The conversion of 2-(4-chloro-5H-1,2,3-dithiazolylideneamino)benzonitriles into 3-aminoindole-2-carbonitriles using triphenylphosphine

2-(4-Chloro-5H-1,2,3-dithiazolylideneamino)benzonitrile 1a reacts with triphenylphosphine (4 equiv) in the presence of water (2 equiv) to afford anthranilonitrile 2a, 3-aminoindole-2-carbonitrile 3a and (2-cyanoindol-3-yl)iminotriphenylphosphorane 4a, together with triphenylphosphine sulfide and oxide. The use of polymer bound triphenylphosphine provides cleaner reaction mixtures. 2-(4-Chloro-5H-1,2,3-dithiazolylideneamino)-4,5-dimethoxybenzonitrile 1h does not give the corresponding indole on treatment with triphenylphosphine but gives 6,7-dimethoxyquinazoline-2-carbonitrile 5 (15%) and 2-cyano-4,5-dimethoxy cyanothioformanilide 6 (36%). A total of seven new 3-aminoindole-2-carbonitriles 3a-g are prepared and fully characterised.     

The conversion of 2-cyano cyanothioformanilides into 3-aminoindole-2-carbonitriles using triphenylphosphine

2-Cyano cyanothioformanilide 3a reacts with triphenylphosphine in the presence of water to give 2-(cyanomethyleneamino)benzonitrile 4a, 2-(cyanomethylamino)benzonitrile 5, 3-aminoindole-2-carbonitrile 2a and (2-cyanoindol-3-yl)iminotriphenylphosphorane 6a. In the presence of p-toluenesulfonic acid in MeOH the reaction between 2-cyano cyanothioformanilide 3a and triphenylphosphine (2 equiv) gives 3-aminoindole-2-carbonitrile 2a in 90% yield. Under the same conditions 2-(cyanomethyleneamino)benzonitrile 4a gives anthranilonitrile 8a, 3-aminoindole-2-carbonitrile 2a and N-(2-cyanophenyl)formamide 9. In addition, substituted 2-cyano cyanothioformanilides 3b-f react with triphenylphosphine and p-toluenesulfonic acid in MeOH to give 3-aminoindole-2-carbonitriles 2b-f in 63-75% yields. Under analogous conditions 2-cyano-4,5-dimethoxyphenyl cyanothioformanilide 2g gives only 4,5-dimethoxyanthranilonitrile 8g and 4,6,7-trimethoxyquinazoline-2-carbonitrile 14g, but in refluxing dry PhMe in the absence of p-toluenesulfonic acid 2-cyano-4,5-dimethoxyphenyl cyanothioformanilide 3g, (2-cyano-5,6-dimethoxyindol-3-yl)iminotriphenylphosphorane 6g and 2-(cyanomethyleneamino)-4,5-dimethoxybenzonitrile 4g are obtained. The structure of 2-(cyanomethyleneamino)-4,5-dimethoxybenzonitrile 4g is supported unambiguously via independent synthesis and comparison to the isomeric 6,7-dimethoxyquinazoline-2-carbonitrile 15. All new compounds are fully characterised and a tentative mechanism for the transformation of 2-cyano cyanothioformanilides to indoles is proposed.     

Detosylation of 3-amino-1-tosylindole-2-carbonitriles using DBU and thiophenol

Attempted detosylation of the 3-amino-1-(p-tosylamino)indole-2-carbonitriles 4a-c using either K₂CO₃ in EtOH or DBU in PhH at reflux gives unexpectedly the 3-(N-p-tosylamino)indole-2-carbonitriles 5a-c, respectively in high yields. Nevertheless, treatment of 1-(p-tosylamino)indoles 4a-c with thiophenol and DBU in PhH at reflux gives the detosylated 3-aminoindole-2-carbonitriles 5a-c. Reaction mechanisms supporting the tosyl migration (4→5) and the reductive detosylation (4→2) are proposed. All new compounds are fully characterised.     

