Synthesis and rearrangement of cycloalkyl[1,2-e]oxazolo[3,2-a]pyrimidin-8/9-ones: an access to cycloalkyl[1,2-d]oxazolo[3,2-a]pyrimidin-5-ones

2-Substituted-4a-hydroxy-9H-cycloalkyl[1,2-e]oxazolo[3,2-a]pyrimidin-9-ones 2a-c were synthesized by an one-step cyclocondensation from the 5-substituted-2-amino-2-oxazolines 1a-c with ethyl 2-oxocyclohexanecarboxylate in ethanol at room temperature, and easily dehydrated to provide 2-substituted-9H-cycloalkyl[1,2-e]oxazolo[3,2-a]pyrimidin-9-ones 3. In refluxing xylene, the reaction conducted with various ethyl 2-oxocycloalkanecarboxylates led to the two isomeric 2-substituted-8/9H-cycloalkyl[1,2-e]oxazolo[3,2-a]pyrimidin-8/9-ones 3 and 2-substituted-5H-cycloalkyl[1,2-d]oxazolo[3,2-a]pyrimidin-5-ones 4. The structure of some compounds was unambiguously established using X-ray crystallography. According to results from the DSC analysis of compound 2a, formation of the thermodynamically stable pyrimidinones 4 could be related to an intramolecular rearrangement of kinetically controlled pyrimidinones 3.     

A convenient synthesis of linear pyridinoimidazo[1,2-a]pyridine and pyrroloimidazo[1,2-a]pyridine cores

Two new imidazo[1,2-a]pyridine derivatives, pyridinoimidazo[1,2-a]pyridine (10) and pyrroloimidazo[1,2-a]pyridine (16), were synthesised from 2-amino-4-methyl-5-nitropyridine (1) by linear cyclisation, making use of dimethylformamide dimethylacetal (DMFDMA) as an agent of vinylamine functionalisation. This report describes first the formation of pyridine and pyrroloimidazopyridine from (1), and then the formation of pyridine-fused and pyrrolo-fused pyridine by the Friedländer method and reductive cyclisation followed by treatment of the resulting adduct with chloroacetaldehyde.     

Efficient synthesis of novel dipyridoimidazoles and pyrido[1′,2′;1,2]imidazo[4,5-d]pyridazine derivatives

Novel dipyrido[1,2-a;3′,4′-d]imidazoles 7a-d, dipyrido[1,2-a;4′,3′-d]imidazoles 8a,c and pyrido[1′,2′;1,2]imidazo[4,5-d]pyridazine derivatives 9a-d were synthesized by two pathways: thermal electrocyclic reaction of 3-alkenylimidazopyridine-2-oximes 10 and direct condensation of ethyl glycinate (or hydrazine) with 2,3-dicarbonylimidazo[1,2-a]pyridines 11.     

Synthesis of 2,3-dihydroimidazo[1,2-a]pyrimidin-5(1H)-ones by the domino Michael addition retro-ene reaction of 2-alkoxyiminoimidazolidines and acetylene carboxylates

2-Alkoxyiminoimidazolidines 2-3 react with acetylene dicarboxylates and ethyl phenylpropiolate to give 8-alkoxy-imidazo[1,2-a]pyrimidin-5(3H)-ones C, which subsequently undergo a sterically induced multihetero-retro-ene fragmentation to give imidazo[1,2-a]pyrimidin-5(1H)-ones 4-7 together with formaldehyde or benzaldehyde. On the other hand, a similar reaction of 2-3 with ethyl propiolate gives corresponding 8-alkoxy-imidazo[1,2-a]pyrimidin-5(3H)-ones 8-10. The unsubstituted imidazo[1,2-a]pyrimidin-5(1H)-one 11 can be prepared by retro-ene reaction of 9 upon prolonged heating in refluxing ethanol. A direct synthetic approach to 1-formyl-7-phenyl-imidazo[1,2-a]pyrimidine-5(1H)-one 14 is reported using DMF/sulfonyl chloride as a new Vilsmeier-type N-formylating reagent.     

A facile synthesis of pyrrolo[1,2-a]benzimidazoles and pyrazolo[3,4:4′,3′]pyrrolo[1,2-a]benzimidazole derivatives

Reaction of 2-cyanomethylbenzimidazole 1 with hydrazonoyl halides 2 led to formation of pyrrolo[1,2-a]benzimidazole derivatives 7. Similar reaction of 1 with halides 3 afforded 5-amino-4-(benzimidazol-2-yl)pyrazole derivatives 11 or 1-amino-2-arylpyrazolo[3,4:4′,3′]pyrrolo[1,2-a]benzimidazol-4-one 14 depending on the reaction conditions. The mechanisms of the studied reactions are discussed.     

