Cyano group, hydrolysis

Studies of chemical attack on nitrile rubber by fluids encountered in sealing applications in the oil industry are reported. The results showed that excessive hardening of nitrile rubber in the downhole oilfield environment occurs at the acrylonitrile sites, and that it could be due to either hydrolysis or reduction of the cyano group. Hydrolysis is driven by Bronsted acids (proton donors) and reduction by Lewis acids (electron donors). Catalysis by metal ions could possibly cause these reactions to occur at a greatly reduced activation energy. Oxidative attack at the butadiene sites is the primary cause of hardening in aboveground applications of nitrile rubber. 12 refs. 

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)... 

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

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... 

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. 

Although a C—CN bond is normally strong, one or two cyano groups in TCNE can be replaced easily, about as easily as the one in an acyl cyanide. The replacing group can be hydroxyl, alkoxyl, amino, or a nucleophilic aryl group. Thus hydrolysis of TCNE under neutral or mildly acidic conditions leads to tricyanoethenol [27062-39-17, a strong acid isolated only in the form of salts (18). 

The furazan ring is stable under the conditions used to reduce the nitro group to the amine (Scheme 6). Thus, on treatment of compound 19 with SnC in HCl, the nitro group was reduced and the cyano group underwent hydrolysis and decarboxylation yielding salt 20 (30G721). 

The cyano group is at the carboxylic acid oxidation level, so nitriles are potential precursors of primary amides. Partial hydrolysis is sometimes possible.146... 

Several alternative procedures have been developed in which other reagents replace carbon monoxide as the migration terminus.11 The most generally applicable of these methods involves the use of cyanide ion and trifluoroacetic anhydride (TFAA). In this reaction the borane initially forms an adduct with cyanide ion. The migration is induced by N-acylation of the cyano group by TFAA. Oxidation and hydrolysis then give a ketone. 

The medicinal chemists subsequently discovered an improved route to racemic acid 9 that started with 2-bromo-2-cyclopente-l-one 11 (Scheme 7.2) [5]. Suzuki-Miyaura cross-coupling of 11 with 4-fluorophenyl boronic acid 12 provided 13 in 67% yield. Conjugate addition of cyanide furnished ketone 14 in 71% yield. Reduction of 14 with NaB H4 gave a 2.8 1 mixture of desired 15 and undesired 16 which were separated by silica gel chromatography. The observed diastereoselec-tivity with the cyano group was similar to ester 6. Hydrolysis of 15 with 5 M NaOH in MeOH gave racemic acid 9 in 91% yield, which was resolved as outlined in Scheme 7.1. 

The triazinedione, triazuril (163) is active as a poultry coccidiostat. Diazonium salt 160, prepared from the appropriate aniline, is coupled with the active methylene group of N-carbethoxycyanoacetamide to give 161. Hydrolysis of the cyano group is accompanied by cyclization, and the resulting acid (162) is decarboxylated to triazuril (163) on heating.50... 

The transformation of the cyano group could also introduce a new chiral center under diastereoselective control (Figure 5.13). Grignard-transimination-reduction sequences have been employed in a synthesis of heterocyclic analogues of ephedrine [81]. The preferential formation of erythro-/3-amino alcohols may be explained by preferential hydride attack on the less-hindered face of the intermediate imine [82], and hydrocyanation of the imine would also appear to proceed via the same type of transition state. In the case of a,/3-unsaturated systems, reduction- transimination-reduction may be followed by protection of the /3-amino alcohol to an oxazolidinone, ozonolysis with oxidative workup, and alkali hydrolysis to give a-hydroxy-/3-amino acids [83]. This method has been successfully employed in the synthesis L-threo-sphingosine [84]. 

Cydobutanecarboxylic acid has been prepared by decarboxylation of the 1,1-dibasic acid,1-4 and by decarboxylation of 1-cyano- 1-carboxycyclobutane followed by hydrolysis of the cyano group.2... 

Metabolism of the 2,S -isomers proceeds sequentially hydroxylation at the phenoxy group, hydrolysis of the cyano group, and cleavage of the ester linkage (Coats et al. 1989). Fenvalerate and the IS-isomers yield two ester metabolites in feces from hydroxylation at the 4 - and 2 -phenoxy positions. Other significant metabolites were 3-phenoxybenzoic acid and its hydroxy derivatives from the alcohol moiety, 3-(4-chlorophenyl) isovaleric acid and its hydroxy derivatives from the acid moiety, and thiocyanate and carbon dioxide from the cyano moiety (Ohkawa et al. 1979). A slow elimination rate characterizes fenvalerate and other a-cyano pyrethroids when compared with... 

Other transformations of the substituents on the N-l atom were also reported <1997JOC7288> (Scheme 9) hydrolysis of the 5-cyano group of derivative 29 to a carboxamide 30 has also been reported. 

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