Mid Sweden University

The preparation of compounds incorporating the 3-hydroxy-2-methyl-1-alkyl moiety of high diastereomeric purity is described. Such compounds can serve as potential building blocks for the preparation of several kinds of natural products. Diastereoselective synthesis of two potential pine sawfly pheromone components, one the pure racemic threo-isomer of 3-methylpentadecan-2-ol and the other the racemic erythro-isomer of 3-methyltridecan-2-ol are described. The diastereoselective addition of R2Zn (R = Me, Et and n-Bu) to several 2-alkyl-3-(arylsulfanyl)propanals in the presence of a Lewis acid and CH2Cl2 as solvent was studied. An excellent diastereomeric ratio (95/5 anti-Cram/Cram) was obtained with 2-[(phenylsulfanyl)methyl]pentanal, 2-[(phenylsulfanyl)methyl]decanal and 2-[(phenylsulfanyl)methyl]dodecanal and Me2Zn in the presence of TiCl4. (C) 2004 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The racemic synthetic building block (2R*,3R*)-3-methyl-4-(phenylsulfanyl)butan-2-ol (2R*,3R*)-2 was obtained in a high diastereomeric ratio [95:5, (2R*,3R*)/(2R*,3S*)-ratio] by Lewis acid catalysed dimethylzinc addition to racemic 2-methyl-3-(phenylsulfanyl)propanal (rac-1). Two consecutive acylations with vinyl acetate catalysed by Chirazyme L-2 (immobilised Candida antarctica lipase 13, CAL-B) led to preferential esterification of three of the four stereoisomers leaving (2S,3S)-3-methyl-4-(phenylsulfanyl)butan-2-ol (2S,3S)-2 of 98:2 dr and 98% ee. The stereoisomerically impure acetate of (2R,3R)-3-methyl-4-(phenyisulfanyl)butan-2-ol (2R,3R)-2, obtained in the first CAL-B-catalysed acylation step, was hydrolysed and reesterified using CAL-A (immobilised Novozyme SP 525) as the catalyst, which left (2R,3R)-3-methyl-4-(phenylsulfanyl)butan-2-ol (2R,3R)-2 of 98:2 dr and 99% ee as the remaining substrate. The individual enantiomers of 2-methyl-3-(phenylsulfanyl)propanal 1 were prepared from readily available (S)- and (R)-3-hydroxy-2-methylpropanoic acid methyl ester and reacted with dimethylzinc to give both enantiomers of (2R*,3R*)-3-methyl-4-(phenylsulfanyl)butan-2-ol (2R, 3R)- or (2S,3S)-2 of both high dr and ee. These products were purified by lipase catalysed acylation to give the enantiomerically and diastereomerically highly pure enantiomers (>99.5:0.5 dr, >99.9% ee). Pure (2S,3S)-3-methyl-4-(phenylsulfanyl)butan-2-ol (2S,3S)-2 was transformed into a potential pheromone precursor isolated from some pine sawflies of the genus Gilpinia, (2S,3R)-3-methylpentadecan-2-ol in 54% yield over eight steps.

The preparation of compounds incorporating the 3-hydroxy-2-methyl-1-butyl moiety of high diastereomeric purity is described. These compounds can serve as potential building blocks for the preparation of several kinds of natural products. The diastereoselective addition of a number of methylmetal derivatives to three 3-substituted 2-methylaldehydes in various solvents was studied. An excellent diastereomeric ratio (95:5 anti-Cram/Cram) was obtained with 2-methyl-3-(phenylsulfanyl)propanal (5) and Me2Zn in the presence of TiCl4.

All sixteen stereoisomers of 3,7,11-trimethyl-2-tridecanol were synthesised in high stereoisomerical purities (> 95%), for use in the identification of the stereoisomers present in females of the pine sawfly Microdiprion pallipes (Fallen) (Hymenoptera: Diprionidae) as the precursor of the actual sex pheromone (which is the propionate), and also for investigation of the biological activities of the esters. The key step in the syntheses was the coupling of each of the enantiomers of cis-3,4-dimethyl-gamma -butyrolactone with each of the four pure stereoisomers of 1-lithio-2,6-dimethyloctanes. The four corresponding alcohols were obtained by lipase-catalysed (Amano PS) kinetic separation, based on selective acylation of either (2R/S,6S)- or (2R/S,GR)-2,6-dimethyl-1-octanol (obtained from the optically pure enantiomers of citronellal). Additionally, a mixture of the 16 possible stereoisomers of 3,7,11-trimethyl-2-tridecanol was also prepared.