Acetals of amides and lactams in the synthesis of heterocyclic compounds

The review collects the results of investigations on the synthesis of heterocyclic compounds, mainly azaheterocycles, from amide and lactam acetals. The reasons for the high reactivity of these compounds with respect to nucleophilic and electrophilic reagents are considered, as are the principal pathways of heterocyclization of amidine and enamine systems synthesized via amide and lactam acetals.Translated from Khimiya Geterotsiklicheskikh Soedinenii, No. 6, pp. 762–780, June, 1992.