Furans synthesis using oxazoles

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>. 

Considerable work was done to induce chirality via chiral auxiliaries. Reac tions with aromatic a-ketoesters like phenylglyoxylates 21 and electron-rich al kenes like dioxoles 22 and furan 23 were particularly efficient (Scheme 6). Yield up to 99% and diastereoselectivities higher than 96% have been observed whet 8-phenylmenthol 21a or 2-r-butylcyclohexanol 21b were used as chiral auxiliarie [14-18]. It should be noted that only the exoisomers 24 and 25 were obtained from the reaction of dioxoles 22. Furthermore, the reaction with furan 23 wa regioselective. 24 were suitable intermediates in the synthesis of rare carbohydrate derivatives like branched chain sugars [16], Other heterocyclic compounds liki oxazole 28 [19] and imidazole 29 [20] derivatives as well as acyclic alkenes 3fl 31, and 32 [14,15,21,22] were used as olefinic partners. Numerous cyclohexane derived alcohols [18,21-24] and carbohydrate derivatives [25] were used as chiri... 

A one-pot synthesis of di- and trisubstituted furans from acyl isocyanates using trimethylsilyldiazomethane has been developed, which improves the synthesis of such oxazole intermediates (Scheme 20) <2004S1359>. 

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>. 

Examples of cycloadditions with oxazole substrates that lead to products other than furans are also known. 4-Substituted oxazole 73 has been used in an intramolecular Diels-Alder reaction <2004TL6471> with an alkene to afford a pyridyl cycloadduct 74 in good yields en route to the synthesis of a Rauwolfm alkaloid, (—)-suaveoline. This reaction required refluxing xylene with l,5-diazabicyclo[4.3.0]non-5-ene (DBN) as an additive (Scheme 13). 

There are general reviews on heterocyclic syntheses by cycloaddition reactions of isocyanates and on the use of heterocyclic cations in preparative organic chemistry. More specific topics are 5-hydroxymethylfuran-2-carb-aldehyde, isobenzofurans and related ort/io-quinonoid systems, the conversion of 2//-cyclohepta[Zj] furan-2-one (1) into derivatives of azulene, the synthesis of indoles from o-alkylphenyl isocyanides, and abnormal Fischer indolization reactions of o-methoxyphenylhydrazones. Two reviews on isoindoles have appeared and a lecture on highly conducting charge-transfer complexes that are based on heterocyclic selenium and tellurium donors has been reprinted.Recent advances in the chemistry of imidazole and in the use of nitro-imidazoles as radiosensitizers have been summarized. There have been reviews on benzimidazole A -oxides and on dihydrobenzimidazoles, benzimidazolones, benzimidazolethiones, and related compounds. Other topics are synthetic applications of 1,3-dithiolium and 1,3-oxathiolium salts and of isoxazoles, the chemistry of benzisoxazoles, 2-amino-oxazoles, 5-oxazolones (2), furoxans, benzofuroxans, and related systems, the synthesis of five-membered meso-ionic compounds, and tetrazoles. ... 

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 Diels-Alder reaction of oxazoles with alkynes has become a preferred method for the synthesis of substituted furans with diverse applications. A large number of early examples of this reaction have been tabulated. Activated dienophiles such as acetylenic ketones and esters can be used, although unactivated alkyl, aryl, and silyl alkynes have been used as well. In particular, the reaction of 4-phenyloxazole with substituted acetylenes is frequently used for preparing 3,4-disubstimted furans. Cycloadducts derived from 4-phenyloxazole typically decompose under milder conditions than 4-alkyloxazoles, allowing the synthesis of a wider range of functionalized furans. Several examples are shown below. 

Aoyama and co-workers used this approach in their synthesis of 2,3,4-trisubstituted furan derivatives. Reaction of 2-cyclohexyl-4-(trimethylsilyl)oxazole with dimethyl acetylenedicarboxylate under thermal conditions gave the corresponding derivative in good yield. 

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). 

The reverse reactions of Diels-Alder reactions for thermal dissociations of cycloadducts in to dienes and dienophiles at higher temperatures or in the presence of Lewis acid or base are known as the retro-Diels-Alder (rDA) reactions. These reactions in most cases proceed in a concerted process. These reactions are often used for separation of diene or dienophile from their mixture with other compounds. Proper selection of conditions of these reactions provides new dienes and dienophiles, which are important synthons for synthesis of several bioactive natural products and organic molecules of complex structures. For example, the D-A adduct of 4-phenyl oxazole 110 with methyl acetylene dicarboxylate, on retro-D-A reaction gives new compounds, benzonitrile, and furan 3,4-dicarboxylic acid methyl ester 111 [65]. 

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