Facile Synthesis of Spiro Oxindoles,Azaoxindoles, and Dihydroisoquinolone

Formation of 1-aryl-4-oxo-cyclohexa(e)nonecarboxylates from the Diels–Alder cycloaddition of 2-trimethylsilyloxy-1,3-butadiene and Danishefsky diene with aryl- and pyridylacrylates and further conversion thereof to spirocycles is described. This provides an efficient method for spiro oxindoles, azaoxindoles, and dihydroisoquinolones.

Phytochemicals from Echinacea and Hypericum: A Direct Synthesis of Isoligularone

Reaction of trienes with α,β‐unsaturated aldehydes produces bicyclic products via a tandem Diels–Alder/ene reaction. The adduct from tiglic aldehyde was converted into isoligularone by conversion to a furan followed by benzylic oxidation.     

Phytochemicals and Bioactivities of Zingiber cassumunar Roxb

Zingiber cassumunar Roxb. (Zingiberaceae), is an important medicinal plant known as “Plai (Phlai)” in Thailand, “Bangle” in Indonesia, and “Bulei” in China. Traditionally, this plant has been used to treat inflammation, pain, and respiratory problems. The rhizomes are the primary part of the plant that has been used for medicinal purposes due to their constituents with therapeutic properties, including phenylbutenoids, curcuminoids, and essential oils. Since the 1970s, many studies have been conducted on the phytochemicals and bioactivities of Z. cassumunar to establish fundamental scientific evidence that supports its use in traditional medicine. The accumulated biological studies on the extracts, solvent fractions, and constituents of Z. cassumunar have described their diverse medicinal properties, including antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, anticancer, neuroprotective/neurotrophic, cosmeceutical, and antifungal/antimicrobial bioactivities. In this review, we summarize information on the phytochemicals of Z. cassumunar and the bioactivities of its extracts and constituents.     

Dianions of Unsaturated Carboxylic Acids in Synthesis. Synthesis of Juvocimene I

Juvocimene I is prepared by a non ambiguous synthesis based on the regioselective alkylation of 4-methylhexa-2,4-dienoic acid, and Wittig olefination of the aldehyde corresponding to the alkylated acid.     

Synthesis and structure of a chiral areno-bridged [2.4]metacyclophane

The reductive coupling reaction of 1,4-bis(3-acetyl-5-tert-butyl-2-methoxyphenyl)butane 3 was carried out using TiCl₄-Zn in pyridine followed by a McMurry coupling reaction to afford the compounds anti and syn 1,2-dimethyl[2.4]MCP-1-ene 4. Bromination of 4 with BTMA-Br₃ in dry CH₂Cl₂ afforded the interesting compound 1,2-bis-(bromomethyl)-5,15-di-tert-butyl-8,18-dimethoxy[2.4]MCP-1-ene 6 and consecutive debromination with Zn and AcOH in CH₂Cl₂ solution afforded the stable solid 5,15-di-tert-butyl-8,18-dimethoxy-1,2-dimethylene[2.4]MCP 7 in 89% yield. Compound 7 was conveniently employed in a Diels–Alder reaction with dimethyl acetylenedicarboxylate (DMAD) to provide 2-(3′,6′-dihydrobenzo)-5,15-di-tert-butyl-8,18-dimethoxy[2.4]MCP-4′,5′-dimethylcarboxylate 8 in good yield. Diels–Alder adduct 8 was converted into a novel and inherently chiral areno-bridged compound [2.4]MCP 9 by aromatization. The chirality of the two conformers was characterized by circular dichroism (CD) spectra of the separated enantiomer which are perfect mirror images of each other.     

Synthesis of an Advanced Precursor of Demethoxyviridin

The synthesis of a potential precursor 3 to demethoxyviridin (1b) is described. The centerpiece of this strategy was the conversion of the previously described dibromoolefin 6 to the masked alkyne β-hydroxyaldehyde 5 in a single step. Further elaboration then produced the alkyne oxazole 4, which on thermolysis, followed by in situ tautomerization and silylation, led directly to 3.

Supplementary materials are available for this article. Go to the publisher's online edition of Synthetic Communications® for full experimental and spectral details.     

