Amines methylation with formaldehyde

Pr)4, " borohydride-exchange resin,and formic acid. When the last is used, the process is called the Wallach reaction. Conjugated aldehydes are converted to alkenyl-amines with the amine/silica gel followed by reduction with zinc borohydride.In the particular case where primary or secondary amines are reductively methylated with formaldehyde and formic acid, the method is called the Esch-weiler-Clarke procedure. It is possible to use ammonium (or amine) salts of formic acid, " or formamides, as a substitute for the Wallach conditions. This method is called the Leuckart reaction,and in this case the products obtained are often the N-formyl derivatives of the amines instead of the free amines. Primary and secondary amines can be iV-ethylated (e.g., ArNHR ArNREt) by treatment with NaBH4 in acetic acid. Aldehydes react with aniline in the presence of Mont-morillonite KIO clay and microwaves to give the amine. Formaldehyde with formic acid converts secondary amines to the N-methyl derivative with microwave irradiation. 

The reductive alkylation of amines is called the Leuckart-Wallach reaction [112-115]. The primary or secondary amine reacts with the ketone or aldehyde. The formed imine is then reduced with formic acid as hydrogen donor (Scheme 20.27). When amines are reductively methylated with formaldehyde and formic acid, the process is termed the Eschweiler-Clarke procedure [116, 117]. 

This reaction specifically refers to the case when a primary or secondary amine is reductively methylated with formaldehyde and formic acid. 

Furthermore, haemanthidine (248) itself, could be transformed into the [2]benzopyrano[3,4-c]indole derivative 242 by methylation with formaldehyde and formic acid, reactions whereby primary and secondary amines are methylated to tertiary bases. Clearly, a secondary amino group must have been present in sufficient concentration to allow methylation. Furthermore, 6-hydroxycrinamine (249) gave the N-nitroso derivative 259 which is obtainable only from a secondary amine. The two latter reactions indicated the presence of a secondary amine although its precise nature remained unknown. It later seemed possible to identify it in acidic media in the hemiacetal forms 242 and... 

Subbaiah, G., Sethuram, B., Mahadevan, E. G., Rao, T. N. Kinetics of methylation of primary alkyl amine hydrochlorides with formaldehyde... 

The mechanism of the Eschweiler-Clarke reaction proceeds via the formation of an imine, followed by reduction by formic acid. That the methylation is attributable to the formaldehyde and the reduction to the formic acid has been confirmed using 14C-labeled isomers of each in a series of studies.5 Thus, the amine reacts with formaldehyde to produce an imine, and this is then reduced with the loss of carbon dioxide by formic acid. In the case of primary amines this process is then repeated to produce a tertiary N.iV-dimethyl amine. 

A plausible mechanism for the reaction is shown in Scheme 11.2. The carbonyl group undergoes two a-amino-methylation reactions on the same a-carbon of the ketone 12, which is catalyzed by L-proline through enamine catalysis. The cyclocondensation of the resulting substituted amines 19 with formaldehyde affords the desired spiro[indoline-3, 5 -pyrimidin]-2-one and spiro[indene-2,5 -pyrimidin]-l (3H)-one (Scheme 11.2). 

Quite recently, Dute et al. (375) have studied the tertiary alkaloids from the stems of A. pahni. Besides a range of known bases, three new dimers with the two halves joined tail-to-tail at 11-12 were isolated. One is assigned the structure 2 -iV-nordaurisoline (22e) on the basis of NMR and mass spectral evidence. The other two are secondary amines and with formaldehyde/sodium borohydride gave (—)-N,iV-dimethyllindoldhamine (guattegaumerine) (22d). NOE experiments showed that the compounds are 2-JV- and 2 -N-methyl-lindoldhamine (22b,c). The CD curves demonstrate that, like (—)-daurisoline (22g) and (—)-lindoldhamine (22a), all three compounds have the R,R configuration. 

The yield of the more active RRR-a-tocopherol can be improved by selective methylation of the other tocopherol isomers or by hydrogenation of a-tocotrienol (25,26). Methylation can be accompHshed by several processes, such as simultaneous halo alkylation and reduction with an aldehyde and a hydrogen haUde in the presence of staimous chloride (27), amino alkylation with ammonia or amines and an aldehyde such as paraformaldehyde followed by catalytic reduction (28), or via formylation with formaldehyde followed by catalytic reduction (29). 

Substituted methyl- or dimethyl amines are prepared by treating the appropriate primary or secondary amine with formaldehyde in the presence of hydrogenation catalysts (22,23). 