Synthesis of dihydrobenzoimidazo[2,1-a]isoquinolines

A one-pot protocol toward several substituted 5,6-dihydrobenzo[4,5]imidazo[2,1-a]isoquinolines 1 starting with 2-allylbenzaldehydes 2 was described. The process was carried out the one-pot condensation/hydroamination reaction of substituted 2-allylbenzaldehydes 2 with 1,2-diaminobenzenes 3 in refluxing toluene in good yields. Skeleton 2 was prepared via one-pot ortho-metalative PhBCl₂-mediated double alkylation of hydroxybenzaldehyde 4 with LDA in moderate yields.     

Synthesis and X-ray crystal structure of pyrrolo[1,2-a]benzimidazoles

Reaction of nitrilimines 1 with 2-cyanomethylbenzimidazole 2 gave the 3-arylazo-2-methylpyrrolo[1,2-a]benzimidazole 4a rather than the reported 2-arylazo-3-methylpyrrolo[1,2-a]benzimidazole 3a. The correct structure of the product was determined using X-ray crystal structure analysis. The similar reaction of nitrilimines with 2-aminobenzimidazole 5 gave the acyclic nucleophilic addition product 6.     

Studies on uracils: a facile one-pot synthesis of oxazino[4,5-d]-, pyrano[2,3-d]-, pyrido[2,3-d]- and pyrimido[4,5-d]pyrimidines using microwave irradiation in the solid state

N,N-Dimethyl-5-formylbarbituric acid 1 reacts with maleimide 2 and phenyl isocyanate/phenyl isothiocyanate 4 under microwave-assisted conditions in the solid phase to afford pyrano[2,3-d]pyrimidines 3 and oxazino[4,5-d]pyrimidines 5 in excellent yields. Under identical conditions, N,N-dimethyl-6-amino-5-formyluracil 6 reacts with 2 and 4 to give pyrido[2,3-d]pyrimidine derivative 7 and pyrimido[4,5-d]pyrimidines 8 in high yields.     

One pot synthesis of imidazo[2,1-b]thiazoles and benzo[d]thiazolo[3,2-a]imidazoles

A series of imidazo[2,1-b]thiazole and benzo[d]thiazolo[3,2-a]imidazole analogues were synthesized by stirring an equimolar mixture of dibenzoylacetylene with imidazole/thiazole derivatives in toluene or acetonitrile at room temperature. The products were generated in good yields and characterized by standard analytical techniques such as IR, ¹H NMR, ¹³C NMR and mass spectrometry. The structure of products 19, 20, 22, 24 and 25 were also unambiguously confirmed by single crystal X-ray analysis.     

Synthesis and properties of 3-arylcyclohepta[4,5]imidazo[1,2-a]-1,3,5-triazine-2,4(3H)-diones and related compounds: photo-induced autorecycling oxidation of some amines

Novel 3-phenyl- and 3-(4-nitrophenyl)cyclohepta[4,5]imidazo[1,2-a]-1,3,5-triazine-2,4(3H)-diones and the corresponding imino derivatives 5a,b and 6a,b were synthesized in modest to moderate yields by the abnormal and normal aza-Wittig reaction of 2-(1,3-diazaazulen-2-ylimino)triphenylphosphorane with aryl isocyanates and subsequent heterocyclization reaction with a second isocyanate. The related cationic compound, 1-methyl-3-phenylcyclohepta[4,5]imidazo[1,2-a]-1,3,5-triazine-2,4(3H)-dionylium tetrafluoroborate 7a, was also prepared. The electrochemical reduction of these compounds exhibited more positive reduction potentials as compared with those of the related compounds of 3,10-disubstituted cyclohepta[4,5]pyrrolo[2,3-d]pyrimidine-2,4(1H,3H)-dione systems. In a search of the oxidizing ability, compounds 5a, 6a, and 7a were demonstrated to oxidize some amines to give the corresponding imines in more than 100% yield under aerobic and photo-irradiation conditions, while even benzylamine was not oxidized under aerobic and thermal conditions at 100 °C. The oxidation reactions by cation 7a are more efficient than that by 5a and 6a. Quenching of the fluorescence of 5a was observed, and thus, the oxidation reaction by 5a probably proceeds via electron-transfer from amine to the excited singlet state of 5a. In the case of cation 7a, the oxidation reaction is proposed to proceed via formation of an amine-adduct of 7a and subsequent photo-induced radical cleavage reaction.     