Microwave assisted synthesis of 3-aminoindole-2-carbonitriles from anthranilonitriles via N-unprotected 2-(cyanomethylamino)benzonitriles

Anthranilonitrile 3a, 4,5-dimethoxyanthranilonitrile 3b and 5-nitroanthranilonitrile 3c, react with paraformaldehyde, KCN and ZnCl₂ in acetic acid under acid catalysis (H₂SO₄) in a sealed tube at ca. 55 °C to give the corresponding 2-(cyanomethylamino)benzonitriles 4a-c in 96, 86 and 57% yields, respectively. Thorpe-Ziegler cyclisation of the N-unprotected 2-(cyanomethylamino)benzonitriles 4a-c with K₂CO₃ in EtOH at elevated temperatures and pressures using either microwave heating or conventional heating in a sealed tube gives 3-amino, 3-amino-5,6-dimethoxy, and 3-amino-5-nitroindole-2-carbonitriles 2a-c in moderate to good yields. All new compounds are fully characterised.     

Manganese(III) acetate based oxidative cyclizations of 3-oxopropanenitriles with conjugated alkenes and synthesis of 4,5-dihydrofuran-3-carbonitriles containing heterocycles

4,5-Dihydrofuran-3-carbonitriles 3a-i were obtained through oxidative cyclizations of 3-oxo-3-phenylpropanenitrile 1a, 3-oxo-3-thien-2-ylpropanenitrile 1b, 3-(2-furyl)-3-oxopropanenitirle 1c, 3-(1-benzofuran-2-yl)-3-oxopropanenitrile 1d, and 4,4-dimethyl-3-oxopropanenitrile 1e mediated manganese(III) acetate with 1,1-diphenyl-1-butene 2a and 1,2-diphenyl-1-pentene 2b. The treatments of these 3-oxopropanenitriles with 2-thienyl substituted alkenes such as 2-[(E)-2-phenylvinyl]thiophene 2c, 2-[(E)-1-methyl-2-phenylvinyl]thiophene 2d, and 2-(1-phenylvinyl)thiophene 2e formed 5-(2-thienyl)-4,5-dihydrofuran-3-carbonitriles 3j-r in good yields (45-93%). As a result, 2-thienyl substituted alkenes formed products in higher yields than phenyl substituted derivatives.     

The conversion of isothiazoles into pyrazoles using hydrazine

The conversion of isothiazoles into pyrazoles on treatment with hydrazine is investigated. The influence of various C-3, C-4 and C-5 isothiazole substituents and some limitations of this ring transformation are examined. When the isothiazole C-3 substituent is a good nucleofuge, 3-aminopyrazoles are obtained. However, when the 3-substituent is not a leaving group it is retained in the pyrazole product. Treatment of 4-bromo-3-chloro-5-phenylisothiazole 56 or 3-chloro-4,5-diphenylisothiazole 57 with anhydrous hydrazine at ca. 200 °C for a few minutes gives the corresponding 3-hydrazinoisothiazoles 61 and 64 respectively in high yields; the stability of these new hydrazines is investigated. 5,5′-Diphenyl-3,3′-biisothiazole-4,4′-dicarbonitrile 78 reacts with hydrazine to give 5,5′-diphenyl-3,3′-bi(1H-pyrazole)-4,4′-dicarbonitrile 79. Methylhydrazine reacts with 3-chloro-5-phenylisothiazole-4-carbonitrile 1 to give 3-(1-methylhydrazino)-5-phenylisothiazole-4-carbonitrile 83 and 3-amino-1-methyl-5-phenylpyrazole-4-carbonitrile 84. All products are fully characterised and rational mechanisms for the isothiazole into pyrazole transformation are proposed.     

The synthesis of pyrrolo[2,3-c][1,2,6]thiadiazine-5-carbonitriles from (4H-1,2,6-thiadiazin-4-ylidene)malononitriles

[3,5-Bis(dialkylamino)-4H-1,2,6-thiadiazin-4-ylidene]propanedinitriles 6a-c, react with sodium methoxide or ethoxide to give the corresponding 6-alkoxy-4-dialkylamino substituted pyrrolo[2,3-c][1,2,6]thiadiazine-5-carbonitriles 7a-f in variable yields. These new compounds are fully characterised and two rational mechanisms are proposed for their formation.     

