Cycloaddition reactions oxazole-alkyne

An intermolecular version of a [4+2] cycloaddition-retrofragmentation of alkyne-oxazoles can be adapted to the synthesis of 2,3,4-trisubstituted furan in high regioselectivity if acetylenic aldehydes are used as starting materials. The product of this reaction is a pivotal intermediate for the synthesis of (-)-teubrevin G <00JA9324>. 

The meso-ionic 1,3-oxazol-S-ones show an incredible array of cycloaddition reactions. Reference has already been made to the cycloaddition reactions of the derivative 50, which are interpreted as involving cycloaddition to the valence tautomer 51. In addition, an extremely comprehensive study of the 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition reactions of meso-ionic l,3-oxazol-5-ones (66) has been undertaken by Huisgen and his co-workers. The 1,3-dipolarophiles that have been examined include alkenes, alkynes, aldehydes, a-keto esters, a-diketones, thiobenzophenone, thiono esters, carbon oxysulfide, carbon disulfide, nitriles, nitro-, nitroso-, and azo-compounds, and cyclopropane and cyclobutene derivatives. In these reactions the l,3-oxazol-5-ones (66)... 

Since perfluoroalkyl-substituted olefins and alkynes possess low-lying frontier orbitals, [4 + 2] cycloaddition reactions to oxazoles and thiazoles without strongly electron-donating substituents are unfavorable. On the other hand, five-membered heteroaromatic compounds possessing an electron-rich diene substructure, like furans, thiophenes, and pyrroles, should be able to add perfluoroalkyl-substituted olefins as well as alkynes in a normal Diels-Alder process. A reaction sequence consisting of a Diels-Alder reaction with perfluoroalkyl-substituted alkynes as dienophile, and a subsequent retro-Diels-Alder process of the cycloadduct initially formed, represents a preparatively valuable method for regioselective introduction of perfluoroalkyl groups into five-membered heteroaromatic systems. 

Oxazoles represent the most widely recognized heteroaromatic azadiene capable of [4 + 2] cycloaddition reactions. The course of the oxazole Diels-Alder reaction and the facility with which it proceeds are dependent upon the dienophile structure (alkene, alkyne), the oxazole and dienophile substitution, and the reaction conditions. Alkene dienophiles provide pyridine products derived from fragmentation of the [4 + 2] cycloadducts which subsequently aromatize through a variety of reaction pathways to provide the substituted pyridines (Scheme 14). In comparison, alkyne dienophiles provide substituted fiirans that arise from the retro Diels-Alder reaction with loss of R CN from the initial [4 + 2] cycloadduct (Scheme 15,206 Representative applications of the [4 + 2] cycloaddition reactions of oxazoles are summarized in Table 14. Selected examples of additional five-membered heteroaromatic azadienes participatiitg in [4 + 2] cycloaddition reactions have been detailed and include the Diels-Alder reactions of thiazoles, - 1,3,4-oxadiazoles, isoxazoles, pyrroles and imidazoles. ... 

Cycloaddition. Enones and alkynes combine to furnish indanones. The catalytic system consists of NiCacaclj-PPhj, MejAl, and phenol. There is a change in regioselectivity when the reaction is promoted by Ni(acac>2 and an oxazole ligand. (Note a different reaction pathway that proceeds by carbozincation of alkynes and conjugate addition. 

Benzoxazolo[3,4-a]pyridinium salts (116) are known to give cycloadditions of the [4-1-2] and [3 -I- 2] type with alkenes and alkynes. The primary adducts were readily converted to alternative heterocyclic systems (121) and (122) which were usually the isolated major products (Scheme 24) <79JOCill, 82JOC3098>. The formation of oxazoles from the reaction of alkynic aldehydes with (116) was claimed to result from the Diels-Alder pathway with the carbonyl group acting as the dienophile <93JCS(P1)1839>. 

A variety of substituents—including alkyl, alkenyl, cyano, acetyl, and alkoxy— is tolerated at the 2 and 5 positions of the oxazole ring for these cycloadditions. Acetylenic dienophiles with alkyl, trialkylsilyl, phenyl, ester, ketone, and acetal substituents, as well as terminal alkynes, are precedented. Ab initio calculations predict a slightly higher activation energy for the cycloaddition of oxazole with acetylene compared to the oxazole-ethylene reaction. ... 

The regiochemistry of oxazole-alkyne cycloadditions is ill-defined except for the reactions of electron-rich 5-alkoxyoxazoles with electron-deficient alkynes. In these cases, as for the analogous oxazole-olefin cycloadditions, the major product results... 

