A-aminonitriles, synthesis

Ammonium chloride sodium cyanide a-Aminocarhoxylic acids from ketones via a-aminonitriles Synthesis with addition of 1 C-atom 2-Suhst. glutamic acids... 

K. Mai, G. PatU, Synth. Commun. 1985, 15, 157-163. A fast A-snbstitnted a-aminonitrile synthesis. 

The thiazole ring can be obtained directly by other methods, but they have limited application. An example is the synthesis of Cook and Heilbron using a-aminonitriles or a-aminoamides and carbon disulfide (or thioacid derivatives) as reactants of type II. 

Monooximes of a-diketones have found applicability in the synthesis of 2-aminopyrazine 1-oxides by condensation with a-aminonitriles, and this reaction was used by White and coworkers in an approach to the synthesis of Cypridina etioluciferamine (Scheme 66 R = 3-indoloyl) (73T3761). In this instance, the use of TiCU as a catalyst was essential, since the carbonyl group in 3-acylindoles is normally deactivated and the required amine/carbonyl condensation is impractically slow. Under normal circumstances the carbonyl group in simple alkyl-substituted monoximes of a-diketones is the more reactive site and the reaction is rapid, requiring no catalysis (69LA(726)loo). 

A versatile synthesis of the 2(lH)-pyrazinone scaffold was developed starting from a suitable amine, an aldehyde and cyanide to give an a-aminonitrile. 

The solid-phase synthesis of the 2(lff)-pyrazinone scaffold is based on a Strecker reaction of commercially available Wang amide linker with appropriate aldehyde and tetramethylsilyl (TMS) cyanide, followed by cyclization of a-aminonitrile with oxalyl chloride resulting in the resin linked pyrazinones. This approach allows a wide diversity at the C-6-position of pyrazinone scaffold (Scheme 35, Table 1). As it has been shown for the solution phase, the sensitive imidoyl chloride moiety can easily undergo an addition/elimination reaction with in situ-generated sodium methoxide affording the resin-linked... 

The synthesis of a-amino acids by reaction of aldehydes or ketones with ammonia and hydrogen cyanide followed by hydrolysis of the resulting a-aminonitrile is called the Strecker synthesis. Enzymatic hydrolysis has been applied to the kinetic resolution of intermediate a-aminonitriles [90,91]. The hydrolysis of (rac)-phenylglycine nitrile... 

Scheme 37 Asymmetric synthesis of 1,2-diamines from chiral a-aminonitriles derived from diastereoselective aldolization...

In addition to the two asymmetric syntheses above described, two racemic syntheses of tetraponerines based on the 5=6-5 tricyclic skeleton have been published. Thus, Plehiers et al. [199] have reported a short and practical synthesis of ( )-decahydro-5Tf-dipyrrolo[l,2-a r,2/-c]pyrimidine-5-carbonitrile (238), a pivotal intermediate in the synthesis of racemic tetraponerines-1, -2, -5 and -6, in three steps and 24% overall yield from simple and inexpensive starting materials. The key reaction of the synthesis was a one-pot stereoselective multistep process, whereupon two molecules of A pyrroline react with diethylmalonate to afford the tricyclic lactam ester 239, possessing the 5-6-5 skeleton (Scheme 10). Hydrolysis of the carboethoxy group of 239 followed by decarboxylation yielded lactam 240, that was converted into a-aminonitrile 238 identical in all respects with the pivotal intermediate described by Yue et al. [200] in their tetraponerine synthesis. 

The ease of the Strecker synthesis from aldehydes makes a-aminonitriles an attractive and important route to a-amino acids. Fortunately, the microbial world offers a number of enzymes for carrying out the necessary conversions, some of them highly stereoselective. Nitrilases catalyze a direct conversion of nitrile into carboxylic acid (Equation (11)), whereas nitrile hydratases catalyze formation of the amide, which can then be hydrolyzed to the carboxylic acid in a second step (Equation (12)). In a recent survey, with a view to bioremediation and synthesis, Brady et al have surveyed the ability of a wide range of bacteria and yeasts to grow on diverse nitriles and amides as sole nitrogen source. This provides a rich source of information on enzymes for future application. 

A clean, Strecker-type synthesis of a-aminonitriles has been developed amine, aldehyde, tributyltin cyanide, and scandium(III) triflate (as catalyst) are mixed together at room temperature. Yields for a range of aliphatic and aromatic aldehydes are typically ca 90%, the solvent can be organic or aqueous, the 10% catalyst loading is recoverable and reusable, and the tin reagent is similarly recyclable. 

A nice example of the chemical similarity between imines and carbonyl compounds is the Strecker synthesis of amino acids. This involves reaction of an aldehyde with ammonia and HCN (usually in the form of ammonium chloride plus KCN) to give an intermediate a-aminonitrile. Hydrolysis of the a-aminonitrile then produces the a-amino acid. 

In continuation of our investigations on asymmetric nucleophilic acylations with lithiated a-aminonitriles [40], we envisaged the asymmetric synthesis of 3-substituted 5-amino-4-oxo esters A, bearing both a-amino ketone and 5-amino ester functionalities (Scheme 1.1.14) [41]. Since a-amino ketones are precursors of chiral p-amino alcohols [42, 43] and chiral amines [43], their asymmetric synthesis has the potential to provide valuable intermediates for the synthesis of biologically active compounds, including peptidomimetics [44]. The retrosynthetic analysis of A leads to the a-aminoacyl carbanion B and p-ester carbocation... 

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