5-tert-butylproline

Steric effects on the isomer equilibrium of amides N-terminal to proline can be explored with 5-alkylprolines having bulky 5-position substituents. Enantiopure 5-tert-butylprolines were thus synthesized from glutamic acid via an acylation/diastereoselective reductive amination sequence. Double deprotonation of gamma-methyl N-(PhF)glutamate (2) with LiN(SiMe(3))(2) and C-acylation with pivaloyl chloride provided beta-keto ester 3, which upon gamma-ester hydrolysis and decarboxylation gave delta-oxo-alpha-[N-(PhF)amino]heptanoic acid (4). Syntheses of (2S,5R)- and (2R, 5S)-N-(BOC)-5-tert-butylprolines ((2S,5R)-1 and (2R,5S)-1) were accomplished by catalytic hydrogenation of their respective (2S)- and (2R)-methyl delta-ore-alpha-[N-(PhF)amino]heptanoates ((2S)-5a and (2R)-5a) in methanol with di-tert-butyl dicarbonate followed by chromatography and ester hydrolysis with potassium trimethylsilanolate. The 5-tert-butylproline cis-diastereomers were proven to be of >99% enantiomeric purity after their conversion to diastereomeric alpha-methylbenzylamides 10. Good diastereoselectivity in favor of the trans-diastereomer was observed when (2S,5S)-5-tert-butylproline was synthesized from (2S)-delta-oxo-alpha-[N-(PkF)amino]heptanoate ((2S)-4) by solvolysis of the PhF group in trifluoroacetic acid and subsequent reduction of 5-tert-butyl-Delta 5-dehydroproline (11) with tetramethylammonium triacetoxyborohydride; however, imino acid 11 was shown to be configurationally labile and racemized under acidic conditions. 5-tert-Butyl-Delta 5-dehydroproline N'-methylamide 15 was configurationally stable in acid, yet preliminary attempts to reduce 15 favored cis-diastereomer 16. Alternatively, enantiopure trans-diastereomer, (2R,5R)-methyl N-(BOC)-5-tert-butylprolinate (9) was prepared by epimerization of(2S,5R)-9. In summary, this synthetic methodology now provides access to all four enantiopure 5-tert-butylproline isomers from inexpensive L- and D-glutamate as chiral educts.