Notable examples of general synthetic procedures in Volume 47 include the synthesis of aromatic aldehydes (from dichloro-methyl methyl ether), aliphatic aldehydes (from alkyl halides and trimethylamine oxide and by oxidation of alcohols using dimethyl sulfoxide, dicyclohexylcarbodiimide, and pyridinum trifluoro-acetate the latter method is particularly useful since the conditions are so mild), carbethoxycycloalkanones (from sodium hydride, diethyl carbonate, and the cycloalkanone), m-dialkylbenzenes (from the />-isomer by isomerization with hydrogen fluoride and boron trifluoride), and the deamination of amines (by conversion to the nitrosoamide and thermolysis to the ester). Other general methods are represented by the synthesis of 1 J-difluoroolefins (from sodium chlorodifluoroacetate, triphenyl phosphine, and an aldehyde or ketone), the nitration of aromatic rings (with ni-tronium tetrafluoroborate), the reductive methylation of aromatic nitro compounds (with formaldehyde and hydrogen), the synthesis of dialkyl ketones (from carboxylic acids and iron powder), and the preparation of 1-substituted cyclopropanols (from the condensation of a 1,3-dichloro-2-propanol derivative and ethyl-... 

The combined reaction thus involves initial formation of the iminium ion from the carbonyl compound and amine at pH 6, and this intermediate is then reduced by the complex metal hydride to give the amine. This can also he a way of making methyl-suhstituted amines via intermediate imines with formaldehyde. 

Regioselective aminomethylation and subsequent cyclization of methyl 2,4-dihydroxybenzoate 517 was accomplished through a Mannich reaction with formaldehyde and primary amines in methanol to yield 3-substituted-3,4-dihydro-2/7-l,3-benzoxazine derivatives 518 (Equation 60). Simultaneous mixing of the reactants resulted in poor yields, but good yields were achieved by the pretreatment of paraformaldehye with a primary amine to form a Schiff base, followed by the addition of compound 517 <2001TL7273>. 

The nature of the aromatic substituents is apparently not critical for SSRI activity, as indicated by the structure of duloxetine (23-5), where one ring is replaced by thiophene and the other by naphthalene. The synthesis starts as above by the formation of the Mannich base (23-1) from 1-acetyl thiophene with formaldehyde and dimethyl-amine. Treatment of that intermediate with the complex from lithium aluminum hydride and the 2R,3S entantiomer of dimethylamino-l,2-diphenyl-3-methyl-butane-2-ol gives the S isomer (23-2) in high enantiomeric excess. Treatment of the aUcoxide from (23-2) and sodium hydride with 1-fluoronaphthalene leads to the displacement of halogen and thus the formation of ether (23-2). The surplus methyl group is then removed by yet another variant of the von Braun reaction that avoids the use of a base for saponifying the intermediate urethane. Thus, reaction of (23-3) with trichloroethyl formate leads to the A -demethylated chlorinated urethane (23-4). Treatment of that intermediate with zinc leads to a loss of the carbamate and the formation of the free secondary amine duloxetine (23-5) [23]. 

The synthesis of a triptan with a chiral side chain begins by reduction of the carboxylic acid in chiral 4-nitrophenylalanine (15-1). The two-step procedure involves conversion of the acid to its ester by the acid chloride by successive reaction with thionyl chloride and then methanol. Treatment of the ester with sodium borohy-dride then afford the alanilol (15-2). Reaction of this last intermediate with phosgene closes the ring to afford the oxazolidone (15-3) the nitro group is then reduced to the aniline (15-4). The newly obtained amine is then converted to the hydrazine (15-5). Reaction of this product with the acetal from 3-chloropropionaldehyde followed by treatment of the hydrazone with acid affords the indole (15-6). The terminal halogen on the side chain is then replaced by an amine by successive displacement by means of sodium azide followed by catalytic reduction of the azide. The newly formed amine is then methylated by reductive alkylation with formaldehyde in the presence of sodium cyanoborohydride to afford zolmitriptan (15-7) [15]. 

As a further illustration of the reactivity of the 3 position toward electrophiles, the methoxyindole (25-1) readily undergoes Mannich reaction with formaldehyde and dimethylamine to afford the aminomethylated derivative (25-2). Treatment of that intermediate with potassium cyanide leads to the displacement of dimethylamine and the formation of the nitrile (25-3), possibly by an elimination-addition sequence involving a 3-exomethylene-indolenine intermediate. The protons on the methylene group adjacent to the nitrile are quite acidic and readily removed. Reaction of (25-3) with methyl carbonate in the presence of sodium methoxide gives the carbo-methoxylated derivative (25-4). Catalytic hydrogenation leads to reduction of the nitrile to a primary amine. There is thus obtained the antihypertensive agent indorenate (25-5) [26]. 

Dopamine, the free catechol corresponding to (1-1), plays an important role as a neurotransmitter, particularly in the CNS. The synthesis of a dopamine-related sedative agent starts with the condensation of homoveratramine (1-1) with styrene oxide (1-2) to afford the carbinol (1-3). Treatment of that product with a strong acid leads to an attack on the electron-rich aromatic ring by the resulting carbocation there is thus obtained the benzazocine (1-4). The secondary amine is then methylated by reaction with formaldehyde and formic acid to yield trepipam (1-5) [1]. 

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