A-amination, carbon-nitrogen bond

The preparation of amines by the methods described m this section involves the prior synthesis and isolation of some reducible material that has a carbon-nitrogen bond an azide a nitrile a nitro substituted arene or an amide The following section describes a method that combines the two steps of carbon-nitrogen bond formation and reduction into a single operation Like the reduction of amides it offers the possibility of prepar mg primary secondary or tertiary amines by proper choice of starting materials... 

Lipases are the enzymes for which a number of examples of a promiscuous activity have been reported. Thus, in addition to their original activity comprising hydrolysis of lipids and, generally, catalysis of the hydrolysis or formation of carboxylic esters [107], lipases have been found to catalyze not only the carbon-nitrogen bond hydrolysis/formation (in this case, acting as proteases) but also the carbon-carbon bond-forming reactions. The first example of a lipase-catalyzed Michael addition to 2-(trifluoromethyl)propenoic acid was described as early as in 1986 [108]. Michael addition of secondary amines to acrylonitrile is up to 100-fold faster in the presence of various preparations of the hpase from Candida antariica (CAL-B) than in the absence of a biocatalyst (Scheme 5.20) [109]. 

Tejedor and coworkers have utilized a combination of two domino processes for a microwave-promoted synthesis of tetrasubstituted pyrroles [344]. The protocol combines two coupled domino processes the triethylamine-catalyzed synthesis of enol-protected propargylic alcohols and their sequential transformation into pyrroles through a spontaneous rearrangement from 1,3-oxazolidines (Scheme 6.183). Overall, these two linked and coupled domino processes build up two carbon-carbon bonds, two carbon-nitrogen bonds, and an aromatic ring in a regioselective and efficient manner. The tetrasubstituted pyrroles could be directly synthesized from the enol-protected propargylic alcohols and the primary amines by microwave irradia-... 

An important variant for transition metal-catalyzed carbon-nitrogen bond formation is allylic substitution (for reviews, see1,la lh). Nucleophilic attack by an amine on an 7r-allyl intermediate, generated from either an allylic alcohol derivative,2 16,16a 16f an alkenyloxirane,17-19,19a-19d an alkenylaziridine19,19a 19d, or a propargyl alcohol derivative,21,21a 21d gives an allylic amine derivative. 

Amines and amides undergo oxidation at or adjacent to nitrogen (Scheme 27). A neutral amine, for example, can be oxidized to afford a cation radical (117 to 116). Similarly, electrooxidation of the anion produced via deprotonation of a secondary amine leads to an aminyl radical (119) that is capable of participating in carbon-nitrogen bond-forming reactions with remotely tethered alkenes. 

Carbon-Nitrogen Bond Formation Based on Hydrogen Transfer 129 Table 5.11 N-Heterocyclization of primary amines with a variety of diols by [Cp lrCl2]2 (1) ... 

Not only acetylene derivatives do undergo palladium catalysed intarmolecular carbon-nitrogen bond formation with amines. The similar reaction of olefins in a Wacker-type process also leads to ring closure. (0-Aminopentenes bearing a suitable leaving group in the 4-position were converted to pyrroles in a cyclization-isomerisation-elimination sequence (3.65.),82... 

Benzimidazoles bearing a halogen in the activated 2-position show a remarkable reactivity in palladium catalyzed carbon-nitrogen bond forming reactions. TV-protected 2-chlorobenzimidazoles reacted smoothly with a series of amines (6.81.). The activity of the aryl halide, besides the ready coupling of the chloro derivative, is also emphasized by the low catalyst loading used.112... 

Bipyridine was also en efficient ligand for the nickel-catalyzed carbon-nitrogen bond forming reactions. Using piperazine as a bifunctional amine, its monoarylation and diarylation were both achieved selectively with... 

In certain cases, when the palladium or nickel catalyzed coupling is not efficient or fails completely, an alternate solution is provided by the use of copper based catalyst systems. The 5-iodouracil derivative shown in 7.77. was unreactive towards imidazole using either the Buchwald-Hartwig conditions or the copper(I) triflate promoted the carbon-nitrogen bond formation reported by Buchwald98 These latter conditions, however, were effective in coupling the iodouracil with a series of other amines (7.77.), The optimal catalyst system consisted of copper(I) triflate, phenantroline and dibenzylideneacetone (dba).99... 

At high temperatures with low catalyst concentration the formation of acetanilides is favored. Maleic anhydride and acetanilides may be formed directly from the mixed anhydride by an initial attack of the nitrogen on the acetate carbonyl, but this process would involve a seven membered ring transition state. Another possible route to the formation of maleic anhydride and the acetanilides is participation by neighboring carbonyl in loosening the amide carbon-nitrogen bond to the extent that the amine can be captured by acetic anhydride as shown in path D. 

The a-methoxylated derivatives are shown to be versatile synthons because of the reactivity of the methoxy group near the nitrogen atom, a-Methoxycarbamates, prepared by anodic oxidation, were used as key intermediates in the synthesis of a-amino acids,200 a new carbon-phosphorus bond-forming reaction,200 and in a new method of acylation of aliphatic amines at the -position.201 The application of this reaction to the synthesis of pyrrolidine, piperidine, and tropane alkaloids is also described.202... 

Oxidative reactions at carbon predominate in the biotransformation of cyclic amiiies, and an important consequence of this is often the cleavage of the carbon-nitrogen bond. For example, A-dealkylation of N- alkyl substituted pyrrolidine (or piperidine, morpholine, etc.) involves an initial oxidative attack at the a- alkyl carbon atom to yield an N hydroxyalkyl derivative (carbinolamine), which is then metabolized to a secondary amine and the corresponding aldehyde. The metabolic conversion of nicotine to nornicotine (30 see Scheme 3) probably involves this mechanism, although the iminium ion (31) has also been suggested as an intermediate in the biotransformation (76JMC1168). Carbinolamines are unstable intermediates and have been identified only in a few cases, e.g. A-hydroxymethylcarbazole... 

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