G Model
CCLET 3892 No. of Pages 5
Z.-F. Sun et al. / Chinese Chemical Letters xxx (2016) xxx–xxx
3
hydrogenated to give 9 in 67% yield in three steps. After a
4.1. (R)-4-Benzyl-3-butyryloxazolidin-2-one 3
conventional acidic procedure to remove THP ether, the obtained
alcohol 9 was transformed into bromide 10 by the combination of
In argon, to a cooled (ꢀ78 ꢁC) solution of (R)-4-benzyloxazo-
lidin-2-one (21.6 g, 0.121 mol) in anhydrous THF (300 mL) was
added n-BuLi (55 mL, 2.5 M in hexane), and then the reaction
mixture was stirred for 30 min. Butyryl chloride (14 mL) was slowly
added at this temperature and the reaction mixture was stirred for
1 h. The reaction mixture was warmed to room temperature and
maintained for another 8 h. Then, the mixture was quenched by
saturated ammonia chloride and extracted by ethyl acetate. The
organic phase was combined and washed with saturated brine,
dried over Na2SO4, and concentrated under reduced pressure. The
25
CBr4 andtriphenylphosphine in87%yield, [a D
]
ꢀ2.9(c2.6, CHCl3).
With the C5 + C7 intermediate 10 successfully synthesised, we
next turned our attention to another C5 subunit, which was
prepared from g-lactone. As shown in Scheme 3, the ring-opening
and benzylation in one-pot led to the efficient production of
compound 11 on a large scale. The connection of compound 11
with (S)-4-benzyloxazolidin-2-one through activated mixed-an-
hydride with ethyl chloroformate at ꢀ78 ꢁC for 6 h was accom-
plished in an 87% yield. The subsequent asymmetric methylation
delivered compound 13 using sodium bis(trimethylsilyl)amide as a
base with only one desirable diastereomer 14 in a 70% yield and a
ratio of d.r. > 90:1. In the methylation step, the optimal conditions
involved the slow addition of three equivalents of methyl iodide in
diluted THF (tetrahydrofuran) solution over 2 h to avoid the
dimethylated by-product. Removal of the auxiliary moiety by
lithium aluminium hydride in dry THF and subsequent tosylation
produced compound 15 in an excellent yield. As to the reduction
and removal of the Evans auxiliary, the yield of the expensive
lithium borohydride was higher than of lithium aluminium
hydride. After the same coupling condition in the presence of
Li2CuCl4 in the mixture of THF and NMP, compound 16 was
produced. Removal of the benzyl group was accomplished through
Pd(OH)2/C catalytic hydrogenation and the obtained alcohol was
oxidised by Jones’ reagent to afford acid 2 in a two-step 63% yield,
The chiral alcohol 17 could be prepared through a reported kinetic
crude product was purified by column chromatography to produce
27
3 (27.4 g, 91%) as a colourless oil. [
NMR (400 MHz, CDCl3):
a
]
ꢀ54.5 (c 3.00, CHCl3). 1H
D
d
1.01 (t, 3H, J = 7.4 Hz), 1.68–1.77 (m, 2H),
2.76 (dd, 1H, J = 13.4, 9.3 Hz), 2.83–3.00 (m, 2H), 3.30 (dd, 1H,
J = 13.3, 3.1 Hz), 4.15–4.22 (m, 2H), 4.64–4.70 (m, 1H), 7.20–7.35 (m,
5H). 13C NMR (100 MHz, CDCl3):
d 173.2, 153.4, 135.3, 129.4, 128.9,
127.3, 66.1, 55.1, 37.9, 37.3, 17.6, 13.6.
4.2. (R)-4-Benzyl-3-((R)-2-methylbutanoyl)oxazolidin-2-one 4
To a stirred solution of 3 (3.5 g, 14.15 mmol) in anhydrous THF
(20 mL) at ꢀ78 ꢁC, LDA (2.0 mol/L in THF, 8.88 mL, 17.75 mmol) was
added dropwise under an argon atmosphere. After stirring for 1 h
at ꢀ78 ꢁC, MeI (2.65 mL, 42.55 mmol) was added and the reaction
mixture was stirred for an additional 1 h at ꢀ78 ꢁC and then
warmed to room temperature. Upon completion of the reaction
(monitored by TLC), the reaction mixture was quenched with
saturated NH4Cl (10 mL) and extracted with EtOAc (70 mL ꢂ 3). The
combined organic extracts were washed with brine (50 mL), dried
with anhydrous Na2SO4 and concentrated under reduced pressure.
