Ambident

Diacetates of 1,4-butenediol derivatives are useful for double allylation to give cyclic compounds. l,4-Diacetoxy-2-butene (126) reacts with the cyclohexanone enamine 125 to give bicyclo[4.3.1]decenone (127) and vinylbicy-clo[3.2.1]octanone (128)[85,86]. The reaction of the 3-ketoglutarate 130 with cij-cyclopentene-3,5-diacetate (129) affords the furan derivative 131 [87]. The C- and 0-allylations of ambident lithium [(phenylsulfonyl)methylene]nitronate (132) with 129 give isoxazoline-2-oxide 133, which is converted into c -3-hydroxy-4-cyanocyclopentene (134)[S8]. Similarly, chiral m-3-amino-4-hyd-roxycyclopentene was prepared by the cyclization of yV-tosylcarbamate[89]. 

Ambident reactivity occurs for any substance displaying protomeric behavior. In basic medium anions in which negative charge is delocalized are formed this may be represented by the resonance formulas in Scheme 2. Each charged atom may react with an electrophilic center. The... 

This equation, when applied to an ambident nucleophile with nucleophilic centers 1 and 2, becomes... 

The equation does not take into account such pertubation factors as steric effects, solvent effects, and ion-pair formation. These factors, however, may be neglected when experiments are carried out in the same solvent at the same temperature and concentration for an homogeneous set of substrates. So, for a given ambident nucleophile the rate ratio kj/kj will depend on A and B, which vary with (a) the attacked electrophilic center, (b) the solvent, and (c) the counterpart cationic species of the anion. The important point in this kind of study is to change only one parameter at a time. This simple rule has not always been followed, and little systematic work has been done in this field (12) stiH widely open after the discovery of the role played by single electron transfer mechanism in ambident reactivity (1689). 

These genera] trends direct the organization of Chapters VI and VII syntheses from the already formed thiazole ring, physicochemical studies, ambident reactivity ring carbon reactivity, main derivatives, and aminothiazole applications. 

This section is organized according to the electrophilic center presented to the nucleophilic nitrogen of the active species. This organization allow s a consistent treatment of the reactivity. However, a small drawback arises when ambident electrophilic centers are considered, and these cases are treated as if the more reactive center were known, which is not always the case. 

The nature of the substituent on the exocyclic nitrogen also influences the ambident activity of anion 48 in DMF (Scheme 35) when R is an heterocyclic ring, nitrogen alkylation predominates (189) when R is a methylamino group, a mixture of the two isomers is reported (190) when... 

D. Reactions with Ambident Electrophilic Reagents bearing an spC Electrophilic Center... 

The problem is more complicated when the ambident nucleophile. 2-aminothiazole, reacts with an ambident electrophilic center. Such an example is provided by the reaction between 2-amino-5-R-thiazole and ethoxycarbonyl isothiocyanate (144), which has been thoroughly studied by Nagano et al. (64, 78, 264) the various possibilities are summarized in Scheme 95. At 5°C, in ethyl acetate, the only observed products were 145a, 148. and 150. Product 148 must be heated to 180°C for 5 hr to give in low yield (25%) the thiazolo[3.2-a]-s-tnazine-2-thio-4-one (148a) (102). This establishes that attack 1-B is probably not possible at -5°C. When R = H the percentages of 145a. 148. and 150 are 29, 50, and 7%, respectively. These results show that ... 

Nevertheless, the puzzling fact to be explained is that the harder ring nitrogen prefers the softer electrophilic center and that this preference is more pronounced than the one observed for the amino nitrogen. Much remains to be done to explain ambident heterocyclic reactivity it was shown recently by comparison between Photoelectrons Spectroscopy and kinetic data that not only the frontier densities but also the relative symmetries of nucleophilic occupied orbitals and electrophilic unoccupied orbitals must be taken into consideration (308). 

The ambident reactivity of 2-amino-4,5-disubstituted thiazoles toward benzoylthiocyanate 153 has been studied (311) and parallels that of ethoxycarbonyl isothiocyanate (Scheme 98) the percentages of 154. 155. 

Ambident reactivity of the same nucleophilic species toward different nitrosation electrophilic centers. 

The preparation of a series of transition metal complexes (Co. Ni. Pd. Pt, Ir. Au. Cu. Ag) with ambident anion (70) and phosphines as ligands has been reported recently (885). According to the infrared and NMR spectra the thiazoline-2-thione anion is bounded through the exocyclic sulfur atom to the metal. The copper and silver complexes have been found to be dimeric. 