An efficient and facile synthesis of substituted cinnoline and benzo[h]cinnoline derivatives

New substituted 3-amino-5,7,8-trihalo-6-hydroxycinnoline-4-carbonitriles 7 and 8 and the 3-amino-5-chloro-6-hydroxy-benzo[h]cinnoline-4-carbonitrile 9 were synthesized in two-steps starting from tetrahalo-1,4-benzoquinones or dichloro-1,4-naphthoquinones, malononitrile and hydrazine.     

The reaction of methyl isoferulate with FeCl3 or Ag2O—hypothesis on the biosynthesis of lithospermic acids and related nor and neolignans

Methyl isoferulate reacts with FeCl₃ to give (2-6) dimer 3 (6-6) dimer 4 and (6-O-3) dimer 5 in low yields, whereas it reacts with Ag₂O leading to (2-O-3) dimer 6 and (6-O-3, 2-O-3) trimer 7. By comparison with literature data, we suggest that the biosynthesis of lithospermic acids and related nor and neolignans that possess a β-2 bond may be due to the cross dimerisation of ferulate radical on isoferulate.     

Silver mediated direct C–H arylation of 3-bromoisothiazole-5-carbonitrile

Palladium catalyzed direct C–H arylation of 3-bromoisothiazole-5-carbonitrile with aryl/hetaryl iodides in the presence of AgF gave 13 4-aryl/hetaryl-3-bromoisothiazole-5-carbonitriles. The scope of this arylation was investigated and explanations for the limitations proposed. 3-Bromoisothiazole-5-carboxamide was isolated as a side-product, and its formation was attributed to Ag⁺-catalyzed hydration of the C-5 nitrile. The analogous phenylation of 3-chloroisothiazole-5-carbonitrile and 3-bromoisothiazole-4-carboxamide gave 3-chloro-4-phenylisothiazole-5-carbonitrile and 3-bromo-5-phenylisothiazole-4-carboxamide in 83 and 64% yields, respectively.     

Synthesis of 4-aryl-6-indolylpyridine-3-carbonitriles and evaluation of their antiproliferative activity

A novel class of 6-indolypyridine-3-carbonitrile derivatives were synthesized and evaluated for antiproliferative activities to establish structure–activity relationship. The synthesis was carried out through one-pot multicomponent reaction of 3-acetylindole, aromatic aldehydes, ethyl cyanoacetate, and ammonium acetate in the presence of piperidine as a catalyst, using a microwave irradiation method or a traditional thermal method. This was followed by chlorination for compounds 13a–e and subsequent nucleophilic substitution of the chlorine group by ethylenediamine at C₂ position of the pyridine ring. The antiproliferative activity of these new nicotinonitriles was evaluated against human ovarian adenocarcinoma (SK-OV-3), breast adenocarcinoma (MCF-7), and cervix adenocarcinoma (HeLa) cells. Among all compounds, 2-((2-aminoethyl)amino)-4-aryl-6-indolylnicotinonitriles series (15a, 15b, 15d, and 15e) exhibited higher antiproliferative activity on the three cancer cell lines with IC₅₀ values of 4.1–13.4 μM.     

Synthesis of arylated highly congested indans using a domino sequence

A novel and efficient regioselective synthesis of various arylated highly congested 7-aryl-5-methylsulfanylindan-4-carbonitriles (3a-f), methyl 7-aryl-5-methylsulfanylindan-4-carboxylates (10a-e) and 7-aryl-5-methylsulfanylindan-4-carboxylic acids (11a-e) through base-catalyzed reaction of 6-aryl-4-methylsulfanyl-2-oxo-2H-pyran-3-carbonitriles (1a-f) and methyl 6-aryl-4-methylsulfanyl-2-oxo-2H-pyran-3-carboxylates (9a-e) by cyclopentanone (2) has been delineated. The synthetic potential of 2-pyranone was explored further to generate molecular diversity using 6-aryl-4-sec-amino-2-oxo-2H-pyran-3-carbonitriles (7a-h), 5,6-diaryl-4-methylsulfanyl-2-oxo-2H-pyran-3-carbonitriles (5a,b) and methyl 5,6-diaryl-4-methylsulfanyl-2-oxo-2H-pyran-3-carboxylates (12a,b) as precursors for the ring transformation by cyclopentanone to assess the effects of substituents on the course of the reaction to obtain highly congested indans, 6,7-diaryl-5-methylsulfanylindan-4-carbonitriles (6a,b), 7-aryl-5-(piperidin-1-yl)indan-4-carbonitriles (8a-h) and methyl 6,7-diaryl-5-methylsulfanylindan-4-carboxylates (13a,b).     

