Indole acylation

Beckmann rearrangement, 4, 292 pyrolysis, 4, 202 synthesis, 4, 223 Wittig reaction, 4, 294 Wolff-Kishner reduction, 4, 291 Indole, 1-acyl-2,3-disubstituted photoisomerization, 4, 204 photo-Fries rearrangement, 4, 204 photoisomerization, 4, 42 synthesis, 4, 82 Indole, 2-acyl acidity, 4, 297 synthesis, 4, 337, 360 Indole, 3-acyl-acidity, 4, 297 cleavage, 4, 289 reduction, 4, 289 synthesis, 4, 360 Indole, 7-acyl-synthesis, 4, 246... 

L//-Indole, 3<2-phenyl-l, 3-dithian-2-yl), 10 Indoles, 34 Indoles, 3-acyl-, 8 Indoles, 3 -alkyl, 8 Isocyanate, chlorosulfonyl [Sulfuryl chlonde isocyanate], 41 Isocyanate,2-propyl- [Propane, 2-iso-cyanato-], 96... 

It is used as a dispersion agent to prevent polymerization or product decomposition taking place when an uncontrolled temperature rise occurs in the course of an exothermic reaction. In turn, it also plays the role of a diluent as solvent but with unquestionable benefits in cost and safety for example, reduction of carbonyl compounds [Eq. (26)] [50], indole acylation [Eq. 27)1 [511, and thiophenol alkylation [Eq. (28)] [52]. 

The transition metals and their salts and coordination complexes such as RhCla, Pd(PPh3)4, Pd(OAc)2, Cu(0), CuCl and CuX2 can catalyze the aryl-aryl coupling, carbonylation and phenylation reactions of organobismuth compounds with indoles, acyl chlorides, acetylenes and olefins, as illustrated in Table 5.12. Most of these reactions proceed under mild conditions. 

One route to o-nitrobenzyl ketones is by acylation of carbon nucleophiles by o-nitrophenylacetyl chloride. This reaction has been applied to such nucleophiles as diethyl malonatc[l], methyl acetoacetate[2], Meldrum s acid[3] and enamines[4]. The procedure given below for ethyl indole-2-acetate is a good example of this methodology. Acylation of u-nitrobenzyl anions, as illustrated by the reaction with diethyl oxalate in the classic Reissert procedure for preparing indolc-2-carboxylate esters[5], is another route to o-nitrobenzyl ketones. The o-nitrophenyl enamines generated in the first step of the Leimgruber-Batcho synthesis (see Section 2.1) are also potential substrates for C-acylation[6,7], Deformylation and reduction leads to 2-sub-stituted indoles. 

Acylation of the Leimgruber Batcho enamines with phosgene followed by methanolysis and reductive cyclization generates methyl indole-3-carb-oxylates[8]... 

Retrosynthetic path b in Scheme 3.1 corresponds to reversal of the electrophilic and nucleophilic components with respect to the Madelung synthesis and identifies o-acyl-iV-alkylanilines as potential indole precursors. The known examples require an aryl or EW group on the iV-alkyl substituent and these substituents are presumably required to facilitate deprotonation in the condensation. The preparation of these starting materials usually involves iV-alkyla-tion of an o-acylaniline. Table 3.3 gives some examples of this synthesis. 

One type of o-aminobenzyl anion synthon is a mixed Cu/Zn reagent which can be prepared from o-toluidines by / i.s-trimethylsilylation on nitrogen, benzylic bromination and reaction with Zn and CuCN[l]. Reaction of these reagents with acyl halides gives 2-substituted indoles. 

Another o-aminobenzyl anion equivalent is generated by treatment of A-trimethylsilyl-o-toluidinc with 2.2 eq. of n-butyllithium. Acylation of this intermediate with esters gives indoles[2]. This route, for example, was used to prepare 6.2D, a precursor of the alkaloid cinchonamine. 

