Synthesis and rearrangements of alkyl-quadricyclanones

Both 1-isopropyl-6- and 7-methoxycarbonyl-quadricyclanones, the first alkyl-substituted molecules of this type, have been synthesized. Cycloaddition reactions with methylpropiolate failed. Their different behaviour in rearrangement and degradation reactions is discussed.     

Synthesis and rearrangements of ortho-selenonium phenoxides

A new class of selenonium zwitterions is prepared from the ortho- substitution of phenols with diphenylselenium bis(trifluoroacetate) 1. The zwitterions undergo a novel thermal rearrangement to produce diaryl ethers.     

Synthesis and fluoride-promoted wittig rearrangements of alpha-alkoxysilanes

[formula: see text] Lewis acid-catalyzed reaction of allyl and benzyl trichloroacetimidates with alpha-silyl alcohols was found to be a general method for the synthesis of alpha-alkoxysilanes. Upon exposure to CsF, these alpha-alkoxysilanes could be made to undergo [2,3]-Wittig rearrangement with an efficiency similar to that realized by the analogous but inherently more toxic alpha-alkoxystannanes.     

Synthesis and rearrangements of aminosubstituted ferra- and ruthenatricarbaboranes

A room-temperature reaction between the [7-tBuNH-nido-7,8,9-C3B8H10]- anion (1a) and [Cp*RuCl]4 leads to the ruthenatricarbollide [1-Cp*-12-tBuNH-1,2,4,12-RuC3B8H10] (2) (yield 85%). Analogously, the room-temperature photochemical reaction of 1a with [CpFe(C6H6)]PF6 gives the previously reported iron complex [1-Cp-12-tBuNH-1,2,4,12-FeC3B8H10] (3) (yield 82%). Both reactions are associated with extensive polyhedral rearrangement, which occurs under very mild conditions and brings the carbon atoms to positions of maximum separation within the framework. Compounds 2 and 3 were also surprisingly obtained via complexation of the isomeric [8-tBuNH-nido-7,8,9-C3B8H10]- (1b) anion. Complex 2 rearranges further to [1-Cp*-10-tBuNH-1,2,4,10-RuC3B8H10] (4) upon refluxing in xylene (145 degrees C). Density functional theory calculations at the B3LYP/SDD level were used to estimate relative stabilities of these metallacarborane isomers. Compounds 2 and 4, along with the 11-vertex closo compounds [1-Cp*-1,2,3,10-RuC3B7H10] (5) and [1-Cp*-10-tBuNH-1,2,3,10-RuC3B7H9] (6), were also isolated from the reaction between [Cp*RuCl2]2 and 1a in boiling xylene. The structure of 2 was established by an X-ray diffraction study, and the constitution of all compounds was determined unambiguously by multinuclear NMR spectroscopy, mass spectrometry, and elemental analyses.     

Synthesis and rearrangements in the thiazoline imine series

The rection of 1-acyl-3-(p-ethoxyphenyl)thioureas with chloroacetone or -bromoacetophenone has given 2-acylimino-3-(pethoxy-phenyl)-4-hydroxy-4-methylthiazolidines or the corresponding 4-phenyl compounds, which readily split out water and are converted into the corresponding acylated 4-thiazolines. The action of aqueous alcoholic hydrochloric acid leads to hydrolysis with the formation of the corresponding 2-imino-3-p-ethoxyphenylthiazolines. When the latter are boiled with 20% hydrochloric acid, they undergo rearrangement to 2-p-ethoxyphenylaminothiazoles.     

Synthesis of azabicyclic systems using nitrogen-directed radical rearrangements

Radical rearrangements are important transformations in organic synthesis. The stabilisation of alpha-nitrogen radicals is shown to be a useful effect for the control of radical rearrangements and is applied to the synthesis of a variety of azabicyclic frameworks. The utility of this method is illustrated in the synthesis of bioactive targets.     

Cannabinoid rearrangements: Synthesis of Δ5-tetrahydrocannabinol

1β,6β-Epoxy-hexahydrocannabinol acetate (1) in the presence of borontrifluoride rearranged to 6-oxo-hexahydrocannabinol acetate (3b) and to the aldehyde (4). Hydroboration of Δ⁶-THC gave the 6-hydroxy hexahydrocannabinols 5a and 8a. The latter was converted into Δ⁵-THC (11). This THC isomer shows no cannabis-type activity in rhesus monkeys.     

