Production of optically active 2-halo-1-(substituted phenyl)-ethanol and substituted styrene oxide

Abstract: A process for producing optically active 2-halo-1-(substituted phenyl)ethanol of a formula (Ia) or optically active styrene oxide of a formula (Ib). The process comprises the steps of reacting a compound of a formula (II) with phthalic anhydride to give a compound of a formula (III), performing optical resolution on the resulting compound using an optically active organic amine as a resolving agent, and finally performing hydrolysis or alcoholysis on the optically resolved compound (Ia) or (Ib). The scheme of the above process is: wherein X represents a halogen atom, Y represents a hydrogen atom, a halogen atom, a C 1 -C 6 alkyl group, a C 1 -C 6 alkoxy group, a C 1 -C 6 haloalkyl group or a C 1 -C 6 haloalkoxy group, Z represents a hydrogen atom, a halogen atom or a C 1 -C 6 alkyl group, n is 0 or an integer of 1 to 3 and m is 0 or an integer of 1 to 2. The resulting optically active compounds are useful as an intermediate for medicines.

Description: BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the invention: The present invention relates to a process for producing racemic 2-halo-1-(substituted phenyl)ethanol from the corresponding optically active compound by means of racemization. 2. Description of the Prior Art: G. Sumrell et al. describe in Can. J. Chem. 42 (1964), 2896-2899 the hypchlorination of styrene in aqueous acetone which leads to a 70% yield of the corresponding chlorohydrin. This product is necessarily a racemic mixture of its enantiomers since all starting materials employed were achiral. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a process for producing racemic 2-halo-1-(substituted phenyl)ethanol from the corresponding optically active compound by means of racemization using an acid. Preferred embodiments of the invention are described in the dependent Claims 2 and 3. DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The reaction underlying the present invention can be characterized as follows: wherein X represents a halogen atom, Y is same or different and represents a hydrogen atom, halogen atom, a C 1 -C 6 alkyl group, a C 1 -C 6 alkoxy group, a C 1 -C 6 haloalkyl group or a C 1 -C 6 haloalkoxy group, and n is 0 or an integer of 1-3 and * represents an asymmetric carbon atom. The optically active 2-halo-1-(substituted phenyl)ethanol of the formula (Ia) can be racemized in a suitable inert solvent in the presence of a suitable acid catalyst. Examples of the inert solvent include water, methanol, ethanol, isopropanol, dioxane, tetrahydrofuran (THF), dimethoxyethane, and ethyl cellosolve. They may be used alone or in combination with one another. Examples of the acid include inorganic acids such as hydrochloric acid, sulfuric acid and nitric acid and organic acids such as acetic acid, toluene sulfonic acid and trifluoromethanesulfonic acid. The optically active starting material (Ia) can be obtained according to the methods described in EP 96113639.7 corresponding to EP-A-0763513 (from which the present application is a Divisional application). The optical purity was determined by HPLC equipped with an optically active column, such as "Chiralcel OD" (trade name) and "Chiralcel OJ" (trade name) manufactured by Daicel Chemical Industries, Ltd. Measurements are based on the ratio of the area at a wavelength for maximum absorption or at a wavelength of 254 nm (UV). The absolute configuration of the compound was determined from the retention time in HPLC equipped with an optically active column (such as "Chiralcel OD" and "Chiralcel OJ") for the reference substance which is optically active 2-halo-1-(substituted phenyl)ethanol or compounds derived therefrom, the former being prepared from a substituted phenacyl halide according to the known method [Modern Synthetic Method, 5, 115, (1989)]. Typical examples of the present invention are described in the following. However, the present invention is not to be limited thereby. Example 1 Racemization of the optically active 2-chloro-1-(2,4-dichlorophenyl)ethanol 0.2 g of (R)-1-(2,4-dichlorophenyl)-2-chloro-1-ethanol (48% ee) was dissolved in a mixture of 8 ml of trifluoroacetic acid and 2 ml of water. The solution was refluxed for 8 hours. After the reaction was completed, the solvent was distilled off under reduced pressure to obtain 0.19 g of the intended product (0% ee). (yield: 93%) The optical purity was calculated from the percentage of the area of the chromatogram of HPLC (solvent: n-hexane/isopropanol = 80/1, UV = 210) equipped with an optically active column ("Chiralcel OJ"). Example 2 Racemization of the optically active 2-chloro-1-(2,4-dichlorophenyl)ethanol 0.2 g of (R)-2-chloro-1-(2,4-dichlorophenyl)ethanol (48% ee) was dissolved in a mixed solvent composed of 120 ml of 18N-sulfuric acid and 90 ml of 1,2-dimethoxyethane. The solution was refluxed for 3 hours. After the reaction was completed, the solvent was concentrated under reduced pressure. The residues were poured into water and the aqueous solution was neutralized with sodium hydrogen carbonate. The intended product was extracted with ethyl acetate from the aqueous layer. The organic layer was washed with water and dried with anhydrous magnesium sulfate, and the solvent was distilled off under reduced pressure to obtain 1.0 g of the intended product (0% ee). (yield: 83%). The optical purity was calculated from the percentage of the area of the chromatogram of HPLC (solvent: n-hexane/isopropanol = 80/1, UV = 230) equipped with an optically active column ("Chiralcel OJ"). Referential Example 1 Production of (S)-2-chloro-1-(2,4-dichlorophenyl)ethanol as the reference substance for analysis To 5 ml of dry tetrahydrofuran were dropwise added 0.3 g of (S)-3,3-diphenyl-1-methyltetrahydro-1H,3H-pyrrolo-[1,2,-C]-[1,3,2] oxazaborol and 8 ml of 1.0 M solution of borne in THF at -20°C. 5 ml of dried THF solution containing 2.2 g of 2,4-dichlorophenacyl chloride was added drowse at the same temperature. After warming to room temperature, 2 ml of methanol was added to decompose unreacted borane, and the reaction mixture was poured into water. The desired product was extracted with diethyl ether. The organic layer was washed with water and dried with anhydrous magnesium sulfate. The solvent was distilled off under reduced pressure. The residues were purified by silica gel column chromatography (ethyl acetate/n-hexane = 1/5) to obtain 2.0 g of the intended product (80% ee). (yield: 92%)

