Ring opening aziridine

Reductive aziridine ring-opening with sodium cyanoborohydride has been described [74, 91]. In the presence of a catalytic amount of TsOH, compound 111 (Scheme 3.37) gave 112 in 68% yield on treatment with sodium cyanoborohydride [74, 91]. 

In an attempt to effect a chloroformate-mediated dealkylation of aziridine lactone 119 (Scheme 3.41), Dodd and co-workers observed aziridine ring-opening, a-Chloro lactone 120 was obtained in 72% yield [32]. 

With Oxygen Nucleophiles Aziridine ring-opening of 111 (Scheme 3.42) with water in the presence of a catalytic amount of TsOH gave the corresponding (3-hydrox-yphenylalanine derivative 121 in 72% yield as the major isomer [74], Treatment of N-(p-tolylsulfmyl) aziridine-2-carboxylates with TFA and subsequent aqueous workup resulted in the formation of j3-substituted serine derivatives [62, 63, 101]. Under these reaction conditions, not only was the aziridine ring opened, but also the N-sulfmyl group was removed treatment of 122 (Scheme 3.43) with TFA at 73 °C, for example, afforded 123 in 75% yield [101],... 

Treatment of N-acetyl aziridinecarboxylate with acetic anhydride and heating resulted in the aziridine ring-opened product [106], whereas treatment of the aziridine 137 (Scheme 3.49) with acetic anhydride in the presence of pyridine and DMAP as base similarly resulted in the formation of acetate 138 in 90% yield [45]. 

Recently, Lee and co-workers reported an efficient method for the preparation of enantiomerically pure oxazolidin-2-ones from aziridine-2-carboxylates 186 (Scheme 3.68) [128]. This one-pot aziridine ring-opening and subsequent intramolecular cyclization process was highly regio- and stereoselective, affording 187 in high yield. 

S,3R)-Aziridine-2-carboxylic amide 258 (Scheme 3.95) has been used in the synthesis of the cyclic guanidino amino acid, L-epicapreomycidine (260) [145]. Treatment of 258 with saturated ammonia in methanol at 30 °C for 4 days in a pressure bottle resulted in the aziridine ring-opening product, which afforded 259 in 52 % yield after removal of the Cbz protecting group. 

A number of nitramine-nitrate explosives have been prepared by Millar and co-workers from the action of dinitrogen pentoxide on aziridines and azetidines (Section 5.8). Millar and co-workers used their aziridine ring-opening nitration methodology (Section 5.8.1) to synthesize the high performance melt-castable nitramine-nitrate explosive known as Tris-X... 

Miiller and Nury examined aziridine ring opening using Grignard reagents as nucleophiles. They found that the reaction proceeds in moderate selectivities in the presence of copper catalysts such as 69 ... 

Scheme 47 Proposed mechanism of aziridine ring opening under aerobic reaction conditions catalyzed by NHC...

The synthesis of substituted cysteines can be accomplished via Michael addition reactions,]67124-126] by nucleophilic displacement,]127] from racemic thiazolines,]128] via aziridine ring opening,]129 and by asymmetric synthesis using a chiral auxiliary.]130] The details for some of these methods are described. 

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