t, J = 6.8, 3H), 1.27 (m, 12H), 1.33 (m, 2H), 2.04 (br dt, J =
7.2, 2H, H-10), 2.78 (br dd, J = 7.2, 2H), 2.98 (br dd, J = 7.2,
2H), 3.73 (s, 3H, OCH3), 5.32 (m, 1H), 5.41 (m, 2H), 5.58 (m, 1H),
5.86 (dt, J = 15.9, 3.1, 1H, H-2), 6.97 (dt, J = 15.9, 7.3, 1H, H-3);
13C NMR (CDCl3, 151 MHz) 14.28, 22.89, 25.86, 27.52, 29.54
(two C), 29.77, 29.82, 29.84, 30.20, 51.58, 121.45, 124.53, 127.21,
131.10, 131.37, 147.39, 167.26. Anal. Calcd for C19H32O2: C,
78.02; H, 11.05. Found: C, 78.08; H, 11.10.
1
(53), 91 (72), 79 (100), 67 (75), 55 (48), 41 (60); H NMR (600
MHz) 0.89 (t, J = 6.8, 3H), 1.27 (m, 12H), 1.34 (m, 2H), 2.04
(br dt, J ∼ 7.0, 2H, H-10), 2.79 (br dd, J ∼ 7.0, 2H), 2.83 (br dd,
J ∼ 7.0, 2H), 4.11 (m, 2H), 5.33 (m, 1H), 5.42 (m, 3H), 5.68 (dt,
J = 15.6, 6.2, 1H), 5.71 (dt, J = 15.6, 6.2, 1H); 13C NMR (CDCl3,
151 MHz) 14.31, 22.89, 25.81, 27.49, 29.55 (two C), 29.78, 29.82,
29.86, 30.22, 32.13, 63.91, 127.02, 127.67, 129.64 (two C), 130.77,
131.32. Anal. Calcd for C18H32O: C, 81.73; H, 12.22. Found: C,
81.53; H, 12.01.
(2E,5Z,8Z)-2,5,8-Octadecatrienal (9). A mixture of (2E,5Z,
8Z)-2,5,8-octadecatrien-1-ol (290 mg, 1.09 mmol) and Dess-
Martin periodinane (933 mg, 2.20 mmol) in CH2Cl2 (20 mL) was
stirred for 1 h at 25 °C. A solution of Na2S2O3 (3.6 g) in water
(20 mL) was added, the mixture was stirred for 10 min, and then
cooled to 0-5 °C and treated with a saturated NaHCO3 solution
(35 mL). The stirring was continued for 10 min, the layers were
separated, the aqueous layer was extracted with ether/hexanes,
1:1 (50 mL), and combined organic extracts were washed with
water and dried. Evaporation of the solvent and flash chromato-
graphy of the residue with hexanes/ethyl acetate, 9:1, afforded
aldehyde 9 (238 mg, 83%), which was unstable under GC
conditions: GC-MS (m/z, %) 262 (Mþ 3), 218 (5), 208 (10),
149 (6), 135 (15), 121 (33), 109 (62), 96 (44), 95 (42), 93 (46),
92 (36), 91 (52), 81 (94), 80 (48), 79 (100), 69 (30), 67 (86), 57 (28),
55 (55), 43 (43); 1H NMR (600 MHz) 0.89 (t, J = 6.8, 3H), 1.27
(m, 12H), 1.35 (m, 2H), 2.04 (br dt, J = 7.5, 2H, H-10), 2.80 (br
dd, J = 7.5, 2H), 3.12 (br dd, J = 7.5, 2H), 5.41 (dtt, J = 11.0,
7.3, 1.5, 1H), 5.43 (m, 2H), 5.59 (dtt, J = 11.0, 7.3, 1.5, 1H), 6.17
(ddt, J = 15.6, 7.8, 1.5, 1H, H-2), 6.85(dt, J = 15.6, 6.3, 1H, H-3),
9.53 (d, J = 7.8,1H, H-1); 13C NMR (CDCl3, 151 MHz) 14.31,
22.89, 25.87, 27.52, 29.54 (two C), 29.76, 29.80 (two C), 30.74,
32.12, 123.79, 126.93, 131.25, 131.99, 133.25, 156.41, 194.02. 1H
NMR data match those reported in the literature (5).
