5.7. [32π + 32σ] Cycloadditions 74 5.8. [44π + 22π] Cycloadditions 75 6. Seven-Membered Ring Formation 78 6.1. [44π + 32σ] Cycloadditions 78 6.2. [52π+2σ + 22π] Cycloadditions 79 7. Eight-Membered Ring Formation 79 7.1. [22π + 22π + 22π + 22π] Cycloadditions 80 7.2. [44π + 22π + 22π] Cycloadditions 80 7.3. [44π + 44π] Cycloadditions 81 7.4. [66π + 22π] Cycloadditions 83 8. Ten-Membered Ring Formation 85 9. Conclusion and Remarks 87

Transition Metal-Mediated Cycloaddition Reactions

Nucleophilic ring opening of aziridines

Aziridines, the nitrogenous analogues of epoxides, have until recently excited far less interest amongst synthetic organic chemists than their oxygenated counterparts, with some justification. A range of reviews concerned with the physical properties, synthesis (asymmetric and otherwise), reactions and utility of aziridines exists; this review briefly summarizes the similarities and differences between oxiranes and their nitrogenated analogues, concentrating on the underlying properties of aziridines and recent developments in their chemistry. In addition to descriptions of the physical nature of aziridines, especially those features which underpin their utility as synthetic intermediates, the sections beneath describe reactions involving alkylative ring-opening and synthesis of aziridines.

Aziridines: epoxides’ ugly cousins?

Publisher Summary This chapter discusses the results of the studies that permit some generalizations on the catalytic mechanism of glycoside hydrolases from widely differing sources and with different sugar and aglycon specificities and that have become available over the past 15 years. The strong inhibition of glycosidases by aldonolactones was first mentioned in 1940 by Japanese workers who studied β- D -glucosidases from Aspergillus (Taka-diastase) and almonds. Even though both of these groups of compounds are derived from normal substrates by only a minor modification of the glycon moiety, they are discussed together with pseudosubstrates because their reactions with glycosidases show, in many cases, unusual kinetic features. The information relevant to the mechanism of an enzyme-catalyzed reaction can, in general, only be obtained from irreversible inhibitors that react specifically at the active site, and thereby inactivate the enzyme. In many cases, inhibition studies were not carried out to obtain information on the reaction mechanism, but for other purposes. Thus, only inhibitors were tested that were considered suitable for the particular project, for example, studies on the biological function of the enzyme where glycosylamines and aldonolactones are unsuitable.

Glycoside Hydrolases: Mechanistic Information from Studies with Reversible and Irreversible Inhibitors

Organocopper reagents provide the most general synthetic tools in organic chemistry for nucleophilic delivery of hard carbanions to electrophilic carbon centers. A number of structural and mechanistic studies have been reported and have led to a wide variety of mechanistic proposals, some of which might even be contradictory to others. With the recent advent of physical and theoretical methodologies, the accumulated knowledge on organocopper chemistry is being put together into a few major mechanistic principles. This review will summarize first the general structural features of organocopper compounds and the previous mechanistic arguments, and then describe the most recent mechanistic pictures obtained through high-level quantum mechanical calculations for three typical organocuprate reactions, carbocupration, conjugate addition, and S(N)2 alkylation. The unified view on the nucleophilic reactivities of metal organocuprate clusters thus obtained has indicated that organocuprate chemistry represents an intricate example of molecular recognition and supramolecular chemistry, which chemists have long exploited without knowing it. Reasoning about the uniqueness of the copper atom among neighboring metal elements in the periodic table will be presented.

Michael J. Eis

Papers

Mechanism and synthetic utility of boron trifluoride etherate promoted organolithium additions

BF3-etherate promoted alkylation of aziridines with organocopper reagents: a new synthesis of amines

An improved synthesis of D-perosamine and some derivatives.

Synthesis of 1,4,6-Trideoxy-1,4-imino-D-mannitol: a potent α-mannosidase inhibitor

Mechanism and synthetic utility of boron trifluoride etherate-promoted organolithium additions