An efficient two-step preparation of (6R,7R)-6-hydroxy-7-phenyl-1,4-oxazepan-5-ones (1) starting from aminoethanols and (2R,3S)-3-phenyloxirane-2-carboxylic ethyl ester or potassium salt has been described. The most efficient catalyst identified for the ring closure of the resulting intermediate epoxyamides was Sc(OTf) 3 . By choice of appropriate chiral starting substituted aminoethanol and 3-phenyloxirane-2-carboxylic derivatives, the procedure allows facile synthesis of other single enantiomer 6-hydroxy-7-phenyl-1,4-oxazepan-5-ones.We wished to develop a synthesis of (6R,7R)-6-hydroxy-7-phenyl-1,4-oxazepan-5-one (1) (Figure 1) that would allow facile access for mono-, di-and tri-substitution at R 1 , R 2 , R 3 , R 4 and R 5 . Figure 1 6-Hydroxy-7-phenyl-1,4-oxazepan-5-one diastereomers 1-4. See Table 2 for the letter assignment of R 1 -R 5 combinations prepared in this paper.A report 1 on the cyclization of the racemic cis-epoxide (5, cis-racemate, Scheme 1) with MgI 2 to yield racemic trans-2-phenyltetrahydrofuran-3-ol (7, trans-racemate) led us to speculate whether a similar transformation would be possible with epoxyamide 8. We anticipated that as with 5 and other similar alcohols, esters, and aldehydes, 2 the epoxyamide 8 would exhibit chelation-controlled epoxide opening with MgI 2 to yield the iodohydrin 9. A 7-exo-tet displacement of the iodide would theoretically control the oxazepine versus pyran issue.In order to rapidly test this approach we examined the reaction of N-(2-hydroxy-2-phenylethyl)-N-methyl-3-phenyloxirane-2-carboxamide (11df, Scheme 2) with MgI 2 under the conditions employed by Karikomi. 1 A 43% yield of a 1:1 mixture of the 6-hydroxy-4-methyl-2,7-diphenyl-1,4-oxazepan-5-ones 1f and 2d was obtained. The relative stereochemistry of the substituents of the product was determined by a NMR NOE study. The material used in the study was prepared in 46% yield by the method of Huang 3 from commercial ethyl phenylglycidate (90% trans by 1 H NMR) and DL-a-(methylaminomethyl)benzylalcohol. NMR spectral analysis of 11df confirmed that the material consisted only of trans-epoxyamide. We did not further examine the diastereomeric balance of 11df. Diastereomeric enrichment in the preparation of 11df would compromise a rigorous mechanistic Scheme 2 Reagents and conditions: a) Ethyl 3-phenyloxirane-2-carboxylate, MeOH, cat. NaOMe, -20 °C; b) 10 mol% MgI 2 , refluxing THF.
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