The crude product was purified by column chromatography to
afford 4 (3.2 g, 85%) as a colourless liquid. 1H NMR (400 MHz,
resolution process [4]. After activation with trifluoroacetic
25
anhydride, the total synthesis of target molecule 1, [a D
(c 0.23, CHCl3) was finally achieved in a 75% yield.
]
ꢀ3.8
3. Conclusions
We have successfully synthesised the most active stereo-
isomers of (3R,13R)-(S)-2-methylpentan-3-yl-3,13-dimethylpenta-
decanoate, the major and most active component of the sex
pheromone of C. variegata. Evans template induction was adopted
to produce the chiral methyl group moieties. Li2CuCl4 was used to
catalyse the Csp3ꢀꢀCsp3 coupling, which was a key method in
construction of the skeleton. Based on our synthetic route, a set of
four diastereoisomers could be prepared with ease using only
different Evans auxiliaries. Our results are highly beneficial for
preventing and controlling Paulownia bagworm, C. variegata, in an
economical and environmentally benign way.
CDCl3): d 0.93 (t, 3H, J = 7.4 Hz), 1.22 (d, 3H, J = 7 Hz), 1.43–1.50 (m,
1H), 1.74–1.81 (m, 1H), 2.76 (dd, 1H, J = 14.3, 9.8 Hz), 3.27 (dd, 1H,
J = 12.3, 3.1 Hz), 3.61–3.66 (m,1H), 4.15–4.22 (m, 2H), 4.65–4.71 (m,
1H), 7.20–7.35 (m, 5H). 13C NMR (100 MHz, CDCl3):
d 177.1, 153.0,
135.3, 129.4, 128.8, 127.3, 65.9, 55.3, 39.1, 37.8, 26.3, 16.8, 11.6.
4.3. (R)-2-Methylbutanal 6
To a solution of compound 4 (4.9 g, 18.8 mmol) in THF (120 mL)
at 0 ꢁC, was added an aqueous solution of LiBH4 (0.18 g, 7.55 mmol)
portion-wise. The solution then was allowed to warm to room
temperature naturally. After completion, the reaction mixture was
neutralised by diluted HCl and extracted with EtOAc (50 mL ꢂ 3).
The combined organic extract was washed with brine (50 mL),
dried with Na2SO4 and concentrated under atmospheric pressure.
The crude product was purified by column chromatography to
afford 5 (1.34 g, 83%) as a colourless liquid. 1H NMR (300 MHz,
4. Experimental
All anhydrous solvents and reagents were prepared from
reagent grade materials using conventional methods. The reac-
tions of air and moisture sensitive materials were carried out in
flame dried glassware under a nitrogen atmosphere. The transfer of
air and water sensitive solutions was completed using hypodermic
syringes. The NMR data were recorded in CDCl3 solution with
Bruker AC-500 or AM-400 MHz spectrometers, if not stated
otherwise. The chemical shifts are reported in ppm relative to
TMS. Column chromatography was generally performed on a silica
gel (200–300 mesh) gradient elution with petroleum ether and
ethyl acetate, and TLC inspections on silica gel GF-254 plates with
petroleum ether:ethyl acetate (8:1, v/v), if not stated otherwise.
The purities of the synthesised compounds were estimated by GC–
MS using a Trace GC–MS 2000.
CDCl3): d 0.91 (t, 3H, J = 7.4 Hz), 1.22 (d, 3H, J = 7.1 Hz), 1.20–1.35 (m,
1H), 1.39–1.56 (m, 1H), 1.67–1.77 (m, 1H), 3.29-3.45 (m, 2H). To a
solution of compound 5 (1.2 g,13.6 mmol) in CH2Cl2 (60 mL) at 0 ꢁC,
was added PCC (pyridinium chlorochromate, 3.5 g, 16.3 mmol)
portion-wise. The mixture was stirred at room temperature until
completion. Then, ether was added to the system and filtered
through a pad of silica gel. The filtrate was washed with diethyl
ether, then was dried with Na2SO4 and concentrated in vacuo. The
resultant compound 6 was used as obtained without further
purification.
Please cite this article in press as: Z.-F. Sun, et al., Stereoselective synthesis of the Paulownia bagworm sex pheromone, Chin. Chem. Lett. (2016),