Graebe-Ullman synthesis

Hie reactions of 4-chloropyridines and quinolines 17 with benzotriazoles 18 in a modified Graebe-Ullman synthesis give excellent yields of Y arbolines and their benzo-fused derivatives 20. Excellent yields for preparation of the penultimate benzotriazole precursors 19 are reported as well. In the optimized one-pot conditions, the combined neat substrates are heated with microwave irradiation (MW) for short (7-10 min) durations. The crude 19 is treated with H4P2O7 and irradiated futher (4-6 min). The resultant y-carbolines 20 were methylated to form the quaternary salts. These were tested and found to lack DNA intercalation properties <96JOC5587>. 

The Graebe-Ullman carbazole synthesis is normally carried out in sealed tubes and at high temperature. The carbazoles/substituted carbazoles are obtained in general in poor to moderate yields. ... 

The Graebe-Ullman carbazole synthesis has been enmloyed in the preparation of substituted carbolines, as well as indolo[2,3-i] quinolines, which are often difficult to synthesize via other approaches, for example, the Fischer indole process. 

In a modified Graebe-Ullman reaction, pyridylbenzotriazole 223 was converted to a-carboline 224 in an efficient manner but in moderate yield (Scheme 38) <20060L415>. Microwave irradiation was the energy source for both a-carboline synthesis and the preparation of 223. The advantages of this procedure are that the starting materials are commercially available and lower reaction times are used resulting in fewer undesirable side products. The style of microwave oven, amount of pyrophosphoric acid, power level, and time were all optimized. 

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