2-Amino-2- oxazoline, tautomerism

It was shown previously that saturated 5(4//)-oxazolones or 2-oxazolm-5-ones with only one substituent at C-4 can be considered as the tautomeric form of saturated 5(2//)-oxazolones or 3-oxazolin-5-ones. These compounds can also be considered as amino acid derivatives and, indeed, cyclization procedures are the most commonly used to prepare these compounds. The cyclization reaction employs a variety of cyclodehydrating agents and the general method is shown in Scheme 7.23, with an A-acyl-a-amino acid being the most typical starting material used. In this way, 5(4//)-oxazolones derived from most natural amino acids 99 (R3 = H) have been obtained by heating the corresponding A-acyl derivatives in the presence of acetic anhydride. 

In another synthesis of quinolines involving imine intermediates, o-oxazoline-substi-tuted anilines (6) react with ketones in dry butanol reflux to give 4-amino-substituted quinolines [e.g. (7)], or 4-quinolones, using tosic acid as catalyst.18 A mechanism involving ketoimine formation with subsequent tautomerization to give an enamine which attacks the oxazoline ring is discussed. 

The best known of the potential mercaptoimidazoles are the imidazoline-2- and benz-imidazoline-2-thiones, which resemble imidazolin-2-ones in that the tautomeric form (53 X = S) is the preferred form. The crystal structure and the HNMR spectrum of 1,3-dimethyl-3H-imidazoline-2-thione have been interpreted as showing partial double bond character in the N—C—N system, but no aromaticity (70CC56). However, the preference for a betaine structure (56) rather than (57) or (58) should be accepted with caution since it is really only a resonance structure similar to others which undoubtedly contribute to the overall structures of oxo-, thio- and amino-imidazoles. Measurement of the piSTa values for a series of imidazoline-2-thiones substituted variously on C-4, C-5, N-1 and N-3 by hydrogen, phenyl or methyl shows that all of the values are similar. Approximate Kr values calculated show that these compounds exist even more in the thione forms (53, X = S 58) than do the corresponding thiazoline-2-thiones and oxazoline-2-thiones. The UV spectra in aqueous solution support thione structures, as do dipole moment and X-ray studies (76AHC(S1)280, p. 400). 

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