Eschweiler-Clarke Methylation Reductive Alkylation

The mechanism of all of the above mentioned reactions is essentially the same. However, some steps in the mechanism are still not fully understood. The following steps are believed to be involved in the Eschweiler-Clarke methylation 1) formation of a Schiff-base (imine) from the starting primary or secondary amine and formaldehyde via an aminoalcohol (aminal) intermediate 2) hydride transfer from the reducing agent (e.g., formic acid, cyanoborohydride, etc.) to the imine to get the corresponding A/-methylated amine along with the loss of CO2 and 3) if the starting amine was primary, then steps 1 and 2 are repeated. 

The enantioselective total syntheses of several piperidine and pyrrolidine alkaloids of tobacco were accomplished in the laboratory of J. Lebreton. ° In the final stage of the total synthesis of (S)-A/-methylanabasine, a one-pot Cbz-deprotection-hydrogenation-Eschweiler-Clarke methylation was carried out using a HCHO/MeOH/Pd(C)/H2 system at room temperature with an overall 88% yield. 

Gibson and co-workers developed an efficient synthesis for chiral ring annulet 2,6-disubstituted 1,4,7-trimethyl-1,4,7-triazamacrocycles. This class of molecules is capable of stabilizing transition metals in their high oxidation states and therefore can be used as oxidation catalysts. The A/-methylation of the three nitrogens in the last step was conducted using the original Eschweiler-Clarke methylation conditions. 

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An attractive feature of this route is that the macrobicyclic intermediate 40a can be readily N-alkylated without affecting the masked thiolate functions (209). Thus, reductive methylation of 40a with formaldehyde and formic acid under Eschweiler-Clarke conditions, followed by deprotection of 40b with Na/NH3 provides the otherwise inaccessible N6S2 ligand H2L19 in nearly quantitative yield (Scheme 1). Several other aza-thioethers 40c-p and their corresponding thiophenolate ligands were prepared by this route (see Fig. 30 and Table I) and some of them will be discussed further in later sections (210-215). 

The reductive alkylation of amines is called the Leuckart-Wallach reaction [112-115]. The primary or secondary amine reacts with the ketone or aldehyde. The formed imine is then reduced with formic acid as hydrogen donor (Scheme 20.27). When amines are reductively methylated with formaldehyde and formic acid, the process is termed the Eschweiler-Clarke procedure [116, 117]. 

The Wallach-Leuckart reductive alkylation of ammonia, and primary and secondary amines, by means of aldehydes and ketones, and the methylation of secondary amines according to Clarke and Eschweiler,3160 all possess a reduction step which is very similar to that observed in the reduction of enamines.317... 

A useful application is the Clark-Eschweiler reductive alkylation of amines. Heating a primary or secondary amine with formaldehyde and formic acid results in complete methylation to the tertiary amine. The hydride acceptor is the iminium ion resulting from condensation of the amine with formaldehyde. 

N-Methylation of secondary amines is usually accomplished either with CH20/HC02H (Leuckart/Clarke-Eschweiler reaction) or with CH20 followed by NaBH4 reduction. Methyl iodide treatment of secondary or tertiary bisben-zylisoquinoline alkaloids leads ultimately to the bis quaternary salts, and, in the presence of base, phenolic alkaloids are also O-alkylated. For example, lin-doldhamine (165) on treatment with ethyl bromide in 0.5 N ethanolic KOH gave the N,N,0,0,0-pentaethy 1 derivative (108, Section II,C,56) daurisoline was similarly permethylated with Mel and base (68, Section II,C,19). 

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