Cyanoacetic acid, condensation with

Cyanoacetic acid, condensation with furfural to yield 3-(2-furyl)acry-lonitrile, 40, 46... 

Diesters of malonic acid, as well as other active methylene compounds such as ace-toacetic esters and cyanoacetic esters, condense with aldehydes and ketones in the presence of catalytic amounts of primary or secondary amines or ammonium salts. 

Reactions using highly acidic active methylene compounds (pAa = 9-13) comprise nearly all the early examples of imine condensation reactions, some of which date back to the turn of the century. Reviews by Layer and Harada have summarized many of these reactions and include examples using diethyl malonate, ethyl cyanoacetate, ethyl malonamide, acetoacetic acid, benzoylacetic esters and nitroalkanes. Conditions of these reactions vary they have been performed both in protic and aptotic solvents, neat, and with and without catalysts. Elevated temperatures are generally required. Reactions with malonates have useful applications for the synthesis of 3-amino acids. For example, hydrobenzamide (87), a trimeric form of the benzaldehyde-ammonia Schiff base, and malonic acid condense with concomitant decarboxylation to produce p-phenylalanine (88) in high yield (equation 14). This is one of the few examples of a Mannich reaction in which a primary Mannich base is produced in a direct manner but is apparently limited to aromatic imines. 

C8H10N4O2. An alkaloid occurring in tea, coffee and guarana, from which it may be prepared by extraction, It is also manufactured by the methylation of theobromine and by the condensation of cyanoacetic acid with urea. Crystallizes with H2O or anhydrous from organic solvents. M.p. (anhydrous) 235"C, sublimes at 176 C. Odourless, and with a very bitter taste. Caffeine acts as a stimulant and diuretic, and is a constituent of cola drinks, tea and coffee. 

Into a 500 nil. round-bottomed flask, provided with a double surface condenser, place 50 g. (63 ml.) of pure, dry acetone, 50 g. (47 ml.) of ethyl cyanoacetate (Section 111,131) and 0 -5 g. of piperidine. Allow to stand for 60 hours and heat on a water bath for 2 hours. Treat the cold reaction mixture with 100 ml. of ether, wash with dilute hydrochloric acid, then with water, and dry over anhydrous sodium or magnesium sulphate. Distil under diminished pressure and collect the ethyl fsopropylidene cyanoacetate (ethyl a-cyano-pp-dimethylacrylate) at 114-116°/14mm.(l). The yield is 39 g. 

When acetone is condensed with ethyl cyanoacetate in the presence of a solution of anhydrous ammonia in absolute alcohol at —5°, the ammonium salt of the dicyano-imlde (I) is precipitated. Upon dissolving this salt in water and adding excess of concentrated hydrochloric acid, the crystalline dicyano-imide (II) is obtained. Hydrolysis of the last-named with strong sulphuric acid affords p p dimethylglutaric acid (III). 

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. 

Reaction with Alkyl Halide. The active methylene group of an Al-acylamino-malonic acid ester or Ai-acylamino cyanoacetic acid ester condenses readily with primary alkyl hahdes. 

A mixture of 105.6 g. (1.1 moles) of freshly distilled furfural, 87.0 g. (1.0 mole) of 98% cyanoacetic acid (Note 1), 3.0 g. of ammonium acetate, 200 ml. of toluene, and 110 ml. of pyridine is placed in a 1-1. round-bottomed flask equipped with a Stark and Dean water trap and reflux condenser. The mixture is boiled under reflux for 2 days. The theoretical quantity of water is collected in the trap within 1 hour. Upon completion of the reflux period, the solvent is removed under reduced pressure by heating on a water bath. The residue, distilled through a 15-cm. Vigreux column at 11 mm. pressure, yields 88.6-93.3 g. (74.5-78%) of colorless liquid boiling at 95-97°, 1.5823-1.5825. 

