Cyanoborohydride reaction with amines

Aldehyde particles are spontaneously reactive with hydrazine or hydrazide derivatives, forming hydrazone linkages upon Schiff base formation. Reactions with amine-containing molecules, such as proteins, can be done through a reductive amination process using sodium cyanoborohydride (Figure 14.21). 

Derivatives of hydrazine, especially the hydrazide compounds formed from carboxylate groups, can react specifically with aldehyde or ketone functional groups in target molecules. Reaction with either group creates a hydrazone linkage (Reaction 44)—a type of Schiff base. This bond is relatively stable if it is formed with a ketone, but somewhat labile if the reaction is with an aldehyde group. However, the reaction rate of hydrazine derivatives with aldehydes typically is faster than the rate with ketones. Hydrazone formation with aldehydes, however, results in much more stable bonds than the easily reversible Schiff base interaction of an amine with an aldehyde. To further stabilize the bond between a hydrazide and an aldehyde, the hydrazone may be reacted with sodium cyanoborohydride to reduce the double bond and form a secure covalent linkage. 

Glutaraldehyde is the most popular b/s-aldchydc homobifunctional crosslinker in use today. Flowever, a glance at glutaraldehyde s structure is not indicative of the complexity of its possible reaction mechanisms. Reactions with proteins and other amine-containing molecules would be expected to proceed through the formation of Schiff bases. Subsequent reduction with sodium cyanoborohydride or another suitable reductant would yield stable secondary amine... 

The synthesis of a triptan with a chiral side chain begins by reduction of the carboxylic acid in chiral 4-nitrophenylalanine (15-1). The two-step procedure involves conversion of the acid to its ester by the acid chloride by successive reaction with thionyl chloride and then methanol. Treatment of the ester with sodium borohy-dride then afford the alanilol (15-2). Reaction of this last intermediate with phosgene closes the ring to afford the oxazolidone (15-3) the nitro group is then reduced to the aniline (15-4). The newly obtained amine is then converted to the hydrazine (15-5). Reaction of this product with the acetal from 3-chloropropionaldehyde followed by treatment of the hydrazone with acid affords the indole (15-6). The terminal halogen on the side chain is then replaced by an amine by successive displacement by means of sodium azide followed by catalytic reduction of the azide. The newly formed amine is then methylated by reductive alkylation with formaldehyde in the presence of sodium cyanoborohydride to afford zolmitriptan (15-7) [15]. 

This synthetic procedure, using the hydrochloride salt of the amine and sodium cyanoborohydride in methanol, seems to be quite general for ketone compounds related to 3,4-methylenedioxyphenylacetone. Not only were most of the MD-group of compounds discussed here made in this manner, but the use of phenylacetone (phenyl-2-propanone, P-2-P) itself appears to be equally effective. The reaction of butylamine hydrochloride in methanol, with phenyl-2-propanone and sodium cyanoborohydride at pH of 6, after distillation at 70-75 °C at 0.3 mm/ Hg, producedN-butylamphetamine hydrochloride (23.4 g from 16.3 g P-2-P). And, in the same manner with ethylamine hydrochloride there was produced N-ethyl-amphetamine (22.4 g from 22.1 g P-2-P) and with methy lamine hydrochloride there was produced N-methylamphetamine hydrochloride (24.6 g from 26.8 g P-2-P). The reaction with simple ammonia (as ammonium acetate) gives consistently poor yields in these reactions. 

Direct conversion of 14 to (+)-himbacine is achieved in a one-pot procedure by removing the BOC group with trifluoroacetic acid and reaction of the resulting free amine with aqueous formaldehyde and sodium cyanoborohydride. This reductive elimination furnishes the imine which is in situ reduced to the tertiary amine. Another common method for /V-methylation is the reaction with a base like sodium hydride and methyl iodide. But this method is not suitable for molecules with C-H acidic protons. 

The first reported synthesis of MDMA was from safrole by converting it to its bromo derivative followed by reaction with meth-ylamine (Biniecki et al., 1960). Bailey et al. describe the synthesis of MDMA from 3,4-methylenedioxyphenylacetone using a Leuckart reaction with N-methylformamide and hydrolysis of the N-formyl derivative (Bailey et al., 1975). A third synthesis for MDMA described in the literature starts with peperonal which is reacted with nitroethane, ammonium acetate, and acetic acid to form a nitrostyrene derivative that is reduced to the ketone and then reacted with methylamine to form MDMA (Rabjohns, 1963). Using the method of Borch et al., MDMA can be synthesized by the reductive amination of the appropriate ketone in the presence of sodium cyanoborohydride (Borch et al., 1971). The MDMA syntheses used in clandestine laboratories are analogous. 

An important PEG attachment chemistry for reaction with amino groups involves PEG aldehydes. In this chemistry, PEG aldehyde reacts with amino group on the target protein to form a reversible Schiff base linkage. The imine intermediate is then reduced with a suitable reductant such as sodium cyanoborohydride (Eigure 24.3). The most notable feature of this reaction is that, when conducted at low pH, the reaction is specific for the amino terminus of the protein [42,43]. The reason for this selectivity is that, relative to other nucleophilic residues in the molecule, the amino terminus has a lower pKa. Therefore, this reaction scheme can be used to reduce the side reactions that form multipegylated products in other amine selective chemistries. 

Although Schiff base formation can be performed with amine groups, the low stability of the bond in aqueous conditions makes hydrazide a better alternative. Hydrazides can be introduced on the sensor surface via reaction of hydrazine or carbohydrazine to carboxylic groups after activation with EDC/NHS (Fig. 11) [32]. The hydrazide-aldehyde bond forms rapidly and is relatively stable in neutral to alkaline conditions, but disintegrates slowly in acidic buffers. If necessary, the bond can be further stabilized by reduction with sodium cyanoborohydride at pH 4. 

---