Diethylacetylene reacted with 4-phenyloxazole 55 in an autoclave for 3 days at 250°C to afford a 70% yield of 3,4-diethylfuran 124 (Fig. 3.35). This furan was then converted into the interesting tetraoxaporphyrin 125 in two steps. The novel diimidazole copper ligand 127 is formed in 84% yield by the cycloaddition of 4-phenyloxazole with the acetylenic diimidazole 126 at 185°C for 18 h (Fig. 3.36). An application of the oxazole-alkyne Diels-Alder reaction in natural product synthesis is exemplified by the construction of the maleic anhydride portion of the... 

I- 2]7t Cycloaddition reactions too have found a place in azepine synthesis. In studies related to the enantiomeric synthesis of norsecurine <9UA5384>, intramolecular cycloaddition of the alkyne group in (168) to the oxazole ring, followed by loss of acetonitrile from the adduct, furnishes the tricyclic azepine (169), as shown in Equation (16), and 2,3,4,5-tetrahydro-7,8-bis(trifluoromethyl)-l/7-pyrido[2,3-i]azepine (171) is obtained by intramolecular [4 + 2]n cycloaddition of (170) followed by elimination of nitrogen <90CBi33>. 

Five-Component Synthesis of Hexasubstituted Benzene Cycloaddition of oxazole with olefin afforded functionalized pyridine after fragmentation of the oxa-bridged cycloadduct (Eq. (1), Scheme 15.19). Logically, if an alkyne were used as a partner of oxazole, the cycloaddition would give an oxa-bridged cyclohexadiene that could undergo the retro-DA reaction to provide a substituted furan (Eq. (2), Scheme 15.19). 

Few reactions of the parent oxazole with the usual alkenic and alkynic dienophiles have been reported. Most oxazoles which yield Diels-Alder adducts contain electron-releasing substituents, the order of reactivity being alkoxy> alkyl 4-phenyl > acetyl > ethoxycarbonyl. This sequence suggests that the oxazole functions as the electron-rich component and that the reaction is governed by interaction of the highest occupied molecular orbital of the oxazole and the lowest unoccupied orbital of the dienophile. Cycloadditions with inverse electron demand of electron-deficient oxazoles with electron-rich dienophiles can be envisaged. 

The primary adducts (156) and (157) of oxazoles with alkenes and alkynes, respectively, are usually too unstable to be isolated. An exception is compound (158), obtained from 5-ethoxy-4-methyloxazole and 4,7-dihydro-l,3-dioxepin, which has been separated into its endo and exo components. If the dienophile is unsymmetrical the cycloaddition can take place in two senses. This is usually the case in the reactions of oxazoles with monosubstituted alkynes with alkenes on the other hand, regioselectivity is observed. Attempts to rationalize the orientation of the major adducts by the use of various MO indices, such as 7r-electron densities or localization energies and by Frontier MO theory (80KGS1255) have not been uniformly successful. A general rule for the reactions of alkyl- and alkoxy-substituted oxazoles is that in the adducts the more electronegative substituent R4 of the dienophile occupies the position shown in formula (156). The primary adducts undergo a spontaneous decomposition, whose outcome depends on the nature of the groups R and on whether alkenes or alkynes have been employed. 

On the basis of the same principle, we developed a three-component synthesis of macrocycles starting from azido amide (46), aldehyde (47) and a-isocyanoaceta-mide (48) (the cx-isocyanoacetamides are easily available, see [84—86]) bearing a terminal triple bond (Scheme 11) [87]. The sequence is initiated by a nucleophilic addition of isonitrile carbon to the in situ generated imine 50 led to the nitrilium intermediate 51, which was in turn trapped by the amide oxygen to afford oxazole 52 (selected examples [88-94]). The oxazole 52, although isolable, was in situ converted to macrocycle 51 by an intramolecular [3+2] cycloaddition upon addition of Cul and diisopropylethylamine (DIPEA). In this MCR, the azido and alkyne functions were not directly involved in the three-component construction of oxazole, but reacted intramolecularly leading to macrocycle once the oxazole (52) was built up. The reaction created five chemical bonds with concurrent formation of one macrocycle, one oxazole and one triazole (Scheme 15). 