Mercury and tin in complexes (68 or 69) (Scheme 32 (154 mav behave as electrophilic centers (155. 156). Under basic conditions, the reactive species is an ambident anion (70) (Scheme 33). 

Since the exocyclic sulfur is more reactive in the ambident anion than in A-4-thiazoIine-2-thione. greater nucleophilic reactivity is to be expected. Thus a large variety of thioethers were prepared in good yields starting from alkylhalides (e.g.. Scheme 38 (54, 91, 111, 166-179). lactones (54, 160), aryl halides (54, 152. 180, 181), acyl chlorides (54. 149, 182-184). halothiazoles (54, 185-190), a-haloesters (149. 152. 177. 191-194), cyanuric chloride (151). fV.N-dimethylthiocarbamoyl chloride (151, 152. 195. 196), /3-chloroethyl ester of acrylic acid (197), (3-dimethylaminoethyl chloride (152). l,4-dichloro-2-butyne (152), 1,4-dichloro-2-butene (152), and 2-chloro-propionitrile (152). A general... 

Ambident reactivity of A-4-thiazoline-2-thione has been discussed (101) in terms of the Hard and Soft Acids and Bases classification (199) and the Klopman-Hudson approach (200). 

Hydroxyl Group. Reactions of the phenohc hydroxyl group iaclude the formation of salts, esters, and ethers. The sodium salt of the hydroxyl group is alkylated readily by an alkyl hahde (WiUiamson ether synthesis). Normally, only alkylation of the hydroxyl is observed. However, phenolate ions are ambident nucleophiles and under certain conditions, ring alkylation can also occur. Proper choice of reaction conditions can produce essentially exclusive substitution. Polar solvents favor formation of the ether nonpolar solvents favor ring substitution. 

Carbon is alkylated ia the form of enolates or as carbanions. The enolates are ambident ia activity and can react at an oxygen or a carbon. For example, refluxing equimolar amounts of dimethyl sulfate and ethyl acetoacetate with potassium carbonate gives a 36% yield of the 0-methylation product, ie, ethyl 3-methoxy-2-butenoate, and 30% of the C-methylation product, ie, ethyl 2-methyl-3-oxobutanoate (26). Generally, only one alkyl group of the sulfate reacts with beta-diketones, beta-ketoesters, or malonates (27). Factors affecting the 0 C alkylation ratio have been extensively studied (28). Reaction ia the presence of soHd Al O results mosdy ia C-alkylation of ethyl acetoacetate (29). 

Class (2) reactions are performed in the presence of dilute to concentrated aqueous sodium hydroxide, powdered potassium hydroxide, or, at elevated temperatures, soHd potassium carbonate, depending on the acidity of the substrate. Alkylations are possible in the presence of concentrated NaOH and a PT catalyst for substrates with conventional pX values up to - 23. This includes many C—H acidic compounds such as fiuorene, phenylacetylene, simple ketones, phenylacetonittile. Furthermore, alkylations of N—H, O—H, S—H, and P—H bonds, and ambident anions are weU known. Other basic phase-transfer reactions are hydrolyses, saponifications, isomerizations, H/D exchange, Michael-type additions, aldol, Darzens, and similar... 

The tautomeric 2-hydroxypyrroles undergo base-catalyzed reactions probably through deprotonation to the ambident conjugate base (Scheme 71). 2-Hydroxyfurans (e.g. 178) similarly exist in ketonic forms (179) and (180), the most favoured tautomer being the conjugated 2(5//)-furanone (180)... 

Hydroxyindole (181) represents a well known example of a compound in which the hydroxyl group is to the ring heteroatom. The equilibrium mixture again contains mainly the carbonyl form (182), indoxyl. Deprotonation gives a reactive ambident anion which can be methylated either on oxygen or C-2 (Scheme 73). Indoxyl is easily oxidized to indigo (184), which may be formed by dimerization of the radical (183) produced by electron loss from the anion. 

In addition to reaction sequences of type (66) -> (67), electrophilic reagents can attack at either one of the ring nitrogen atoms in the mesomeric anions formed by proton loss e.g. 70 71 or 72 see Section 4.02.1.3.6). Here we have an ambident anion, and for unsymmetrical cases the composition of the reaction product (71) + (72) is dictated by steric and electronic factors. 

---