Studies on the ring opening reactions of 3-oxa-1-azabicyclo[3.1.0]hexan-2-ones. Synthesis of aminomethyl oxazolidinones and aziridinyl ureas

The reaction of fused ring aziridines, 3-oxa-1-azabicyclo[3.1.0]hexan-2-ones, with amine nucleophiles can provide either an aminomethyl oxazolidinone or an aziridinyl urea. The amine, reaction solvent, and aziridine substitution have been examined with the aid of computational studies to identify reaction conditions that provide a single product. Polar solvents provided only the aminomethyl oxazolidinone products. Formation of aziridinyl ureas required control of aziridine substitution, solvent, and reactant stoichiometry.     

Asymmetric synthesis of (R)-6-amino-1-methyl-4-(3-methyl-benzyl)hexahydro-1H-1,4-diazepine from L-asparagine

An efficient asymmetric synthesis of (R)-6-amino-1-methyl-4-(3-rnethylbenzyl)hexahydro-1H-1,4-diazepine [(R)-2] which serves as the amine part of (R)-1, a potent and selective 5-HT₃ receptor antagonist, is described. Formation of the hexahydro-1H-1,4-diazepine ring was achieved by the intramolecular ami-dation of the optically active aminocarboxylic acid 18 or reductive cyclization of the optically active aminoaldehyde 25. Compounds 18 and 25 were prepared from L-asparagine via the key aziridine derivatives 15 and 22 , respectively, with retention of the configuration. The intramolecular aziridine ring opening reaction of 29 gave the C₂? N bond cleavage product of the aziridine ring, the piperazin-5-one 30 , as the main product along with the desired 7-membered ring, the hexahydro-1H-1,4-diazepine product 19 .     

Regiochemical switching of Mitsunobu cyclisation mode of vicinal diamines with pendant hydroxyl group

Ambident 1,2-diamines derived from the nitro-Mannich reaction containing both a tosyl amide and a secondary amine could be regioselectively cyclised through the tosyl amide onto a pendant primary hydroxyl group to give piperazine (60-75% yields) or 1,4-diazepane (71% yield) ring systems under Mitsunobu conditions. For some substrates addition of Et(3)N.HCl encouraged regioselective cyclisation through the secondary amine leading to aziridine ring systems.     

Readily available unprotected amino aldehydes

We report a new class of bench-stable compounds that contain seemingly incompatible functional groups: an aldehyde and an unprotected secondary amine. The thermodynamic driving force to undergo condensation between these two functionalities is offset by a high barrier imposed on this process by the aziridine ring strain. The resulting amino aldehydes exist as dimers and in the solid state. They are stable to epimerization and contain two orthogonal reaction centers, namely, an amine/aziridine and an aldehyde. Their ability to act as linchpins has been evaluated in complex heterocycle synthesis. For instance, pentacyclic frameworks can be made in one simple operation using N-benzyltryptamine as the reaction partner. Construction of other molecular skeletons with minimal use of protecting group manipulations should be feasible.     

Alkylative Aziridine Ring-Opening Reactions

In this study, the highly strained three-membered aziridine ring was successfully activated as the aziridinium ion by alkylation of the ring nitrogen with a methyl, ethyl or allyl group, which was followed by ring opening with external nucleophiles such as acetate and azide. Such alkylative aziridine ring opening provides an easy route for the synthesis of various N-alkylated amine-containing molecules with concomitant introduction of an external nucleophile at either its α- or β-position.     

Reaction of 1-alkyl-2-aryl-3-(2-methyl-2,3-epoxypropionyl)aziridines with boron trifluoride etherate in methanol

The reaction of boron trifluoride etherate in methanol with trans-1-methyl(ethyl)-or cis-1-cyclohexyl-2-aryl-3-(2-methyl-2,3-epoxypropionyl)aziridines leads to the formation of the corresponding boron fluoride complexes on the nitrogen atom of the aziridine ring. Reaction with trans-1-cyclohexyl-2-phenyl-3-(2-methyl-2,3-epoxypropionyl)aziridines occurs with stereospecific opening of the aziridine ring to give diastereomeric 2-methyl-5-methoxy-5-phenyl-4-cyclohexylamino-1,2-epoxypen-tan-3-ones, as well as products from the opening of the epoxide and aziridine rings — tetrahydrofuranones and tetrahydropyranones.Translated from Khimiya Geterotsiklicheskikh Soedinenii, No. 5, pp. 596–600, May, 1986.     

