Allylic Sulfones in Solid-Phase Synthesis: Preparation of Cyclobutylidenes

Article abstract of DOI:10.1021/jo990954b

Polymer-bound allyl sulfones (cf. 9) were utilized in geminal cycloalkylations with epichlorohydrin to generate a cis-phenylsulfonylcyclobutanol derivative (cf. 11) in one step. In the final step of this solid-phase synthetic sequence, cuprate, organomolybdenum, and organopalladium reagents were screened to obtain an optimal protocol for "traceless" cleavage of cyclobutylidene products from the resin. Among these, palladium-catalyzed allylic alkylation was the most efficient. In addition, highly regioselective nucleophilic attack at the less hindered terminus of the allyl fragment (i.e., overall S_N2′ sulfinate displacement) was observed. Cyclobutylidene diversification was demonstrated by incorporating different allylic substituents, O-functionalizations, and C-nucleophiles to prepare a demonstration library of eight cyclobutylidene derivatives (i.e., derivatives of 4) in four steps and 30-38% overall yield from lithium polystyrene/divinylbenzene sulfinate.