Epoxides reactions with alkyl azides

Alkyl azides have been involved in the synthesis of indolizidinone derivatives in several ways. One example (Scheme 7) is the intramolecular Schmidt reaction between alkyl azides and ketones which can be used to transform azidoketone 24 into the corresponding indolizidinones 26 through intermediate 25 <2001JOC886> or with epoxides to obtain the indolizidine 27 <2004JOC3093>. 

Scheme 4.16 Intramolecular reactions of alkyl azides with epoxides.

Variation 7 Intramolecular Schmidt Reaction of Epoxides with Alkyl Azides... 

Epoxides are another viable electrophilic partner for alkyl azides. Baskaran and coworkers found that azido-tethered epoxides afforded bicyclic, tertiary amines bearing a hydroxymethyl substituent upon treatment with a Lewis acid followed by reduction. This one-pot procedure was applicable to bicyclic azido epoxides with varying ring sizes, affording the corresponding bicyclic amines in preparatively useful yields (Table 7.8). These reactions probably involve the initial Lewis acid-assisted formation of a cation followed by azide attack. Migration and concomitant loss of N2 then generates an iminium ion, which persists until stereoselective reduction by hydride (Schane 7.32). 

Table 7.8 Reactions of alkyl azides with epoxides in the presence of EtAICl2 followed by NaBH4 workup...

Lithium aminoborohydrides are obtained by the reaction of -BuLi with amine-boranes [FF2, FH5, NT2]. They can be generated in situ as THF solutions or as solids when formed in diethylether or hexane (n-BuLi must then be used in sub-stoichiometric amounts). They are stable under dry air and are slowly decomposed by water [NT2] or methanol so that workup of the reactions mixtures can be carried out with 3M HCl. They reduce alkyl halides (Section 2.1), epoxides (Section 2.3), aldehydes, and ketones (Section 3.2.1) (in the latter case with an interesting stereoselectivity [HFl]), and esters to primary alcohols (Section 3.2.5). a,(3-Unsaturated aldehydes, ketones, and esters are reduced to allyl alcohols (Section 3.2.9) [FF2, FS2]. Depending on the bulkiness of the amines associated with the reagent and to the substrate, tertiary amides give amines or alcohols (Section 3.2.8) [FFl, FF2]. Amines are also formed from imines (Section 3.3.1) [FB1 ] and from azides (Section 5.2) [AFl]. However, carboxylic acids remain untouched. 

A range of indolo(triazolo)-l,4-diazepine derivatives 104 were obtained by a microwave-heated three-component reaction involving tandem N-alkylation of indole 101 with epichlorohydrin 102, ring-opening of the epoxide with azide 103, and intramolecular azide-alkyne 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition reactions (13BJO401). Fused triazolodiazepinones were obtained via azide-alkyne 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition followed by lactamization (13JHC430). 

Several years ago, we reported the synthesis and synthetic utility of lithium aminoborohydrides (LABs) a new class of powerful, safe, and highly selective reducing agents (2, 3). These reagents performed many of the transformations for which lithium aluminum hydride is usually used. Thus, the following reduction reactions were carried out with LABs aldehydes and ketones to alcohols, esters to alcohols, oc,P>unsaturated ketones to allylic alcohols, a,P-unsaturated esters to allylic alcohols, alkyl halides to hydro-carbons, azides to amines, and epoxides to alcohols. These reduction reactions are summarized in Figure 3. 

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