Anti-inflammatory effect of Zingiber cassumunar Roxb. and its active principles.

The present study was carried out to elucidate the anti-inflammatory effect of the methanol extract obtained from the rhizomes of Zingiber cassumunar Roxb. and its active principles. The methanol extract was partitioned between ether and water, and then the ether-soluble fraction was extracted with n-hexane. The n-hexane-soluble fraction was chromatographed and part of the fraction was rechromatographed by silica gel column. Three compounds were isolated from the n-hexane-soluble fraction and the chemical structures of these compounds were identified as (E)-1-(3,4-dimethoxyphenyl)but-1-ene, (E)-1-(3,4-dimethoxyphenyl)butadiene and zerumbone. The anti-inflammatory activity of these fractions was investigated on carrageenin-induced edema in rats, as well as on acetic acid-induced vascular permeability and writhing symptoms in mice. The methanol extract (p.o.) showed both anti-inflammatory activity and analgesic activity. These activities shifted successively to ether-soluble and n-hexane-soluble fractions and to (E)-1-(3,4-dimethoxyphenyl)but-1-ene. These results suggest that the anti-inflammatory action and analgesic action of Zingiber cassumunar is the result of the (E)-1-(3,4-dimethoxyphenyl)but-1-ene that it contains.     

Synthesis and Characterization of Benzenesulfonyl Hydrazones and Benzenesulfonamides

In the search for structural cyclic imide analogues of therapeutic interest, the syntheses and characterization of benzenesulfonyl hydrazones and benzenesulfonamides are described. The benzenesulfonyl chlorides (2) and (3) were obtained through the Diels–Alder reaction between N‐p‐chloro‐sulfonylfenylmaleimide (1) and furan or 2‐methylfuran. The reactions of (2) and (3) with hydrazine and amines afforded the hydrazides and sulfonamides, respectively. The sulfonylhydrazones were obtained through a condensation between the sulfonylhydrazides with different benzaldehydes.     

Efficient Synthesis of Hexahydrocarbazoles

Selective reduction of the nitro group in methyl 1-(2-nitrophenyl)-4-oxo-cyclohex-2-enecarboxylates with zinc-acetic acid forms hexahydrocarbazoles. The reaction is applicable to the corresponding pyridyl analogs to generate azahexahydrocarbazoles. This provides an efficient method for the generation of tricyclic framework.

Oxidative Dearomatization: Synthesis of Functionalized Bicyclo[2.2.2]octenones,Sigmatropic Shift in Excited State,and Radical-Induced Cleavage of Cyclopropane Ring

Synthesis of novel bicyclo[2.2.2]octenones endowed with a β,γ-enone system in which γ-carbon is substituted with an electron-withdrawing group from simple aromatics is described. Oxa-di-pi-methane reaction of bicyclo[2.2.2]octenones to functionalized bicyclo[3.3.0]octanes and their transformation to bicyclo[3.2.1]octane framework are also presented.     

Synthesis of Trichlorophenol Derivatives

An expedient three‐step procedure for the synthesis of trichlorophenol derivatives based on the acid‐catalyzed rearrangement of the bicyclic ketone precursors 6a–e in high overall yield is described. The bicyclic ketone precursors 6a–e were obtained from Diels–Alder cycloadducts of β‐substituted vinyl acetates with tetrachloro‐5,5‐dimethoxycyclopentadiene in two steps.     

One-pot synthesis of carbazoles from indoles via a metal free benzannulation

We report a simple, one-pot, and metal free benzannulation protocol to carbazoles starting with indoles, carbonyl compounds and an appropriate dienophiles. Mechanistically, this strategy generates an in situ diene by condensation between indole and carbonyl compound succeed and subsequent dehydration. Later, Diels–Alder reaction of this diene with a suitable dienophile followed by oxidation delivers the carbazole derivative. This methodology provide an easy access to carbazoles containing 1,4-naphthoquinone moiety.     

Cycloaddition of Cyclohexa-2,4-dienones with Nitroolefins: An Unusual Regioselectivity and Expeditious Entry into Nitro-bicyclo[2.2.2]octenones

Cycloaddition of electron-deficient cyclohexa-2,4-dienones with nitroolefins leading to functionalized bicyclo[2.2.2]octenones with nitro groups is reported. A highly unusual regioselectivity was observed. Crystal structure of one of adducts has also been reported.     

