Reviews: (a) Vicarion, J. L.; Badia, D.; Carillo, L.; Reyes, E.; Etxebarria, J. Curr. Org. Chem. 2005, 9, 219-235. (b) Mahrwald, R. Ed. In Modern Aldol Reactions; Wiley-VCH: Weinheim, 2004; Vol. 1., pp. 1-335 (c) Mahrwald, R. Ed. In Modern Aldol Reactions; Wiley-VCH: Weinheim, 2004; Vol. 2., pp. 1-345.(d) Machajewski, T. D.; Wong, C.-H. Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2000, 39, 1352-1375. (e) Carriera, E. M. In Modern Carbonyl Chemistry; Otera, J.; Wiley-VCH: Weinheim, 2000; Chapter 8: Aldol Reaction: Methodology and Stereochemistry, 227-248. (f) Paterson, I.; Cowden, C. J.; Wallace, D. J. In Modern Carbonyl Chemistry; Otera, J.; Wiley-VCH: Weinheim, 2000; Chapter 9: Stereoselective Aldol Reactions in the Synthesis of Polyketide Natural Products, pp. 249-298. (g) Franklin, A. S.; Paterson, I. Contemp. Org. Synth. 1994, 1 317-338. (h) Heathcock, C. H. In Asymmetric Synthesis; Morrison, J. D., Ed.; Academic Press: Orlando, Fl.; 1984; Vol. 3., Chapter 2: The Aldol Addition Reaction, pp. 111-212. (i) Mukaiyama, T. Org. React. 1982, 28, 203-331. Since the early 1980s, aldol condensations involving boron enolates have gain great importance in asymmetric synthesis, particularly the synthesis of natural products with adjacent stereogenic centers bearing hydroxyl and methyl groups. (Z)-Boron enolates tend to give a high diastereoslectivity preference for the syn-stereochemistry while (E)-boron enolates favor the anti-stereochemistry. Because the B-O and B-C bonds are shorter than other metals with oxygen and carbon, the six membered Zimmerman–Traxler transition state in the aldol condensation tends to be more compact which accentuates steric interactions, thus leading to higher diastereoselectivity. When this feature is coupled with a boron enolate bearing a chiral auxillary, high enantioselectivity is achieved. Boron enolates are generated from a ketone and boron triflate in the presence of an organic base such as triethylamine. Reviews: (a) Abiko, A. Acc. Chem. Res. 2004, 37, 387-395. (b) Cowden, C. J. Org. React. 1997, 51, 1-200.
Catalytic Cascade Reactions Inspired by Polyketide Biosynthesis