Mitsunobu and Related Reactions: Advances and Applications

Abstract

A study was conducted to demonstrate advancements and applications of Mitsunobu and related reactions. It was demonstrated that the reaction permitted C-O, C-S, C-N, or C-C bond formation by the condensation of an acidic component with a primary or a secondary alcohol in the presence of triphenylphosphine and diethtyl azodicarboxylate (DEAD) or diisopropyl azodicarboxylate (DIAD). Advancements in the reactions led to the use of the ferrocenyl-appended phosphine 5 as an alternative, which was used along with di-tert-butyl azodicarboxylate (DTBAD) to solve the problem of column chromatography. It was demonstrated that DIAD and DEAD were used interchangeably to conduct the reactions in a wide range of applications. The study also revealed that advancements led to the development of a novel domino Mitsunobu-intermolecular nitrone cycloaddition process that involved the reaction of maleic acid monoester with the hydroxy-substituent nitrone.