Synthesis of Six-Membered Functionalized Carbocyclic Compounds by One-Pot Reaction of Hydroquinone Derivatives and Dienes

A general method for one-pot reaction of hydroquinone derivatives and dienes has been developed. The system of Pb₃O₄ in tetrahydrofuran–trifluoroacetic acid was found to play dual roles as oxidant for the generation of quinones in situ and as catalyst for the Diels–Alder cycloaddition, which makes the one-pot reaction efficient and easy to carry out. Using this method, a variety of six-membered functionalized carbocyclic compounds can be easily prepared in medium to excellent yields at room temperature.      

Synthesis of substituted N-phenylmaleimides and use in a Diels–Alder reaction: a green multi-step synthesis for an undergraduate organic chemistry laboratory

ABSTRACT

This paper describes the design and implementation of a minimally hazardous, environmentally friendly, and energy efficient sequential reaction sequence within a sophomore level Organic Chemistry lab course to efficiently synthesize N-phenylmaleimide precursors for a Diels–Alder reaction. Substituted N-phenylmaleimides are a class of very expensive precursors of considerable interest due to their biological properties and use as intermediates in synthesis. The synthesis described herein produces a substituted N-phenylmaleimide in two steps from maleic anhydride and a substituted aniline followed by its Diels–Alder reaction with 2,5-dimethylfuran. The experiment exposes students to the green chemistry principles of atom economy, use of safer chemicals, design for energy efficiency, waste reduction, and inherently safer chemistry for accident prevention and enables students to use ¹H NMR spectroscopy to characterize the products.     

Synthesis of Functionalized p-Phenylene Oxide Oligomers

Oligomers of p-phenylene oxides have been synthesized by coupling of substituted phenols and aryl bromides in the presence of cuprous chloride. The chain length varies from 2 to 5 phenyl rings functionalized at one end by an OH and OMe group and at the other end by an OH, OMe or NO₂ functions. The oligomers could be used in material science and as building blocks in supramolecular chemistry. Methods for chemoselective demethylation of methoxy groups were developed.     

Synthesis of C1-Substituted 7-Oxanorbornadienes

7-Oxanorbornadienes are valuable synthetic intermediates as they can serve as general templates to create highly substituted ring systems. However, to date, only very few C1-substituted 7-oxanorbornadienes have been synthesized and can be found in the literature. In this article, synthesis of some C1-substituted 7-oxanorbornadienes was achieved by the Diels–Alder reaction between 2-substituted furans and dimethylacetylene dicarboxylate. Moderate to good yields (13–85%) of the Diels–Alder reactions were observed. These C1-substituted 7-oxanorbornadienes will find applications as valuable synthetic intermediates and are useful in the studies of transition-metal-catalyzed reactions.     

A Novel and Convenient Synthesis of Coenzyme Q1

Abstract

A convenient and efficient synthetic route to Coenzyme Q₁ (6) starting from 3,4,5‐trimethoxytoluene (1) is described. The key features of this synthesis include the Diels–Alder reaction of 2,3‐dimethoxy‐l,4‐benzoquinone (3) with cyclopentadiene and the introduction of a C₅ side chain to 4,5‐dimethoxy‐2‐methyltricyclo[6.2.1.0^2,7]undeca‐4,9‐diene‐3,6‐dione (4) under mild conditions, (6) was obtained in overall 60% yield.     

Synthesis of new enantiomerically pure spirooxindolopyrrolizidines via a three-component asymmetric 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition reaction of azomethine ylides derived from isatin

An efficient, one-pot, three-component procedure for the synthesis of a small library of new chiral spirooxindolopyrrolizidines with high regio-, diastereo-, and enantioselectivity, from the 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition of azomethine ylides and optically active cinnamoyl oxazolidinone is described. The process occurs at room temperature in aqueous ethanol as a green solvent and in the absence of any Lewis acids. The oxazolidinone chiral auxiliary is removed in a non-destructive manner. The reaction mechanism is discussed on the basis of the assignment of the absolute configuration of the cycloadducts, and on theoretical calculations.