Furan ring oxidative

The observed moderate sitoselectivity of the furan ring oxidation at C-5 was attributed to a coordination of the electrophilic Br" " species with the allylic C-8-OR group, prior to the attack on the aromatic ring (60). 

Certain oxidants, ruthenium tetraoxide for example, complete destroy furan rings oxidation of a 2-substituted furan leaves just one carbon of the original heterocycle as a carboxylic acid, without disrupting sensitive functionality in the side-chain. °... 

The stability of various heterocycles can be also compared using oxidation procedures. Thus, the oxidation of the heterocycles in Scheme 29 with potassium permanganate showed that under these reaction conditions the isoxazole ring is more stable than the furan ring but less stable than the pyrazole and furazan rings. 

These compounds contain a furan ring fused to a benzene moiety in the 2,3-position. This synthesis was also described by Flynn et al. [73] and is shown in Scheme 25 involved the coupling of 2-iodo-5-methoxyphenol 104, 4-methoxyphenylethyne 105 to form the intermediate o-alkynylphenolate 106. Aryl iodide 107 was added to the phenolate in DMSO with heat. Oxidative addition, palladium(II)-induced cyclization and reductive elimination resulted in the product 108 with an 88% yield. 

Oxidation of a furan ring leads to a Michael acceptor as shown in Figure 8.13 (18). One example of a drug that contains a furan ring is furosemide. It causes hepatotoxicity in rodents but is relatively safe at normal doses in humans. 

The total synthesis of the furo[3,2-a]carbazole alkaloid furostifoline is achieved in a highly convergent manner by successive formation of the car-bazole nucleus and annulation of the furan ring (Scheme 15). Electrophilic substitution of the arylamine 30 using the complex salt 6a provides complex 31. In this case, iodine in pyridine was the superior reagent for the oxidative cyclization to the carbazole 32. Finally, annulation of the furan ring by an Amberlyst 15-catalyzed cyclization affords furostifoline 33 [97]. 

No studies were located regarding metabolism of 2,3-benzofuran in humans or animals. However, the metabolism of several other substituted furans has been shown to involve oxidation by P-450, with the unsubstituted double bond of the furan ring converted either to an epoxide (Boyd 1981) or to a dialdehyde (Ravindranath et al. 1984). Pretreatment with inducers and inhibitors of P-450 modified the toxicity of a single intraperitoneal injection of 2,3-benzofuran to male mice (McMurtry and Mitchell 1977). Oral exposure to 2,3-benzofuran altered the activity of P-450 and other enzymes in the livers of female mice (Heine et al. 1986). These experiments indicate that cytochrome P-450 may be involved in the toxicity of 2,3-benzofuran, but do not provide a clear picture of 2,3-benzofuran metabolism. 

A flexible entry into 2,4-disubstituted furan derivatives through condensation of the sulfur ylide derived from 20 with aldehydes, Pd-catalyzed opening of the vinyl oxirane thus formed, and a final oxidative cyclization of the furan ring was reported. Its utility was exemplified by the first total synthesis of the marine natural product ircinin-4 (21) <99SL29>. 

Tethering an iodobenzene and a furane moiety through a y0-lactam led to the formation of a unique tetracyclic y0-lactam derivative (5.17.). Oxidative addition followed by the carbopalladation of the furane ring resulted in the closure of the seven membered core in a so called heteroaryl Heck reaction "... 

Lithiation of thiazolo[5,4-b]pyridine-N-oxides (503) by n-butyllithium at -65°C is selectively directed by the pyridine N-oxide moiety, whereas lithiation of the parent heterocycle by LDA at -78°C exclusively occurs at the C-4 position (89TL183). Interestingly, no metalation of the furan ring occurred (Scheme 152). 

A novel route to anthracyclinones is based on the chemistry of quinone-isobenzofuran adducts (77TL3537). The 3-methoxybenzyne-furan adduct (1) was reacted with a-pyrone to give a mixture of lactones (2). Thermolysis of this intermediate in the presence of quinone (3) gave in 93% yield the tetracyclic adduct (4) as a stereoisomeric mixture. Aromatization with sodium acetate in acetic acid gave quinone (5) which was subjected to reduction, C-ring oxidation and mild acid hydrolysis to afford a mixture of ( )-7-deoxydaunomycinone (6) and its 1-methoxy regioisomer (Scheme 1). 

Oxidative ring fission of furans using the commercially available reagent pyridinium chlorochromate (PCC) has been studied as well (80T661). Experimental evidence supports the preliminary formation of intermediate (87) formed by 1,4-electrophilic attack of chlorochromate anion upon the furan ring. This intermediate then breaks down by heterolytic cleavage of the Cr—O bonds to afford initially the cis enedione which isomerizes to the trans product. Treatment of (88) with sodium hydroxide in methanol effects ring closure with formation of the 4-methoxycyclopentenone (89 Scheme 22). 

A novel synthesis of the sesquiterpene ( )-cinnamodial (148) utilizes the furan ring as a latent 1,4-dialdehyde synthon (81JA3226). The triol (141) was thus oxidized to the ketofuran (142). Oxidation of the furan moiety with lead tetraacetate afforded a 90% yield of epimeric diacetates (143) which when exposed briefly to DBU gave dienone (144). Epoxidation of (144) and exposure of the epoxide (145) to p-toluenesulfonic acid gave the bis-acetal (146). Reduction of this intermediate to a diol and hydrolysis of the bis-acetal furnished dialdehyde (147). Acetylation of the secondary hydroxyl group completed the synthesis of cinnamodial (Scheme 32). 

---