Reaction of 1,6‐Dioxo‐2,4‐Diene with Aziridine and Secondary Amine

The (2E,4E)‐ and (2E,4Z)‐1‐phenyl‐1,6‐dioxo‐hepta‐2,4‐diene reacts with aziridine to give aziridinecyclopentenol 3. This product arises from an intermolecular Michael addition of a nitrogen lone pair to the less reactive enone, followed by an intramolecular aldol reaction of the enol with ketone. Furthermore, the initially formed enol did not undergo nucleophilic attack onto the aziridine ring to form heterocycles. Interestingly, the reaction with secondary amine did not give the cyclopentenol adduct, and this only leads to the isomerization of (2E,4Z)‐1‐phenyl‐1,6‐dioxo‐hepta‐2,4‐diene to the more stable (2E,4E)‐1‐phenyl‐1,6‐dioxo‐hepta‐2,4‐diene by addition to the more reactive enone.     

Heteroatomic derivatives of aziridine. 15. Reaction of 1-(triethylsilyl)- and 1-[2-(trialkylsilyl)ethyl]-aziridines with thiols

The reaction of 1-(triethylsilyl)aziridine with alkanethiols proceeds with splitting out of aziridine and the formation of (alkylthio)triethylsilanes. The reaction of 1-(triethylsilyl)aziridine with 2-mercaptoethanol leads to 2-(triethylsilyloxy)ethanethiol; the same reaction in a closed system leads to [2-(2-aminoethylthiol)ethoxy]triethylsilane. 1-[2-(Trialkylsilyl)ethyl]aziridines react with 2-mercaptoethanol and with mercapto carboyxlic acids with opening of the aziridine ring.See [1] for Communication 14.Translated from Khimiya Geterotsiklicheskikh Soedinenii, No. 7, pp. 891–893, July, 1988.     

Synthesis of optically active 2-alkyl-3,4-iminobutanoic acids. Beta-amino acids containing an aziridine heterocycle

All four stereoisomers of 2-alkyl-3,4-iminobutanoic acid, a novel class of beta-amino acids bearing a chemically versatile aziridine ring, were synthesized starting with aspartic acid. The synthetic strategy involves the introduction of an alkyl group at the beta-position of fully protected optically active aspartic acid followed by the construction of an aziridine ring making use of the alpha-carboxylate and alpha-amino groups. The alpha-carboxylate was reduced to the corresponding alcohol, which was then subjected to cyclization to form an aziridine ring with the N-protected amino group. Removal of the protection groups yielded the target compounds.     

Ring transformations of aziridinyl 2-phosphonates: synthesis of 5-phosphono-2-oxazolidinones and 5-phosphono-2-imidazolidinones

Syntheses of 5-phosphono-2-oxazolidinones and 5-phosphono-2-imidazolidinones were achieved from the corresponding 1-vinyl-2-phosphonoaziridines. Regioselective aziridine ring opening employing methyl chloroformate affords 1-amido-2-chloroethylphosphonates, which were easily transformed into the corresponding 2-oxazolidinones upon heating in dimethyl sulfoxide. Treatment of the aziridine ring opening products with ammonia furnishes vinylphosphonates, which undergo a Michael type addition with several amines. In situ ring closure of the addition products yields the corresponding phosphonylated 2-imidazolidinones.     

Efficient Regioselective Ring Opening of Activated Aziridine-2-Carboxylates with [18F]Fluoride

Aziridines can undergo a range of ring-opening reactions with nucleophiles. The regio- and stereochemistry of the products depend on the substituents on the aziridine. Aziridine ring-opening reactions have rarely been used in radiosynthesis. Herein we report the ring opening of activated aziridine-2-carboxylates with [¹⁸F]fluoride. The aziridine was activated for nucleophilic attack by substitution of various groups on the aziridine nitrogen atom. Fluorine-18 radiolabelling was followed by ester hydrolysis and removal of the activation group. Totally regioselective ring opening and subsequent deprotection was achieved with tert-butyloxycarbonyl- and carboxybenzyl-activated aziridines to give α-[¹⁸F]fluoro-β-alanine in good radiochemical yield.     

