Design, synthesis, and 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition of (5R)- [and (5S)]-5,6-dihydro-5-phenyl-2H-1,4-oxazin-2-one N-oxides as chiral (E)-geometry-fixed α-alkoxycarbonylnitrones

Optically pure (5R)-[and (5S)]-5,6-dihydro-5-phenyl-W-1,4-oxazin- N-oxides [(SR)- and (5S)2] were designed as chiral (E)-geometry-fixed alpha -alkoxycarbonylnitrones 1. The nitrones (5R)- and (5S)-2 were synthesized by three-step oxidation of (R)- and (S)-phenylglycinols [(R)- and (S)-3], condensation of the resulting (R)- and (S)-2-hydroxylamino-2-phenylethanols [(R)- and (S)-5] with glyoxylic acid, and cyclization of the intermediary nitrones (R)- and (S)-6b. The nitrone (5R)-2 reacted with olefins 7-14 under mild conditions to afford the corresponding cycloadducts 15-22 as the main products via the least sterically demanding exo modes. Cycloadduct 30 obtained from (5S)-2 and cyclopentadiene was effectively elaborated to (1S,4S,5R)-4-benzyloxycarbonylamino-2-oxabicyclo[3.3.0]oct-7-en-3-one (28), the key synthetic intermediate of carbocyclic polyoxin C.