Imino nitriles synthesis

Only one example of this type has been reported. Cyclization of a-(acylmethoxy-imino)nitriles in the presence of lithium hydroxide provides a convenient synthesis... 

A catch and release synthesis of tetrazoles and cyclic amidines has been reported making use of solid-supported oximes [94]. When bound sulpho-nyloximes, obtained by reacting polymer supported sulfonyl chloride with oximes, were reacted with nucleophiles, tetrazoles or cychc amidines were obtained (Scheme 19). Alternatively, the use of TMS-CN affords imino nitriles, which have been used as intermediates for the preparation of indoles, 1,2,3,4-tetrahydropyridines, quinoxalines and benzimidazoles. 

Iminoyl chloride 17 reacted with tetrazoles 18 analogously to afford the 1,2,4-triazoles 19 in excellent yield. The electrocyclizaton of A -imino nitrile imines of the type 20 provided the key step for this general synthesis of 1,2,4-triazoles. Cyanuric chloride, as a triple aromatic imidoyl chloride, was treated with three equivalents of 5-phenyltetrazole to give 21 in 79% yield. ... 

The Strecker reaction of a dial with an amine and hydrogen cyanide, to produce a cyclic a,a -dicyanoamine, involves HCN addition to a cycUc imino nitrile intermediate as the final step. A highly diastereoselective synthesis of dihydro-5//-dibenz[c, ]azepines (80) from the biphenyldicarboxaldehyde exploits the chiral twist of the biaryl axis to achieve stereoselection. ... 

In contrast to the related organoboranes, which are mostly used in the addition to non-polar carbon-carbon multiple bonds, aluminum hydrides have found their widest use in organic synthesis in the addition reaction to polar carbon-carbon and carbon-heteroatom multiple bonds including carbonyl, nitrile and imino groups as well as their a,(J-unsaturated analogs. Although these reduction reactions are also sometimes referred as hydroalumination reactions in the Hterature, they are outside the scope of this review. 

Moser et al. (1968) (one of the co-authors was Clifford Matthews) reported a peptide synthesis using the HCN trimer aminomalonitrile, after pre-treatment in the form of a mild hydrolysis. IR spectra showed the typical nitrile bands (2,200 cm ) and imino-keto bands (1,650 cm ). Acid hydrolysis gave only glycine, while alkaline cleavage of the polymer afforded other amino acids, such as arginine, aspartic acid, threonine etc. The formation of the polymer could have occurred according to the scheme shown in Fig. 4.9. 

The synthesis of ortho esters from nitriles is usually a two-step process involving first the formation of the imino ester hydrochloride and subsequent reaction with an alcohol. Several examples are described in Table I, even a glycol such as ethylene glycol can be used to obtain heterocyclic ortho esters, as shown in Eq. (11). 

The addition of dry HCI to a mixture of a nitrile and an alcohol in the absence of water leads to the hydrochloride salt of an imino ester (imino esters are also called imidates and imino ethers). This reaction is called the Pinner synthesis.103 The salt can be converted to the free imino ester by treatment with a weak base such as sodium bicarbonate, or it can be hydrolyzed with water and an acid catalyst to the corresponding carboxylic ester. If the latter is desired, water may be present from the beginning, in which case aqueous HCI can be used and the need for gaseous HCI is eliminated. Imino esters can also be prepared from nitriles with basic catalysts.104... 

An early example of this type of transformation was described in 1964 by Drehfahl and Horhold (310). These authors prepared racemic 4-hydroxyproline, albeit with low diastereoselectivity for the isoxazoline reduction step [Scheme 6.75, (1)] (310). Much higher selectivity was achieved using 5-halomethylisoxazolines bearing a 3-(l-oxyalkyl) side chain, which was introduced from the nitrile oxide portion. The examples presented in Scheme 6.75 outline the synthesis of 4-hydroxy-pyrrolidines, which contain a dioxyethyl or trioxypropyl side chain. Both of these substrates were converted into the corresponding imino acids of 4-hydroxyproline (23,225,234) and 4, 1 -dihydroxyhomoproline, respectively (23,207,225) (Eq. 2, 3). The latter compound is part of an N-Val dipeptide structure, that was mistakenly proposed for the antibiotic Tii 1718B (311,312). 

