Simultaneous determination of tetrahydro-β-carbolines and β-carbolines

Summary Reversed-phase ion-pair HPLC with fluorimetric detectors connected in series was studied for the simultaneous determination of two tetrahydro--carbolines and two -carbolines. After additon of internal standards the samples were reacted with fluorescamine, and then subjected to serial extractions to remove their precursor (tryptamine) from the analytical system. This treatment not only suppressed the artefactual formation of tetrahydro--carbolines and -carbolines during analysis, but also effectively purified them. Under optimum conditions, using trifluoroacetic acid as counter ion, all analytes were separated within 14 min and without major interfering peaks. The quantitative ranges were 0.25–80.0 ng mL^–1 for both tetrahydro--carbolines and 0.1–30.0 ng mL^–1 for both -carbolines. Replicate spiking experiments showed that recovery from most of the samples tested was over 90% and the relative standard deviation ranged from 0.7 to 10.4% within and between assays. The proposed method was applicable to various materials such as soy sauce, vinegar, ketchup, tabasco, beer, wine, sake, whisky, brandy, cows' milk, coffee, cocoa, cheese, cigarette smoke and urine.     

Alkylation of indoles by aziridinium ions: new rapid access to tetrahydro-β-carbolines (THBCs)

The alkylation of indoles by aziridinium ions generated in situ from β-amino chlorides was explored. The outcome of this reaction strongly relied on the substitution pattern of the starting β-amino chloride and requires silver tetrafluoroborate activation to proceed in reasonable yield. Ephedrine- and pseudoephedrine-derived N-cyanomethyl-β-amino chlorides afforded the corresponding tryptamines in a regio- and stereoselective manner and subsequent silver(I)-promoted Pictet–Spengler reactions produced 4-phenyl substituted THBCs in good yields. Unexpected epimerization at C-3 was found in these reactions, producing trans-3,4-disubstituted THBCs stereoselectively.     

Synthesis of tetrahydro-β-carbolines from phthalic anhydrides and tryptamine

Tetrahydro-b-carbolines with strictosamide skeleton have been synthesized via intermolecular condensation, selective reduction, and intramolecular cyclization starting from phthalic anhydrides and tryptamine. The reactions are carried out under mild conditions with a wide range of substrates and functional groups.     

Biocatalytic asymmetric formation of tetrahydro-β-carbolines

Strictosidine synthase triggers the formation of strictosidine from tryptamine and secologanin, thereby generating a carbon-carbon bond and a new stereogenic center. Strictosidine contains a tetrahydro-β-carboline moiety—an important N-heterocyclic framework found in a range of natural products and synthetic pharmaceuticals. Stereoselective methods to produce tetrahydro-β-carboline enantiomers are greatly valued. We report that strictosidine synthase from Ophiorrhiza pumila utilizes a range of simple achiral aldehydes and substituted tryptamines to form highly enantioenriched (ee >98%) tetrahydro-β-carbolines via a Pictet-Spengler reaction. This is the first example of aldehyde substrate promiscuity in the strictosidine synthase family of enzymes and represents a first step toward developing a general biocatalytic strategy to access chiral tetrahydro-β-carbolines.     

Synthesis of β-carbolines via a silver-mediated oxidation of tetrahydro-β-carbolines

The oxidation of tetrahydro-β-carbolines to β-carbolines using silver carbonate was developed as an alternative to current methods. The oxidation is extremely mild and provides the products in modest to good yields after purification. A number of functional groups are tolerated by this methodology, including reduction-sensitive groups which are often cleaved with other methods. Though the mechanism is not fully understood, the reaction proceeds in an open flask, is not sensitive to light or moisture, and provides a viable synthetic route to compounds that are not easily prepared via other methodologies.     

An overview on synthetic entries to tetrahydro-β-carbolines

The tetrahydro-β-carboline (THBC) nucleus is a predominant feature of a vast array of naturally occurring alkaloids. Most of these alkaloids have been found to exhibit significant biological activities, which promote to develop a plethora of synthetic methods for the construction of THBCs. In this review, we focus on the recent developments and studies related to the synthesis of THBCs including total syntheses of related alkaloids mainly over the period of 2000–2017. In addition, a brief account of some significant THBC alkaloids with their sources and bioactivities is also presented in tabular format.     

Synthesis of 1,1-disubstituted tetrahydro-β-carbolines from 2-methyleneaziridines

Ring opening of indole functionalised methyleneaziridines (3a-c, 7) with alcohols in the presence of boron trifluoride etherate leads to the formation of 1,1-disubstituted tetrahydro-β-carbolines in moderate to good yields (37-83%).     

Organic base-promoted efficient dehydrogenative/decarboxylative aromatization of tetrahydro-β-carbolines into β-carbolines under air

Organic base DBN has been identified as an efficient reagent for promoting the dehydrogenative/decarboxylative aromatization of tetrahydro-β-carbolines under air atmosphere, to access the corresponding β-carbolines in moderate to good yields. The utility of this protocol for the gram-scale synthesis of β-carboline alkaloids eudistomin U (7) and harmane (10) has also been demonstrated.     

Recent advances on the synthesis and application of tetrahydro-γ-carbolines

Tetrahydro-γ-carbolines(THγ Cs) constitute one of the most important subtypes of indole alkaloids. In addition to being substructures of natural products, these structural motifs and moieties can often be found in pharmaceuticals due to their diverse bioactivities such as antiviral, antibacterial, antifungal,antiparasitic, antitumor, anti-inflammatory, and neuropharmacological activities. Beyond the pharmacological and biological aspects of these scaffolds, they have considerable synthetic appli...     