Another version of the o-aminobenzyl anion synthon is obtained by dilithi-ation of A-f-Boc-protected o-alkylanilines. These intermediates are C-acylated by DMF or A"-methoxy-At-melhyl carboxamides, leading to either 3- or 2,3-disubstituted indoles. In this procedure dehydration is not spontaneous but occurs on brief exposure of the cyelization product to acid[4]. Use of CO as the electrophile generates oxindoles. 

If, instead of an ester, the Japp-Klingemann reaction is done with a salt of a P-ketoadd, decarboxylation occurs and the eventual product is a 2-acyl-indole. 

Indoles can also be alkylated by lactones[l4]. Base-catalysed reactions have been reported for (3-propiolactone[15], y-butyrolactone[10] and 5-valerolac-tone[10]. These reactions probably reflect the thermodynamic instability of the N -acylindole intermediate which would be formed by attack at the carbonyl group relative to reclosure to the lactone. The reversibility of the JV-acylation would permit the thermodynamically favourable N-alkylation to occur. 

There are a wide variety of methods for introduction of substituents at C3. Since this is the preferred site for electrophilic substitution, direct alkylation and acylation procedures are often effective. Even mild electrophiles such as alkenes with EW substituents can react at the 3-position of the indole ring. Techniques for preparation of 3-lithioindoles, usually by halogen-metal exchange, have been developed and this provides access not only to the lithium reagents but also to other organometallic reagents derived from them. The 3-position is also reactive toward electrophilic mercuration. 

Vilsmeier-Haack conditions have been used most frequently for formylation but are also applicable to longer acyl chains[3]. Reactions with lactams generate 3-(iminyl)indoles which can be hydrolysed to generate co-aminoacyl groups as in equation 11.6 [4]. 

Section C of Table 11,5 gives some examples of Friedel-Crafts and Vilsmeier-Haack acylations of indoles. 

Entry Indole reactant Acylation conditions Yield (%) Ref. 

The stronger directing effects present in the indoline ring can sometimes be used to advantage to prepare C-substituted indoles. The aniline type of nitrogen present in indoline favours 5,7-substitution. After the substituent is introduced the indoline ring can be aromatized by dehydrogenation (see Section 15.2 for further discussion). A procedure for 7-acylation of indoline... 

Indoles with carbocyclic halogen or triflate substituents are potential starting materials for vinylation, arylation and acylation via palladium-catalysed pro-cesses[l]. Indolylstannanes. indolylzinc halides and indolylboronic acids are also potential reactants. The principal type of substitution which is excluded from such coupling reactions is alkylation, since saturated alkyl groups tend to give elimination products in Pd-catalysed processes. 

Table 15.3 gives some examples of reductive deoxygenation of 2-acyl and 3-acyl indoles. 

As was the case with reactions of vinylindoles, the most elaborate synthetic targets approached by the indole-2,3-quinodimethane route have been alka-loids[18]. The route has been applied to aspidospenna[l9 ] and kopsine[20] structures. The fundamental reaction pattern is illustrated in equation 16.7. An indole-2,3-quinodimethane is generated by W-acylation of an Ai-(pent-4-enyl)-imine of a 2-methyl-3-formylindole. Intramolecular 2 -P 4 cydoaddition then occurs. 

Acylation. Acylation is the most rehable means of introducing a 3-substituent on the indole ring. Because 3-acyl substituents can be easily reduced to 3-aLkyl groups, a two-step acylation—reduction sequence is often an attractive alternative to direct 3-aLkylation. Several kinds of conditions have been employed for acylation. Very reactive acyl haUdes, such as oxalyl chloride, can effect substitution directiy without any catalyst. Normal acid chlorides are usually allowed to react with the magnesium (15) or 2inc (16) salts. The Vilsmeier-Haack conditions involving an amide and phosphoms oxychloride, in which a chloroiminium ion is the active electrophile, frequentiy give excellent yields of 3-acylindoles. 

There have been a number of refinements to the procedure, both in the enamine formation and in the reduction. Furthermore, the procedure can be adapted to 2-substituted indoles by introducing an acyl substituent on the enamine intermediate. 

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