Formal oxidation of pyrrolidine to the succinimide stage affords a series of compounds used as anticonvulsant agents for treatment of seizures in petit mal epilepsy. Knoevnagel condensation of benzaldehyde with ethyl cyanoacetate affords the unsaturated ester, 9. Conjugate addition of cyanide ion leads to the di-nitrile ester (10). Hydrolysis in mineral acid affords the succinic acid (11), presumably by decarboxylation of the intermediate tricarboxyllie acid. Lactamization with methylamine gives phensuximide (12). ... 

Ethylbenzoic acid was converted to the acid chloride, which was treated with AICI3 and benzene to give 4-ethylbenzophenone in 90% yield overall. Condensation with ethyl cyanoacetate afforded ethyl 4-ethyl-a-cyano-B-phenylcinnamate as an essentially 50/50 mixture of the Z- and E-isomers. The yield of the condensation was highly sensitive to reaction conditions, and was optimized at 75% with portionwise addition of the ammonium acetate catalyst. Bromination and dehydrobromination as described earlier then completed the preparation. The overall yield of ethyl 4-vinyl-a-cyano-p-phenylcinnamate was 20%. 

A mixture of the alcohol with formic acid rapidly self-heated, then reacted violently [1], A stirred mixture with cyanoacetic acid exploded violently after application of heat [2], Contact with acids causes self-condensation of the alcohol, which may be explosively violent under unsuitable physical conditions. The general mechanism has been discussed [3], The explosion hazards associated with the use of acidic catalysts to polymerise furfuryl alcohol may be avoided by using as catalyst the condensation product of 1,3-phenylenediamine and l-chloro-2,3-epoxypropane [4], See Nitric acid Alcohols (reference 6)... 

The one-step condensation to convert 2-butanone, ethyl cyano-acetate, and hydrocyanic acid to ethyl 2,3-dicyano-3-methyl-pentanoate is a modification of the procedure described by Smith and Horowitz 6 in which pyridine acetate was employed as the catalyst. Higson and Thorp 6 employed a two-step procedure in which butanone was converted to its cyanohydrin, which in turn was condensed with ethyl cyanoacetate. 

Pyrantel Pyrantel, l,4,5,6-tetrahydro-l-methyl-2-[trans-2-(2-thienyl)vinyl]-pyrimidine (38.1.22), a derivative of tetrahydropyrimidine, is made from 3-(2-thienyl)-acrylonitrile (38.1.19), which is made in a Knoevangel condensation of fnrfnral with cyanoacetic acid. Acidic hydrolysis of this makes 3-2(-thienyl)acrylamide (38.1.20). Reacting this with propansnUone gives an iminoester (38.1.21), which when reacted with A-methyltrimethyl-enediamine gives the desired pyrantel [20-23]. 

Microwave-assisted procedures have also been developed for the condensation of substituted amidines and ureas with malonic acid derivatives <2005TL5727, 2007AJC120>. For example, reaction of substituted ureas 668 with malonic acid 667 in the presence of acetic anhydride gave 1,3-disubstituted barbituric acids 669, while similar condensation with cyanoacetic acid 670 gave 6-aminouracil derivatives 671 <2005TL5727>. 

Fused 2-substituted thiazoles are most conveniently synthesized by condensing an a-haloketone with a thiono-amide. Thiazolo[5,4- ]indoles 118 were prepared via the Gunch reaction using bromindoxyl 117 and primary thionoamides of phenylacetic acid, phenylpropionic acid, and cyanoacetic acid affording the products as either... 

Substituted-3-aryl[l,6]naphthyridin-2-amines and 7-substituted-3-aryl[l,6]naphthyridin-2(l//)-ones have been prepared by diazotization of 3-aryl[l,6]naphthyridine-2,7-diamines, themselves obtained by the condensation cycli-zation of 4,6-diaminonicotinaldehyde and phenylacetonitrile <2000J(P1)1843>. Derivatives of cyanoacetic acid have rarely been used in the synthesis of naphthyridines, although a recent study has shown that they may be reacted with 4-piperidone derivatives to give [l,6]naphthyridines <2000CHE496>. 

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