Reactivity of activated versus nonactivated 2-(bromomethyl)aziridines with respect to sodium methoxide: a combined computational and experimental study

The difference in reactivity between the activated 2-bromomethyl-1-tosylaziridine and the nonactivated 1-benzyl-2-(bromomethyl)aziridine with respect to sodium methoxide was analyzed by means of DFT calculations within the supermolecule approach, taking into account explicit solvent molecules. In addition, the reactivity of epibromohydrin with regard to sodium methoxide was assessed as well. The barriers for direct displacement of bromide by methoxide in methanol are comparable for all three heterocyclic species under study. However, ring opening was found to be only feasible for the epoxide and the activated aziridine, and not for the nonactivated aziridine. According to these computational analyses, the synthesis of chiral 2-substituted 1-tosylaziridines can take place with inversion (through ring opening/ring closure) or retention (through direct bromide displacement) of configuration upon treatment of the corresponding 2-(bromomethyl)aziridines with 1 equiv of a nucleophile, whereas chiral 2-substituted 1-benzylaziridines are selectively obtained with retention of configuration (via direct bromide displacement). Furthermore, the computational results showed that explicit accounting for solvent molecules is required to describe the free energy profile correctly. To verify the computational findings experimentally, chiral 1-benzyl-2-(bromomethyl)aziridines and 2-bromomethyl-1-tosylaziridines were treated with sodium methoxide in methanol. The presented work concerning the reactivity of 2-bromomethyl-1-tosylaziridine stands in contrast to the behavior of the corresponding 1-tosyl-2-(tosyloxymethyl)aziridine with respect to nucleophiles, which undergoes a clean ring-opening/ring-closure process with inversion of configuration at the asymmetric aziridine carbon atom.     

A Hyperbranched Poly(ethyleneimine) Grown on Surfaces

Aminosilylated substrate was treated with aziridines in order to prepare hyperbranched polymers on solid supports such as silicon wafer and fused silica. It is observed that the primary amine on the substrate is good enough to initiate the ring-opening polymerization of aziridine. Measuring the thickness of the film and the absolute density of the primary amine functionality shows that a very highly branched poly(ethyleneimine) is formed upon the reaction. The surface density of the primary amine functional group (-NH(2)) on the very top surface increased dramatically (from 3.5 amines/nm(2) to 66 amines/nm(2)). A protected aziridine, benzyl 1-aziridinecarboxylate, was employed for the stepwise growth of the film. Two step-processes, chain growth and deprotection, were successful in growing the molecular layer, and a linear chain was formed without branching. Copyright 2000 Academic Press.     

The profound effect of fluorine substitution on the reactivity and regioselectivity of nucleophilic substitution reactions of strained heterocycles. A study of aziridine and its derivatives

Unlike the synthetically exploited oxiranes and thiiranes, aziridines that lack electron-withdrawing substituents, such as acyl or sulfonyl functionalities at nitrogen, are rather unreactive. As expected, three-membered aziridine 6 was calculated to be significantly more reactive than azetidine 7 in nucleophilic cleavage by ammonia, a typical nucleophile. The reactivity of 7 was about the same as that of an acyclic model compound, 8, when release of ring strain in the transition state was taken into account. Fluorine due to its similar size but vastly different electronegativity has been substituted for hydrogen as a means of modifying chemical properties for varied applications. In the present investigation, the effect of fluorine substitution at aziridine positions other than nitrogen was studied. Computations at the MP2(Full)/6-311++G(d,p)//MP2(Full)/6-31+G(d) level found a vast preference for attack by ammonia at the 3-position of 2-fluoroaziridine in the gas phase at 298 K. When release of ring strain was taken into account, this compound reacted more than 10(11) times faster than 6. The reaction rate with trans-2,3-difluoroaziridine was about twice that of 2-fluoroaziridine, while its diastereomer reacted with ammonia considerably slower. Acyclic fluorinated amine model compounds were employed to assess the generality of the effects produced by fluorine substitution. The results were rationalized by the energy contributions of strain energy releases, stabilization of the leaving group, and the relative electrostatic energies of the heterocycles in the transition states. The more reactive fluoroaziridines underwent nucleophilic attack at rates comparable to those of N-acetylaziridine.     

Enantioselective Reaction of 2H‐Azirines

2H‐Azirines are useful precursors for the synthesis of a variety of chiral aziridine and amine derivatives with a range of biological activities. Owing to the ring strain and the presence of a C=N double bond, 2H‐azirines are more reactive than other types of ketimine, and undergo a range of enantioselective reactions, including reduction and Diels–Alder reactions, as well as nucleophilic addition to the C=N double bond. Therefore, the enantioselective reactions of 2H‐azirines has become a hot topic, in particular within the last few years. In this Minireview, we focus on the enantioselective reactions of 2H‐azirines by using catalytic or stoichiometric amounts of chiral additives, the reaction mechanisms, and the applications of these reactions of 2H‐azirines and related compounds in organic synthesis.     

