On the Conformation of Fused Five-Membered Heterocyclic Rings Derived from the Intramolecular Oxime Olefin Cycloaddition Reaction

Thermal intramolecular oxime olefin cycloaddition of α-allylamino aldoximes and ketoximes 4 led stereospecifically to formation of oxadiazabicyclo[3.3.0]octanes 6. The presence of heteroatoms in these bicyclic fused 5-membered rings permits for the first time an evaluation of the conformation of this system by means of NMR. We found that some substituents in 6 restrict the conformational mobility of these five-membered rings to the extent that only one conformer was detected at 20 °C. In other cases an equilibrium between two major conformers was revealed by NMR. Equilibrium measurements indicated a free energy of conversion of 13.2–13.4 kcal/mol, apparently a manifestation of the N-inversion in the isoxazolidine ring. NMR studies also showed that the NH-proton in isoxazolidines 6 prefers an axial orientation. Empirical force field data were adjusted for MM calculations in these bicyclic heterocycles. The MM2 force field with AMBER charge gave the best fit between calculated and experimental coupling constants.