Cyclizations aziridination

Important synthetic paths to azirines and aziridines involve bond reorganization, or internal addition, of vinylnitrenes. Indeed, the vinylnitrene-azirine equilibrium has been demonstrated in the case of trans-2-methyl-3-phenyl-l-azirine, which at 110 °C racemizes 2000 times faster than it rearranges to 2-methylindole (80CC1252). Created in the Neber rearrangement or by decomposition of vinyl azides, the nitrene can cyclize to the p -carbon to give azirines (Scheme 4 Section 5.04.4.1). 

Certain bifunctional nucleophiles allow cyclization after ring opening. The formation of 2-thiazolium salts (71JHC40S) and the analogous production of 2-amino-2-thiazolines (191) from aziridines and thiocyanic acid fall into this category (72JOC4401). 

Addition of trichloromethide ion to azirine (210) generates aziridine (230). When this aziridine was treated with base, cyclization and rearrangement occurred and the azetidine (233) was isolated (73JA2982). 

Preparative routes to aziridines and 1-azirines are derived from cycloelimination processes in which one, and sometimes two, bonds are formed directly to the nitrogen atom (Scheme 1). For aziridines these include the two intramolecular cyclization pathways involving either nucleophilic displacement by the amine nitrogen (or nitrenium anion) on the /3-carbon (route a) or nucleophilic displacement by a /3-carbanionic centre on the amine nitrogen... 

In some cases, the /3-haloamine undergoes spontaneous cyclization to the aziridine <70TL1125>. Most of these routes, however, require either reductive or base-induced cyclization to the aziridine. Access to a vast number of aziridines and 1-azirines has been... 

Mesylates and tosylates may be used as variants of the 0-sulfate ester. For instance, 55% of aziridine 7 was obtained from base-mediated cyclization of amino mesylate 6. In comparison, the classic Wenker protocol only gave 3% of 7. In another instance, A-tosyl amino alcohol 8 was tosylated to give 9, which was transformed to aziridine 10 in 64% yield, along with 29% of the P-elimination product due to the presence of the ester moiety. Likewise, aziridine 12 was assembled from tosylate 11 in two steps and 60% yield. ... 

Acidic deacetylation of 129 followed by alkaline treatment of the intermediate 130 provided denitrocyclization product 131 in 51% overall yield (77KGS1271). A similar cyclized product was reported to be formed from 2-nitrobenzimidazole (132), which when treated with aziridine, instead of the corresponding aminoethyl derivative, provided 93% of benzimidazo[2,l-fo]imidazole 133 (Scheme 21) (82JMC1342). 

There is only one report in the literature of a [3-1-3] cycloaddition involving TMM and activated aziridines to give the corresponding piperidine (124) [44]. The formation of the six-membered ring adduct is presumed to proceed via the ringopening of the aziridine by the attack of TMM complex (2) on the least hindered carbon, which is then followed by an intramolecular cyclization (Scheme 2.34). 

Only one report is concerned with the synthesis, molecular structure, and X-ray analysis of this ring system as 2 (86KGS477). The synthesis of 2 was achieved by the cyclization of 2-aziridine carboxylic acid hydrazide with acetone as shown in Scheme 2. 

A variety of methods for the asymmetric syntheses of aziridine-2-carboxylates have been developed. They can be generally classified into eight categories based on the key ring-forming transformation and starting materials employed (i) cyclization of hydroxy amino esters, (ii) cyclization of hydroxy azido esters, (iii) cyclization of a-halo- and ot-sulfonyloxy-(3-amino esters, (iv) aziridination of ot, 3-unsaturated esters, (v) aziridination of imines, (vi) aziridination of aldehydes, (vii) 2-carboxylation of aziridines, and (viii) resolution of racemic aziridine-2-carboxylates. 

The earliest method developed for the preparation of nonracemic aziridine-2-car-boxylates was the cyclization of naturally occurring (3-hydroxy-a-amino acid derivatives (serine or threonine) [4]. The (3-hydroxy group is normally activated as a tosyl or mesyl group, which is ideal for an intramolecular SN2 displacement. The cyclization has been developed in both one-pot and stepwise fashion [4—9]. As an example, serine ester 3 (Scheme 3.2) was treated with tosyl chloride in the presence of triethylamine to afford aziridine-2-carboxylate 4 in 71% yield [9]. Cyclization of a-hydroxy- 3-amino esters to aziridine-2-carboxylates under similar conditions has also been described [10]. 

A general method for the synthesis of N-unsubstituted aziridine-2-carboxylates involves a triphenylphosphine-mediated reductive cyclization of hydroxy azido esters [17-22]. A recent example involves the treatment of [1-hydroxy-a-azido ester 15 (Scheme 3.6) with PPh3 to give aziridine 16 in 90% yield [19]. a-Hydroxy- 3-azido esters undergo similar reactions to give aziridine-2-carboxylates [20-22],... 