(3E,6Z,9Z)-1,3,6,9-Nonadecatetraene (2). A procedure by
Underhill et al. (5) was followed. Wittig reaction of aldehyde 9
(228 mg, 0.87 mmol) with a phosphorane generated from methyl-
triphenylphosphonium iodide (389 mg, 0.96 mmol) and BuLi
(348 μL of 2.5 M in hexanes, 0.87 mmol) gave a crude condensa-
tion product that was purified by flash chromatography with
hexanes to yield 136 mg (60%) of 2 in 96% purity by GC. GC-MS
(m/z, %) 260 (4, Mþ), 219 (4), 206 (15), 147 (7), 133 (14), 119 (25),
106 (45), 93 (41), 91 (100), 80 (84), 79 (96), 67 (45), 55 (24), 43 (24),
41 (44); 1H NMR (600 MHz) 0.89 (t, J = 6.8, 3H), 1.28 (m, 12H),
Method B: PhI(AcO)2/TEMPO. (Diacetoxyiodo)benzene
(818 mg, 2.54 mmol) was added to a stirred solution of 4
(550 mg, 2.31 mmol) and 2,2,6,6-tetramethyl-1-piperidinyloxyl
(TEMPO, 36 mg, 0.23 mmol) in a mixture of pentane (2 mL) and
dichloromethane (3 mL). The mixture was stirred at 25 °C for
35 min (upon which the reaction was over by TLC), diluted with
CH2Cl2 (15 mL), and washed with a saturated Na2S2O3 solution
(12 mL), and the aqueous layer was extracted with CH2Cl2 (4 ꢀ
5 mL). The combined organic extracts were cooled to 0 °C,
washed with a saturated NaHCO3 solution to pH 8 and then with
a brine solution, and dried for 2 h. After evaporation of the
solvent, the crude aldehyde 7 was added to the solution of methyl
(triphenylphosphoranylidene)acetate (1.132 g, 3.39 mmol) in
CH2Cl2 (22 mL) at 25 °C and stirred for 1.5 h, or until the
reaction had gone to completion as observed by TLC. The solvent
was evaporated, and the residue was subjected to flash chromato-
graphy with hexanes/CH2Cl2, 1:1, to give two fractions. The first
fraction (27 mg) contained a cis-olefination product and an
unknown compound (Rf 0.47 and 0.41, respectively; hexanes/
CH2Cl2, 1:1), and the second fraction consisted of 96% pure ester
6 (412 mg, 60%, Rf 0.34). The subsequent chromatography of the
first fraction with hexanes/CH2Cl2, 2:1, gave methyl (2Z,5Z,8Z)-
2,5,8-octadecatrienoate (10 mg) of 95% purity: GC-MS (m/z, %)
292 (Mþ 9), 232(5), 233 (5), 226 (5), 193 (6), 126 (31), 105 (48),
1
111 (36), 91 (69), 79 (87), 67 (100), 55 (48), 41 (56); H NMR
(600 MHz, CDCl3) 0.89 (t, J = 6.8, 3H), 1.28 (m, 12H), 1.34 (m,
2H), 2.05 (br dt, J = 7.2, 2H, H-10), 2.84 (br dd, J = 7.2, 2H),

Article
J. Agric. Food Chem., Vol. 58, No. 3, 2010 1831
Figure 1. Synthesis of (3Z,6Z,9Z)-1,3,6,9-nonadecatetraene (1) and (E,Z,Z)-1,3,6,9-nonadecatetraene (2) via Wittig cis- and trans-olefinations. Reagents
and conditions: (a) H2/Pd-CaCO3/cyclohexene/quinoline/MeOH; (b) 1, Ph3PBr2/imidazole; 2, Ph3P; (c) 1, [(CH3)3Si]2NNa/THF, -75 °C; 2, CH2dCHCHO;
(d) 1, BuLi, -70 °C; 2, CH2dCHCHO; 3, BuLi, -70 °C; (e) Hþ/THF, -70 °C to room temperature.
