Synthesis and isolation of bromo‐β‐carbolines obtained by bromination of β‐carboline alkaloids

β‐Carbolines ( 1–5 ) undergo electrophilic aromatic substitution with N‐bromosuccinimide under different experimental conditions. Although 6‐bromo‐nor‐harmane ( la ) obtained by bromination of nor‐harmane ( 1 ) was isolated and fully characterized sometime ago, the other bromoderivatives of nor‐harmane ( 1b‐1e ) and harmane ( 2a‐2e ) were partially described as part of the reaction mixtures. The preparation and subsequent isolation, purification and full characterization of 1b, 1c, 1d, 1e, 2a, 2b, 2c, 2d, 2e are reported (mp, R _f, ¹H‐nmr, ¹³C‐nmr and ms) together with the preparation, isolation and charaterization, for the first time, of the bromoderivatives obtained from harmine ( 3a‐3e ), harmol ( 4a, 4b ) and 7‐acetylharmol ( 5a‐5c ). As brominating reagent N‐bromosuccinimide and N‐bromosuccinimide‐silica gel in dichloromethane and in chloroform as well as the β‐carboline ‐ N‐bomosuccinimide solid mixture have been used and their uses have been compared. Semiempirical AMI and PM3 calculations have been performed in order to predict reactivity in terms of the energies of HOMO, HOMO‐LUMO difference and in terms of the charge density of β‐carbolines ( 1–5 ) and bromo‐β‐carbolines ( 1a‐1e, 2a‐2e, 3a‐3e, 4a, 4b, 5a, 5b and 5c ) (Scheme 1). Theoretical and experimental results are discussed briefly.     

Pictet‐spengler synthesis of pyrazole‐fused β‐carbolines

The synthesis of new pyrazolo[4,3‐c]β‐carbolines ( 8a,b ) is achieved by condensation of the appropriate aldehyde with 3‐(4‐amino‐1,3‐dimethylpyrazol‐5‐yl)indole ( 4 ) under Pictet‐Spengler reaction conditions. Regioselective cyclization occurred at the usual indole C‐2 position as evidenced from the ¹H‐and ¹³C nmr spectra of 8a,b which lack the pyrrolic H‐2 signal, present in 4 (δ 7.26, 1H, d, J_ch‐NH = 2‐5 Hz).     

Synthesis and isolation of nitro‐bT‐carbolines obtained by nitration of commercial β‐carboline alkaloids

Nitration of commercial full aromatic β‐carboline alkaloids nor‐harmane ( 1 ), harmane ( 2 ), harmine ( 3 ), harmol ( 4 ), and the 7‐acetylated derivative of harmol ( 5 ) is described. Advantages and disadvantages of different nitration reagents which involve acidic conditions (HNO₃/H⁺) and neutral conditions (Cu(NO₃)₂; ceric ammonium nitrate) are discussed. A complete ¹H and ¹³C‐nmr characterization including ms and also uv absorption spectra in neutral and acid media is presented. A detailed ei‐ms and ld‐tof‐ms study is enclosed because the nitro‐β‐carbolines constitute a new family of β‐carboline‐like chromophores with potential use as matrix in uv‐maldi‐tof‐ms.     

The formation of 3‐ferrocenylpyrazole‐4‐carboxylates and alkylhydrazine insertion products from α‐ferrocenylmethylidene‐β‐oxocarboxylates

The reactions of α‐ferrocenylmethylidene‐β‐oxocarboxylates ( 1 , 2 , 3a , and 3b ) with N‐methyl‐ and N‐(2‐hydroxyethyl)hydrazines ( 5a , 5b ) afford ethyl 1‐alkyl‐5‐aryl(methyl)‐3‐ferrocenylpyrazole‐4‐carboxylates ( 6a , 6b , 6c , 6d , 6e ) (～50%) and N‐alkylhydrazine insertion products, viz., ethyl (N′‐acyl‐N′‐alkylhydrazino)‐3‐ferrocenylpropanoates ( 7a , 7b , 7c , 7d , 7e ) (～20%) and 1‐acyl‐2‐(N′‐alkyl‐N′‐ethoxycarbonylhydrazino)‐2‐ferrocenylethanes ( 8a , 8b , 8c , 8d , 8e ) (～10%). The structures of the compounds obtained were established based on the spectroscopic data and X‐ray diffraction analysis (for pyrazoles 6a and 6b ). J. Heterocyclic Chem., (2011).     

