The aldol reaction (aldol addition) is a reaction that combines two carbonyl compounds (aldehydes or ketones) to form a new β-hydroxy carbonyl compound.
These products are known as aldols, from the aldehyde + alcohol, a structural motif seen in many of the products. The use of aldehyde in the name comes from its discovery history, where aldehydes were first used in the reaction and not ketones.
Aldol structural units are found in many important molecules, whether naturally occurring or synthetic. The aldol reaction is a common means of forming carbon–carbon bonds in organic chemistry.
The reaction is used in several industrial syntheses, notably of pentaerythritol, trimethylolpropane, the plasticizer 2-ethylhexanol, and the drug Lipitor (atorvastatin, calcium salt). For many of the commodity applications, the stereochemistry of the aldol reaction is unimportant, but the topic is of intense interest for the synthesis of many specialty chemicals.
Stereochemistry
The aldol reaction unites two relatively simple molecules into a more complex one. Increased complexity arises because up to two new stereogenic centers (on the α- and β-carbon of the aldol adduct, marked with asterisks in the scheme below) are formed. Modern methodology is capable of not only allowing aldol reactions to proceed in high yield but also controlling both the relative and absolute configuration of these stereocenters. This ability to selectively synthesize a particular stereoisomer is significant because stereoisomers can have distinctive chemical and biological properties.
For example, stereogenic aldol units are especially common in polyketides, a class of molecules found in biological organisms. In nature, polyketides are synthesized by enzymes that effect iterative Claisen condensations. The 1,3-dicarbonyl products of these reactions can then be variously derivatized to produce a wide variety of interesting structures. Often, such derivitization involves the reduction of one of the carbonyl groups, producing the aldol subunit. Some of these structures have potent biological properties: the immunosuppressant FK506, the anti-tumor agent discodermolide, or the antifungal agent amphotericin B, for example. Although the synthesis of many such compounds was once considered nearly impossible, aldol methodology has allowed their efficient synthesis in many cases.
A typical modern aldol addition reaction, shown above at the top, might involve the nucleophilic addition of a ketone enolate to an aldehyde. Once formed, the aldol product can sometimes lose a molecule of water to form an α,β-unsaturated carbonyl compound. This is called aldol condensation. A variety of nucleophiles may be employed in the aldol reaction, including the enols, enolates, and enol ethers of ketones, aldehydes, and many other carbonyl compounds. The electrophilic partner is usually an aldehyde or ketone (many variations, such as the Mannich reaction, exist). When the nucleophile and electrophile are different, the reaction is called a crossed aldol reaction; on the converse, when the nucleophile and electrophile are the same, the reaction is called an aldol dimerization.
Mechanisms
The aldol reaction may proceed by two distinct mechanisms. Carbonyl compounds, such as aldehydes and ketones, can be converted to enols or enol ethers. These species, being nucleophilic at the α-carbon, can attack especially reactive protonated carbonyls such as protonated aldehydes. This is the 'enol mechanism'. Carbonyl compounds, being carbon acids, can also be deprotonated to form enolates, which are much more nucleophilic than enols or enol ethers and can attack electrophiles directly. The usual electrophile is an aldehyde, since ketones are much less reactive. This is the 'enolate mechanism'.