1.35 (m, 2H), 2.06 (br dt, J = 7.2, 2H), 2.80 (br dd, J = 7.2, 2H),
2.88 (br dd, J = 7.0, 2H), 4.98(br d, J = 10.2, 1H), 5.12 (br d, J =
16.7, 1H), 5.35 (m, 1H), 5.43 (m, 3H), 5.70 (dt, J = 15.6, 6.7, 1H,
H-4), 6.09 (br dd, J ∼ 15.6, 10.6, 1H, H-3), 6.33 (ddd, J = 16.7,
10.5, 1H, H-2); 13C NMR (151 MHz, CDCl3) 14.32, 22.90, 25.83,
27.49, 29.56 (two C), 29.79, 29.83, 29.88, 30.52, 32.14, 115.37,
126.95, 127.68, 129.63, 130.77, 131.44, 133.18, 137.33. 1H NMR
data are in a close agreement with those reported (5).
An obvious (and convenient) way of making the isomeric
tertraene 2 would have been to utilize the same phosphonium salt
5 in a Wittig trans-olefination (a Schlosser modification) with
acrolein (17, 18). Although this technique provides an excellent
trans-stereoselectivity (>96%) with nonstabilized ylides and
both aliphatic and aromatic aldehydes, it has been largely over-
looked in synthetic chemistry. This procedure was previously
successfully used (19) for trans-olefination of (E)-4,4-dimethoxy-
2-butenal to synthesize stink bug pheromone analogues. The
essence of the Schlosser modification of the Wittig reaction is in
applying a second equivalent of base after the addition of an
aldehyde to a phosphorane, upon which a deprotonation of the
betaine-LiBr adduct (Figure 1) occurs and a fast equilibrium
between erythro and threo intermediates takes place (18). It has
been shown that at -30 °C the equilibrium was predominantly
shifted to a sterically less hindered threo isomer resulting after
acidification almost entirely in trans-olefins (17-19).
We conducted the olefination by generating an ylide from salt 5
at -70 °C using butyl lithium, then added acrolein, followed by
the second equivalent of BuLi, and then let the temperature warm
to -40 to -30 °C. Quenching the reaction mixture with HCl
resulted in a 51:49 ratio of 2 and 1, found by a GC analysis of the
reaction product on a DB-210 column (5). Maintaining the
reaction temperature at -70 °C throughout the entire process
allowed the improvement of the ratio of isomers 2 and 1 to 80:20,
but also indicated that a complete thermodynamic control lead-
ing to trans-olefin 2 could hardly be achieved even at very low
temperatures. In an attempt to conduct the reaction at -100 °C,
we ran into technical difficulties, such as insolubility of inter-
mediates in the reaction medium. It was still possible to isolate
pure 2 from a 80:20 mixture by HPLC chromatography on a
Agþ-SiO2 column (5), but we sought a more convenient route.
