Regioselective functionalization of quinolin-4(1H)-ones via sequential palladium-catalyzed reactions

A practical and general synthesis of 1,3,6-trisubstituted quinolin-4(1H)-ones starting from 1-alkyl-6-bromo-3-iodoquinolin-4(1H)-one is described, based on regioselective sequential palladium-catalyzed cross-coupling reactions, namely Suzuki-Miyaura, Sonogashira and aminocarbonylation reactions, under microwave irradiation. Good substrate generality, ease of execution and practicability make this method exploitable for the generation of libraries of chemically diverse 4-quinolones.     

Regioselective synthesis of pyridoquinolones and pyridocoumarins via molecular iodine-mediated 6-endo-dig electrophilic cylization

Angular-pyridoquinolone and pyridocoumarin derivatives have been efficiently synthesized in 60-95% yields by molecular iodine-mediated cyclization of easily available starting materials, 6-(N-propargyl)amino quinolone and coumarin derivatives, in the presence of NaHCO₃. The reaction was carried out at room temperature.     

Regioselective electrophilic trifluoromethylation of substituted anilines and derivatives in superacid

In a one pot procedure, treatment of chloro or methyl substituted acetanilides in HF/SbF₅/CCl₄ followed by addition of HF/pyridine yields trifluoromethyl derivatives with high regioselectivity.     

Regioselective electrophilic trifluoromethylation of indolines, oxindoles and indoles in superacid

Treatment of indolines and N-acylindoles with HF/SbF₅/CCl₄ yields 6-trifluoro derivatives (indole numbering) whereas indoles and oxindoles give the 5-trifluoro derivatives in good yield.     

Regioselective palladium-catalyzed electrophilic allylic substitution in the presence of hexamethylditin

[reaction: see text]. Palladium-catalyzed electrophilic allylic substitution of functionalized allyl chlorides and allyl acetates can be achieved in the presence of hexamethylditin under mild reaction conditions. The substitution reaction occurs with very high regioselectivity at the branched allylic terminus. Regioselective tandem bisallylation reaction could be performed by employing benzylidenemalonitrile as substrate. The reaction mechanism can be explained by involvement of a bisallylpalladium intermediate. A particularly interesting mechanistic feature of this reaction is that palladium catalyzes up to three different transformations in the same catalytic cycle. DFT calculations indicate that the regioselectivity is determined by the location of the allylic substituent in the eta1-allyl moiety of the reaction intermediate.     

Regioselective electrophilic substitutions of fulvenes with ethyl glyoxylate and subsequent Diels-Alder reactions

Highly regioselective electrophilic substitution of fulvenes with ethyl glyoxylate, catalyzed by EtAlCl₂ or Yb(OTf)₃ was achieved. Subsequent Diels-Alder reaction of the adduct with various dienophiles provides an efficient protocol toward highly functionalized indane and tricyclo[5.2.1.0^2,6]dec-8-ene systems.     

Regioselective synthesis of 4-alkylpyridines via 1,4-dihydropyridine derivatives from pyridine

N-Ethoxycarbonylpyridinium chloride ($\text{1}$) reacted with RCu·BF₃ at 4-position with almost complete regioselectivity (better than 99%) to afford the corresponding 1,4-dihydropyridine derivatives ($\text{2}$) in high yields (81≈94%). The dihydropyridines were readily oxidized by oxygen to give 4-alkylpyridines ($\text{4}$: 38≈68% yields).     

Highly efficient synthesis of 4-trifluoromethylfuran derivatives via a sequential deprotection-annulation reaction

(E)-O-protected-2-trifluoromethyl-1-bromo-1-substituted allylic alcohol reacted with terminal alkynes under Sonogashira reaction condition to give the corresponding (E)-2-en-4-ynoic alcohol derivatives, which was further converted to the corresponding 4-trifluoromethylfuran derivatives via a sequential deprotection-annulation reaction in moderate to excellent yields.     

Synthesis of isoxazoles via electrophilic cyclization

[reaction: see text] A variety of 3,5-disubstituted 4-halo(seleno)isoxazoles are readily prepared in good to excellent yields under mild reaction conditions by the reaction of 2-alkyn-1-one O-methyl oximes with ICl, I2, Br2, or PhSeBr.     

Synthesis of pyrazoles via electrophilic cyclization

Electrophilic cyclizations of α,β-alkynic hydrazones by molecular iodine were investigated for the synthesis of 4-iodopyrazoles. α,β-Alkynic hydrazones were readily prepared by the reactions of hydrazines with propargyl aldehydes and ketones. When treated with molecular iodine in the presence of sodium bicarbonate, α,β-alkynic hydrazones underwent electrophilic cyclization to afford 4-iodopyrazoles in good to high yields. Iodocyclization was general for a wide range of α,β-alkynic hydrazones and tolerated the presence of aliphatic, aromatic, heteroaromatic, and ferrocenyl moieties with electron-withdrawing and electron-donating substituents.     

Regioselective Baeyer-Villiger oxidation in 4-carbonyl-2-azetidinone series: a revisited route toward carbapenem precursor

A novel synthesis of acetoxyazetidinone 2 is presented. The azetidinone ring of compounds 7 is formed by C-3/C-4 cyclization of (2R,3R)-epoxybutyramide precursors 6, N-protected with a benzhydryl group. N-Deprotection by photoactivated bromination and acidic treatment leads to compounds 10 with various CO-R substituents at C-4. Transformation of these substituents by Baeyer-Villiger oxidation gives the desired regioisomer 11 with the cyclopropyl side-group which is the only group (among R = H, Ph, t-Bu, i-Pr, c-Pr) able to satisfy both the steric requirements of the cyclization step and the electronic requirements of the oxidative rearrangement step.     