Synthesiss of novel 3‐(2‐thienyl)‐1,2‐diazepino[3,4‐b]quinoxalines with algicidal activity

The reaction of the quinoxaline N‐oxide 1 with thiophene‐2‐carbaldehyde gave 6‐chloro‐2‐[1‐methyl‐2‐(2‐thienylmethylene)hydrazino]quinoxaline 4‐oxide 5 , whose reaction with 2‐chloroacrylonitrile afforded 8‐chloro‐2,3‐dihydro‐4‐hydroxy‐1‐methyl‐3‐(2‐thienyl)‐1H‐1,2‐diazepino[3,4‐b]quinoxaline‐5‐carbonitrile 6 . The reaction of compound 6 with various alcohols in the presence of a base effected alcoholysis to provide the 5‐alkoxy‐8‐chloro‐2,3,4,6‐tetrahydro‐1‐methyl‐4‐oxo‐3‐(2‐thienyl)‐1H‐1,2‐diazepino[3,4‐b]‐quinoxalines 7a‐d . The reaction of compounds 7a and 7b with diethyl azodicarboxylate effected dehydrogenation to give the 5‐alkoxy‐8‐chloro‐4,6‐dihydro‐1‐methyl‐4‐oxo‐3‐(2‐thienyl)‐1H‐1,2‐diazepino[3,4‐b]‐quinoxalines 8a and 8b , respectively. Compounds 8a and 8b were found to show good algicidal activities against Selenastrum capricornutum and Nitzchia closterium.     

Quinolone analogues 2. A facile synthesis of novel 3‐substituted 1‐alkyl‐4‐oxo‐1,4‐dihydropyridazino[3,4‐b]quinoxalines

The reaction of the 2‐(1‐alkylhydrazino)‐6‐chloroquinoxaline 4‐oxides 1a,b with diethyl acetone‐dicarboxylate or 1,3‐cyclohexanedione gave ethyl 1‐alkyl‐7‐chloro‐3‐ethoxycarbonylmethylene‐1,5‐dihydropyridazino[3,4‐b]quinoxaline‐3‐carboxylates 5a,b or 6‐alkyl‐10‐chloro‐1‐oxo‐1,2,3,4,6,12‐hexahydroquinoxalino[2,3‐c]cinnolines 7a,b , respectively. Oxidation of compounds 5a,b with nitrous acid afforded the ethyl 1‐alkyl‐7‐chloro‐3‐ethoxycarbonylmethylene‐4‐hydroxy‐1,4‐dihydropyridazino‐[3,4‐b]quinoxaline‐4‐carboxylates 9a,b , whose reaction with base provided the ethyl 2‐(1‐alkyl‐7‐chloro‐4‐oxo‐1,4‐dihydropyridazino[3,4‐b]quinoxalin‐3‐yl)acetates 6a,b , respectively. On the other hand, oxidation of compounds 7a,b with N‐bromosuccinimide/water furnished the 4‐(1‐alkyl‐7‐chloro‐4‐oxo‐1,4‐dihydropyridazino[3,4‐b]quinoxalin‐3‐yl)butyric acids 8a,b , respectively. The reaction of compound 8a with hydroxylamine gave 4‐(7‐chloro‐4‐hydroxyimino‐1‐methyl‐1,4‐dihydropyridazino[3,4‐b]quinoxalin‐3‐yl)‐butyric acid 12 .     

Synthesis of 3‐Halogenated Flavonoids via Electrophile‐Promoted Cyclization of 2‐(3‐Aryl‐2‐propynoyl)anisoles

Treatment of 2‐(1‐aryl‐3‐propynoyl) anisoles 1 with N‐chlorosuccinimide (NCS) or N‐bromosuccinimide (NBS) gave the 3‐halogenated flavones and their related molecules in moderate yields.     

