Phenothiazine syntheses

A new method of preparing 3-aminophenothiazine by hydrogenating 3-nitro-5-hydroxyphenothiazine in acetic acid or ethanol solution is developed. A number of derivatives of that amine are synthesized.     

Modular syntheses of isoxazoloazepinones and pyrazoloazepinones

Herein we described an optimised synthesis of isoxazoloazepinone and novel heterocycle pyrazoloazepinone. These syntheses are modular in nature and fast to execute. The title compounds were obtained pure without the intervention of chromatography.     

Efficient syntheses of oncinotine and neooncinotine

We have synthesized two natural alkaloids, oncinotine (1) and neooncinotine (2), by means of efficient ring-closing metathesis (RCM) reactions. The required dienes for RCM were assembled from three basic components: 2-allylpiperidine (5), 9-decenoic acid (6), and diamines 7. We developed two different methods to achieve the linkage: the Michael addition of acrylamide and two amidations of succinic anhydride. The Grubbs catalyst was used to form the 17- and 18-membered lactams in 50% and 68% yields, respectively.     

Biogenetic syntheses of kopsijasminilam and deoxykopsijasminilam

The hexacyclic ketoester 7, derived from cyclization of racemic minovincine (6), was reduced to two C-19 epimeric alcohols 8 and 9. Stereoelectronically controlled fragmentations of corresponding O-sulfonyl derivatives provided, respectively, the hexacyclic enamine 14 and, after oxidation of the olefin 16, the pentacyclic lactam 17 with a brigehead double bond. Formation of a carbamate, introduction of a second double bond at C-16, and conjugate reductive hydroxylation at C-20, or hydrogenation, gave the title products.     

Novel syntheses of hexahydropyrimidines and tetrahydroquinazolines

1-Benzotriazolylmethyl-3-propylhexahydropyrimidine (1) and 1,3-bis(1H-1,2,3-benzotriazol-1-ylmethyl)-1,2,3,4-tetrahydroquinazoline (3) were readily prepared by reactions of N-propyl-1,3-propanediamine or 2-aminobenzylamine with benzotriazole and formaldehyde, respectively. Intermediate 1 reacted with alkyl and aryl Grignard reagents to produce N,N'-unsymmetrically substituted hexahydropyrimidines 2a,b in 90 and 92% yields, respectively. Nucleophilic substitutions of 3 with Grignard reagents, allylsilane, and triethyl phosphite gave N,N'-disubstituted 1,2,3,4-tetrahydroquinazolines 4a-f, 5, and 6 in good to excellent yields. Successive treatment of 3 with two different Grignard reagents in one-pot reaction led regiospecifically to N,N'-unsymmetrically substituted tetrahydroquinazoline derivatives 8a,b.     

New syntheses and chemistry of hexafluorotropone

Two new routes to hexafluorotropone have been developed, one from hexachlorotropone and a superior synthesis from hexafluorobenzene. Hexafluorotropone was found to be a very weak base, with a conjugate acid pK(a) of -6.2 +/- 0.5. The tropone adds in [6 + 4] fashion to cyclopentadiene and photocyclizes to hexafluorobicyclo[3.2.0]hepta-3,6-dien-2-one. Lithium hydroxide in benzene transforms the tropone into pentafluorotropolone, which functions as a bidentate ligand.     

Convergent syntheses of luteoreticulin and didemethylluteoreticulin

Convergent syntheses of luteoreticulin (1a) and didemethylluteoreticulin (1c) are described which are ammenable to structural variation in both the pyran and phenyl rings.     

Stereodivergent syntheses of conduramines and aminocyclitols

[reaction: see text] The diastereomers of 6-amino-cyclohex-3-ene-1,2-diols 1 (4-deoxy-3-conduramines), key building blocks for the syntheses of a large range of natural products, have been enantioselectively prepared. Diastereoselective dihydroxylation of the compounds provided a new family of aminocyclitols 2 (deoxyinosamines). The key reactions of our syntheses are Sharpless catalytic asymmetric epoxidation, diastereoselective addition of vinylmetal reagents to the aldehydes, and ring-closing metathesis (RCM).     

Stepwise syntheses of tri- and tetraphosphaporphyrinogens

A double ring-expansion methodology allows the stepwise synthesis of tri- and tetra-phosphaporhyrinogens. Structural and calculational methods reveal extended delocalisation about their phospholide centres.     

