Heterocycles from active hydrogen compounds

As a class of compounds, nitriles have broad commercial utility that includes their use as solvents, feedstocks, pharmaceuticals, catalysts, and pesticides. The versatile reactivity of organonitnles arises both from the reactivity of the C=N bond, and from the abiHty of the cyano substituent to activate adjacent bonds, especially C—H bonds. Nitriles can be used to prepare amines, amides, amidines, carboxyHc acids and esters, aldehydes, ketones, large-ring cycHc ketones, imines, heterocycles, orthoesters, and other compounds. Some of the more common transformations involve hydrolysis or alcoholysis to produce amides, acids and esters, and hydrogenation to produce amines, which are intermediates for the production of polyurethanes and polyamides. An extensive review on hydrogenation of nitriles has been recendy pubHshed (10). 

The particularly good activity against protein kinases of a-aminoquinazoline derivatives is borne out by their activity against both in vitro and in vivo models of human tumors. The examples that follow are but two of a number of compounds from this structural class that have emerged from the focus that has been devoted to this stmctural class. Nitration of the benzoate (78-1) with nitric acid affords the nitro derivative. Hydrogenation converts this to the anthrandate (78-2). In one of the standard conditions for forming quinazolones, that intermediate is then treated with ammonium formate to yield the heterocycle (78-3). Reaction of this last product with phosphorus oxychloride leads to the corresponding enol chloride (78-4). Condensation of this last intermediate with meta-iodoanUine (78-5) leads to displacement of chlorine and the consequent formation of the aminoquinazoline... 

The reactions in Methods A, B and C, which all start from pyrylium salts are analogous to the well-known conversions of 2.4.6-substituted pyrylium salts 27 with ammonia, primary amines, hydrogen sulfide or the anions of CH activated compounds to the corresponding heterocyclic or isocyclic aromatic systems The first step involves addition of the basic phosphine at C-2 (or C-6) to form 2S. Ring-opening, ring-closure and elimination of water are likely steps in the formation of the product 2. 

In contrast to classical Meerwein arylations, non-activated alkenes are well suited for this reaction type for two reasons. First, due to the relatively slow formation of azo compounds by addition of aryl radical 49 to 48, this undesired pathway cannot compete successfully with the attack of 49 on the alkene to give radical adduct 50. Second, a nucleophilic alkyl radical 50 arises from the addition step, which is effectively trapped by electrophilic salt 48 to give azo compound 51. As a result of several improvements, the methodology is now applicable for a wide range of polar to non-polar alkenes with almost no restrictions on the substitution pattern of the diazonium salt [101, 102]. Moderate diastereoselectivities have been obtained in first attempts with chiral auxiliaries [103]. The azo compounds accessible, such as 51, can be converted to carboamination products 52 by hydrogenation and to various other heterocycles. 

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