Synthesis of delta-tributylstannyl-alpha,beta,gamma,delta-unsaturated aldehydes from pyridines.

Zincke aldehydes, which are readily available from the ring-opening reaction of pyridinium salts, are easily converted into delta-tributylstannyl-alpha,beta,gamma,delta-unsaturated aldehydes (stannyldienals) by the action of tributylstannyllithium. This reaction appears to proceed via 1,6-stannyllithium addition/elimination of lithium dialkylamide. Several stannyldienals of significant utility for the synthesis of polyene natural products have been made by this route, which proceeds in modest yields, but is successful on multigram scale using inexpensive reagents. Simple stannylenals and stannylenones are similarly available from the corresponding vinylogous amides.

Highly enantioselective reductive cyclization of acetylenic aldehydes via rhodium catalyzed asymmetric hydrogenation.

Catalytic hydrogenation of acetylenic aldehydes 1a-12a using chirally modified cationic rhodium catalysts enables highly enantioselective reductive cyclization to afford cyclic allylic alcohols 1b-12b. Using an achiral hydrogenation catalyst, the chiral racemic acetylenic aldehydes 13a-15a engage in highly syn-diastereoselective reductive cyclizations to afford cyclic allylic alcohols 13b-15b. Ozonolysis of cyclization products 7b and 9b allows access to optically enriched alpha-hydroxy ketones 7c and 9c. Reductive cyclization of enyne 7a under a deuterium atmosphere provides the monodeuterated product deuterio-7b, consistent with a catalytic mechanism involving alkyne-carbonyl oxidative coupling followed by hydrogenolytic cleavage of the resulting oxametallacycle. These hydrogen-mediated transformations represent the first examples of the enantioselective reductive cyclization of acetylenic aldehydes.

Alkynes as synthetic equivalents to stabilized Wittig reagents: intra- and intermolecular carbonyl olefinations catalyzed by Ag(I), BF3, and HBF4.

[reaction: see text] The first use of cationic silver (AgSbF4) as a catalyst for intra- and intermolecular alkyne-carbonyl coupling to form conjugated enones is described, and a comparison to corresponding Brønsted acid (HBF4) and Lewis acid (BF3) catalyst systems is made. Notably, intermolecular coupling proceeds stereoselectively to afford the corresponding trisubstituted enones as single geometrical isomers. This transformation represents a completely atom economical alternative to the use of stabilized Wittig reagents in carbonyl olefination and may be viewed as a formal alkyne-carbonyl metathesis.

A new reaction manifold for the Barton radical intermediates: synthesis of N-heterocyclic furanosides and pyranosides via the formation of the C(1)-C(2) bond.

The first radical intermediate in the thiourethane-mediated deoxygenation of an alcohol (Barton-McCombie reaction) can participate in an exo-hex-5-enyl- or exo-hept-6-enyl-type radical cyclization when a suitable radical acceptor (e.g., alpha,beta-unsaturated ester, oxime ether, or hydrazone) is appropriately placed. Carbohydrate-derived imidazolyl and triazolyl thiourethanes with such acceptors, upon addition to excess of a good hydride donor (reverse addition), undergo efficient cyclization reactions to give N-heterocyclic furanosides, and, surprisingly even N-pyranosides. Depending on the acceptor, glycosides with either a C(2)()-amino or a C(2)()-carbon substituent are formed.