The attacks of heterocyclic A -oxides, e.g. of pyridine, quinoline, isoquinoline, phenanthridine, etc., on activated alkynes (RC CR R = R = COOMe R = Ph, R = COOEt R = Ph, R = CN) pose similar problems . An acyclic intermediate has been postulated but is rarely detected. Some of the possibilities are illustrated in equation (126) . If the open intermediate is formed, then the paths to the ylid and the 2-substituted quinoline in equation (126) seem simple enough, but several possible mechanisms can lead to the 3-substituted products . Other workers regard the reaction of the nitrone (or azomethine oxide) with alkyne as simple cycloadditions - which yield 2,3-dihydro-l,2-oxazoles since these are often unstable, only decomposition products may be found (equation 127). The construction of the indolizine skeleton initiated by a similar process has been reviewed (equation 128). ... 

Diels-Alder reactions of oxazoles have proven to be quite versatile and continue to attract attention. Oxazoles have traditionally been used as the diene component and react with alkyne dienophiles to give furan products after extrusion of a nitrile molecule via a reverse-cycloaddition process. This method has been used to access highly substituted furans and has been utilized in numerous natural product syntheses. The reaction typically requires the use of high temperatures for efficient conversion. The furan intermediate 67 was obtained by a thermal intermole-cular Diels-Alder reaction between oxazole 66 and an acetylene. Furan 67 was a key intermediate for the synthesis of (—)-teubrevin G (Scheme 10) <2000JA9324>. Similarly, furan 68, obtained from a Diels-Alder reaction between 4-phenyloxazole and an acetylene, served as an intermediate in the total synthesis of the natural product cornexistin (Scheme 10) <20030L89>. 

The thermal or photolytic decomposition of carbonyl azides in the presence of dipole acceptors such as acetylenes provides a valuable method for the construction of oxazoles. Thus the reaction of ethyl azidoformate with either diphenyl- or diethylacetylene produces mainly the 2-ethoxy-oxazole (77 ).166 166 The reaction involves the 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition of carbethoxy nitrene (76b) to the alkyne to give the oxazole (77). On the... 

Efforts to isolate the initial alkyne oxazole [4 + 2] cycloadducts have been unsuccessful, and only the furan cycloaddition products have been detected in the reaction mixtures. The Diels-Alder reaction of alkyl- or aryl-substituted oxazoles with neutral, conjugated, or electron-deficient al-kynes displays little regioselectivity whereas polarized, electron-rich oxazoles (e.g., 1, = OEt) do participate in regioselective, intermolecu-... 

The Diels-Alder reaction of oxazoles with alkenes, alkynes, and heterodieno-philes has become a valuable tool for the construction of highly substituted pyridines, furans, and other heterocycles and has now been exploited for the synthesis of diverse compounds from pharmaceuticals to complex natural products. These reactions have been extensively reviewed. The purpose of this chapter is to provide an introduction to the use of oxazoles in Diels-Alder cycloadditions and an update on these reactions since 1985. 

The synthetic utility of oxazoles as azadienes was further advanced when Grigg and co-workers reported that the Diels-Alder reactions of oxazoles with alkynes provided furans via a tandem Diels-Alder retro-Diels-Alder sequence. Thus 5-ethoxy-4-substituted oxazoles 119 reacted with dimethyl acetylenedicar-boxylate in cold ether to yield 2-ethoxy-3,4-furandicarboxylic acid dimethyl ester 121 in >50% yield (Fig. 3.33). In this case, the intermediate cycloaddition adduct 120 extrudes a molecule of hydrogen cyanide or a nitrile derived from the C-4 substituent of the oxazole, via a retro-Diels-Alder reaction to provide a substituted... 

The bicyclic intermediate arising from Diels-Alder reaction of oxazoles with alkynes extrudes nitriles (comprised of the nitrogen atom and C4 of the oxazole) to form furans as the ultimate product of the cycloaddition. The same regioselectivity seen in alkene Diels-Alder reactions is noted here. 

On the basis of the same principle, we designed the azido amine 81 and a-isocyanoacetamide bearing an alkyne group 82. Reaction of 81,82, and heptaldehyde afforded effectively the macrocyde 83 in 45% yield (Scheme 15.25) (43). The reaction involved a sequence of three-component synthesis of oxazole followed by an intramolecular [3 + 2] cycloaddition between the azide and alkyne. The azido and... 

In the oxazole system, the structural element of a bridged 2-aza-l,3-diene is present. Therefore, oxazoles are enabled to undergo Diels-Alder reactions with activated alkenes and alkynes. For example, acryhc acid (as an unsymmetrical activated dienophile) adds to the oxazole 13 to give the product 14 of a (4 + 2)-cycloaddition regioselectively. The Diels-Alder adduct 14 can be transformed to the pyridine derivative 15 by acid-catalyzed dehydration. 

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