Enamines by Reductive Processes

The preparation of enamines by reduction of aromatic heterocyclic bases and their quaternary salts or of lactams is not the most useful approach (97). The lithium aluminum hydride reduction of N-acyl enamines has been used with both fruitful and unsuccessful results. A series of 3-N-acetyl -d -cholestenes (104) has been prepared by desulfurization of the appropriate thiazolidine (105) (98,99). Lithium aluminum hydride reduction of the 

N-acyl enaminc (104, R = CHjCHj) gave an unstable enamine (106) which decomposed readily to 3-cholestanone. The steroidal N-acetyl enamines (107 and 108, R = C HjCHj) can be reduced by lithium aluminum hydride in tctrahydrofuran to the corresponding enamines (109, R = CJH5CH2) in 90 and 68% yield, respectively 100). Attempts to reduce the enamide (107, R = CH3) led to the formation of the impure enamine (109, R = CHj), which decomposed to the hydroxy ketone (110). 

The simpler enamide, l-styryT2-pyrrolidone (111), is reduced by lithium aluminum hydride in refluxing ether to 1-styrylpyrrolidine (112) in 52% yield 101). 

The lithium- -propylamine reducing system has been found capable of reducing julolidine (113) to /d -tetrahydrojulolidine (114, 66% yield) and 1-methyl-1,2,3,4-tctrahydroquinoline to a mixture of enamines (87% yield), l-methyl-J -octahydroquinoline (115) and 1-methyl-al -octahydro-quinoline (116) 102). This route to enamines of bicyclic and tricyclic systems avoids hydroxylation, which occurs during mercuric acetate oxidation of certain bicyclic and tricyclic tertiary amines 62,85 see Section III.A). 

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