An efficient synthesis of (E)-(2-arylpyrazino[1,2-a]pyrimidine-4-ylidene)acetonitriles and cyanomethyl appended pyrimidines

A series of (E)-(2-arylpyrazino[1,2-a]pyrimidine-4-ylidene)acetonitriles 5a-j and aryl/heteroaryl tethered pyrimidin-4-yl acetonitriles 6a-e has been synthesized in excellent yields through base catalyzed ring transformation of suitably functionalized 2H-pyran-2-ones 3 using 2-aminopyrazine 4a and arylamidinium salts 4b, separately.     

Synthesis of a hexahydropyrimido[1,2-a]azepine-2-carboxamide derivative useful as an HIV integrase inhibitor

The hexahydropyrimido[1,2-a]azepine-2-carboxamide derivative 1 could be obtained by three synthetic strategies, which allowed access to multigram amounts of material of high purity and ee. Two strategies involved alternative approaches to the bicyclic pyrimidone core, with the most efficient one being a two-step sequence from commercially available starting materials exploiting a little precedented cyclisation reaction. The remaining steps to 1 included an efficient crystallisation of an intermediate as a single stereoisomer. An alternative strategy employing a chiral starting material led to products of low optical purity but allowed the assignment of the configuration of the stereogenic centre of 1.     

Novel 6-substituted benzothiazol-2-yl indolo[1,2-c]quinazolines and benzimidazo[1,2-c]quinazolines

The synthetic route to and a preliminary biological evaluation of novel indolo[1,2-c]quinazolines (8) and benzimidazo[1,2-c]quinazolines (9) are described. The products were obtained by condensation of the appropriate diamines (e.g. 2-(2-aminophenyl)indole or 2-(2-aminophenyl)benzimidazole) with 2-cyanobenzothiazoles. This work further demonstrates the general applicability of microwaves for a facile and rapid access to original heterocycles with potential pharmaceutical value.     

A novel and convenient method for the synthesis of new derivatives of pyrido[3,2-e]pyrrolo[1,2-a][1,4]diazepine-6,11-dione

A novel methodology has been developed for the efficient synthesis of 1,4-pyridopyrrolodiazepine derivatives. The key reaction is the bromination under mild conditions by NBS of compounds resulting via peptide coupling of l-proline methyl ester with 3-aminopyridine-2-carboxylic acid 1, then intramolecular cyclization in the construction of 2-bromo-6a,7,8,9-tetrahydro-5H-pyrido[3,2-e]pyrrolo[1,2-a][1,4]diazepine-6,11-dione 4. This latter is then engaged in cross-coupling reactions to generate 1,4-pyridopyrrolodiazepines derivatives 5a-m, 6a-i, 7, and 8a-c. This strategy provides an efficient method to access a library of compounds based on privileged substructures that are of great interest in drug discovery.     

Alternative synthesis and novel oxidizing ability of 6,9-disubstituted cyclohepta[b]pyrimido[5,4-d]pyrrole-8(6H),10(9H)-dione derivatives

Synthesis of 6,9-disubstituted cyclohepta[b]pyrimido[5,4-d]pyrrole-8(6H),10(9H)-diones 7a-g was accomplished by ring opening and ring closure sequences of 9-substituted cyclohepta[b]pyrimido[5,4-d]furan-8,10(9H)-dione derivatives induced by several amines. Furthermore, alternative synthetic methodology for compounds 7a-e was also accomplished by single-step reaction of 2-chlorotropone with 6-aminouracil derivatives under mild conditions. X-ray crystal analysis of 7a was carried out to clarify the structural characteristics. The properties of 7a-e were studied by the UV-vis spectra and reduction potentials (−1.24 to −1.39 V vs Ag/AgNO₃). Novel photo-induced oxidation reaction of 7a-d toward some amines under aerobic conditions was carried out to give the corresponding imines in more than 100% yield [based on compounds 7a-d], suggesting the oxidation reaction occurs in an autorecycling process.     

