Ring-Enlargement and Ring-Opening Reactions of 1,2-Thiazetidin-3-one 1,1-Dioxides with Ammonia and Primary Amines as Nucleophiles

The N-benzyl- and N-alkyl-substituted 1,2-thiazetidin-3-one 1,1-dioxides 1b – d reacted readily with NH₃ and primary amines via ring opening. The reaction with NH₃ proceeded at −78°→room temperature yielding ring-opened adducts via nucleophilic attack of NH₃ at the sulfonyl group, whereas the reactions with amines at room temperature yielded products via attack at the carbonyl group. The N-unsubstituted analogue 1a , when reacted with benzylamine in refluxing EtOH, also gave a product of ring opening via nucleophilic attack at the carbonyl group of 1a . The transamidation-like reactions of the 2-(aminoalkyl)-1,2-thiazetidin-3-one 1,1-dioxides 19a – d proceeded via six-, seven-, and eight-membered intermediates, giving the ring-enlarged eight-, nine-, and ten-membered products 21 – 24 (Schemes 8 and 9), respectively, in 42 – 87% yields. The products resulted from the nucleophilic attack of the amino group of the side chain at the carbonyl C-atom. The structure of the eight-membered product 24 with an asymmetrically situated methyl substituent was established by X-ray crystallography.