Synthesis of 2-(4H-1,2,6-thiadiazin-4-ylidene)malononitriles

The base-free TiCl₄-mediated condensation of 3,5-disubstituted-4H-1,2,6-thiadiazin-4-ones 8 with malononitrile affords 20 difficult to access (3,5-disubstituted-4H-1,2,6-thiadiazin-4-ylidene)malononitriles 7. The reaction tolerates 3,5-diaryl, diphenoxy, dimethoxy and diphenylthio substituted thiadiazinones, but not diamino, monohydroxy or dihalo substituents. Nevertheless, asymmetrically substituted 3-halo-5-phenyl- and 3-chloro-5-methoxy-4H-1,2,6-thiadiazin-4-ones convert into the corresponding ylidenemalononitriles in good yield. Furthermore, the condensation works well with ethyl cyanoacetate and diethyl malonate, but not with Meldrum's acid, dimedone or nitromethane. Finally, 2-(3-chloro-5-phenyl-4H-1,2,6-thiadiazin-4-ylidene)malononitrile (7q) reacts with aniline to give 4,7-diphenyl-6-(phenylimino)-6,7-dihydropyrrolo[2,3-c][1,2,6]thiadiazine-5-carbonitrile (12) in moderate yield demonstrating the potential use of these ylidenes to prepare novel 6–5 fused 4H-1,2,6-thiadiazines.     

Synthesis of alkylphenanthrenes from naphthylalkylidenemalonodinitriles. A route to 1-methyl-, 2-methyl-, and 1,2-dimethylphenanthrene

The study has been carried out to evaluate the feasibility of synthesis of 1-methyl-, 2-methyl-, 1,2-dimethyl-, and 1-ethyl-2-methylphenanthrene through the annulation of the naphthalene system with the exploitation of the dicyanovinyl moiety of 2-naphthylalkylidenemalonodinitriles as an active electrophile in cold solutions of concentrated sulfuric acid. 2-(2-Naphthyl)propanal (3), 1-(2-naphthyl)propan-2-one (9), 3-(2-naphthyl)butan-2-one (14), and 3-(2-naphthyl)pentan-2-one (19) had been condensed with malonodinitrile to afford 2-naphthylalkylidenemalonodinitriles which were then cyclised to give 4-amino-1-methylphenanthrene-3-carbonitrile (5), 4-amino-2-methylphenanthrene-3-carbonitrile (11), 4-amino-1,2-dimethylphenanthrene-3-carbonitrile (16), and 4-amino-1-ethyl-2-metylphenanthrene-3-carbonitrile (21). The nitrile function has been removed from the aminonitriles, with the exception of 21, through hydrolysis and decarboxylation in alkaline ethanolic solutions under elevated pressure (∼3 MPa) and temperature 220-230°C to give the respective 4-amino-methylphenanthrenes. Diazotisation of the phenanthreneamines and the reaction with hypophosphorus acid has lead to the methylphenanthrenes in moderate yields (50-52%).     