Synthesis of highly substituted ureas and thioureas through 1,3-diaza-Claisen rearrangements

Isocyanates and isothiocyanates that are not activated by an electron withdrawing group react with azanorbornenes in benzene at reflux to afford ureas and thioureas through the corresponding 1,3-diaza-Claisen rearrangements. At higher temperatures, a triazinone byproduct is observed. Isocyanates and isothiocyanates that are activated by an electron-withdrawing group react at room temperature to give the corresponding ureas and thioureas. The reactions of the activated isocyanates and isothiocyanates are also accompanied by the formation of isoureas and isothioureas. Interestingly, while benzoyl isocyanate reacts with N-benzyl azanorbornene at room temperature to give a 2:1 mixture of urea to isourea, in benzene at reflux the only product observed is the urea. A crossover experiment rules out the possibility that the products are formed through a retro-Diels-Alder, [4+2] cycloaddition sequence instead of a 1,3-diaza-Claisen rearrangement. Competition experiments between isocyanates and isothiocyanates with limiting azanorbornene indicate that isothiocyanates react faster to give the rearrangement product. Since isocyanates are shown to be more electrophilic, these data are consistent with a fast addition step and a rate-determining rearrangement step.     

Synthesis and new rearrangements of 4-isoxazolin-4,5-dicarboxylic acid derivatives

Acyclic nitrones react with dimethyl acetylenedicarboxylate (DMAD) to give stable isoxazolines, from which the ones that contain electron-donating aromatic rings at the C3 position (R¹) were shown to undergo unprecedented fragmentation at room temperature, giving the R¹-aldehyde and inseparable product mixtures, probably due to the formation of highly reactive species such as iminocarbenes. Attempts to convert the isoxazolines to the corresponding stable azomethine ylides, by refluxing in toluene, again led to the same product mixtures as above (e.g., the room temperature decomposition). Isoxazolines when reacted with methoxide at room temperature afforded highly functionalised diastereomeric mixtures. Also, isoxazolines, when reacted with propylamine, gave the corresponding amides regioselectively, all of which were more stable than the parent isoxazolines.     

Photochemical rearrangements of quinone monoketals. Synthesis of substituted cyclopentenones

The irradiation of quinone ethylene monoketals in acetic acid leads in high yield to substituted 4-(alkoxycarbonyl) cyclopentenones.     

Synthesis of heterocyclic systems involving [3,3]-sigmatropic rearrangements

Russian Chemical Bulletin - The review summarizes the data on the synthesis of heterocyclic compounds by means of [3,3]-sigmatropic transformations, which include the Fischer, Claisen, and Cope...     

Synthesis of precursors of phomactins using [2,3]-Wittig rearrangements

o-Toluic acid has been converted into methyl (8RS,9SR)-7-(bromomethyl)-8,9-dimethyl-1,4-dioxaspiro[4.5]dec-6-ene-8-carboxylate, the stereochemical defining step being a conjugate addition of lithium dimethylcuprate to a cyclohexadienone prepared using a Birch reduction followed by an allylic oxidation. Displacement of the bromide with various propargylic alcohols followed by reduction of the ester and protection of the primary alcohol so formed then gave a series of propargyl cyclohexenylmethyl ethers. [2,3]-Wittig rearrangements of these and related propargylic ethers were studied as an approach to precursors of phomactins. The rearrangements were found to proceed by regioselective deprotonation of the propargylic side-chain to give substituted methylenecyclohexanes but mixtures of stereoisomers were obtained.Aspects of the chemistry of the Wittig rearrangement products were investigated including epoxidation, oxidation of the side-chain hydroxyl groups to give 2-ynones and reactions of the 2-ynones with lithium dimethylcuprate. The propargyl side-chain of a Wittig rearrangement precursor was elaborated to prepare an intermediate, which was fully functionalised for incorporation into a phomactin.     

Synthesis,structure, and rearrangements of new tricarbonylchromium complexes of substituted heptalenes

Reactions of 1,2,5,6,8,10-hexamethylheptalene (1) and its bond isomer, 1,4,5,6,8,10-hexamethylheptalene (2), with tricarbonylchromium complexes L{in3}Cr(CO){in3} (L=NH{in3} and Py) have been investigated. Thermodynamically less stable complex 1 exhibits higher reactivity with respect to Py{in3}Cr(CO){in3}/BF{in3} · Et{in2}O under the conditions of Öfele's reaction than complex2. At 10–30 °C, the Cr(CO){in3} group is coordinated to the asymmetrically substituted ring, which is accomplished by the shift of double bonds in the ligand, to afford tricarbonyl-[1,4,5,6,8,10-hexamethyl-{su6}-(10a, 1–5)heptalene]-chromium (6) as the only mononuclear complex. Under more drastic conditions (Raush's reaction, 80 °C),1 2 interconversion proceeds faster than the reaction of individual bond isomers with coordinatively unsaturated hot particles (solv){inn}Cr(CO){in3}. In this case, all of the four possible isomeric mononuclear complexes (6–9) and two binuclear complexes (10 and 11) are formed. The structures of complexes 6–11 have been studied by NMR and mass spectrometry, the structure of6 has been established by X-ray diffraction analysis. Heating a solution of6 in octane at 115 °C results in the isomerization of6 into complex7 through the intracycle 1,2-shift of the Cr(CO){in3} group and also in its conversion into complex8, which is the first example of interring {su6}{su6}-haptotropic rearrangement in nonplanar seven-membered -systems.Translated fromIzvestiya Akademii Nauk. Seriya Khimicheskaya, No. 12, pp. 2220–2226, December, 1994.We would like to thank N. S. Kulikov for measuring mass spectra and L. A. Aslanov for helpful discussion of the results of X-ray diffraction analysis.The Research Group from the Moscow State University gratefully acknowledges the support of this work by the International Science Foundation (Grant No. MQ 5000) and the Russian Foundation for Basic Research (Project No. 94-03-08325).     