The conversion of an aziridine plus a phenyl-substituted amine oxide or aminoether to a benzodiazepine derivative

The conversion of an aziridine to a tetrahydrobenzodiazepine derivative using LiI, an iron carbonyl complex, and an amine oxide, or using LiI and a gem-aminoether is studied. The reaction of an aziridine with LiI and a phenyl-substituted iminium salt generates mainly a 1,2-diamine. The addition of t-butoxide to the iminium reaction changes the product ratio leading to a diamine as the minor product and a benzodiazepine as the major product. The structure proof of the tetrahydrobenzodiazepine derivative and the mechanism of these transformations are discussed.     

非对称氮杂环丙烷的亲核开环反应及其区域选择性

本文系统地总结了各类亲核试剂对非对称氮杂环丙烷(吖丙啶)的亲核开环反应及开环的区域选择性.氮杂环丙烷亲核开环的区域选择性是一种空间效应和电子效应平衡的结果,非芳基和非烯基取代的氮杂环丙烷的亲核开环通常发生在氮杂环丙烷取代少的碳原子上,空间效应起主导作用;而芳基和烯基取代的氮杂环丙烷的亲核开环通常发生在氮杂环丙烷芳甲位和烯丙位的碳原子上,电子效应起主导作用,烯基取代的氮杂环丙烷的亲核开环还可以发生在烯基的β-碳原子上;分子内的亲核开环反应主要受成环时环大小的控制,成环时的倾向是五元环>六元环>七元环.对于亲核试剂,一般的亲核试剂也同时受电子效应和空间效应的影响; 而亲核性强的亲核试剂通常只受空间效应的影响.容易生成稳定自由基的亲核试剂容易发生单电子转移机理的开环反应,生成相当于亲核试剂进攻氮杂环丙烷中取代多的碳原子得到的开环产物.     

Di­cyano{[(1S)‐(1‐phenyl­ethyl)­aziridin‐2‐yl]­methano­lato‐κ2N,O}boron

In the title compound, C₁₃H₁₄BN₃O, the aziridine ring is an almost equilateral triangle, the C—C distance being slightly shorter than the C—N distances, probably because of the dative B—N bond. The five‐membered ring, composed of two C atoms and N, B and O atoms, is fused with the aziridine ring to form a six‐membered ring with a chair conformation.     

Hyperbranching polymerization of aziridine on silica solid substrates leading to a surface of highly dense reactive amine groups

Silica solid substrates such as fused silica, silicon wafers with a natural oxide layer, and glass were treated with aziridine to produce reactive primary amine groups on the top surface. We found that the hydroxyl group on the substrate was able to initiate the ring-opening polymerization of aziridine, resulting in highly branched poly(ethyleneimine) on the surface. In dichloromethane, the thickness of the organic film reached 25 A in 20 h and the absolute density of the primary amine group on the surface was 23 amines/nm(2). Atomic force microscopy shows an embossed morphology after the polymerization in dichloromethane, while use of toluene gives a rather smooth surface. The resulting organic layer shows high thermal and pH stability.     

Reversible Deactivation Radical Polymerization of Monomers Containing Activated Aziridine Groups

Polymers bearing activated aziridine groups are attractive precursors to α‐substituted‐β‐amino‐functionalized materials due to the enhanced reactivity of the pendant aziridine functionalities toward ring‐opening by nucleophiles. Two aziridine‐containing styrenic monomers, 2‐(4‐vinylphenyl)aziridine (VPA) and N‐mesyl‐2‐(4‐vinylphenyl)aziridine (NMVPA), were polymerized under a variety of reversible deactivation radical polymerization conditions. Low‐catalyst‐concentration atom transfer radical polymerization (LCC‐ATRP) and reversible addition‐fragmentation chain‐transfer (RAFT) polymerization were ineffective at producing well‐defined polymers from VPA due to side reactions between the aziridine functionalities and the agents controlling the polymerizations (catalysts or chain transfer agents). PolyVPA produced under nitroxide‐mediated polymerization (NMP) conditions had narrow molecular weight distribution at low to moderate conversions of monomer, but branched and eventually cross‐linked polymers were formed at higher conversions due to ring‐opening reactions of the aziridine groups. Most of these undesirable side reactions were eliminated by attaching a methanesulfonyl (mesyl) group to the aziridine nitrogen atom, and well‐defined linear homopolymers with targeted molecular weights were realized from NMVPA under RAFT and NMP conditions; however, side reactions between the aziridine groups and the catalyst in LCC‐ATRP still occured and the polymerization was uncontrolled using this technique.