Catalytic asymmetric synthesis of 1,1-disubstituted tetrahydro-β-carbolines by phase-transfer catalyzed alkylations

Efficient catalytic asymmetric synthesis of 1,1-disubstituted tetrahydro-β-carbolines has been achieved via asymmetric alkylation of 1-cyanotetrahydro-β-carbolines using a binaphthyl-modified N-spiro-type chiral phase-transfer catalyst. This is a valuable example of hitherto difficult highly enantioselective alkylations at α-carbon of the cyano group under phase-transfer conditions.     

Palladium catalyzed annulation of benzylamines and arynes via C–H activation to construct 5,6-dihydrophenanthridine derivatives

An efficient and versatile strategy employing palladium catalyst to synthesize 5,6-dihydrophenanthridine derivatives by annulation of benzylamines and arynes through C–H activation has been reported. This is promising one pot methodology which includes the use of Kobayashi's aryne precursor to construct plethora of 5,6-dihydrophenanthridine derivatives in moderate to good yield.     

Novel synthesis of tetrahydro-β-carbolines and tetrahydroisoquinolines via three-component reaction using hexagonally ordered mesoporous AlSBA-15 catalysts

Tryptamine, aryl aldehyde, and benzyl chloride undergo smooth coupling using well-ordered mesoporous AlSBA-15 catalyst with hexagonal porous structure in acetonitrile at 80 °C to furnish tetrahydrocarbolines in good yields with a high selectivity. This reaction also proceeds with homoveratrylamine to give the corresponding tetrahydroisoquinolines. A variety of aryl and heteroaryl aldehydes have also been used for producing tetrahydrocarbolines in high yields. This AlSBA-15-promoted Pictet-Spengler reaction provides a mild alternative to the traditional Brönsted or Lewis acids typically employed for the preparation of tetrahydrocarbolines and tetrahydroisoquinolines.     

Synthesis of tetrahydro-β-carbolines via isomerization of N-allyltryptamines: a metal-catalyzed variation on the Pictet-Spengler theme

An efficient and broadly applicable alternative to the classical Pictet-Spengler synthesis of tetrahydro-β-carbolines is presented. The method relies on metal-catalyzed isomerization of allylic amines to form reactive iminium intermediates which can be trapped by a tethered indole nucleophile.     

Conia-ene annulation of the α-cyano β-TMS-capped alkynyl cycloalkanone system and its synthetic application

Under catalysis with ZnI(2), an effective annulation process of ω-silylacetylenic α-cyano ketones, leading to the formation of various bicyclic frameworks characterized with a TMS-containing methylenecyclopentane ring, has been developed.     

Use of the Pictet-Spengler reaction for the synthesis of 1,4-disubstituted-1,2,3,4-tetrahydro-β-carbolines and 1,4-disubstituted-β-carbolines: formation of γ-carbolines

Microwave-assisted conjugate addition of indole on nitro-olefins furnished nitro compounds, which were reduced to tryptamines. Further, by using Pictet-Spengler condensation, new 1,4-disubstituted-1,2,3,4-tetrahydro-β-carbolines were synthesized in diastereoselective manner. Dehydrogenation of the tetrahydro-β-carbolines produced new 1,4-disubstituted-β-carbolines. As a new observation, in some of the cases, Pictet-Spengler condensation and dehydrogenation gave two products, namely 1,4-disubstituted-β-carbolines and 1,4-disubstituted-γ-carbolines. A mechanism is proposed for this observation.     

Autoxidative annulation cascade of the α-cyano β-TMS-capped alkynyl cycloalkanone system

The autoxidative annulation cascade promoted by an α-cyano β-TMS-capped alkynyl cycloalkanone system under catalysis with pyridine in one oxygen atmosphere has proven to be highly viable. On the basis of this newly developed protocol, a variety of highly functionalized bicyclic frameworks can be effectively constructed.     

Gold(I)-catalyzed rearrangement of alkynylaziridine indoles for the synthesis of spiro-tetrahydro-β-carbolines

Functionalized spiro-tetrahydro-β-carbolines were formed by an efficient gold(I)-catalyzed rearrangement reaction of alkynylaziridine indoles. The reaction involved a Friedel–Crafts type intramolecular reaction of alkynylaziridine indoles, following by hydroamination of aminoallene intermediate.     

Tandem Wittig – Reductive annulation decarboxylation approach for the synthesis of indole and 2-substituted indoles

A simple tandem Wittig reaction-reductive decarboxylation route is established for the synthesis of indoles from commercially available o-nitrobenzaldehydes and a stable phosphorane. The method allows access to indoles in a very fast manner without involving any metal or expensive reagents or inert atmosphere. Also 2-substituted indoles are obtained which forms an important core of many biological active compounds.     

Synthesis and cytotoxic activity of 3-phenyl-4-substituted-β-carbolines

A new class of 3-phenyl-4-substituted-β-carbolines via iodine-mediated electrophilic cyclization as key step were synthesized and their inhibitory activity against three tumor cell lines was evaluated in vitro.It was found that some of the tested compounds showed better cytotoxicity against HeLa and MCF-7 cells than harmine.     

Intramolecular palladium-catalysed enolate arylation of 2- and 3-iodoindole derivatives for the synthesis of β-carbolines, γ-carbolines, and pyrrolo[3,4-b]indoles

The palladium-catalysed intramolecular α-arylation of carbonyl compounds with amino-tethered 2- and 3-iodoindoles provides a useful methodology for the synthesis of indolo-b-fused nitrogen heterocycles. A variety of substituted tetrahydro β- and γ-carbolines, and pyrrolo[3,4-b]indoles, have been prepared by means of this palladium-catalysed annulation process.