Lactones are cyclic carboxylic esters. They are derived from the corresponding hydroxycarboxylic acids by esterification. They can be saturated or unsaturated. [1]
Lactones are formed by lactonization, the intramolecular esterification of the corresponding hydroxycarboxylic acids. [2]
Greek prefixes in alphabetical order indicate ring size.
Ring size (number of atoms in the ring) | Systematic name | IUPAC name | Parent lactone | Structure, comment |
---|---|---|---|---|
3 | α-lactone | Oxiran-2-one | Acetolactone | |
4 | β-lactone | Oxetan-2-one |
| |
5 | γ-lactone | Oxolan-2-one | γ-Butyrolactone | |
6 | δ-lactone | Oxan-2-one | ||
7 | ε-lactone | Oxepan-2-one |
|
Lactones are usually named according to the precursor acid molecule (aceto = 2 carbon atoms, propio = 3, butyro = 4, valero = 5, capro = 6, etc.), with a -lactone suffix and a Greek letter prefix that specifies the number of carbon atoms in the heterocycle — that is, the distance between the relevant -OH and the -COOH groups along said backbone. The first carbon atom after the carbon in the -COOH group on the parent compound is labelled α, the second will be labeled β, and so forth. Therefore, the prefixes also indicate the size of the lactone ring: α-lactone = 3-membered ring, β-lactone = 4-membered, γ-lactone = 5-membered, δ-lactone = 6-membered, etc. Macrocyclic lactones are known as macrolactones. [3]
The other suffix used to denote a lactone is -olide, used in substance class names like butenolide , macrolide , cardenolide or bufadienolide .
To obtain the preferred IUPAC names, lactones are named as heterocyclic pseudoketones by adding the suffix 'one', 'dione', 'thione', etc. and the appropriate multiplicative prefixes to the name of the heterocyclic parent hydride. [4]
The name lactone derives from the ring compound called lactide, which is formed from the dehydration of 2-hydroxypropanoic acid (lactic acid) CH3-CH(OH)-COOH. Lactic acid, in turn, derives its name from its original isolation from soured milk (Latin: lac, lactis). The name was coined in 1844 by the French chemist Théophile-Jules Pelouze, who first obtained it as a derivative of lactic acid. [5] An internal dehydration reaction within the same molecule of lactic acid would have produced alpha-propiolactone, a lactone with a 3-membered ring.
In 1880 the German chemist Wilhelm Rudolph Fittig extended the name "lactone" to all intramolecular carboxylic esters. [6]
5-Membered γ-lactones and 6-membered δ-lactones are prevalent. β-lactones appear in a number of natural products. [7] α‑Lactones can be detected as transient species in mass spectrometry experiments. [8]
Macrocyclic lactones are also important natural products. [9] Lactones are present in oak wood, and they contribute to the flavour profile of barrel-aged beers. [10]
Lactone rings occur widely as building blocks in nature, such as in ascorbic acid, kavain, nepetalactone, gluconolactone, hormones (spironolactone, mevalonolactone), enzymes (lactonase), neurotransmitters (butyrolactone, avermectins), antibiotics (macrolides like erythromycin; amphotericin B), anticancer drugs (vernolepin, epothilones), phytoestrogens (resorcylic acid lactones, cardiac glycosides).
Many methods in ester synthesis can also be applied to that of lactones. Lactonization competes with polymerization for longer hydroxy acids, or the strained β‑lactones. γ‑Lactones, on the other hand, are so stable that 4-hydroxy acids (R-CH(OH)-(CH2)2-CO2H) spontaneously cyclize.
In one industrial synthesis of oxandrolone the key lactone-forming step is an organic reaction – esterification. [11] [12]
In halolactonization, an alkene is attacked by a halogen via electrophilic addition with the cationic intermediate captured intramolecularly by an adjacent carboxylic acid. [13]
Specific methods include Yamaguchi esterification, Shiina macrolactonization, Corey-Nicolaou macrolactonization, Baeyer–Villiger oxidation and nucleophilic abstraction.
An alternative radical reaction yielding γ-lactones is the manganese-mediated coupling.
Lactones exhibit the reactions characteristic of esters.
