Imidazole, reaction with electrophiles

Heterocyclic amines are compounds that contain one or more nitrogen atoms as part of a ring. Saturated heterocyclic amines usually have the same chemistry as their open-chain analogs, but unsaturated heterocycles such as pyrrole, imidazole, pyridine, and pyrimidine are aromatic. All four are unusually stable, and all undergo aromatic substitution on reaction with electrophiles. Pyrrole is nonbasic because its nitrogen lone-pair electrons are part of the aromatic it system. Fused-ring heterocycles such as quinoline, isoquinoline, indole, and purine are also commonly found in biological molecules. 

Needle like nanoparticles of Mg-Al mixed spinel catalysts synthesized under hydrothermal conditions were used for the synthesis of 1-methylimidazole by the gas phase imidazole methylation with methanol performed at atmospheric pressure [113]. High yield and selectivity to desired product were obtained at a temperature range between 320 and 350°C. It was proposed that one of the nitrogen atoms participates in the bonding of the imidazole with the basic site of the catalyst, and the second nitrogen atom is accessible for the reaction with electrophilic methyl species formed from methanol on acid site of the catalysts. 

Pyrazoles and imidazoles exist partly as anions (e.g. 108 and 109) in neutral and basic solution. Under these conditions they react with electrophilic reagents almost as readily as phenol, undergoing diazo coupling, nitrosation and Mannich reactions (note the increased reactivity of pyrrole anions over the neutral pyrrole species). 

The above considerations do not necessarily apply to reactions of electrophilic reagents with pyrazole and imidazole anions (108,109). The imidazole anion is sometimes substituted in the 2-position (113) and the indazole anion in the 3-position (cf. Section 4.02.1.4.5). 

It is possible to use the enhanced electrophilicity in condensation reactions with aldehydes in the presence of amines to form imidazoles [77] (equation 16). 

Nonetheless, to make imidazole-containing molecules, haloimidazoles may serve as electrophilic coupling partners for the Suzuki reaction. As described in section 9.1, regioselective bromination at the C(4) position could be achieved for a 1,5-dialkylimidazole using NBS in CH3CN. The Suzuki coupling of l-benzyl-4-bromo-5-methylimidazole with phenylboronic acid assembled the unsymmetrical heterobiaryl in 93% yield, whereas the corresponding Stille reaction with phenyltrimethyltin proceeded in only moderate yield (51%) [8]. 

Analogously, 5-tributylstannylimidazole 29 was easily obtained from the regioselective deprotonation of 1,2-disubstituted imidazole 28 at C(5) followed by treatment with tributyltin chloride [24]. In the presence of 2.6 equivalents of LiCl, the Stille reaction of 29 with aryl triflate 30 afforded the desired 1,2,5-trisubstituted imidazole 31 with 2,6-di-tert-butyl-4-methylphenol (BHT) as a radical scavenger. Reversal of the nucleophile and electrophile of the Stille reaction also provided satisfactory results. For example, the coupling reaction of 5-bromoimidazole 33, derived from imidazole 32 via a regioselective bromination at C(5), and vinylstannane 34 produced adduct 35 [24],... 

The dimethylaminomethyl group (entry 9) is easily introduced by a Mannich reaction, and lithiation occurs readily at -78°C (88JOC5685). After reaction with a variety of electrophiles, hydrolysis can be performed directly with aqueous acid to give 2-substituted imidazoles in good yield. However, the 2-lithio anion 47 was found to be quite basic, despite the base-weakening effect of coordination with the amino substituent, and thus it was capable of deprotonating the 2-butyl derivative 48 as it was formed by reaction with 1-bromobutane (Scheme 42). No such side-reac-... 

The synthesis of this ring system by condensation of 3,4,5-triamino-l,2,6-thiadiazine-l,1-dioxide with formic acid equivalents to give the fused imidazole ring dates back to the review by Montgomery and Secrist <1984GHEC(5)607>. This methodology was extended to cyclocondensation reactions of 3,4,5-triamino-l,2,6-thiadia-zine-1,1-dioxide with electrophiles such as methyl chloroformate and carbon disulfide to yield 6-oxo 98 and 6-thioxo 99 derivatives of 4-aminoimidazo[4,5-d-l,2,6-thiadiazine-2,2-dioxide respectively (Scheme 72) <1999BMC1617>. 

---