Cyano-group

The crude product is evaporated to dryness and then heated with a mixture of ethanol and sulphuric acid the cyano group is thus hydrolysed giving malonic acid, which then undergoes esterification to give diethyl malonate. 

BH3 reduces carboxylic acids to 1° alcohols in the presence of esters, nitro and cyano groups. 

The presence of a cyano group seems to be important[649]. The reaction has been successfully applied to halides of pyridine, quinoline, isoquinoline, and oxazoles[650]. An interesting application is the synthesis of tetracyanoquino-dimethane (789) by the reaction of / -diiodobenzene with malononitrile[65l]. 

Aryl, heteroaryl, and alkenyl cyanides are prepared by the reaction of halides[656-658] or triflates[659,660] with KCN or LiCN in DMF, HMPA, and THF. Addition of crown ethers[661] and alumina[662] promotes efficient aryl and alkenyl cyanation. lodobenzene is converted into benzonitrile (794) by the reaction of trimethylsiiyl cyanide in EtiN as a solvent. No reaction takes place with aryl bromides and chlorides[663]. The reaction was employed in an estradiol synthesis. The 3-hydroxy group in 796 was derived from the iodide 795 by converting it into a cyano group[664]. 

The final step can involve introduction of the amino group or of the carbonyl group. o-Nitrobenzyl aldehydes and ketones are useful intermediates which undergo cyclization and aromatization upon reduction. The carbonyl group can also be introduced by oxidation of alcohols or alkenes or by ozonolysis. There are also examples of preparing indoles from o-aminophcnyl-acetonitriles by partial reduction of the cyano group. 

Chlorosulfonyl isocyanate has been used to introduce 3-carboxamide groups. The initial product, an A -chlorosulfonylcarboxamide, is treated with tri-n-butylstannanc to form the primary carboxamide[15], 3-Cyano groups can also be introduced using chlorosulfonyl isocyanate. The intermediate N-chlorosulfonylindole-3-carboxamide is converted to 3-cyanoindole on reaction with triethylamine[16] or DMF[17],... 

It has been shown that the cyano group in the 4-position is more easily reduced than at other positions (91). 

The conversion of 4,5-dicyanothiazoles to diketones has been attempted (91). A difference in reactivity between the two cyano groups has been observed the least labile is the group in the 5-position. These Grignard reactions are limited and lead to 4-acetyl-5-cyanothiazole (Scheme 25). 

Robba and Le Guen (91) have shown that 4,5-dicyanothiazole and various Grignard reagents react partially to give 4-acetyl-5-cyano-thiazoles. As previously mentioned, the cyano group in the 5-position is the least reactive. 

A cyano group is similar to a carbonyl for analogous reasons involving resonance of the type shown for benzonitrile... 

Cyano groups are electron withdrawing deactivating and meta directing... 

The product of addition of hydrogen cyanide to an aldehyde or a ketone contains both a hydroxyl group and a cyano group bonded to the same carbon Compounds of this type are called cyanohydrins... 

Converting aldehydes and ketones to cyanohydrins is of synthetic value for two reasons (1) a new carbon-carbon bond is formed and (2) the cyano group in the prod uct can be converted to a carboxylic acid function (CO2H) by hydrolysis (to be discussed in Section 19 12) or to an amine of the type CH2NH2 by reduction (to be discussed m Section 22 9)... 

Reaction is catalyzed by cyanide ion Cy anohydrins are useful synthetic inter mediates cyano group can be hydro lyzed to —CO2H or reduced to —CH2NH2... 

Once the cyano group has been introduced the nitrile is subjected to hydrolysis Usually this is earned out m aqueous acid at reflux... 

Likewise the cyano group of a cyanohydrin can be hydrolyzed to —CO2H... 

Substitutive lUPAC names for nitriles add the suffix nitrile fo fhe name of fhe parenf hydrocarbon chain fhaf includes fhe carbon of fhe cyano group Nifriles may also be named by replacing the ic acid or oic acid ending of the corresponding carboxylic acid with omtrile Alternatively they are sometimes given functional class lUPAC names as alkyl cyanides... 

Cyano groups in cyanohydrins (Section 17 7) are reduced under the same reaction conditions... 

Because cyano groups may be hydrolyzed to carboxylic acids (Section 20 19) the Sand meyer preparation of aryl nitriles is a key step m the conversion of arylammes to sub stituted benzoic acids In the example just cited the o methylbenzomtnle that was formed was subsequently subiected to acid catalyzed hydrolysis and gave o methylbenzoic acid in 80-89% yield... 

The reaction is used for the chain extension of aldoses in the synthesis of new or unusual sugars In this case the starting material l arabinose is an abundant natural product and possesses the correct configurations at its three chirality centers for elaboration to the relatively rare l enantiomers of glucose and mannose After cyanohydrin formation the cyano groups are converted to aldehyde functions by hydrogenation m aqueous solution Under these conditions —C=N is reduced to —CH=NH and hydrolyzes rapidly to —CH=0 Use of a poisoned palladium on barium sulfate catalyst prevents further reduction to the alditols... 

An older version of this sequence is called the Kiliani-Fischer synthesis It too proceeds through a cyanohydrin but it uses a less efficient method for converting the cyano group to the required aldehyde... 