Heating a lactone with a base (sodium hydroxide) will hydrolyse the lactone to its parent compound, the straight chained bifunctional compound. Like straight-chained esters, the hydrolysis-condensation reaction of lactones is a reversible reaction, with an equilibrium. However, the equilibrium constant of the hydrolysis reaction of the lactone is lower than that of the straight-chained ester i.e. the products (hydroxyacids) are less favored in the case of the lactones. This is because although the enthalpies of the hydrolysis of esters and lactones are about the same, the entropy of the hydrolysis of lactones is less than the entropy of straight-chained esters. Straight-chained esters give two products upon hydrolysis, making the entropy change more favorable than in the case of lactones which gives only a single product.
Lactones also react with amines to give the ring-opened alcohol and amide.
Lactones can be reduced to diols using lithium aluminium hydride. For instance, gamma-lactones is reduced to butane-1,4-diol, (CH2(OH)-(CH2)2-CH2(OH).
Some lactones convert to polyesters: [14] [15] For example the double lactone called lactide polymerizes to polylactic acid (polylactide). The resulting polylactic acid has been heavily investigated for commercial applications. [16] [17]
Lactones contribute significantly to the flavor of fruit, and of unfermented and fermented dairy products, [18] and are therefore used as flavors and fragrances. [9] Some examples are γ-decalactone (4-decanolide), which has a characteristic peach flavor; [18] δ-decalactone (5-decanolide), which has a creamy coconut/peach flavour; γ-dodecalactone (4-dodecanolide), which also has a coconut/fruity flavor, [18] a description which also fits γ-octalactone (4-octanolide), [19] although it also has a herbaceous character; [18] γ-nonalactone, which has an intense coconut flavor of this series, despite not occurring in coconut, [20] and γ-undecalactone.
Macrocyclic lactones (cyclopentadecanolide, 15-pentadec-11/12-enolide) have odors similar to macrocyclic ketones of animal origin (muscone, civetone). [9]
Polycaprolactone is an important plastic. Its formation has even been considered in the context of the origin of life. [21]
In organic chemistry, a carboxylic acid is an organic acid that contains a carboxyl group attached to an R-group. The general formula of a carboxylic acid is often written as R−COOH or R−CO2H, sometimes as R−C(O)OH with R referring to an organyl group, or hydrogen, or other groups. Carboxylic acids occur widely. Important examples include the amino acids and fatty acids. Deprotonation of a carboxylic acid gives a carboxylate anion.
In chemistry, an ester is a functional group derived from an acid in which the hydrogen atom (H) of at least one acidic hydroxyl group of that acid is replaced by an organyl group. Analogues derived from oxygen replaced by other chalcogens belong to the ester category as well. According to some authors, organyl derivatives of acidic hydrogen of other acids are esters as well, but not according to the IUPAC.
Phthalic anhydride is the organic compound with the formula C6H4(CO)2O. It is the anhydride of phthalic acid. Phthalic anhydride is a principal commercial form of phthalic acid. It was the first anhydride of a dicarboxylic acid to be used commercially. This white solid is an important industrial chemical, especially for the large-scale production of plasticizers for plastics. In 2000, the worldwide production volume was estimated to be about 3 million tonnes per year.
In chemistry, intramolecular describes a process or characteristic limited within the structure of a single molecule, a property or phenomenon limited to the extent of a single molecule.
In organic chemistry, a dicarbonyl is a molecule containing two carbonyl groups. Although this term could refer to any organic compound containing two carbonyl groups, it is used more specifically to describe molecules in which both carbonyls are in close enough proximity that their reactivity is changed, such as 1,2-, 1,3-, and 1,4-dicarbonyls. Their properties often differ from those of monocarbonyls, and so they are usually considered functional groups of their own. These compounds can have symmetrical or unsymmetrical substituents on each carbonyl, and may also be functionally symmetrical or unsymmetrical.
A diol is a chemical compound containing two hydroxyl groups. An aliphatic diol may also be called a glycol. This pairing of functional groups is pervasive, and many subcategories have been identified. They are used as protecting groups of carbonyl groups, making them essential in synthesis of organic chemistry.
In organic chemistry, the Michael reaction or Michael 1,4 addition is a reaction between a Michael donor and a Michael acceptor to produce a Michael adduct by creating a carbon-carbon bond at the acceptor's β-carbon. It belongs to the larger class of conjugate additions and is widely used for the mild formation of carbon-carbon bonds.
A lactam is a cyclic amide, formally derived from an amino alkanoic acid through cyclization reactions. The term is a portmanteau of the words lactone + amide.
