Tandem Sakurai-Aldol Addition Reactions as a Route to Structurally Complex Carbocycles

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Abstract
Tandem intramolecular Sakurai-aldol reactions provide a concise and highly diastereoselective route to substituted cyclohexenone derivatives. The cyclization substrates are readily obtained using olefin isomerization−Claisen rearrangement (ICR) reactions to prepare the key chiral allyl silane precursors. The Claisen reaction products are elaborated to the chiral Sakurai-aldol substrates by an efficient two-step sequence involving vinyl organometallic-aldehyde addition and oxidation of the resulting alcohol. The reaction of the resulting enones with TiCl4 elicits a highly stereoselective allyl silane conjugate addition to produce a trichlorotitanium enolate as the reaction intermediate; intermolecular trapping of the enolate with an aldehyde provides pentasubstituted cyclohexanone derivatives in which the annulation reaction establishes four stereocenters and two new C−C bonds. A fully intramolecular variant of the Sakurai-aldol reaction that creates four stereocenters, two new C−C bonds, and establishes two new carbocyclic rings is also described.