Lithiated alkoxyallenes, nitriles, and carboxylic acids have been employed as precursors in a three-component reaction leading to highly substituted β-alkoxy-β-ketoenamides. Upon treatment with trifluoroacetic acid, these enamides could be easily cyclized to 5-acetyloxazole derivatives. The synthesis is very flexible with respect to the substitution pattern at C-2 and C-4 of the oxazole core. A mechanistic suggestion for the oxazole formation is presented on the basis of (18)O-labeled compounds and their mass spectrometric analysis. In several cases, 1,2-diketones are formed as side products or even as major components. The acetyl moiety at C-5 of the oxazole derivatives can efficiently be converted into alkenyl or alkynyl moieties, which allows a multitude of subsequent reactions. Condensation reactions of the acetyl group provided the expected oxime or hydrazone. By applying a Fischer reaction, the phenylhydrazone could be transferred into an indole, which emphasizes the potential of 5-acetyloxazoles for the preparation of highly substituted (poly)heterocyclic systems. The alkynyl group at C-2 is prone to addition reactions, providing an enamine with interesting photophysical properties. Sonogashira couplings were performed with 5-alkynyl-substituted oxazoles, furnishing the expected aryl-substituted products. This alkynyl unit was employed for the preparation of a new, star-shaped trisoxazole derivative. The ability of this multivalent compound to form self-assembled monolayers between the basal plane of highly oriented pyrolytic graphite and 1-phenyloctane was demonstrated by scanning tunneling microscopy (STM). The star-shaped compound seems to prefer the C(3)-symmetric arrangement in this two-dimensional crystal. Two 1,2-diketones were smoothly converted into functionalized quinoxaline derivatives.

The Mukaiyama aldol reaction between the functionalised aldehydes 5 and the S‐ketene silyl acetal 2 catalysed by 1,1′‐binaphthyl‐derived chiral titanium(IV) complex 4 afforded the corresponding aldol products 6 in good yields and with good to excellent enantioselectivities. The chemical yield could further be enhanced, without loss of stereoselection, by addition of phenol and/or molecular sieves. The presented aldol reactions with aluminium, boron and ytterbium‐BINOL catalysts demonstrate that only low chiral induction can be achieved. Aldol product 6a was converted into an α‐lipoic acid precursor 8, thus providing a formal synthesis of this biologically active compound. (© Wiley‐VCH Verlag GmbH, 69451 Weinheim, Germany, 2002)

The LANCA three-component reaction of lithiated alkoxy­allenes (LA), nitriles (N), and carboxylic acids (CA) smoothly provides β-alkoxy-β-ketoenamides in broad structural variety. The subsequent cyclocondensation of these compounds with hydroxylamine hydrochloride afforded a large library of pyrimidine N-oxides under mild conditions and in good yields. Their synthetic utility was further increased by the Boekelheide rearrangement leading to 4-acetoxymethyl-substituted pyrimidines. With trifluoroacetic anhydride the rearrangement proceeds even at room temperature and directly furnishes 4-hydroxymethyl-substituted pyrimidine derivatives. The key reactions are very robust and work well even in the presence of sterically demanding substituents.

In this report we describe the synthesis of differentially functionalized pyridine derivatives 3 and the related 3-bromosubstituted pyridines 11. Dissociation of 6H-1,2-oxazine precursors (1a, 1b, 5, 6, or 12) in situ, mediated by boron trifluoride-diethyl ether, generates the azapyrylium intermediates A, which undergo hetero-Diels-Alder reactions with various mono-and disubstituted alkynes 2. In general, these pyridine syntheses proceeded with high efficiencies and were very flexible with respect to all positions in the pyridine cores. For the 3-phenyl-substituted pyridine derivatives 3a-3j and 11a-11f the best results were obtained by a new microwave-assisted protocol, which is clearly superior to the previously used conventional procedure at low temperature in dichloro-

A series of 3,3¢-disubstituted and 6,6¢-disubstituted BINOL derivatives was synthesized and examined in typical titanium(IV) promoted aldol reactions. The model reaction of S-ketene silyl acetal 13 and aldehydes 12a and 12b revealed that 6,6¢-dibromo-BINOL derivative (R)-6 is the ligand of choice for these transformations. Up to 97% yield with excellent enantioselectivity (ee > 97%) could be achieved. Scope and limitations were demonstrated using a series of aldehydes as substrates, which were generally transformed into their aldol adducts by the (R)-6/Ti(Oi-Pr) 4 catalyst with good efficacy and high enantioselectivity.