Iminium salts cationic cyclization

Another useful variation is the Pictet-Spengler isoquinoline synthesis, also known as the Pictet-Spengler reaction. The reactive intermediate is an iminium ion 49 rather than an oxygen-stabilized cation, but attack at the electrophilic carbon of the C=N unit (see 16-31) leads to an isoquinoline derivative. When a p-aryla-mine reacts with an aldehyde, the product is an iminium salt, which cyclizes with an aromatic ring to complete the reaction and generate a tetrahydroisoquinoline." ° A variety of aldehydes can be used, and substitution on the aromatic ring leads to many derivatives. When the reaction is done in the presence of a chiral thiourea catalyst, good enantioselectivity was observed." ... 

Mariano and coworkers have exploited this PET bond cleavage chemistry in intramolecular as well as intermolecular cyclization reactions [38]. The combined iminium-benzylsilane functionalities undergo intramolecular PET to provide an intramolecular amine radical/benzyl silane cation-radical pair by exciting either the iminium salt or the arene chromophore [38]. Cleavage of the benzyl C—Si bond presumably takes place with assistance of moderately weak n ldeophiles such as methanol. The diradical couples intramolecularly to provide an indolizidine derivative [38] in 90% yield. 

The electron-transfer initiated photoaddition of allylsilanes to iminium salts has been examined in detail. Irradiation of l-methyl-2-phenylpyrrolinium perchlorate (177) and the allylsilanes (178) in methanol, for example, gave the 2-allylpyrrolidines (179) " the proposed pathway is outlined in Scheme 11. Photoaddition is initiated by electron transfer and driven to completion by desilylation of the allylsilane-derived cation radical. Analogous conversions have been reported in the allyl iminium perchlorates (180), " and cyclization to the spiro-compounds (181) occurs on irradiation of the /3-enaminone-derived allyliminium salts (182). " A photocyclization of this type has been... 

This reaction can also be utilized when there are heteroatom substituents. Reaction of amide-diene 97 with paraformaldehyde and formic acid generated iminium salt 98. Cationic cyclization (formate is the nucleophilic trapping agent) generated the perhydroisoquinoline 99. A related cyclization procedure that involves... 

X = CF3COO) were formed but within minutes to hours, they underwent quantitative isomerization (recyclization) to 1,3,4-thiadiazolidin-2-iminium cations 89B. The same cations were formed from the open-chain aldehyde thiosemicarbazones in trifluoroacetic acid solution. Deprotonation of the salts 89B with C5D5N yielded the open-chain thiosemicarbazones 88A and not the cyclic isomers 88B. The open-chain isomers of ketone 2-methyl- or 2,4-dialkylthiosemicarbazones obtained in this way (89B —> 88A) are unstable and readily cyclize into 88C when their solutions are stored or when they undergo a recrystallization or thin-layer chromatography procedure. 

The formaldiminium ion formed from the reaction of 4-hexynylamine (90 R = R = Me) with paraformaldehyde and camphorsulfonic acid is reported not to cyclize when heated for 1 h at 1(X) C in the weakly nucleophilic solvent acetonitrile. However, when nucleophilic salts are added the 3-alkylidene-piperidines (91) are formed in good yields (Scheme 32). Attempted cyclizations of (90) in the presence of weaker nucleophiles such as benzenethiol or methanol were less effective, the former yielding <15% of the expected alkylidenepiperidine product, while the latter provided no products of cyclization. If the strong nucleophile iodide is employed, even a weakly nucleophilic terminal alkyne can be successfully cyclized. In all of these cyclizations of 4-alkynylamines only formation of a six-membered ring product was observed. The (2)-stereochemistry of the alkylidene side chain evolves from antarafacial addition of the internal iminium cation and the external nucleophile to the alkyne. 

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