An alternative path to tetraene 2 entailed oxidation of dienol 4
to aldehyde 7 with a subsequent two-carbon homologation and,
finally, one-carbon Wittig elongation (Figure 2). The first step in
this process was, in fact, described in the syntheses of pheromone
1 (3, 9) and (3Z,6Z,9Z)-3,6,9-nonadecatetraene, a pheromone
component of Peribatodes rhomboidaria (20). Homologous
(3Z,6Z)-3,6-octadecadienal has also been similarly employed in
the synthesis of (3Z,6Z,9Z)-1,3,6,9-heneicosatetraene, a sex
(2E,6Z)-2,6-Hexadecadienal (10). The oxidation of dienol 4
(238 mg, 1 mmol) with PhI(OAc)2 (354 mg, 1.1 mmol) and
TEMPO (15 mg) in a mixture of pentane and dichloromethane
(0.8 mL þ 1.2 mL) was conducted as described above. The crude
aldehyde 7 wasdissolved indichloromethane (3 mL) and added to
a solution of(triphenylphosphoranylidene)acetaldehyde (365 mg,
1.2 mmol) in dichloromethane (15 mL). The mixture was stirred
at 20 °C for 40 h and then concentrated and chromatographed
with CH2Cl2/hexanes, 2:1, to give (2E,6Z)-2,6-hexadecadienal
(115 mg, 49%) in 95% purity: GC-MS (m/z, %) 236 (Mþ, 2),
192 (2), 166 (11), 138 (3), 123 (7), 111 (16), 97 (31), 83 (39), 70
(100), 69 (48), 68 (11), 67 (26), 57 (22), 55 (59), 54 (13), 43 (31), 41
1
(49); GC-MS (CI, MH3) 254 (Mþ þ 18); H NMR (600 MHz)
0.89 (t, J = 6.8, 3H), 1.29 (m, 12H), 1.33 (m, 2H), 2.03 (br dt, J =
7.5, 2H), 2.27 (br dt, J = 7.5, 2H), 2.40 (br dt, J = 7.5, 2H), 5.33
(m, 1H), 5.45 (m, 1H), 6.15 (dd, J = 7.8, 15.7, 1H, H-2), 6.85 (dt,
J = 15.7, 6.8, 1H, H-3), 9.50 (d, J = 7.8, 1H, H-1) [data are in
close agreement with literature values (13)]; 13C NMR (CDCl3,
151 MHz) 14.30, 22.88, 25.79, 27.53, 29.53 (two C), 29.75, 29.80
(two C), 31.11, 32.96, 127.48, 132.03, 133.46, 158.20, 194.18.
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
Reports on synthesis of the winter moth pheromone 1 are
plentiful (3, 4, 9, 11, 12, 14-16), including methods utilizing
dienol 4 as a main building block (3, 4, 9, 11). Because dienol 4
could be expediently prepared in two steps from commercially
available starting materials, we also chose this intermediate to
synthesize pheromone 1 for field trials (Figure 1). We basically
followed a route converting 4 to the corresponding bromide (11)
and further to the phosphonium salt 5, then conducting cis-Wittig
olefination as described (4, 11).

1832 J. Agric. Food Chem., Vol. 58, No. 3, 2010
Khrimian et al.
Figure 2. Synthesis of (3E,6Z,9Z)-1,3,6,9-nonadecatetraene (2) via Wittig olefination with stabilized ylide. Reagents and conditions: (a) PhI(AcO)2-TEMPO/
CH2Cl2, room temperature; (b) Ph3PdCHCO2Me/CH2Cl2, room temperature; (c) Ph3PdCHCHO/CH2Cl2; (d) DIBAL-H/CH2Cl2, -70 °C; (e) Dess-Martin
periodinane; (f) Ph3PþCH3I--BuLi/THF, 0 °C.
pheromone of the arctiid moth, Utetheisa ornatrix (7). In these
papers, a labile aldehyde 7 (or its C-18 homologue) was prepared
by oxidation of corresponding alcohols with a 6-fold excess of
the chromium(VI) oxide-dipyridine (21) and without purifica-
tion olefinated in a Wittig reaction in low to moderate (∼50%)
instead of producing a Wittig condensation, unexpectedly
resulted in aldehyde 10, by means of isomerizing the 3Z
double bond in the starting aldehyde to the 2E position. We
are unaware of any other example of a homoallylic alcohol
in such a reaction, but it seems that aldehyde 7 and
Ph3PdCHCHO reversibly form a betaine adduct that is
basic enough to promote a prototropic isomerization before
collapsing back to starting materials. Interestingly, we did
not notice any isomerization when conducting Wittig reac-
tion of 7 with Ph3PdCHCOOMe under similar conditions.
Other attempts to shorten a three-step homologation sequence
were not productive either. Although the Wittig reaction of
aldehyde 7 with (triphenylphosphoranylidene)acetonitrile was
successful (unpublished results), DIBAL-H reduction of the resul-
tant nitrile, followed by acidic hydrolysis of an intermediate imine,
provided a low yield of aldehyde 9.