Thermolysis of acyl azides and subsequent cyclization to give aziridines has been reported by Egli and Dreiding [39]. Heating of acylazide 34 (Scheme 3.11) in an autoclave afforded aziridine 35 in 74% yield [39]. 

Methodology for the cyclization of a-hydroxy-P-amino phosphonates has also been developed and employed in synthesis of aziridine-2-phosphonates [79, 80]. Mesyla-tion of a-hydroxy-P-amino phosphonates 89 (Scheme 3.29), for example, gave a-mesyloxy-P-amino phosphonates 90. Treatment of 90 with K2CO3 afforded azir-idine-2-phosphonates 91 in 93-95% yield [79]. 

An aza-Darzens reaction, involving the addition of chloromethylphosphonate anions to enantiopure N-sulfinimines, has also been developed by Davis and others for the asymmetric synthesis of aziridine-2-phosphonates [81-84], As an example, treatment of the lithium anion generated from dimethyl chloromethylphos-phonate (93 Scheme 3.30) with N-sulfmimine (Ss)-92 gave the a-chloro-P-amino phosphonate 94, which could be isolated in 51% yield. Cyclization of 94 with n-BuLi gave cis-N-sulfmylaziridine-2-phosphonate 95 in 82% yield [81],... 

Recently, Lee and co-workers reported an efficient method for the preparation of enantiomerically pure oxazolidin-2-ones from aziridine-2-carboxylates 186 (Scheme 3.68) [128]. This one-pot aziridine ring-opening and subsequent intramolecular cyclization process was highly regio- and stereoselective, affording 187 in high yield. 

Carbanions of active methylene compounds also react with aziridine-2-car-boxylic esters to give ring-opened products [129]. The ring-opened intermediates usually cyclize spontaneously to pyrrolidones. Treatment of 190 (Scheme 3.70) with the sodium enolate of dimethyl malonate 191, for example, afforded pyrroli-done 192 in 15% isolated yield, together with 30% of the debenzoylated product 193. 

Those reactions that have found general use for the preparation of aziridines can be grouped into two broad classes addition and cyclization processes, and each of these categories can be further divided. Addition processes can be classified as being C2+N1 reactions (addition of nitrenes, or nitrene equivalents [ nitrenoids ], to alkenes Scheme 4.1) or (J N1+C1 reactions (addition of carbenes or carbenoids to imines Scheme 4.2). 

Azirines (three-membered cyclic imines) are related to aziridines by a single redox step, and these reagents can therefore function as precursors to aziridines by way of addition reactions. The addition of carbon nucleophiles has been known for some time [52], but has recently undergone a renaissance, attracting the interest of several research groups. The cyclization of 2-(0-tosyl)oximino carbonyl compounds - the Neber reaction [53] - is the oldest known azirine synthesis, and asymmetric variants have been reported. Zwanenburg et ah, for example, prepared nonracemic chiral azirines from oximes of 3-ketoesters, using cinchona alkaloids as catalysts (Scheme 4.37) [54]. 

This class of aziridine-forming reaction includes the first reaction reported to afford aziridines. In 1888 Gabriel reported that aziridines could be prepared in a two-step process, by chlorination of ethanolamines with thionyl chloride, followed by alkali-induced cyclization [75]. Wenker subsequently reported that heating of 600 g of ethanolamine with more than 1 kg of 96 % sulfuric acid at high temperature produced P-aminoethyl sulphuric acid 282 g of it was distilled from aqueous base to give 23 g of aziridine itself, the first preparation of the parent compound in a pure condition [76]. Though there is no evidence to substantiate the hypothesis, the intermediate in these reactions is perhaps a cyclic sulfamidate (Scheme 4.51). 

No biosynthetic experiments have been reported for these compounds, but they probably all share the same biosynthetic mechanism. One possibility is that they are generated by cyclization of an a-amino-p-keto carboxyl intermediate that would arise from threonine (136) and sphingosine (131) for 139 and 130, respectively (Figure 11.23). Alternatively, cyclization may precede oxidation, with an aziridine intermediate being formed. 

Reduction of iV-(3-bromopropyl) imines gives a bromo-amine in situ, which cyclizes to the aziridine. Five-membered ring amines (pyrrolidines) can be prepared from alkenyl amines via treatment with N-chlorosuccinimide (NCS) and then BusSnH. " Internal addition of amine to allylic acetates, catalyzed by Pd(PPh3)4, leads to cyclic products via a Sn2 reaction. Acyclic amines can be prepared by a closely related reaction using palladium catalysts. Three-membered cyclic amines (aziridines)... 

Certain reagents promote ring opening and subsequent cyclization to give other heterocycles. For example, di-tert-butyl dicarbonate induces the stereoselective ring transformation of N-alkyl aziridines 159 into oxazolidin-2-ones 160 <96TET2097>. 

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