Construction of Cyclic Amines and Lactames

The radical-based strategy has invaded the field of A-containing heterocycles. Cyclizations mediated by silyl radicals have been introduced as the key step in the synthesis of alkaloids and pharmacologically active compounds, with many advantages both in terms of selectivity and bio-compatibility. Some of the most significant and innovative examples are described in this section. 

The construction of an indolizidine skeleton has been successfully obtained by radical cyclizations mediated by (TMS)3SiH. Reaction (7.44) represented a key step in the total synthesis of (—)-slaframine. The two pairs of diastereomers were first separated and then hydrolysed to the corresponding alcohols in a 76% overall yield [55]. On the other hand the cyclization of the A-iodopropyl pyridinones in Reaction (7.45) occurs smoothly at room temperature using Et3B/02 as initiator, to give the desired products with a trifluoromethyl group at the bridgehead position in a syn/anti ratio of 7 3 [56]. 

The above-described synthetic strategy has also been adapted to the cycliza-tion of acyl radicals [57]. Two examples are given in Reaction (7.47). The intramolecular addition of acyl radicals to the oxauracil moiety is also an efficient reaction for the construction of five-, six-, and seven-membered rings. By replacing the radical acceptor with oxathymine, an additional stereo-genic centre at C5 position is introduced. 

The validity of the oxauracil strategy for a stereoselective construction of the azabicyclic core has been proven for the syntheses of biologically important polyguanidinium alkaloids, namely, batzelladine A and D [58]. Reaction (7.48) shows that treatment of 41 under the standard free-radical conditions furnished the desired azabicycle in a 77 % yield, in a high diastereoisomeric ratio. Here it can be seen the effect of H donation from the more accessible face of the molecule. 

The aryl radical cyclization has been successfully used for the preparation of substituted dihydrobenzo[Z)]indoline derivatives [59], An example is shown in Reaction (7.49). The diene 42 was preliminarly subjected to ring-closure metathesis using Grubbs catalyst and then treated with (TMS)3SiH and EtsB at -20 °C, in the presence of air, to provide the compound 43 with an excellent diastereoselectivity. 

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