Thermal rearrangements of bis-allenyl thiosulfonates. Synthesis of novel thienothiophene and thieno-oxathiine derivatives

The synthesis and thermal rearrangement of bis-allenyl thiosulfonates are described. Bis-γ,γ-disubstituted allenyl thiosulfonates have been prepared by disproportionation of the corresponding allenesulfinic acids. On heating, these compounds unexpectedly rearrange to a mixture of 1H,3H-thieno[3,4-d][1,2]oxathiine-3-oxide 8, 1H,3H-thieno[3,4-c]thiophene-2,2-dioxide 9, and 3-alkyl-4-alkenylthiophene 10. A tentative reaction mechanism involving sequential sigmatropic rearrangements and cyclizations is suggested.     

Tricarbonylchromium complexes with phenalene. Synthesis, structure, and thermal rearrangements

The reaction of phenalene with Cr(CO)₃Py₃/BF₃·OEt₂ afforded a mixture of two isomeric complexes, tricarbonyl(6a,7-9,9a,9b-·⁶-phenalene)chromium (1) and tricarbonyl(3a,6a,9b,4-6-·⁶-phenalene)chromium (2). Deprotonation of the mixture of compounds1 and2 followed by treatment with MeI, BuⁿI, or D₂O gave complexesexo-1-R-1 (3–5: R=Me (3), Buⁿ (4), or D (5)). The molecular geometry of complex3 was established by X-ray structural analysis. Heating of complex5 in toluene or C₆F₆ at 90–110 °C resulted in redistribution of deuterium among positionsexo-1,endo-1, and 3 in the resulting complexes of types1 and2 via sigmatropic shifts of the H _exo and H _endo atoms in the nonaromatic ring as well asvia inter-ring migrations of the tricarbonylchromium group. In the case of3, the methyl label is distributed among positionsexo-1 and3 to form isomeric complexes with similar structures (exo-1-Me-2 (6), 3-Me-2 (7), and 3-Me-1 (8), respectively)via processes analogous to those observed in the case of isomerization of compound5 (except for migration of the H _exo atom). The mechanisms of these rearrangements are discussed. Translated fromIzvestiya Akademii Nauk. Seriya Khimicheskaya, No. 10, pp. 1863–1880, October, 1997.     

Synthesis of 4(5)-phenacyl-imidazoles from isoxazole side-chain rearrangements

A novel base-induced rearrangement of isoxazoles into imidazole derivatives is reported. In the isoxazole series, this represents the first example of a three-atom side-chain rearrangement involving a CNC sequence. The reactions are carried out under nitrogen and produced 2-aryl-4(5)-phenacyl-5(4)-phenyl-imidazoles in high yields. In the presence of oxygen, a cascade rearrangement-oxidation reaction sequence was observed and imidazole derivatives bearing an oxidized side-chain were isolated.     

Synthesis of unsymmetrically substituted 1,3-butadiynes and 1,3,5-hexatriynes via alkylidene carbenoid rearrangements

Unsymmetrically substituted 1,3-butadiynes and 1,3,5-hexatriynes are synthesized in four steps from commercially available aldehydes or carboxylic acids. The key step in this process involves a Fritsch-Buttenberg-Wiechell rearrangement, in which an alkylidene carbenoid intermediate subsequently rearranges to the desired polyyne. This rearrangement proceeds under mild conditions, and it is tolerant of a range of functionalities. In general, the procedurally facile formation of the dibromoolefinic precursors, in combination with the effectiveness of the rearrangement step, makes this procedure an attractive alternative to traditional methods for di- and triyne synthesis that utilize palladium or copper catalysis.     

Claisen rearrangements—VI : Synthesis of the coumarins,sesibiricin and toddaculin

The natural coumarins, sesibiricin (1) and toddaculin (28) have been synthesised from 5,7-dihydroxycoumarin, the former by a sequence involving regioselective O-prenylation at C-5 and C-prenylation at C-8. The prenyl ether of 5-hydroxy-7-methoxycoumarin, a key intermediate in the synthesis of toddaculin, has been found to undergo Claisen rearrangement exclusively to the para position thereby providing an alternative route to sesibiricin.