Fused Carbocyclic Rings

Because of their aromatic character, pyrones undergo annulation reactions and the introduction of substituents less readily than do most cyclic a,B-unsaturated carbonyl compounds. Nevertheless, some suitable modifications have been developed that allow these compounds to be used effectively in annulation reactions. Some reviews about synthesis of 2-pyrones with 3,4-fused carbocyclic ring systems are currently available (82S337 86G109 92T9111). 

Table 1. Fused Carbocyclic Ring Systems from Flash-Vacuum Pyrolysis of Vinylcyclopropanes...

A large number of polycyclic heterocycles containing two or more six-membered rings that share two or more carbon atoms are known. For the majority of these systems, only one of the six-membered rings contains the heteroatoms and the other rings are fused carbocyclic rings such as cyclohexane, benzene, naphthalene, and in rare examples, anthracene. Systems in which more than one of the six-membered rings contain heteroatoms are also briefly discussed these include spiro-cyclic compounds and substituted naphthalenes. 

The completely saturated skeleton of carbazole 289 was used as a platform to investigate and develop selective iridium-catalyzed dehydrogenation reactions for the synthesis of net pyrroles bearing fused carbocyclic ring systems 290. Thus, complete reduction of the carbazole 288 skeleton with Pd/C at 120 °C followed by reaction with an iridium pincer catalyst underwent dehydrogenation in smooth order. These molecules were shown to have an activity window of 172-178 °C (14CC5987). 

Table 5. Isocoumarins with Fused Carbocyclic Rings.41...

Hydroxyisocoumarins such as ustic acid (76) exist in equilibrium with the corresponding keto acids. For this review they are treated as isocoumarins. Isocoumarins with 3,4-, 4,5- and 7,8-fused carbocyclic rings are listed in Table 5. 3,4-Dihydroisocoumarins are often found together with the corresponding isocoumarins, particularly for the 7,8-fused carbocyclic isocoumarins. These are listed together in the Tables. 

It is of note that hypoglycemic activity is maintained even when the aromatic ring is fused onto a carbocyclic ring. Chlor-sulfonation of hydrindan gives chloride, 206. Reaction of the sulfonamide (207) obtained from that intermediate with cyclohexyl isocyanate leads to glyhexamide (208). ... 

Optically active dihydro-2-methylene-2(3//)-furanones fused to 5- and 6-membered carbocyclic rings were synthesized with 64-92% ee using the intramolecular reaction between chiral 2-alkoxy-carbonylallylsilanes and aldehydes80. 

It was also of interest to apply such lOOC reactions to formation of carbocyclic rings. Oxime olefins 230 a-e, formed in good yield via reaction of 229 with 0-silyl-a-bromoaldoximes 228 in the presence of F ions, cyclized in a sealed tube at 190 °C to provide 231 a-e (Eq. 24, Table 22) [63]. Reduction of 231a provided amino alcohol 232 a in 68% yield. Amino alcohol 232 e was converted stereo-specifically to the fused -lactam 233. 

Of these, (S) is totally absent from the reaction products, while (T) is never more than a very minor product. On the other hand, (R) is produced in substantial amounts and one must conclude that opening in the fused C5 ring is strongly favored in a position adjacent to the benzene ring. Isobutylbenzene (U) is also produced in amounts somewhat in excess of sec-butylbenzene and this cannot be formed via a C5 carbocyclic route it is no doubt a product of a bond shift reaction... 

Finally in 2005, Hutt and Mander reported their strategy for the synthesis of nominine (Scheme 1.3) [29], The approach relies upon construction of the steroidal ABC carbocyclic ring structure followed by stepwise preparation of the fused aza-ring system. In the key sequence of the synthetic study, enone 50 was oxidized to dienone 51 with DDQ followed by Lewis acid-catalyzed intramolecular conjugate addition of the methylcarbamate to the newly formed dienone to deliver pyrrolidine 52. 

Intramolecular cycloadditions are among the most efficient methods for the synthesis of fused bicyclic ring systems [30]. From this perspective, the hetisine skeleton encompasses two key retro-cycloaddition key elements. (1) a bridging pyrrolidine ring accessible via a [3+2] azomethine dipolar cycloaddition and (2) a [2.2.2] bicyclo-octane accessible via a [4+2] Diels-Alder carbocyclic cycloaddition (Chart 1.4). While intramolecular [4+2] Diels—Alder cycloadditions to form [2.2.2] bicycle-octane systems have extensive precedence [3+2], azomethine dipolar cycloadditions to form highly fused aza systems are rare [31-33]. The staging of these two operations in sequence is critical to a unified synthetic plan. As the proposed [3+2] dipolar cycloaddition is expected to be the more challenging of the two transformations, it should be conducted in an early phase in the forward synthetic direction. As a result, a retrosynthetic analysis would entail initial consideration of the [4+2] cycloaddition to arrive at the optimal retrosynthetic C-C bond disconnections for this transformation. 

A rapid access to carbocyclic nucleosides, containing a fused isoxazoline ring has been proposed, starting from cyclopentadiene. The route involves a het-ero Diels-Alder cycloaddition reaction of nitrosocarbonylbenzene followed by a 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition of nitrile oxides, cleavage of the N-0 tether and transformation of the heterocyclic aminols into nucleosides via construction of purine and pyrimidine heterocycles (457). 

Also, the intramolecular [3+2] cycloaddition approach can be used to generate several tricyclic ring systems 66-68 when the azide and the cyanamide functionalities are bonded to a carbocyclic ring <20010L4091> (Scheme 14). The relative stereochemistry of the starting materials is preserved in the products. While the yield of the m-fused 5-5-6 tricyclic ring system 66 is very high, the yield of the trans-fuseA products 67 and 68 is considerably lower as expected based on the unfavorable conformation for the cycloaddition process. The even lower yield for the tosylated and therefore activated derivative 68 was rationalized by its decreased thermal stability. 

A number of intramolecular cycloadditions of alkene-tethered nitrile oxides, where the double bond forms part of a ring, have been used for the synthesis of fused carbocyclic structures (18,74,266-271). The cycloadditions afford the cis-fused bicyclic products, and this stereochemical outcome does not depend on the substituents on the alkene or on the carbon chain. When cyclic olefins were used, the configuration of the products found could be rationalized in terms of the transition states described in Scheme 6.49 (18,74,266-271). In the transition state leading to the cis-fused heterocycle, the dipole is more easily aligned with the dipolarophile if the nitrile oxide adds to the face of the cycloolefin in which the tethering chain resides. In the trans transition state, considerable nonbonded interactions and strain would have to be overcome in order to achieve good parallel alignment of the dipole and dipolarophile (74,266). 

It is a predictable consequence, therefore, that substituents at positions a and y to the ring nitrogen have an enhanced reactivity, whereas substituents /3 to ring nitrogen or in a fused benzo ring behave more as would be the case if they were attached to the equivalent benzenoid carbocyclic system. 

Tricyclic Systems Central Carbocyclic Ring with Fused Five-membered Rings... 

This chapter reviews the systems where account is taken of the size of the central carbocyclic ring, the relative orientation of the fused five-membered heterocyclic rings, the types of heteroatoms, their number, and, in rings with more than one heteroatom, their relative situations. 

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