A comparative study of the stereoselective addition of trimethylsilyl cyanide and diethylaluminum cyanide to chiral cyclic nitrones

The mild cyanating agent trimethylsilyl cyanide adds with total stereo selectivity to alpha-alkoxy cyclic nitrones to afford the corresponding trans-hydroxyaminonitriles. The addition of Lewis acids to precomplexing the nitrones does not affect the stereoselectivity of these additions significantly. In all of the cases examined, excellent yields of diastereomerically homogeneous products were obtained. On the other hand, the use of diethylaluminum cyanide as cyanating agent leads to low diastereoselectivities. Both NMR studies and theoretical calculations show that whereas the addition of trimethylsilyl cyanide takes place through a concerted mechanism, in the addition of diethylaluminum cyanide, a complex is formed prior to the intramolecular delivery of the cyanide ion. (C) 2003 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.