Alternative mechanisms of electrophilic substitution in azole series

Data on three mechanisms of aromatic electrophilic substitution in azole series have been presented. First of them is similar to an ordinary addition–elimination mechanism including the formation of a cationic σ-complex (Wheland intermediate). The second mechanism is realized according to the elimination–addition scheme and includes a protonation or a formation of a complex on the “pyridine” N atom, proton abstraction from the C atom adjacent to the above N atom, and addition of a cationoid reagent to the ylide (carbene) formed. The third mechanism proposed by the present authors can be realized for azoles having three and two N atoms of the pyridine type. It does not require the preliminary N-protonation or complex formation and occurs due to a strong electron withdrawing effect of several “pyridine” atoms, resulting in the CH-deprotonation followed by the interaction of the carbanion formed with a cation under mild conditions.     

Synthesis of isocoumarins and alpha-pyrones via electrophilic cyclization

A variety of substituted isocoumarins and alpha-pyrones are readily prepared in excellent yields under very mild reaction conditions by the reaction of o-(1-alkynyl)benzoates and (Z)-2-alken-4-ynoates with ICl, I(2), PhSeCl, p-O(2)NC(6)H(4)SCl, and HI. This methodology accommodates various alkynyl esters and has been successfully extended to the synthesis of polycyclic aromatic and biaryl compounds.     

Modification of polymers via electrophilic aromatic substitution

Three vinyl monomers, 2,4,6-trimethoxystyrene, 4-(N,N-dimethylamino)styrene, and N-methyl-2-vinylpyrrole, were synthesized via the Wittig reaction from the corresponding aldehyes. These monomers were homopolymerized by radical polymerization using α,α′-azoisobutyronitrile (AIBN) as initiator at 60°C. The reaction of these polymers with 4-phenyl-1,2,4-triazoline-3,5-dione (phTD) and 4-methyl-1,2,4-triazoline-3,5-dione (MeTD) was investigated. Although polytrimethoxystyrene reacts slowly with PhTD at room temperature, the other two polymers react fast and lead to the incorporation of the triazolinedione unit into the side chain of the polymer via electrophilic aromatic substitution. The reaction of bistriazolinediones (BTD) with these polymers was performed in dimethylformamide using 10–20% molar concentration of the BTD. The resulting crosslinked polymers are insoluble in polar as well as nonpolar solvents. Some physical properties of the unmodified and modified polymers were studied.     

Facile synthesis of dihaloheterocycles via electrophilic iodocyclization

An efficient and facile electrophilic iodocyclization for the synthesis of various O-, N-, and S-containing dihaloheterocycles has been developed. A wide range of the substituted propargyl alcohols having -OH, -NTs, and -SAc functional groups reacted with molecular iodine or bromoiodine at ambient temperature to produce the corresponding dihalogenated O-, N-, and S-containing five- and six-membered heterocycles in good to high yields; Under optimized solvent conditions, the reactions of various substituted but-2-yn-1-ones bearing -OH, -NTs, and -SAc functional groups at C4-position, with iodine or bromoiodine at ambient temperature afforded the corresponding 3,4-diiodo- and 3-bromo-4-iodo-substituted furans, pyrroles, and thiophenes in good to high yields. Further transformation of the resulting iodine- or bromine-containing products to polyaromatics potentially of useful as organo-material intermediates has been investigated.     

Regioselective one-step synthesis of 4-fluoroalkylated isoquinolines via carbopalladation reaction of fluorine-containing alkynes

[reaction: see text] The palladium-catalyzed annulation reaction of fluoroalkylated alkynes with various 2-iodobenzylidenamines was investigated. In the presence of a catalytic amount of Pd(PPh3)4, the reaction took place smoothly to give the corresponding 4-fluoroalkylated isoquinoline in high yield as a single isomer. No other regioisomer was detected.     

Synthesis of polycyclic aromatics and heteroaromatics via electrophilic cyclization

[reaction: see text] A variety of substituted polycyclic aromatics are readily prepared in good to excellent yields under very mild reaction conditions by the reaction of 2-(1-alkynyl)biphenyls with ICl, I(2), NBS, and p-O(2)NC(6)H(4)SCl. This methodology readily accommodates various functional groups and has been successfully extended to systems containing a variety of polycyclic and heterocyclic rings.     

Synthesis of difluorinated pyridinecarboxaldehyde via electrophilic fluorination

An efficient synthesis of novel 3,5-difluoropyridine-4-carboxaldehyde using N-fluoro-benzenesulfonimide (NSFi) is described. Difluorination was achieved through the reaction of 3,5-dihalo-1,3-dioxolane pyridine with n-butyllithium followed by N-fluorobenzenesulfonimide at −120 °C in good to high yields. Maintaining the low temperature during the transmetallation was found to be critical for the selective formation of the difluoro-susbstitution over the monofluoro one.     

Facile synthesis of 3,4-diiododihydrothiophenes via electrophilic iodocyclization

A facile, efficient, and general synthetic method for the construction of 3,4-diiododihydrothiophenes has been developed via the electrophilic iodocyclization of various S-hydroxy-2-butynyl ethanethioates. Application of the resulting iodine-containing products in organic transformations has been investigated.     

Synthesis of L-4,4-difluoroglutamic acid via electrophilic difluorination of a lactam

[formula: see text] An enantiomerically pure bicyclic lactam proved to be an excellent substrate for electrophilic difluorination using N-fluorobenzenesulfonimide. The resulting difluorinated lactam can be easily converted into L-4,4-difluoroglutamic acid. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first example of a synthetically useful electrophilic difluorination of an unactivated lactam.