Reactivity of 2‐substituted imidazo[1,2‐b]pyridazines: Preparation of 3‐nitro,nitroso and chloro derivatives

The synthesis of 2‐substitutedimidazo[1,2‐b]pyridazines and their reactivity towards electrophilic substitutions are reported. The nitration was shown to be very dependent on the nature of the 2 substituent. Nitrosation using sodium nitrite in acetic acid media as a general method failed in all cases whereas chlorination was observed in warm hydrochloric acid. In order to ascertain the structure of some chloro derivatives, chlorination using N‐chlorosuccinimide was also reported. Depending of the nature of the substituent, the reaction occurred at the C‐3 imidazolic position and/or at the substituent on position 2. The 3‐nitroso‐2‐phenyl derivative was finally obtained using an alternative synthetic pathway by direct condensation of 3‐amino‐6‐chloropyridazine to ω‐chloro‐ω‐nitrosoacetophenone. The structural determinations were ascertained using high field ^lH and ¹³C‐NMR.     

Synthesis and spectral properties of 2‐[(o‐ and p‐substituted)aminophenyl] ‐3H‐5‐[(o‐ and p‐substituted)phenyl]‐7‐chloro‐1,4‐benzodiazepines

A series of twelve new 2‐[(o‐ and p‐substituted)aminophenyl]‐3H‐5‐[(o‐ and p‐substituted)phenyl]‐7‐chloro‐1,4‐benzodiazepines, which have possible pharmacological properties has been obtained. The synthesis was carried out following six steps. The structure of all products was corroborated by ir, ¹H nmr, ¹³C nmr and ms. In addition for the compound 2‐(o‐chloroaminophenyl)‐3H‐5‐(o‐fluorophenyl)‐7‐chloro‐1,4‐benzodiazepine 7, its structure was confirmed by X‐ray diffraction.     

2‐Chloro‐4,5‐dihydroimidazole,Part X. Revisiting route to N‐heteroarylimidazolidin‐2‐ones

The ureidation reactions of 2‐ and 4‐picoline N‐oxides with 2‐chloro‐4,5‐dihydroimidazole are described. A mechanism of novel thioureidation reaction of 4‐picoline N‐oxide with 2‐(4,5‐dihydro‐1H‐imidazol‐2‐ylthioxy)‐4,5‐dihydro‐1H‐imidazole is proposed. Structural assignment is confirmed by ¹H and ¹³C nmr as well as by X‐ray crystallography.     

Synthesis and anti‐HIV activity of n‐(3‐amino‐3,4‐dihydro‐4‐oxopyrimidin‐2‐yl)‐4‐chloro‐2‐mercapto‐5‐methylbenzenesulfonamide derivatives

A series of N‐(3‐amino‐3,4‐dihydro‐4‐oxopyrimidin‐2‐yl)‐4‐chloro‐2‐mercapto‐5‐methylbenzenesulfonamide derivatives 10‐17 have been synthesized as potential anti‐HIV agents. The in vitro anti‐HIV‐1 activity of these compounds has been tested at the national Cancer Institute (Bethesda, MD), and the structure‐activity relationships are discussed. The selected N‐[3‐amino‐3,4‐dihydro‐6‐(tert‐butyl)‐4‐oxothieno[2,3‐e]pyrimidin‐2‐yl]‐4‐chloro‐2‐metcapto‐5‐methylbenzenesulfonamide ( 14 ) showed good anti‐HIV‐1 activity with 50% effective concentration (EC₅₀) value of 15 μM and weak cytotoxic effect (IC₅₀ = 106 μM).     

