Reductive coupling of α,β-enones I: Reduction of methyl-vinyl ketone and mesityl oxide

Cross-pinacol-type coupling reactions between alpha,beta-unsaturated ketones and aldehydes with low-valent metals

Treatment of an alpha,beta-unsaturated ketone and an aldehyde with chromium(II) chloride and R(3)SiCl in DMF gives cross-pinacol-type coupling products, 1,2-diols selectively. The anti/syn ratios of the produced 1,2-diols are shown to depend on the reaction temperature: at lower temperatures, the anti adduct is produced selectively, but at higher temperatures, the anti/syn ratios gradually decrease. When a combination of manganese and a catalytic amount of lead are used instead of chromium(II), 1,6-diketone, a dimer of the alpha,beta-unsaturated ketone, is produced selectively.

Enantiospecific synthesis of the (9S,18R)-diastereomer of the leukocyte adhesion inhibitor cyclamenol A

Cyclamenol A is one of the very few non-carbohydrate and non-peptide natural products that inhibit leukocyte adhesion to endothelial cells. We report on the first enantioselective total synthesis of the (9S, 18R)-diastereomer of this macrocyclic polyene lactam. Key elements of the synthesis are i) the synthesis of the required chiral building blocks by employing readily accessible building blocks from the chiral pool, that is, (S)-malic acid and (R)-hydroxyisobutyric acid, ii) assembly of a linear polyene precursor by means of Wittig and Horner olefination reactions as key C-C bond-forming transformations, iii) ring closure by means of a vanadium-mediated pinacolisation reaction and iv) conversion of the generated cis-diol into a (Z)-olefin to complete the entire polyene system of the natural product. Attempts to close the macrocyclic ring by a macrolactamisation, a double Stille coupling or direct olefination in a McMurry reaction failed. Crucial to the successful completion of the synthesis was the correct orchestration of the final steps. It was necessary to first deprotect the intermediate formed after macrocycle formation and to generate the sensitive heptaene system in the last step by means of a Corey-Hopkins sequence.

In/InCl(3)-Mediated cross-coupling reactions of methyl vinyl ketone with benzaldehyde in aqueous media

Various beta,gamma-unsaturated ketones were successfully prepared by cross-coupling reactions of methyl vinyl ketone (MVK) with benzaldehydes mediated by In/InCl(3) in aqueous media.