Lactide is the lactone cyclic ester derived by multiple esterification between two (usually) or more molecules from lactic acid or other hydroxy carboxylic acid. They are designated as dilactides, trilactides, etc., according to the number of hydroxy acid residues. The dilactide derived from lactic acid has the formula [CH(CH3)CO2]2. All lactides are colorless or white solids. This lactide has attracted interest because it is derived from abundant renewable resources and is the precursor to a biodegradable plastic.
Methacrylic acid, abbreviated MAA, is an organic compound with the formula CH2=C(CH3)CO2H. This colorless, viscous liquid is a carboxylic acid with an acrid unpleasant odor. It is soluble in warm water and miscible with most organic solvents. Methacrylic acid is produced industrially on a large scale as a precursor to its esters, especially methyl methacrylate (MMA), and to poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA).
ε-Caprolactone or simply caprolactone is a lactone possessing a seven-membered ring. Its name is derived from caproic acid. This colorless liquid is miscible with most organic solvents and water. It was once produced on a large scale as a precursor to caprolactam.
In organosilicon chemistry, silyl enol ethers are a class of organic compounds that share the common functional group R3Si−O−CR=CR2, composed of an enolate bonded to a silane through its oxygen end and an ethene group as its carbon end. They are important intermediates in organic synthesis.
In organic chemistry, a homologation reaction, also known as homologization, is any chemical reaction that converts the reactant into the next member of the homologous series. A homologous series is a group of compounds that differ by a constant unit, generally a methylene group. The reactants undergo a homologation when the number of a repeated structural unit in the molecules is increased. The most common homologation reactions increase the number of methylene units in saturated chain within the molecule. For example, the reaction of aldehydes or ketones with diazomethane or methoxymethylenetriphenylphosphine to give the next homologue in the series.
In organic chemistry, the Ei mechanism, also known as a thermal syn elimination or a pericyclic syn elimination, is a special type of elimination reaction in which two vicinal (adjacent) substituents on an alkane framework leave simultaneously via a cyclic transition state to form an alkene in a syn elimination. This type of elimination is unique because it is thermally activated and does not require additional reagents, unlike regular eliminations, which require an acid or base, or would in many cases involve charged intermediates. This reaction mechanism is often found in pyrolysis.
Selenoxide elimination is a method for the chemical synthesis of alkenes from selenoxides. It is most commonly used to synthesize α,β-unsaturated carbonyl compounds from the corresponding saturated analogues. It is mechanistically related to the Cope reaction.
Carbonyl oxidation with hypervalent iodine reagents involves the functionalization of the α position of carbonyl compounds through the intermediacy of a hypervalent iodine(III) enolate species. This electrophilic intermediate may be attacked by a variety of nucleophiles or undergo rearrangement or elimination.
2-Methyl-6-nitrobenzoic anhydride is an organic acid anhydride also known as the Shiina reagent, having a structure wherein carboxylic acids undergo intermolecular dehydration condensation. It was developed in 2002 by Prof. Isamu Shiina. The compound is often abbreviated MNBA.
Shiina macrolactonization is an organic chemical reaction that synthesizes cyclic compounds by using aromatic carboxylic acid anhydrides as dehydration condensation agents. In 1994, Prof. Isamu Shiina reported an acidic cyclization method using Lewis acid catalyst, and, in 2002, a basic cyclization using nucleophilic catalyst.
Shiina esterification is an organic chemical reaction that synthesizes carboxylic esters from nearly equal amounts of carboxylic acids and alcohols by using aromatic carboxylic acid anhydrides as dehydration condensation agents. In 1994, Prof. Isamu Shiina reported an acidic coupling method using Lewis acid, and, in 2002, a basic esterification using nucleophilic catalyst.
α,β-Unsaturated carbonyl compounds are organic compounds with the general structure (O=CR)−Cα=Cβ−R. Such compounds include enones and enals, but also carboxylic acids and the corresponding esters and amides. In these compounds, the carbonyl group is conjugated with an alkene. Unlike the case for carbonyls without a flanking alkene group, α,β-unsaturated carbonyl compounds are susceptible to attack by nucleophiles at the β-carbon. This pattern of reactivity is called vinylogous. Examples of unsaturated carbonyls are acrolein (propenal), mesityl oxide, acrylic acid, and maleic acid. Unsaturated carbonyls can be prepared in the laboratory in an aldol reaction and in the Perkin reaction.