An unexpected formation of pyrazolopyrimidines during the attempted to obtain 5-substituted tetrazoles from carbonitriles

In this Letter, we described the synthesis of new 5-(5-amino-1-aryl-1H-pyrazole-4-yl)-1H-tetrazoles 2a–c from 5-amino-1-aryl-1H-pyrazole-4-carbonitriles 1a–c as well as the unexpected 1H-pyrazolo[3,4-d]pyrimidine derivatives 6a–c from 5-amino-1-aryl-3-methyl-1H-pyrazole-4-carbonitriles 4a–c, instead of 5-(5-amino-1-aryl-3-methyl-1H-pyrazole-4-yl)-1H-tetrazoles 5a–c as desired. In an attempt to obtain these tetrazole derivatives containing the methyl group at C3-position in the pyrazole ring, the amino group in 5-amino-1-(4-methoxyphenyl)-3-methyl-1H-pyrazole-4-carbonitrile 4c was protected by the reaction with sodium hydride and di-tert-butyl-dicarbonate (Boc). The tetrazole derivative 5c was synthesized from the protected compound 7c using analogue methodology to obtain 2a–c and 6a–c.     

The reaction of 4,5-dichloro-1,2,3-dithiazolium chloride with DMSO: an improved synthesis of 4-chloro-1,2,3-dithiazol-5H-one

4,5-Dichloro-1,2,3-dithiazolium chloride 2 (Appel salt) reacts with either DMSO, diphenylsulfoxide 11 or methylphenylsulfoxide 12 to give 4-chloro-5H-1,2,3-dithiazol-5-one 1 in excellent yields. The use of catalytic amounts of DMSO (1 mol %) in MeCN in the presence of water (1 equiv) transforms Appel salt 2 into dithiazolone 1 in near quantitative yields (92%). Rational mechanisms are proposed to explain the catalytic nature of these reactions.     

Silver-mediated palladium-catalyzed direct C-H arylation of 3-bromoisothiazole-4-carbonitrile

Silver(I) fluoride-mediated Pd-catalyzed C-H direct arylation/heteroarylation of 3-bromoisothiazole-4-carbonitrile (1a) gives twenty-four 5-aryl/heteroaryl-3-bromoisothiazole-4-carbonitriles. The reaction was partially optimized with respect to catalyst, ligand, and base. During this study 3,3'-dibromo-5,5'-biisothiazole-4,4'-dicarbonitrile (3a) was isolated as a byproduct and subsequently prepared via the silver-mediated Pd-catalyzed oxidative dimerization of 3-bromoisothiazole-4-carbonitrile in 67% yield. The analogous phenylation and oxidative dimerization of 3-chloroisothiazole-4-carbonitrile (1b) gave 3-chloro-5-phenylisothiazole-4-carbonitrile (4) and 3,3'-dichloro-5,5'-biisothiazole-4,4'-dicarbonitrile (3b) in 96% and 69% yields, respectively.     

Specific features of the reactions of quinazoline and its 4-hydroxy and 4-chloro substituted derivatives with C-nucleophiles

Reactions of quinazoline 1 with indole, pyrogallol and 1-phenyl-3-methylpyrazol-5-one in the presence of acid led to C-4 adducts 2, 3 and 5. Adduct 4 is formed by heating 1 with 1,3-dimethylbarbituric acid without acid catalysis. 1-Phenyl-3-methylpyrazol-5-one reacts with 1 without acid catalysis to form dipyrazolylmethane 6. 4-Chloroquinazoline 8 reacts with 1-phenyl-3-methylpyrazol-5-one to form 4-(1-phenyl-3-methyl-5-oxopyrazol-4-yl) quinazoline 9 and dipyrazolylmethane 6. Heating 8 with 2-methylindole leads to the formation of 4-(2-methylindol-3-yl) quinazoline 10 and tris(2-methylindol-3-yl)methane 11.     

An innovative approach to the synthesis of annelated [a]diaza-anthracenones through tandem cyclization

An innovative route for the synthesis of a novel class of 4-aryl-11-oxo-1,2,3,11-tetrahydro-1,3a-diazacyclopenta[a]anthracene-6-carbonitriles 5a-h and 5-aryl-12-oxo-1,3,4,12-tetrahydro-2H-1,4a-diazabenzo[a]anthracene-7-carbonitriles 5i-k has been developed by ring transformation of suitably functionalized 2H-pyran-2-ones 1 with α-oxoketene cyclic aminals 2 to give compounds 4 followed by photo-induced cyclization.