In summary, we developed two new syntheses of the tetraene 2
from dienol 4. In the first approach, Wittig trans-olefination with
a nonstabilized ylide obtained from salt 5 was not completely
stereoselective, thus affording a 4:1 mixture of inhibitor 2 and
pheromone 1. This method might have a practical utilization,
provided the content of 2 in the mixture is high enough to shut
down trap captures of Bruce spanworm. The second, more
advanced, route benefitted from an improved oxidation of 4
and subsequent two-carbon homologation of the aldehyde 7 and
furnished tetraene 2 not contaminated with 1.
Field trials with different blends of tetraenes 1 and 2 were
conducted in November and December 2008 on the grounds of
the Massachusetts National Cemetery, Bourne, MA, against
winter moth and in November 2008 in Cadwell State Forest,
Massachusetts, against a Bruce spanworm population. Briefly,
tetraene 1 was indeed very attractive to winter moth and Bruce
spanworm males, whereas the isomer 2 was inactive against both
species as reported (5, 28). Tetraene 2 did show an inhibitory
effect against Bruce spanworm when added to pheromone
1 (5,28), but it surprisingly did so against winter moth population
as well. In a separate paper, we will demonstrate how the trap
design and placement of the pheromone and the inhibitor
dispensers affect trap catches.
yields (7, 9, 20). Following this protocol, we ran CrO3 Py
3
oxidation of 4 (97% pure) with a subsequent olefination of crude
7 with methyl (triphenylphosphoranylidene)acetate at room
temperature in CH2Cl2 and obtained a product showing a single
spot on TLC but having only 88% purity by GC. Argentation
chromatography of this material afforded 96% pure ester 6 in
39% yield. Aside from the facts of a low yield, a large excess of
CrO3 Py, and using argentation chromatography for purifica-
3
tion, hexavalent chromium is extremely toxic and a tightly
regulated product in the chemical industry. Hence, we sought a
more suitable oxidation reagent. (Diacetoxyiodo)benzene in
combination with a catalytic amount of TEMPO was described
in the literature as a mild and selective reagent for oxidation of
alcohols to aldehydes (22), including an example of a homoallylic
alcohol with a 3Z doublebond (23). Wefound that with only 20%
excessofPhI(OAc)2, the oxidation of 4, followed by olefination of
crude aldehyde with Ph3PdCHCOOMe, provided ester 6 in a
60% yield and 96% chemical purity after conventional flash
chromatography. A small amount of cis-olefination product
was cleanly separated from ester 6, thus ensuring that the
final tetraene will not contain pheromone 1. Hence, (diacetoxy-
iodo)benzene/TEMPO oxidation is clearly advantageous over
CrO3 Py in a two-step conversion of dienol 4 to the trienic ester 6.
3
Further transformation of ester 6 to the desired tetraene 2 was
accomplished by a traditional route (Figure 2) that entailed a
low-temperature diisobutylaluminum hydride reduction (24), a
Dess-Martin periodinane oxidation (25) of alcohol 8, and,
finally, a Wittig olefination of aldehyde 9 (5). Overall yield of
the tetraene 2 from dienol 4 was 25% and the chemical and
isomeric purity 96%, as judged from a GC-MS analysis. Two
small impurities displayed in their mass spectra ions at m/z 260,
corresponding to the molecular ion of 2.
Next, we sought to shorten the three-step homologation of
aldehyde 7. (Triphenylphosphoranylidene)acetaldehyde is a
stable commercially available phosphorane that was used for a
direct two-carbon trans-homologation of both aromatic and
aliphatic aldehydes (26). Normally, the reaction with this stabi-
lized ylide requires heating in benzene (26), but could also be
accomplished at room temperature in CH2Cl2 (27). However,
stirring of aldehyde 7 with (triphenylphosphoranylidene)-
acetaldehyde in CH2Cl2 at 20 °C and/or in benzene at 80 °C,
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