Interaction of Methyl 5,6-Dialkyl-2-amino-3-cyanopyridine-4-carboxylates with Primary Amines

An unusual direction has been found for the interaction of alkyl 5,6-dialkyl-2-amino-3-cyanopyridine-4-carboxylates with primary amines leading to the formation of 2,6,7-trialkyl-4-amino-2,3-dihydro-1H-pyrrolo[3,4-c]pyridine-1,3-diones.     

cis-Enhanced cyclopropanation catalysts: reaction chemistry of three isomers of Rh2[N(C6H5)COCH3]4

The catalytic activities of three structural isomers of Rh₂[N(C₆H₅)COCH₃]₄ in cyclopropanation reactions were surveyed. These studies showed cis cyclopropanation selectivity with bulky alkenes for 2,2-cis- and 2,2-trans-Rh₂[N(C₆H₅)COCH₃]₄.     

Simple and efficient cleavage of the N-(1-phenylethyl) unit of carboxamides with methanesulfonic acid

Cleavage of the N-(1-phenylethyl) unit of carboxamides using less than 1 equiv of MsOH in refluxing toluene was found to be simple and very efficient leading to the desired amides in good to excellent yields, and also proved to be more effective compared with reductive methods using hydrogen sources, or acid hydrolysis reagents such as TFA and TsOH. The method selectively cleaved only the N-(1-phenylethyl) group of N-benzyl-N-(1-phenylethyl)amides.     

Design of pincer complexes based on (methylsulfanyl)acetic/propionic acid amides with ancillary S‐ and N‐donors as potential catalysts and cytotoxic agents

Pincer complexes featuring readily tunable tridentate ligand frameworks comprise one of the most actively studied classes of organometallic and metal–organic compounds and find extensive use in catalysis, organic synthesis, materials science, and other fields of chemistry and allied disciplines. Currently growing attention is devoted to non‐classical ligand scaffolds, such as functionalized carboxamides, which offer multiple options for directed structural modifications. In this study, the reactions of (methylsulfanyl)acetyl and propanoyl chlorides with 2‐(aminomethyl)pyridine, 2‐(2‐aminoethyl)pyridine, 8‐aminoquinoline and 2‐(diphenylthiophosphoryl)aniline afford a series of new pincer‐type ligands based on functionalized carboxamides. The ligands obtained readily undergo direct cyclopalladation under the action of PdCl₂(NCPh)₂ in dichloromethane at room temperature, resulting in Pd(II) pincer complexes with N,N,S‐ and S,N,S‐donor sets. Importantly, some of the cyclopalladated derivatives can also be produced efficiently under solvent‐free conditions according to the approach recently developed by our group. The complexes obtained have been tested for cytotoxicity against several human cancer cell lines and catalytic activity in the model Suzuki reaction. The results have been compared to those for the related Pd(II) pincer complexes to define the main structure–activity relationships and to outline the most promising structures for further investigations.     

Preparation of planar‐chiral multidonor phosphanylferrocene carboxamides and their application as ligands for palladium‐catalysed asymmetric allylic alkylation

Amide coupling of (S_p)‐2‐(diphenylphosphanyl)ferrocene‐1‐carboxylic acid with appropriate terminal amines mediated by 1‐hydroxybenzotriazole and a carbodiimide affords multi‐donor amides terminally functionalized with planar‐chiral (S_p)‐2‐(diphenylphosphanyl)ferrocen‐1‐yl moieties in good to excellent yields. Palladium catalysts based on these ligands efficiently promote asymmetric allylic alkylation of 1,3‐diphenylallyl acetate with in situ generated dimethyl malonate anion to give the C‐alkylated product with ees up to 93% at room temperature. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Hydroxoiridium/Chiral Diene Complexes as Effective Catalysts for Asymmetric Annulation of α‐Oxo‐ and Iminocarboxamides with 1,3‐Dienes

The asymmetric [3+2] annulation of α‐oxo‐ and α‐iminocarboxamides with 1,3‐dienes catalyzed by hydroxoiridium/chiral diene complexes was realized, giving high yields of the corresponding γ‐lactams with high enantioselectivity.     

Organic ligand-free alkylation of amines, carboxamides, sulfonamides, and ketones by using alcohols catalyzed by heterogeneous Ag/Mo oxides

Complicated and expensive organic ligands are normally essential in fine chemical synthesis at preparative or industrial levels. The synthesis of fine chemicals by using heterogeneous catalyst systems without additive organic ligand is highly desirable but severely limited due to their poor generality and rigorous reaction conditions. Here, we show the results of carbon–nitrogen or carbon–carbon bond formation catalyzed by an Ag/Mo hybrid material with specific Ag₆Mo₁₀O₃₃ crystal structure. 48 nitrogen‐ or oxygen‐containing compounds, that is, amines, carboxamides, sulfonamides, and ketones, were successfully synthesized through a borrowing‐hydrogen mechanism. Up to 99 % isolated yields were obtained under relatively mild conditions without additive organic ligand. The catalytic process shows promise for the efficient and economic synthesis of amine, carboxamide, sulfonamide, and ketone derivatives because of the simplicity of the system and ease of operation.     

Hofmann rearrangement of primary carboxamides and cyclic imides using DCDMH and application to the synthesis of gabapentin and its potential peptide prodrugs

Two protocols for the efficient transformation of aromatic as well as aliphatic primary carboxamides to the corresponding carbamates and aromatic as well as aliphatic cyclic imides to the corresponding anthranilic acid derivatives & amino acid derivatives, respectively, are described. We also developed a novel methodology to the multigram scale synthesis of gabapentin and (S)-pregabalin. The gabapentin methyl carbamate was converted to novel potential peptide prodrugs of gabapentin.     

Variable‐Temperature Powder X‐ray Diffraction of Aromatic Carboxylic Acid and Carboxamide Cocrystals

The effect of temperature on the cocrystallization of benzoic acid (BA), pentafluorobenzoic acid (FBA), benzamide (BAm), and pentafluorobenzamide (FBAm) is examined in the solid state. BA and FBA formed a 1:1 complex 1 at ambient temperature by grinding with a mortar and pestle. Grinding FBA and BAm together resulted in partial conversion into the 1:1 adduct 2 at 28 °C and complete transformation into the product cocrystal at 78 °C. Further heating (80–100 °C) and then cooling to room temperature gave a different powder pattern from that of 2 . BAm and FBAm hardly reacted at ambient temperature, but they afforded the 1:1 cocrystal 3 by melt cocrystallization at 110–115 °C. Both BA+FBAm ( 4 ) and BA+BAm ( 5 ) reacted to give new crystalline phases upon heating, but the structures of these products could not be determined owing to a lack of diffraction‐quality single crystals. The stronger COOH and CONH₂ hydrogen‐bonding groups of FBA and FBAm yielded the equimolar cocrystal 6 at room temperature, and heating of these solids to 90–100 °C gave a new crystalline phase. The X‐ray crystal structures of 1 , 2 , 3 , and 6 are sustained by the acid–acid/amide–amide homosynthons or acid–amide heterosynthon, with additional stabilization from phenyl–perfluorophenyl stacking in 1 and 3 . The temperature required for complete transformation into the cocrystal was monitored by in situ variable‐temperature powder X‐ray diffraction (VT‐PXRD), and formation of the cocrystal was confirmed by matching the experimental peak profile with the simulated diffraction pattern. The reactivity of H‐bonding groups and the temperature for cocrystallization are in good agreement with the donor and acceptor strengths of the COOH and CONH₂ groups. It was necessary to determine the exact temperature range for quantitative cocrystallization in each case because excessive heating caused undesirable phase transitions.