Haloacetylated enol ethers: 15. Study of the regiochemistry of the cyclo‐condensation of β‐alkoxyvinyl trihalomethyl ketones with N‐methyl thiourea

A study of the regiochemistry of the cyclo‐condensation reaction of ß‐alkoxyvinyl trihalomethyl ketones with an unsymmetric dinucleophile N‐methyl thiourea to afford a series of 1‐methyl‐3‐(4,4,4‐trifluoro[chloro]‐3‐oxo‐1‐butenyl)thioureas and the corresponding N‐methyl pyrimidinethione derivatives is reported. The absolute assignment of the position of the N‐methyl group in the pyrimidine ring was obtained through a nmr study based on two dimensional HMBC and NOESY experiments.     

Efficient synthesis and spectral determination of 11‐[(o‐ m‐ and p‐substituted)‐phenyl]‐8‐chloro‐3,3‐dimethyl‐2,3,4,5,10,11‐hexahydro‐1H‐dibenzo[b,e][1,4]diazepin‐1‐ones

A new synthesis to obtain eleven novel derivatives of 11‐[(o‐ m‐ and p‐substituted)‐phenyl]‐8‐chloro‐3,3‐dimethyl‐2,3,4,5,10,11‐hexahydro‐1H‐dibenzo[b,e][1,4]diazepin‐1‐ones with possible pharmacological activity in the central nervous system in two efficient steps has been developed. The final products were obtained by condensation and cyclization between 3‐[4‐chloro‐1,2‐phenylenediamine]‐5,5‐dimethyl‐2‐cyclohexenone with (o‐ m‐ and p‐substituted)benzaldehyde. The structure of all products was corroborated by ir, ¹H‐nmr, ¹³C‐nmr and high resolution in ms.     

Synthesis of 9‐Halogenated 9‐Deazaguanine N7‐(2′‐Deoxyribonucleosides)

The syntheses of N⁷‐glycosylated 9‐deazaguanine 1a as well as of its 9‐bromo and 9‐iodo derivatives 1b , c are described. The regioselective 9‐halogenation with N‐bromosuccinimide (NBS) and N‐iodosuccinimide (NIS) was accomplished at the protected nucleobase 4a (2‐{[(dimethylamino)methylidene]amino}‐3,5‐dihydro‐3‐[(pivaloyloxy)methyl]‐4H‐pyrrolo[3,2‐d]pyrimidin‐4‐one). Nucleobase‐anion glycosylation of 4a – c with 2‐deoxy‐3,5‐di‐O‐(p‐toluoyl)‐α‐D ‐erythro‐pentofuranosyl chloride ( 5 ) furnished the fully protected intermediates 6a – c (Scheme 2). They were deprotected with 0.01M NaOMe yielding the sugar‐deprotected derivatives 8a – c (Scheme 3). At higher concentrations (0.1M NaOMe), also the pivaloyloxymethyl group was removed to give 7a – c , while conc. aq. NH₃ solution furnished the nucleosides 1a – c . In D₂O, the sugar conformation was always biased towards S (67–61%).     

Synthesis of Halogenated α,β‐Unsaturated γ‐Butyrolactone Derivatives by Triphenylphosphine‐Catalyzed Cyclization of α‐Halogeno Ketones with Dialkyl Acetylenedicarboxylates (=Dialkyl But‐2‐ynedioates)

A Ph₃P‐catalyzed cyclization of α‐halogeno ketones 2 with dialkyl acetylenedicarboxylates (=dialkyl but‐2‐ynedioates) 3 produced halogenated α,β‐unsaturated γ‐butyrolactone derivatives 4 in good yields (Scheme 1, Table). The presence of electron‐withdrawing groups such as halogen atoms at the α‐position of the ketones was necessary in this reaction. Cyclization of α‐chloro ketones resulted in higher yields than that of the corresponding α‐bromo ketones. Dihalogeno ketones similarly afforded the expected γ‐butyrolactone derivatives in high yields.     