Benzotriazole-mediated syntheses of depsipeptides and oligoesters

Reactions of O-Pg(α-hydroxyacyl)benzotriazoles with (a) unprotected α-hydroxycarboxylic acids, (b) amino acids, and (c) amines afforded, respectively, chirally pure (a) oligoesters, (b) depsidipeptides, and (c) amide conjugates (yields 52-94%). N-Pg(α-Aminoacyl)benzotriazoles reacted with α-hydroxycarboxylic acids to yield depsidipeptides (47-87%). N-Pg(depsidipeptidoyl)benzotriazoles, obtained from depsidipeptides, gave depsitripeptides (yields 55-78%) on reaction with amino acids and α-hydroxycarboxylic acids. O-Acylation of α-hydroxycarboxylic acids with N-Pg(α-aminoacyl)benzotriazoles followed by deprotection produced unprotected depsides useful for the preparation of depsitripeptides.     

Attempted syntheses of aminofluorothiophenes

It appeared that a key intermediate for 2-amino-3-fluorothiophene ( 1 ), methyl 3-fluorothiophene-2-carboxylate ( 5 ), had been prepared by a Schiemann reaction of the 3-diazonium salt ( 6 ) in xylenes. This report was not correct. Gomberg coupling products 7 with o-xylene are actually formed. We were able to prepare 5 by using special conditions for the Schiemann reaction. The hydrazide derivative of 5 failed to give 1 under Curtius reaction conditions. Two new acetamidofluorothiophene compounds were prepared using Selectfluor^TM as the fluorinating agent, but no aminofluorothiophenes 1-3 or salts could be obtained by acidic hydrolysis of either amide.     

Titanium-mediated syntheses of cyclopropylamines

The transformations of N,N-dialkylcarboxamides and nitriles with 1,2-dicarbanionic organometallics in situ generated from organomagnesium (Grignard) as well as organozinc reagents in the presence of stoichiometric or substoichiometric (semi-catalytic) quantities of a titanium alkoxide derivative of type XTi(OR)₃ with X=OR, Cl, Me and OR=OiPr, OEt are described. The key step in the transformation of a monocarbanionic into a 1,2-dicarbanionic organotitanium species is a disproportionation of a dialkyltitanium intermediate to form an alkane and a titanium alkene complex which has the reactivity of a titanacyclopropane derivative. The latter are able to undergo insertion of the carbonyl group of an N,N-dialkylcarboxamide or a cyano group to furnish, after ring contraction and hydrolysis, dialkylcyclopropylamines or cyclopropylamines, respectively. The titanium alkene complexes can also undergo ligand exchange with alkenes to afford new titanacyclopropanes, which subsequently react as 1,2-dicarbanionic equivalents. In many cases, these titanium-mediated formations of a wide range of synthetically and/or pharmacologically important cyclopropylamines proceed in good to very good yields (from 20% to 98% for dialkylcyclopropylamines from N,N-dialkylcarboxamides and from 27% to 73% for primary cyclopropylamines from nitriles) and with high chemo- and stereoselectivity. These circumstances in conjunction with the simplicity of the experimental handling and inexpensiveness of the reagents favor these reactions for an ever increasing range of applications in organic synthesis.     

Biomimetic syntheses of syncarpurea

Simple syntheses of syncarpurea (1) from syncarpic acid and the amino acids ornithine or citrulline are presented.     

Two syntheses of FF-MAS

[reaction: see text] Follicular fluid-meiosis activating sterol (FF-MAS) has been shown to be an efficient inducer of meiotic maturation. It can potentially be used for improvements of in vitro fertilization techniques. Two short synthesis of FF-MAS are presented in this article. Both syntheses are based on microbiological degradations of sterol side chains. FF-MAS can be synthesized in nine steps from commercially available starting materials by both routes.     

Enantioselective and diastereoselective syntheses of cyanohydrin carbonates

A new and general synthesis of alkyl cyanoformates is presented starting from the appropriate alcohol and oxalyl chloride. This is used to prepare enantiomerically pure cyanoformates from enantiomerically pure primary and secondary alcohols. Optimal conditions for the addition of various achiral cyanoformates to aldehydes catalysed by an enantiomerically pure titanium(salen) catalyst in the presence of potassium cyanide as a cocatalyst are developed. Under these conditions, two chiral cyanoformates also reacted with aldehydes to give cyanohydrin carbonates. The stereochemistry of this process is predominantly determined by the stereochemistry of the titanium(salen) catalyst and the stereochemistry of two of the cyanohydrin carbonates was confirmed by X-ray crystallography. In a further extension of the chemistry, a homogeneous system in which the potassium cyanide/18-crown-6 complex is used as the cyanide cocatalyst has been developed and the kinetics of this reaction show that it displays first order kinetics, provided at least 2 mol % of the potassium cyanide complex are employed.