Base-Mediated Claisen Rearrangement of CF3-Containing Bisallyl Ethers

We have previously clarified that the strongly electron-withdrawing CF₃ group nicely affected the base-mediated proton shift of CF₃-containing propargylic or allylic alcohols to afford the corresponding α,β-unsaturated or saturated ketones, respectively, which was applied this time to the Claisen rearrangement after O-allylation of the allylic alcohols with a CF₃ group, followed by isomerization to the corresponding allyl vinyl ethers via the proton shift, enabling the desired rearrangement in a tandem fashion, or in a stepwise manner, the latter of which was proved to have attained an excellent diastereoselectivity with the aid of a palladium catalyst.

Diastereoselective Mannich reactions of pseudo-C2-symmetric glutarimide with activated imines

As an extension of the boron enolate-based aldol reactions, the oxazolidinone-installed bisimide 1a from 3-(trifluoromethyl)glutaric acid was employed for Mannich reactions with tosylated imines 2 as electrophiles to successfully obtain the corresponding adducts in a stereoselective manner.

Highly Stereoselective Synthesis of Trifluoromethylated Compounds via Ester-Enolate [2,3]-Wittig and [3,3]-Ireland-Claisen Rearrangements

gamma-Trifluoromethylated propargylic alcohols have been obtained in optically pure forms via effective enzymatic kinetic resolution and then converted into (E)- or (Z)-allylic alcohols. [2,3]-Wittig rearrangement of the corresponding [[gamma-(trifluoromethyl)allyl]oxy]acetic acid methyl esters afforded alpha-hydroxy-beta-(trifluoromethyl)-gamma,delta-unsaturated carboxylic acid methyl esters in good yields. The rearrangement of (Z)-substrates proceeded in a highly stereoselective manner to give anti-isomers with E configuration at a newly created olefinic bond via complete chirality transfer. (E)-Substrates, however, showed relatively low stereoselectivities resulting in mixtures of syn- and anti-products. The trifluoromethylated allylic alcohols were also converted into the corresponding alpha-methoxyacetic acid gamma-(trifluoromethyl)allyl esters and evaluated as substrates for [3,3]-Ireland-Claisen rearrangement. (E)-Substrates were efficiently transformed into syn-products while (Z)-substrates exhibited relatively low stereoselectivities. The two complementary methods provide facile routes to highly functionalized trifluoromethyl-containing molecules with a high degree of stereocontrol.