Structure analysis of some α‐(n‐methyl‐n‐formylaminomethyl)‐quinolines

The ¹H and ¹³C nmr spectra of the rotational isomers 3a and 3b of 6‐N‐methyl‐N‐formylaminomefhyl)‐thioquinanthrene were completely assigned with a combination of 1D and 2D nmr techniques. The key‐parts of this methodology were long‐range proton‐carbon correlations and NOE experiments with N‐methyl‐N‐formylaminomethyl substituent. The X‐ray study of 4‐methyl‐2‐N‐methyl‐N‐formylaminomethyl)quinoline 4a as well as ¹H and ¹³C nmr spectra show that N‐methyl‐N‐formylaminomethyl substituent in 4a and 4b has a different steric arrangement than the same substituent in 3a and 3b .     

Photophysical and Photochemical Properties of Naturally Occurring normelinonine F and Melinonine F Alkaloids and Structurally Related N(2)‐ and/or N(9)‐methyl‐β‐carboline Derivatives

In the present work, we have synthesized and fully characterized the photophysical and photochemical properties of a selected group of N‐methyl‐β ‐carboline derivatives (9‐methyl‐β ‐carbolines and iodine salts of 2‐methyl‐ and 2,9‐dimethyl‐β ‐carbolinium) in aqueous solutions, in the pH range 4.0–14.5. Moreover, despite the quite extensive studies reported in the literature regarding the overall photophysical behavior of N‐unsubstituted β Cs, this work constitutes the first full and unambiguous characterization of anionic species of N‐unsubstituted β Cs (nor harmane, harmane and harmine), present in aqueous solution under highly alkaline conditions (pH > 13.0). Acid dissociation constants (K _a), thermal stabilities, room temperature UV –visible absorption and fluorescence emission and excitation spectra, fluorescence quantum yields (Ф _F) and fluorescence lifetimes (τ _F), as well as quantum yields of singlet oxygen production (Ф _Δ) have been measured for all the studied compounds. Furthermore, for the first time to our knowledge, chemometric techniques (MCR ‐ALS and PARAFAC ) were applied on these systems, providing relevant information about the equilibria and species involved. The impact of all the foregoing observations on the biological role, as well as the potential biotechnological applications of these compounds, is discussed.     

Synthesis and spectral properties of 7‐chloro‐5‐[(o‐ and p‐R1)phenyl]‐1‐R2‐3H‐[1,4]benzodiazepin‐2‐ones

A series of twelve new 7‐chloro‐5‐[(o‐ and p‐R₁)phenyl]‐1‐R₂‐3H‐[1,4] benzo‐diazepin‐2‐ones, which have possible pharmacological properties were synthesized. The synthesis of all the final compounds was carried out by four steps. The structure of all final products was corroborated by ir, ¹H nmr, ¹³C nmr and ms, and have been obtained in 35‐94% yield.     

Catalytic Enantioselective Chlorination and Bromination of β‐Keto Esters

The Ti(TADDOLato) complexes dichloro[(4R,5R)‐2,2‐dimethyl‐α,α,α′,α′‐tetraphenyl‐1,3‐dioxolane‐4,5‐dimethanolato(2−)‐O,O′]titanium ((R)‐ 1a ) and dichloro[(4R,5R)‐2,2‐dimethyl‐α,α,α′,α′‐tetra(naphthalen‐1‐yl)‐1,3‐dioxolane‐4,5‐dimethanolato(2−)‐O,O′]titanium ((R)‐ 1b ) are efficient catalysts for the electrophilic enantioselective chlorination and bromination of β‐keto esters with N‐chlorosuccinimide (NCS) and N‐bromosuccinimide (NBS), respectively. With 5 mol‐% of catalyst at room temperature an enantioselectivity of up to 88% ee could be obtained for the chlorination reaction. Under comparable conditions, bromination reactions are slower and less stereoselective.     

Base‐Catalyzed Highly Stereoselective Conversion of γ‐Hydroxy‐α,β‐acetylenic Esters to γ‐Acetoxy Dienoates

A convenient route with high stereo control to γ‐acetoxy dienoates is provided by the reaction of methyl propiolate with aldehydes in the presence of ZnEt₂ and N‐methylimidazole at room temperature, followed by the catalytic conversion of the resulting γ‐hydroxy‐α,β‐acetylenic esters with p‐N,N‐dimethylaminopyridine (DMAP) in acetic anhydride (see scheme).