Synthesis and pharmacological evaluation of 6a,7-dihydro-6H,13H-pyrazino[1,2-a;4,5-a′]diindole analogs as melatonin receptor ligands

The synthesis of two melatonin-derived analogs of the novel 6a,7-dihydro-6H,13H-pyrazino[1,2-a;4,5-a′]diindole ring system is described. The non-methoxy and methoxy analogs, 4a and 4b were prepared in seven steps starting from indoline-2-carboxylic acid 5a and 5-methoxyindoline-2-carboxylic acid 5b, respectively. While 4a exhibited micromolar affinities for both melatonin receptors, the methoxy analog 4b displayed moderate affinity for MT₂ receptors (K_i=0.41 μM) being 4.4-fold higher than for the MT₁ subtype.     

Preparation of new pyrido[3,4-b]thienopyrroles and pyrido[4,3-e]thienopyridazines

Two new types of pyrido-fused tris-heterocycles (1a,b and 2a,b) have been prepared from 3-aminopyridine in five/six steps. A synthetic strategy for the preparation of the novel pyrido[3,4-b]thieno[2,3- and 3,2-d]pyrroles (1a,b) and pyrido[4,3-e]thieno[2,3- and 3,2-c]pyridazines (2a,b) has been studied. The Suzuki cross coupling of the appropriate 2- and 3-thienoboronic acids (3,4) and 4-bromo-3-pyridylpivaloylamide (9) afforded the biaryl coupling products (10,11) in high yields (85%). Diazotization of the hydrolysed (2-thienyl)-coupling product (12) and azide substitution gave the 3-azido-4-(2-thienyl)pyridine intermediate (72%, 14). 3-Azido-4-(3-thienyl)pyridine (15) was prepared by exchanging the previous order of reactions. The desired β-carboline thiophene analogues (1a,b) were obtained via the nitrene by thermal decomposition of the azido precursors (14,15). By optimising conditions for intramolecular diazocoupling, the corresponding pyridazine products (72-83%, 2a,b) were afforded.     

A new, one-pot, three-component synthesis of 4H-pyrido[1,2-a]pyrimidines, 4H-pyrimido[1,2-a]pyrimidines, and 4H-pyrazino[1,2-a]pyrimidines

A new, one-pot and three-component synthesis of 4H-pyrido[1,2-a]pyrimidines, 4H-pyrimido[1,2-a]pyrimidines, and 4H-pyrazino[1,2-a]pyrimidines is described. The reactive 1:1 zwitterionic intermediate, formed by the addition of isocyanides to dialkyl acetylenedicarboxylates, was trapped by N-(2-heteroaryl)amides to yield a ketenimine intermediate, which was cyclized and then rearranged under the reaction conditions to afford the title compounds under mild reaction conditions in good yields. Single-crystal X-ray analysis conclusively confirms the structure of the obtained bridgehead bicyclic 6-6 heterocyclic compounds.     

Novel synthesis of 2,4-bis(2-pyridyl)-5-(pyridyl)imidazoles and formation of N-(3-(pyridyl)imidazo[1,5-a]pyridine)picolinamidines: nitrogen-rich ligands

Heating a neat 1:2 mixture of 2-picolylamine and 2-cyanopyridine followed by treatment of the resultant red gummy substance with aqueous KOH resulted in the isolation of 2,4,5-tris(2-pyridyl)imidazole (1a) as the major product and N-(3-(2-pyridyl)imidazo[1,5-a]pyridine)picolinamidine (2a) in small amounts. Similarly, by using 3-picolylamine, 2,4,-bis(2-pyridyl)-5-(3-pyridyl)imidazole (1b) and N-(3-(3-pyridyl)imidazo[1,5-a]pyridine)picolinamidine (2b) were isolated, and by using 4-picolylamine, 2,4,-bis(2-pyridyl)-5-(4-pyridyl)imidazole (1c) and N-(3-(4-pyridyl)imidazo[1,5-a]pyridine)picolinamidine (2c) were isolated. The plausible mechanism of the formation of 1a-c and 2a-c is delineated.     

Regioselective synthesis of novel substituted pyrazolo[1,5-a]pyrimidines under solvent-free conditions

A series of 6-(2-hydroxybenzoyl)-5-methyl-7-phenylpyrazolo[1,5-a]pyrimidines 5 have been synthesized directly by the solvent-free reaction between 5-amino-1H-pyrazoles 1 and 3-benzoyl-2-methyl-4H-chromen-4-one 4. This solvent-free reaction proceeds in a regiospecific fashion by intramolecular opening of the γ-pyrone ring in a Michael-type reaction, that followed by cyclization via nucleophilic attack of endocyclic pyrazole nitrogen toward benzoyl group gives the pyrazolo[1,5-a]pyrimidines 5. The use of this method affords high yields in short reaction times.