Furthermore, the choice of the acyl substituent is important for
the ensuing elaboration of the acyl functionality to a more
versatile form. For instance, the aldol derivatives comprised of
N-methoxy-N-methylamides (Weinreb amide), accessible either
directly by aldol reaction3 or indirectly by transamidation of
â-hydroxycarboxylic derivatives,4 are often utilized as a precur-
sor of aldehydes or ketones through the reduction or alkylation
process.5 In this context, we succeeded in selective reduction
of O-acylTEMPOs,6 extended carboxylic acid derivatives with
a hetero-hetero bond-like peroxyesters7 and Weinreb amides,8
to the corresponding aldehydes upon treatment with DIBALH.
In our continuing studies on exploring TEMPO substitution
as a reaction-controlling element,9 we examined the reactivity
of O-alkanoylTEMPOs A, easily accessible by acyl substitution
with the TEMPO anion, in the C-C bond-making reaction at
the C2 position including alkylation, direct aldol reaction,
Michael addition, as well as related reactions. Thus far scant
attention has been paid to characterization of the anionic species
B and/or C possibly accessible by deprotonation of A, though
compound A poses as carboxylic derivatives (Scheme 1).10 In
the meantime, we also discussed the effect of 2,2,6,6-tetra-
methylpiperidine-1-oxyl (TEMPO) as an auxiliary on the
stereochemistry of the aldol reactions.
Alkylation, Aldol, and Related Reactions of
O-Alkanoyl- and 2-AlkenoylTEMPOs
(2,2,6,6-Tetramethylpiperidine-N-oxyl): Insight
into the Reactivity of Their Anionic Species in
Comparison with Esters and Amides
Tsutomu Inokuchi*,† and Hiroyuki Kawafuchi‡
Department of Bioscience and Biotechnology, Faculty of
Engineering, Okayama UniVersity, Tsushima-naka, Okayama,
700-8530, Japan and Department of Chemical and Biochemical
Engineerings, Toyama National College of Technology,
Hongo-machi, Toyama, 939-8630, Japan
ReceiVed August 21, 2006
As shown in Table 1, deprotonation of the O-acylTEMPO
2a was easily achieved on treatment with LDA in THF at
-78 °C, and reaction of the resulting anionic species with
iodomethane (MeI) and benzyl and allyl bromides led to the
corresponding 3a,b,c (E ) Me, PhCH2, allyl) in 74-87% yields
(entries 1-3). The same alkylation was also achieved with tert-
butyl bromoacetate as an electrophile at 0 °C, affording the
desired mixed tert-butyl/TEMPO-1-yl succinate 3d (E ) CH2-
CO2But) in 64% yield (entry 4).11 On the other hand, our
attempts for the alkylation of 2,2-dialkylated 3a were unsuc-
cessful. Furthermore, silylation of the anionic species from
O-aceylTEMPO (1), 2a, and 3a with TMSCl at -10 °C resulted
in the recovery of the starting O-acylTEMPOs, which is different
from that of tert-butyl isobutyrate, forming the corresponding
enol silyl ether even at -78 °C.12
The lithium anionic species generated from O-alkanoylTEM-
POs upon treatment with LDA were first employed as a
nucleophile for alkylation, Michael addition, direct aldol
reaction, and others. The alkylation occurred smoothly at
the methylene carbon, and no alkylation was found in the
isobutyryl analogue, while silylation was scarcely attainable.
Substitutions of the heteroatom were achieved by reaction
with PhSSPh and DEAD. The reactivity of these anionic
species is successfully extended to aldol reactions in which
moderate anti or syn selectivity was executed with propionyl
derivatives. Tandem Michael addition of lithium amide
followed by aldol reaction was performed on the O-
crotonoylTEMPOs.
Subsequently, we examined the reactivity of this anionic
species toward other electrophiles such as nitroolefin and
(3) (a) Pe´rez, M.; del Pozo, C.; Reyes, F.; Rodr´ıguez, A.; Francesch,
A.; Echavarren, A. M.; Cuevas, C. Angew. Chem., Int. Ed. 2004, 43, 1724-
1727. (b) Andre´s, J. M.; Pedrosa, R.; Pe´rez-Encabo, A. Tetrahedron 2000,
56, 1217-1223. (c) Palomo, C.; Aizpurua, J. M.; Aurrekoetxea, N.; Lo´pez,
M. C. Tetrahedron Lett. 1991, 32, 2525-2528.
(4) (a) Evans, D. A.; Trenkle, W. C.; Zhang, J.; Burch, J. D. Org. Lett.
2005, 7, 3335-3338. (b) Blakemore, P. R.; Browder, C. C.; Hong, J.;
Lincoln, C. M.; Nagornyy, P. A.; Robarge, L. A.; Wardrop, D. J.; White,
J. D. J. Org. Chem. 2005, 70, 5449-5460. (c) Brinkmann, Y.; Carreno, M.
C.; Urbano, A.; Colobert, F.; Solladie, G. Org. Lett. 2004, 6, 4335-4338.
(d) Baker-Glenna, C.; Ancliff, R.; Gouverneur, V. Tetrahedron 2004, 60,
7607-7619.
Enolates of carboxylic acid derivatives such as esters,
thioesters, and amides are one of the pivotal intermediates in
the carbon-carbon bond-making process in alkylation, aldol
reaction, Michael addition, and others,1 and their potential is
well demonstrated by the key role played in the synthesis of
biologically significant compounds such as taxol and epothilones.2
† Okayama University.
(5) Nahm, S.; Weinreb, S. M. Tetrahedron Lett. 1981, 22, 3815-3818.
(6) Inokuchi, T.; Kawafuchi, H. Tetrahedron 2004, 60, 11969-11975.
(7) Lawesson, S.-O.; Yang, N. C. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 1959, 81, 4230-
4233.
‡ Toyama National College of Technology.
(1) Carey, F. A.; Sundberg, R. J. AdVanced Organic Chemistry, 4th ed.;
Kluwer Academic and Plenum Publishers: New York, 2001; part B, pp
1-89. (b) No´gra´di, M. StereoselectiVe Synthesis, 2nd ed.; VCH: Weinheim,
1995; pp 184-208. (c) Heathcock, C. H. ComprehensiVe Organic Synthesis;
Trost, B. M., Fleming, I., Eds.; Pergamon Press: Oxford, 1991; Vol. 2, pp
181-238.
(2) (a) Carey, F. A.; Sundberg, R. J. AdVanced Organic Chemistry, 4th
ed.; Kluwer Academic and Plenum Publishers: New York, 2001; part B,
pp 881-896. (b) In Modern Aldol Reactions; Mahrwald, R., Ed.; Wiley-
VCH: Weinheim, 2004.
(8) Weinreb, S. M.; Folmer, J. J. Encyclopedia of Reagents for Organic
Synthesis; John Wiley & Sons: New York, 1995; Vol. 3, pp 2083-2086.
(9) (a) Inokuchi, T.; Kawafuchi, H. J. Org. Chem. 2006, 71, 947-953.
(b) Inokuchi, T.; Kawafuchi, H.; Nokami, J. Chem. Commun. 2005, 537-539.
(10) O-AcetylTEMPO (1) shows CdO absorption at 1759 cm-1 in IR
spectra, which is distinguishable from that of Weinreb amide at 1668 cm-1
and ethyl acetate at 1741 cm-1
.
(11) He, M.; Dowd, P. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 1998, 120, 1133-1137.
10.1021/jo0617316 CCC: $37.00 © 2007 American Chemical Society
Published on Web 01/25/2007
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