Activated indoles, applications

APPLICATIONS OF IMINIUM CATION CHEMISTRY TO ACTIVATED INDOLES... 

The appearance of the 2-(indol-3yl)ethylamine (tryptamine) unit in both tryptophan-derived natural products and in synthetic materials having potential pharmacological activity has generated a great deal of interest in the synthesis of such compounds. Several procedures which involve either direct 3-alkylation or tandem 3-functionalization/modification have been developed. Similarly, methodology applicable to preparation of tryptophan analogues has been widely explored. 

In 2001, Knaack and co-workers56 reported an application of the INADEQUATE experiment in the course of synthesizing and characterizing a biologically active 2-[l-(4-chlorobenzyl)-lH-indol-3-yl]-2-oxo-N-pyri-din-4-yl acetamide (6). Treatment of l-(4-chlorobenzyl)-lH-indole with oxalyl chloride afforded the corresponding oxoacetyl chloride that was finally subjected to aminolysis with 4-aminopyridine to afford the final product of the reaction scheme, 6. Although the NMR data supported the N-benzyl structure, a 1,1-ADEQUATE spectrum was acquired to provide additional confirmation of the structure of 6. 

More recently, Somfai and coworkers have reported on the efficient coupling of a set of carboxylic acids suitable as potential scaffolds for peptide synthesis to a polymer-bound hydrazide linker [24]. Indole-like scaffolds were selected for this small library synthesis as these structures are found in numerous natural products showing interesting activities. The best results were obtained using 2-(7-aza-l H-benzo-triazol-l-yl)-l,l,3,3-tetramethyluronium hexafluoride (HATU) and N,N-diisopropyl-ethylamine (DIEA) in N,N-dimethylformamide as a solvent. Heating the reaction mixtures at 180 °C for 10 min furnished the desired products in high yields (Scheme 7.4). In this application, no Fmoc protection of the indole nitrogen is required. 

N-Alkyl carprofen analogs (e.g. 60, A[542 IC50 = 2.9gM) were found to be nearly devoid of COX-1 and COX-2 activity [133,134], Multiple patent applications have disclosed a variety of alkanoic acids that are based on tetrahydroindole (61) [135], piperidine (62) [136], and indole (63) [137] scaffolds, which selectively lower A (542. 

Buchwald parlayed the powerful Buchwald-Hartwig aryl amination technology [439-447] into a simple and versatile indoline synthesis [448-452], For example, indole 368, which has been employed in total syntheses of the marine alkaloids makaluvamine C and damirones A and B, was readily forged via the Pd-mediated cyclization shown below [448], This intramolecular amination is applicable to the synthesis of -substituted optically active indolines [450], and o-bromobenzylic bromides can be utilized in this methodology, as illustrated for the preparation of 369 [451]. Furthermore, this Pd-catalyzed amination reaction has been applied to the synthesis of arylhydrazones, which are substrates for the Fischer indole synthesis [453,454],... 

Besides the applications of the electrophilicity index mentioned in the review article [40], following recent applications and developments have been observed, including relationship between basicity and nucleophilicity [64], 3D-quantitative structure activity analysis [65], Quantitative Structure-Toxicity Relationship (QSTR) [66], redox potential [67,68], Woodward-Hoffmann rules [69], Michael-type reactions [70], Sn2 reactions [71], multiphilic descriptions [72], etc. Molecular systems include silylenes [73], heterocyclohexanones [74], pyrido-di-indoles [65], bipyridine [75], aromatic and heterocyclic sulfonamides [76], substituted nitrenes and phosphi-nidenes [77], first-row transition metal ions [67], triruthenium ring core structures [78], benzhydryl derivatives [79], multivalent superatoms [80], nitrobenzodifuroxan [70], dialkylpyridinium ions [81], dioxins [82], arsenosugars and thioarsenicals [83], dynamic properties of clusters and nanostructures [84], porphyrin compounds [85-87], and so on. 

Vinylpyrroles and vinylindoles are extremely sensitive to acid-catalyzed dimerization and polymerization and it is significant that much of the early research was conducted on systems which were produced in situ. Even by this approach, the dimerization of, for example, 2-(3-indolyl)propene and l-(3-indolyl)-l-phenylethylene was difficult to prevent (see the formation of 110 and 120, Section 3.05.1.2.8). Similarly, although it is possible to isolate ethyl 2-(2- and 3-indolyl)propenoates, they appear to be extremely unstable at room temperature even in the absence of acid (81UP30500) to give [ 4 + 2] cycloadducts of the type (348) (cf. 77JCS(P1)1204>. For many years simple vinylpyrroles also eluded isolation, on account of their facile acid-catalyzed polymerization. Application of the Wittig reaction, however, permits the synthesis of vinyl-pyrroles and -indoles under relatively mild and neutral conditions (see Section 3.05.2.5). In contrast, heteroarylvinyl ketones, esters, nitriles and nitro compounds, obtained by condensation of the appropriate activated methylene compound with the heteroaryl aldehydes (see Section 3.05.2.5), are thermally stable and... 

Naturally Occurring Compounds. Many derivatives of indole arc found in plants and animals where they are derived from the amino acid [ryplophan. Several oT ihese have important biological function or activity. Serotonin functions as a neuroiransinitler and vasoconstrictor Melatonin production is controlled by the circadian cycle and its physiological level influences daily and seasonal rhythms in humans and other species. Indole-3-acelic acid is a plant growth stimulant used in several horticultural applications. 

The indole ring is incorporated into the structure of the amino acid tryptophan [6912-86-3] (6) and occurs in proteins and in a wide variety of plant and animal metabolites. Much of the interest in the chemistry of indole is the result of efforts to understand the biological activity of indole derivatives in order to develop pharmaceutical applications. 

Kozikowski s group has been particularly active in the application of the INOC reaction toward the construction of a variety of natural products. One of the many examples from his laboratory involves the synthesis of tetracyclic compounds possessing suitably functionalized C rings for elaboration to a diverse number of ergot alkaloids via the INOC reaction. A total synthesis of chanoclavine I (65) was accomplished by this chemistry (Scheme 15). The key step in the synthesis involved the conversion of the nitro group of indole (62) into the corresponding nitrile oxide using the phenyl isocyanate procedure developed by Mukaiyama.57 The major product corresponded to isoxazoline (64). The isoxazoline nucleus was converted into chanoclavine I (65) in a series of subsequent steps. The application of nitrile oxide cycloaddition chemistry to the construction of other natural products can be expected to be an active area in future years. 

---