A variety of imino derivatives has been used in the synthesis of 1,3,5-triazine (Scheme 85) (B-61MI22000, p. 680). The trimerization of the imidates is the most valuable of these routes to 1,3,5-triazine. Imidates can be considered as activated nitriles, and cyclotrimerize more readily than do the corresponding nitriles. The symmetrical 2,4,6-trialkyl-l,3,5-triazines are easily formed (Table 15), although large alkyl substituents may give rise to steric hindrance (61JOC2778). The mechanism is shown in Scheme 86. 

Cationic methylplatinum(II)-nitrile complexes of the type m is-PtMeL2(NCR)+X have been isolated by the reaction of //vms-PtMeClL2, where L = dimethylphenylphosphine or trimethyl-arsine, with an aryl nitrile and AgX, where X = BF4, PF. Use of pentafluorobenzonitrile and 2,3,5,6-tetrafluorotetraphthalonitrile in alcohol has led to the synthesis of a series of imino ether complexes. A mechanism for imino ether formation, involving nucleophilic attack by an alcohol at a coordinated nitrile, is suggested and the course of the reaction is shown to be dependent not only on the alcohol but also on the size of the anion used.110... 

An ester is formed when a nitrile is heated with an alcohol in the presence of concentrated sulphuric acid, thus providing a two-step synthesis of an ester from an alkyl halide. Examples are to be found in Expt 5.152. The reaction proceeds by way of an intermediate imino-ester (7) which is not usually isolated, but may be if so required.163... 

Nevertheless, the use of chirally modified Lewis acids as catalysts for enantioselective aminoalkylation reactions proved to be an extraordinary fertile research area [3b-d, 16]. Meanwhile, numerous publications demonstrate their exceptional potential for the activation and chiral modification of Mannich reagents (generally imino compounds). In this way, not only HCN or its synthetic equivalents but also various other nucleophiles could be ami-noalkylated asymmetrically (e.g., trimethylsilyl enol ethers derived from esters or ketones, alkenes, allyltributylstannane, allyltrimethylsilanes, and ketones). This way efficient routes for the enantioselective synthesis of a variety of valuable synthetic building blocks were created (e.g., a-amino nitriles, a- or //-amino acid derivatives, homoallylic amines or //-amino ketones) [3b-d]. 

Nitriles may be converted to their imino chloride salts by the action of dry hydrogen chloride in ether. These intermediates ate reduced by anhydrous stannous chloride to stannic aldimonium chlorides, which on hydrolysis yield aldehydes. Chloroform may be added to facilitate the solution of the nitrile. The quality of the stannous chloride catalyst is important the preparation of an active and dependable form has been described. The yields are usually high for many aromatic nitriles, as in the preparation of /3-naphthaldehyde (95%). The reaction has also been employed in the heterocyclic series, as in the synthesis of 4-methyl-thiazole-5-aldehyde (40%). The reduction of the cyano group in the... 

Fschenmoser et at. have described two useful reactions of these addition products for synthesis. Thus (2) can be converted efficiently into a y-lactone. Treatment of the mixture of epimeric nitriles (2) with I.I molar eq. of potassium r-butoxide in /-butanol at 80° under nitrogen gives the imino lactone (4) in 85 % yield. This on acid hydrolysis is converted into the y-lactonc (5) in 82% yield. The two isomers (Sa, SP) are separable by gas chromatography. 

The 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition of nitrile oxide to an unsaturated ester is a useful synthetic strategy for the synthesis of heterocycles such as A -isooxazolines and a-hydroxy-y-keto or y-imino carboxylic acids. Thus, the 1,3-dipolar cyclo-addition of the 4-0-acryloyl derivative 115 (R = f-butyldimethylsilyl) with two nitrile oxides (R = Ph or t-Bu) was explored by the Tadano group [95] (O Scheme 33). In the case of benzonitrile oxide (R =Ph), a functionalized A -isooxazoline 124 was obtained as a single isomer in excellent yield. Thus, the cycloaddition proceeded smoothly at room temperature with extreme stereoselectivity. 

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