Alkylation, oxazole reactions

Credico et al. [13] gave the selective synthesis of 2-substituted-4-carboxy oxazoles (i). They optimized the mild and selective procedure so that the 2-substituted-4-carboxy derivatives can be obtained in multi-gram scale. Ball et al. [14] synthesized the various triazole derivatives (ii), bearing the oxazole ring system via a tandem alkylation/cyclisation reaction, exploiting a facilitating dummy bromine atom. 

In addition to the reactions described in the preceding section, alkyl groups in the 2-positions of imidazole, oxazole and thiazole rings show reactions which result from the easy loss of a proton from the carbon atom of the alkyl group which is adjacent to the ring (see Section 4.02.3.1.2). 

Naphth[2,l-d]oxazole, 2-methyl-oxidation, 6, 188 reactions, 6, 216 Naphthoxazoles, anilino-alkylation, 6, 189... 

In 1909, Robinson demonstrated the utility of acylamidoketones as intermediates to aryl-and benzyl-substituted 1,3-oxazoles through cyclization with sulfuric acid. Extension of sulfuric acid cyclization conditions to alkyl-substituted oxazoles can give low yields, for example 10-15% for 2,5-dimethyl-l,3-oxazole. Wiegand and Rathbum found that polyphosphoric acid can provide alkyl-substituted oxazoles 4 in yields equal to or greater than those obtained with sulfuric acid. Significantly better yields are seen in the preparation of aryl- and heteroaryl-substituted oxazoles. For example, reaction of ketoamides 5 with 98% phosphoric acid in acetic anhydride gives oxazoles 6 in 90-95% yield. ... 

Much of the early work into the rhodium(II)-catalysed formation of oxazoles from diazocarbonyl compounds was pioneered by the group of Helquist. They first reported, in 1986, the rhodium(II) acetate catalysed reaction of dimethyl diazomalonate with nitriles.<86TL5559, 93T5445, 960S(74)229> A range of nitriles was screened, including aromatic, alkyl and vinyl derivatives with unsaturated nitriles, cyclopropanation was found to be a competing reaction (Table 3). 

To date most of the nitriles studied have been simple alkyl or aromatic derivatives with little other functionality. We recently attempted to extend the reaction to iV-protected a-aminonitriles, derived by dehydration of a-aminoacid amides (Path A, Scheme 25), but this proved unsatisfactory, and therefore we investigated an alternative diazocarbonyl based route in which the order of steps was reversed, i.e. a rhodium catalysed N-H insertion reaction on the amide followed by cyclodehydration to the oxazole (Path B, Scheme 25). 

The Michael type reaction of (3R)-5-t-butyldimethysiloxy-3-phenyl-17/-pyrrolo[ 1,2-c]oxazole with nitroethylene proceeds in the presence of Lewis acid to give the alkylated product in good chemical yield and diastereoselectivity. In the case of nitroethylene, the Diels-Alder type transition state is favored to give the yy/i-adduct selectively (Eq. 4.72).91... 

Imidazolines are also formed in silver cyanide-catalyzed cyclization of alkyl isocyanides with aliphatic diamines (Scheme 103).169 This simple synthesis can be applied in a general way with difunctional nucleophiles and has been used to prepare benzimidazoles, oxazoles, thiazoles, and oxazines.169 It is suggested that transient carbene complexes are formed in these reactions (cf. 87 in Scheme 103) but further work is required to ascertain the mechanism and scope of these processes. 

Application of the Ritter reaction conditions on y-hydroxy-a,P-alkynoic esters, 102, produced ethyl 5-oxazoleacetates 103 or y-A-acylamino-P-keto ester 104 by reaction with aryl or alkyl nitriles respectively. The y-A-acylamino-P-keto ester 104 can also be transformed into oxazole derivatives using an additional step involving POCI3 <06TL4385>. 

Lewis acid SnCLj-assisted reaction between the l,3-thiazole-5-thione 434 and /ra r-2,3-dimethyloxirane led to the m 4,5-dimethyl-l,3-oxathiolane 435 The same Lewis acid enabled a second addition of /ra/ -2,3-dimcthyloxirane onto the C—N bond of the 1,3-thiazole ting of 434, leading to the formation of the tetrahydro-2//-thiazolo[2,3- ]-oxazole adduct 436 (Equation 200) <2000HCA3163>. Condensation of 2,4-dinitroimidazole, 8-bromotheophylline, and 8-bromoadenine with substituted methyloxiranes involved sequential A -alkylation-r/wo-substitution and furnished a series of 2,3-dihydro-imidazo[2,l- ]oxazole derivatives 437, 438, and 439 (Equations 201-203) <2000CCC1126, 2000EJ03489, 2005TL3561, 2004JHC51>. 

Also in 2009, an elegant combination of two original van Leusen reactions was reported, leading to a MCR toward 4,5-disubstituted oxazoles (19) [136]. The MCR involves the base-induced mono-alkylation of TosMIC (8a) followed by the formal cycloaddition with an aldehyde (Fig. 9). Although dialkylation is a problem often... 

The same reaction applied to 2-styryl-5(4/l/)-oxazolone 282 gives simultaneous acylation and alkylation of the arene to produce the corresponding a-acylamino ketones 283. ° Cyclodehydration of 283 then readily affords a 2,5-disubstimted oxazole (e.g. 284 as shown in Scheme 7.92). 

The diastereoselectivity is reversed in the alkylation of the enolate derived from the structurally very similar bicyclic lactam, tetrahydro-3-phenyl-l//.577-pyrrolof 1,2-c]oxazol-5-one (3). Thus, the major diastereomer 4 produced has the tram relationship between the newly introduced substituent in the pyrrolidine ring and the fused oxazolidine ring residue11,12. Only active electrophiles such as iodomethane, 3-halopropenes or (halomethyl)benzenes react11,12. Base-catalyzed equilibration of the product obtained by reaction with 3-bromocyclohexene gives a 50 50 mixture of the cis- and rra s-diastereomers11. 

Diels-Alder reactions of oxazoles afford useful syntheses of pyridines (Scheme 53) (74AHC( 17)99). A study of the effect of substituents on the Diels-Alder reactivity of oxazoles has indicated that rates decrease with the following substituents alkoxy > alkyl > acyl >> phenyl. The failure of 2- and 5-phenyl-substituted oxazoles to react with heterodienophiles is probably due to steric crowding. In certain cases, bicyclic adducts of type (359) have been isolated and even studied by an X-ray method (87BCJ432) they can also decompose to yield furans (Scheme 54). With benzyne, generated at 0°C from 1-aminobenzotriazole and lead tetraacetate under dilute conditions, oxazoles form cycloadducts (e.g. 360) in essentially quantitative yield (90JOC929). They can be handled at room temperature and are decomposed at elevated temperatures to isobenzofuran. 

The oxazoles and their derivatives have played a variety of fascinating roles in the preparation of new molecular systems. Much of this chemistry stems from their ability to serve as diene components (azabutadiene equivalents) in reactions with a variety of dienophilic agents, to undergo nuclear metallation, to activate attached aryl or alkyl groups to deprotonation (thus functioning as masked aldehydes, ketones or carboxylic acid groups), and to serve as useful electrophiles on conversion to AT-alkylated salts. 

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