Claims: A process for producing 2-halo-1-(substituted phenyl)ethanol of a formula (II) : wherein X represents a halogen atom, Y is same or different and represents a hydrogen atom, a halogen atom, a C 1 -C 6 alkyl group, a C 1 -C 6 alkoxy group, a C 1 -C 6 haloalkyl group or a C 1 -C 6 haloalkoxy group and n is 0 or an integer of 1 to 3, comprising racemizing a compound of a formula (Ia) : wherein X, Y and n have the same meanings as defined above and * represents an asymmetric carbon atom, with an acid. A process for producing a racemic compound (II) as described in claim 1, wherein X represents a halogen atom, Y represents a hydrogen atom, a halogen atom, a C 1 -C 6 alkyl group or a C 1 -C 6 alkoxy group, and n is an integer of 1 to 2. A process for producing a racemic compound (II) as described in claim 1, wherein X represents a chlorine atom, Y represents a hydrogen atom, a C 1 -C 6 alkyl group or a C 1 -C 6 alkoxy group, and n is an integer of 1 to 2.

Inventors: KODAMA HIROKI, MOTOKAWA TAKUYA, YAMAGUCHI HIROSHI, YOSHIDA MASANORI, KODAMA, HIROKI, MOTOKAWA, TAKUYA, YAMAGUCHI, HIROSHI, YOSHIDA, MASANORI
Applicants: NIHON NOHYAKU CO LTD, NIHON NOHYAKU CO., LTD.
Application year: 1996
Main classification: C07B57
IPC codes: C07B57, C07C29, C07D303