General Reaction of Anhydrides Reactions of Anhydrides

•  Anhydrides are somewhat less reactive than acid chlorides, but

still readily react with most nucleophiles.
•  Nucleophilic attack occurs at one carbonyl group, while the second
carbonyl becomes part of the leaving group.

Mechanism of Anhydride Substitution Anhydrides Use in Acetylation Reactions

•  Reactions that result in the transfer of an acetyl group are known
•  Besides the usual steps for nucleophilic addition and elimination of the as acetylations.
leaving group, the mechanism involves an additional proton transfer.
 General Reactions of Carboxylic Acids Acyl Substitution Reactions of Carboxylic Acids
•  Nucleophiles that are also strong bases react with carboxylic acids by
removing a proton first, before any nucleophilic substitution reaction
can take place.
•  The first reaction – a simple Bronsted-Lowry acid-base reaction – is
both kinetically and thermodynamically favored with most common
nucleophiles.

Dehydration of Carboxylic Acids Fischer Esterification of Carboxylic Acids

•  Although carboxylic acids cannot readily be converted into anhydrides, •  Treatment of a carboxylic acid with an alcohol in the presence of
dicarboxylic acids can be converted to cyclic anhydrides by heating to an acid catalyst forms an ester.
high temperatures.
•  This reaction is called a Fischer esterification.
•  This is a dehydration reaction because a water molecule is lost from the
diacid. •  The reaction is an equilibrium, so it is driven to the right by
exploiting LeChatelier’s Principle.

•  The mechanism of acid-catalyzed esterification was provided at

the start of this unit.
 Intramolecular Fischer Esterification Reactions of Esters

•  Intramolecular esterification of γ- and δ-hydroxy carboxylic acids forms •  Esters react with NH3 and amines to form 1°, 2°, or 3° amides.
five- and six-membered lactones.

•  Esters can undergo trans-esterification reactions by reacting with

excess alcohol under acidic conditions.
•  The mechanism is similar to acid-catalyzed esterification/hydrolysis

•  Esters can also undergo trans-esterification reactions by reacting with

excess alkoxide ion under basic conditions, but this is less commonly
used.

Reactions of Esters
Structure of
•  Esters are hydrolyzed with water in the presence of either acid or base to
form carboxylic acids or carboxylate anions, respectively.
Triacylglycerols

•  Basic hydrolysis of an ester is also called saponification.

•  This mechanism was provided as part of the introduction to this unit.
 Lipid Hydrolysis Fat Substitutes
•  The first step in the metabolism of a triacylglycerol is hydrolysis of the •  One recent attempt to reduce calories in common snack foods has been
ester bonds to form glycerol and three fatty acids. to substitute fake fats such as olestra for triacylglycerols.
•  The three bonds of the triacylglycerol drawn in red are cleaved in
hydrolysis.
•  In cells, this reaction is catalyzed by lipases.
•  The fatty acids produced on hydrolysis are then oxidized, ultimately
yielding CO2 and H2O, as well as nearly twice as much energy as an
equal amount of carbohydrate.

Soap Formation Amide Formation from Carboxylic Acids

•  Soap is prepared by the basic hydrolysis or saponification of a triacylglycerol. •  Carboxylic acids cannot be converted into amides by reaction with NH3 or
•  Heating an animal fat or vegetable oil with aqueous base hydrolyzes the three an amine because amines are bases, and undergo an acid–base reaction
esters to form glycerol and sodium salts of three fatty acids. to form an ammonium salt before nucleophilic substitution occurs.
•  However, heating the ammonium salt at high temperature (>100°C)
dehydrates the resulting ammonium salt of the carboxylate anion to form
an amide, although the yield can be low.
 DCC in Amide Formation
•  A carboxylic acid and an amine readily react to form an amide in the
presence of dicyclohexylcarbodimide (DCC).
•  DCC promotes amide formation by converting the carboxy group OH
group into a better leaving group.

Reactions of Amides Amide Hydrolysis

•  Amides are the least reactive of the carboxylic acid derivatives.
•  The mechanism of amide hydrolysis in acid is the same as
•  Amides are hydrolyzed in acid or base to form carboxylic acids or the mechanism of ester hydrolysis in acid.
carboxylate anions.
•  The mechanism of amide hydrolysis in base is similar to the
saponification of an ester and is presented as such in the
text.
•  Likely, however, the mechanism is a bit more complex, as the
-NR2 leaving group would be too basic to depart without the
•  In acid, the amine by-product is protonated as an ammonium ion,
corresponding addition of a proton.
whereas in base, a neutral amine forms.
•  Mechanism of base-promoted amide hydrolysis
 β-Lactam Antibiotics The Mechanism of Action of β-Lactam Antibiotics
•  Penicillin and related β-lactams kill bacteria by a nucleophilic acyl •  Bacterial cell walls are composed of carbohydrates linked together by
substitution reaction. peptide chains containing amide linkages formed by the enzyme
•  All penicillins have an unreacted side chain and a very reactive glycopeptide transpeptidase.
amide that is part of a β-lactam. •  A nucleophilic OH group of the glycopeptide transpeptidase enzyme
cleaves the β-lactam ring of penicillin by a nucleophilic acyl substitution
•  The β-lactam is more reactive than other amides because it is part
reaction.
of a strained, four membered ring that is readily opened with
•  The reaction causes covalent modification of the enzyme, thus
nucleophiles.
inactivating it and halting cell wall construction killing the bacterium.

Structure and Formation of Nitriles Reactions of Nitriles

•  Nitriles have the general structural formula RC≡N.
•  Nitriles will react with water, hydride and organometallics.
•  Nitriles are prepared by SN2 reactions of methyl, 1°, and
unhindered 2º alkyl halides with ¯CN.
 Hydrolysis of Nitriles Reduction of Nitriles
•  Treatment of a nitrile with LiAlH4 followed by H2O adds two equivalents of
•  Nitriles are hydrolyzed with water in the presence of acid or base to yield
H2 across the triple bond, forming a 1o amine.
carboxylic acids or carboxylate anions.
•  In this reaction, the three C–N bonds are replaced by three C–O bonds.

•  Mechanisms for LAH reduction of a nitrile with aqueous workup

•  Treatment of a nitrile with a milder reducing agent such as DIBAL-H

followed by water forms an aldehyde.

•  Mechanisms for nitrile hydrolysis under acidic & basic conditions

Reduction of Nitriles with Organometallics

•  Both Grignard and organolithium reagents react with nitriles to form

ketones with a new C–C bond.

•  Mechanism for the ethylmagnesium bromide reduction of

benzonitrile with aqueous workup