Curtius rearrangement of acid

Significantly, trimethylsilyl azide is an excellent substitute for hydrazoic acid in many reactions-such as curtius rearrangement of acid chlorides to isocyanates which proceeds with Me3SiN3 in one pot process and in higher yields. 

The Curtius rearrangement of acid chlorides to isocyanates (60-70%) is conveniently conducted under mild conditions using preformed tetra-n-butylammonium azide [4, 5]. 

These improvements, however, did not effect an inherent shortcoming of the azide method, the well studied Curtius rearrangement of acid azides to isocyanates ... 

Curtius rearrangement of acid 90 and then hydrogenation in the presence of a chiral catalyst led to acid 91. Another Curtius reaction and use of the same hydrogenation catalyst led to the synthesis of cycHc amine 92 (Scheme 10). 

Diphenylphosphoryl azide (15), a stable, non-explosive liquid, functions as a convenient reagent for a modified Curtius reaction and as a coupling agent (Scheme 52) the yields in either reaction are high. Similarly, tri-methylsilyl azide is recommended for the Curtius rearrangement of acid anhydrides to isocyanates. 

The absence of interference of triphenylmethyl radicals in the Curtius rearrangement of acid azides also is in agreement with this conclusion. In fact, experimental evidence indicates that this latter rearrangement is also unimolecular. Unfortunately, no quantitative studies have... 

A third approach to 3-amino-/3-lactams is by Curtius rearrangement of the corresponding acyl azides. These are readily prepared from r-butyl carbazides, available via photochemical ring contraction of 3-diazopyrrolidine-2,4-diones in the presence of f-butyl carbazate (c/. Section 5.09.3.3.2). Thus treatment of (201) with trifluoroacetic acid followed by diazotiz-ation gives the acyl azide (202) which, in thermolysis in benzene and subsequent interception of the resulting isocyanate with r-butanol, yields the protected 3-amino-/3-lactam (203) (73JCS(P1)2907). 

An alternative to the synthesis of arylsulfonylmethylcarbamates by the Mannich condensation as described here, is the Curtius rearrangement of the hydrazides of arylsulfonylacetic acids. 

Alternative routes to -amino acids have also been explored and involve, stereoselective alkylation of chiral derivatives of y9-alanine [136-140], Curtius rearrangement of enantiomerically pure and regioselectively protected substituted-succinic acids [134, 141, 142] (the approach is also suitable for the synthesis of y9 -amino acids [143]), or the formation of chiral isoxazolidinone intermediates [144]. 

A total synthesis of O-methylarnottianamide (223) was performed by Falck et al. (177) (Scheme 34). The regio- and stereospecific cycloaddition of the 2,4-dinitrophenyl (DNP) salt of 6,7-methylenedioxyisoquinoline (218) with a-methoxystyrene 219 resulted in 220. Compound 220 was hydrolyzed, then aromatized, and the resultant aldehyde was oxidized to carboxylic acid 221. Curtius rearrangement of the appropriate azide yielded urethane 222, which... 

Curtius rearrangement of a-oximino acid azides is reported as a new method of synthesis for 3-substituted 5-hydroxyoxadiazoles. In this method, the oxime of an a-ketoester is converted to the acid hydrazide, which in turn is converted to the azide by reaction with nitrous acid 115a). 

Curtius rearrangement of a-oximino acid azides 115a) (see p. 817). 

Heteroaromatic vinyl isocyanates have been used as a source of bicyclic pyridones. In the preparation of the l-methylpyrazolo[4,3-c]pyridone 153 the isocyanate 152b, obtained by Curtius rearrangement of the corresponding acid azide 152a, was heated at 220°C in diphenyl ether to furnish the product in good yield.143,144 Several 2-alkyl derivatives were also prepared.144... 

Curtius rearrangement of the heteroaroyl azides, obtained from the reaction of the carboxylic acid chlorides with sodium azide, provides a route to the amino-pyrroles and -indoles (e.g. B-70MI30504, B-77MI30506, 78CPB1054), which, because of the ease of synthesis of the carboxylic acids, is frequently preferable to reduction of the nitro compounds. 

Goodman and Chorev 75 found that the required a-aminoacyl azides 14 are best prepared by reaction of the mixed anhydride of the amino acid with sodium azide. This method led to slightly better yields than the nitrosylation of TV-formylaminoacyl hydrazide. Curtius rearrangement of the a-aminoacyl azide 14 yielded the isocyanate 16, which was subsequently trapped as 17 or 18 as shown in Scheme 2. Comparable yields were obtained by nitrosylation with tert-butyl nitrite. 76 Other methods of acyl azide formation have rarely been employed for PMRI-peptide synthesis. Only Fincham et al. 11 reported the use of trimethylsilyl azide to synthesize an acyl azide en route to a PMRI-peptide. 

Boc-m-Ampa-OH (56) has been prepared by Curtius rearrangement of the monoester of m-phenylenediacetic acid 54 (Scheme 17).It can probably also be obtained more rapidly through the m-bromomethyl precursor as described for the o- and p-isomers. A detailed description of the preparation of [5-(l-aminoethyl)-2-(cyclohexylmethoxy)phenyl]acetic acid methyl ester 57 has been given.175 ... 

The first step in the overall synthetic scheme (Scheme 6) is the condensation of an appropriate carboxylic acid with trifluoroacetaldehyde. The carboxylic acid is chosen to impart specificity for the target enzyme. In one example,[28 the dianion of cyclohexanepropanoic acid (29) was formed by the addition of LDA and then quickly condensed with trifluoroacetaldehyde to form the p-hydroxy acid 30 as a racemic mixture of erythro- and threo-isomers. The p-hydroxy acid 30 is then protected with TBDMSOTf forming 31. Diphenyl phosphorazidate, TEA, and benzyl alcohol were then utilized in a Curtius rearrangement of the protected alcohol 31, which proceeds through an isocyanate intermediate that yields the protected amino alcohol 32 upon reaction with benzyl alcohol. In order for this step to occur at an appreciable rate, a second equivalent of triethylamine had to be added. The amino alcohol 32 was then deprotected and coupled with Boc-Phe-Leu-OH to give the trifluoromethyl alcohol 33, which was oxidized to the corresponding trifluoromethyl ketone 34 as a 1 1.2 mixture of diastereomers using the Dess-Martin periodinane procedure. Thus far, the compound shown in Scheme 6 is the only compound that has been synthesized by this method, but it is reasonable to assume that many other similar fluoro ketones can be produced by this scheme. 

H)-Oxazolones are formed by the spontaneous cyclization of /3-oxo isocyanates (equation 134). Similarly, o-hydroxyphenyl isocyanate, produced by the Curtius rearrangement of the azide of salicylic acid or by the action of sodium hypochlorite on salicylamide, forms benzoxazolone (equation 135). An analogous reaction is the formation of IV-phenyl-benzoxazolone by the action of thionyl chloride on the hydroxamic acid shown in equation (136) (78TL2325). Pyrolysis of aryl azidoformates affords benzoxazolones by nitrene insertion (equation 137) (81CC241). 

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