Wet Silica-Supported Permanganate: A Mild and Inexpensive Reagent for Highly Enantiomeric Purity Conversion of α-Sulfinyl Oximes and α-Sulfinyl Hydrazones to α-Keto Sulfoxides

A.R. Hajipour*^,a,b and A.E. Ruoho^a

^a Department of Pharmacology, University of Wisconsin, Medical School,1300 University Avenue, Madison,WI 53706-1532, USA� ^b Pharmaceutical Research Laboratory, College of Chemistry, Isfahan University of Technology, Isfahan 84156, IR Iran

�(Received 27 September2003, Accepted 29 May 2004)

����� Wet silica-supported potassium permanganate was used as an inexpensive and efficient reagent for conversion of α-sulfinyl oximes 1 and α-sulfinyl hydrazones 2 to the corresponding α-keto sulfoxides (3) in high yields and high enantiomeric purity under solvent-free conditions.

Keywords: Deprotection, Wet silica, Solvent-free