Polymer-supported silyl cyanide and silyl azide: Useful reagents for solid-phase applications

The support of a delicate reagent on a solid matrix allows for better and safer handling of the reagent itself. Because we had an interest in silicon-based supported reagents1 we turned our attention to a polymer-supported trialkylsilyl cyanide and trialkylsilyl azide starting from a commercially available trialkylsilane resin. The supported cyanide was obtained with excellent yield and proved to be shelf-stable. This supported reagent was reacted with a series of aldehydes and ketones yielding the corresponding polymer-supported cyanohydrins in good-to-excellent yields. A stability study on a model cyanohydrin demonstrated that these supported intermediates also can be stored for a prolonged time. For the last step, a cleavage strategy that could release either cyanohydrins or α-hydroxy esters was adopted. Finally, we prepared a polymer-supported trialkylsilyl azide, which also proved to be shelf-stable. © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Biotechnol Bioeng (Comb Chem) 71:38–43, 2000.