The Kiliani-Fischer synthesis pro ceeds by nucleophilic addition of HCN to an aldose followed by con version of the cyano group to an al dehyde A mixture of stereoisomers results the two aldoses are epi meric at C 2 Section 25 20 de scribes the modern version of the Kiliani-Fischer synthesis The example at the right illus trates the classical version... 

Ketose (Section 25 1) A carbohydrate that contains a ketone carbonyl group in its open chain form Kiliam-Fischer synthesis (Section 25 20) A synthetic method for carbohydrate chain extension The new carbon-carbon bond IS formed by converting an aldose to its cyanohydnn Reduction of the cyano group to an aldehyde function com pletes the synthesis... 

As a class of compounds, the two main toxicity concerns for nitriles are acute lethality and osteolathyrsm. A comprehensive review of the toxicity of nitriles, including detailed discussion of biochemical mechanisms of toxicity and stmcture-activity relationships, is available (12). Nitriles vary broadly in their abiUty to cause acute lethaUty and subde differences in stmcture can greatly affect toxic potency. The biochemical basis of their acute toxicity is related to their metaboHsm in the body. Following exposure and absorption, nitriles are metabolized by cytochrome p450 enzymes in the Hver. The metaboHsm involves initial hydrogen abstraction resulting in the formation of a carbon radical, followed by hydroxylation of the carbon radical. MetaboHsm at the carbon atom adjacent (alpha) to the cyano group would yield a cyanohydrin metaboHte, which decomposes readily in the body to produce cyanide. Hydroxylation at other carbon positions in the nitrile does not result in cyanide release. 

A solution of sodium cyanide [143-33-9] (ca 25%) in water is heated to 65—70°C in a stainless steel reaction vessel. An aqueous solution of sodium chloroacetate [3926-62-3] is then added slowly with stirring. The temperature must not exceed 90°C. Stirring is maintained at this temperature for one hour. Particular care must be taken to ensure that the hydrogen cyanide, which is formed continuously in small amounts, is trapped and neutrali2ed. The solution of sodium cyanoacetate [1071 -36-9] is concentrated by evaporation under vacuum and then transferred to a glass-lined reaction vessel for hydrolysis of the cyano group and esterification. The alcohol and mineral acid (weight ratio 1 2 to 1 3) are introduced in such a manner that the temperature does not rise above 60—80°C. For each mole of ester, ca 1.2 moles of alcohol are added. 

Reactions. The chemical properties of cyanoacetates ate quite similar to those of the malonates. The carbonyl activity of the ester function is increased by the cyano group s tendency to withdraw electrons. Therefore, amidation with ammonia [7664-41-7] to cyanoacetamide [107-91-5] (55) or with urea to cyanoacetylurea [448-98-2] (56) proceeds very easily. An interesting reaction of cyanoacetic acid is the Knoevenagel condensation with aldehydes followed by decarboxylation which leads to substituted acrylonitriles (57) such as (29), or with ketones followed by decarboxylation with a shift of the double bond to give P,y-unsaturated nitriles (58) such as (30) when cyclohexanone [108-94-1] is used. 

K. Priedricb and K. WaUenfels in Z. Rappoport, ed.. The Chemistry of the Cyano Group, Wiley-Interscience, New York, 1970, Cbapt. 2. 

The Feely-Beavers procedure (eq. 1) provides a method for the introduction of a cyano group (9), principally at the 2-position, to give compounds such as (14). 

Vinylpyridine (23) came into prominence around 1950 as a component of latex. Butadiene and styrene monomers were used with (23) to make a terpolymer that bonded fabric cords to the mbber matrix of automobile tires (25). More recendy, the abiUty of (23) to act as a Michael acceptor has been exploited in a synthesis of 4-dimethylaminopyridine (DMAP) (24) (26). The sequence consists of a Michael addition of (23) to 4-cyanopyridine (15), replacement of the 4-cyano substituent by dimethylamine (taking advantage of the activation of the cyano group by quatemization of the pyridine ring), and base-cataly2ed dequatemization (retro Michael addition). 4-r)imethyl aminopyri dine is one of the most effective acylation catalysts known (27). 

The patended method of preparation of the blue dye (120) [19187-01 -0] (81) involves treating the analogous dibromo substituted azo dye with cuprous cyanide in dimethylformamide or A-methylpyrrohdinone at 50°C to effect replacement of the two bromo substituents by cyano groups. 

Hydrogen cyanide adds to an olefinic double bond most readily when an adjacent activating group is present in the molecule, eg, carbonyl or cyano groups. In these cases, a Michael addition proceeds readily under basic catalysis, as with acrylonitrile (qv) to yield succinonitnle [110-61-2], C4H4N2, iu high yield (13). Formation of acrylonitrile by addition across the acetylenic bond can be accompHshed under catalytic conditions (see Acetylene-DERIVED chemicals). 

Tetracyanoethylene undergoes two principal types of reactions, addition to the double bond and replacement of a cyano group. Addition of hydrogen catalyzed by Pd gives 1,1,2,2,-tetracyanoethane [14778-29-1] (14). 

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