Fischer indole

Murakami, Y., Watanabe, T., Otsuka, T., Iwata, T., Yamada, Y., Yokoyama, Y. Fischer indolization of ethyl pyruvate 2-bis(2-methoxyphenyl)hydrazone and new insight into the mechanism of Fischer indolization. Fischer indolization and its related compounds. XXVII. Chem. Pharm. Bull. 1995, 43, 1287-1293. 

Indolization (Fischer reaction) 86UK1785 80T161, 80YGK693 78KGS1011 74KGS579,... 

This reaction was first reported by Fischer and Jourdan in 1883. It is a synthesis of indole derivatives by the treatment of aryl hydrazones coupled from aromatic hydrazines and ketones or aldehydes with either a mineral or Lewis acid. Therefore, it is generally known as the Fischer indole synthesis. In addition, it is also referred to as Fischer cyclization, Fischer indole cyclization, Fischer indole reaction, Fischer indolization, Fischer reaction, and Fischer indole annulation. Although the mechanism has been extensively studied, the one formulated by Robinson and Robinson is now generally accepted. It involves the following steps (a) initial acid-catalyzed tautomerization of an aromatic hydrazone to an ene-hydrazine, b) a [3,3]-sigmatropic rearrangement of ene-hydrazine to a M-imine intermediate, (c) re-aromatization to aniline, d) intramolecular nucleophilic attack to form aminal, and (e) extrusion of an ammonia to afford the indole. 

Phenylhydrazine condenses with acetoacetic ester to give a pyrazolone derivative which on methylation gives phenazone. The sulphonic acid similarly gives rise to the tartrazine dyestuffs. It is used to make indole derivatives by the Fischer process. 

An important general method of preparing indoles, known as the Fischer Indole synthesis, consists in heating the phenylhydrazone of an aldehyde, ketone or keto-acld in the presence of a catalyst such as zinc chloride, hydrochloric acid or glacial acetic acid. Thus acrtophenone phenylhydrazone (I) gives 2-phenyllndole (I V). The synthesis involves an intramolecular condensation with the elimination of ammonia. The following is a plausible mechanism of the reaction ... 

Benzilic acid rearrangement Benzoin reaction (condensation) Blanc chloromethylation reaction Bouveault-Blanc reduction Bucherer hydantoin synthesis Bucherer reaction Cannizzaro reaction Claisen aldoi condensation Claisen condensation Claisen-Schmidt reaction. Clemmensen reduction Darzens glycidic ester condensation Diazoamino-aminoazo rearrangement Dieckmann reaction Diels-Alder reaction Doebner reaction Erlenmeyer azlactone synthesis Fischer indole synthesis Fischer-Speior esterification Friedel-Crafts reaction... 

Retrosynthesis a in Scheme 7,1 corresponds to the Fischer indole synthesis which is the most widely used of all indole syntheses. The Fischer cyclization converts arylhydrazones of aldehydes or ketones into indoles by a process which involves orf/io-substitution via a sigmatropic rearrangement. The rearrangement generates an imine of an o-aminobenzyl ketone which cyclizes and aromatizes by loss of ammonia. 

The mechanism of the Fischer cyclization outlined in equation 7.1 has been supported by spectroscopic observation of various intermediates[4] and by isolation of examples of intermediates in specialized structures[5]. In particular, it has been possible to isolate enehydrazines under neutral conditions and to demonstrate their conversion to indoles under the influence of acid cata-lysts[6]. 

The issue of regioselectivity arises with arylhydrazones of unsymmetrical ketones which can form two different enehydrazine intermediates. Under the conditions used most commonly for Fischer cyclizations, e g. ethanolic HCI, the major product is usually the one arising from the more highly substituted enehydrazine. Thus methyl ketones usually give 2-methy indoles and cycliz-ation occurs in a branched chain in preference to a straight chain. This regioselectivity is attributed to the greater stability of the more substituted enhydrazine and its dominance of the reaction path. 

Phosphorus trichloride in benzene is reported to effect mild and fast cydization. It has been used for synthesis of 2,3-dialkyl- and 2,3-diaryl-indoles[8-ll]. Table 7.2 presents some typical Fischer indolization reactions using both the traditional and more recently developed reaction conditions. 

One of the virtues of the Fischer indole synthesis is that it can frequently be used to prepare indoles having functionalized substituents. This versatility extends beyond the range of very stable substituents such as alkoxy and halogens and includes esters, amides and hydroxy substituents. Table 7.3 gives some examples. These include cases of introduction of 3-acetic acid, 3-acetamide, 3-(2-aminoethyl)- and 3-(2-hydroxyethyl)- side-chains, all of which are of special importance in the preparation of biologically active indole derivatives. Entry 11 is an efficient synthesis of the non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug indomethacin. A noteworthy feature of the reaction is the... 

Fischer indole cyclizations incorporating functionalized substituents... 

Anomalous Fischer cyclizations are observed with certain c-substituted aryl-hydrazones, especially 2-alkoxy derivatives[l]. The products which are formed can generally be accounted for by an intermediate which w ould be formed by (ip50-substitution during the sigmatropic rearrangement step. Nucleophiles from the reaction medium, e.g. Cl or the solvent, are introduced at the 5-and/or 6-position of the indole ring. Even carbon nucleophiles, e.g. ethyl acetoacelate, can be incorporated if added to the reaction solution[2]. The use of 2-tosyloxy or 2-trifluoromethanesulfonyloxy derivatives has been found to avoid this complication and has proved useful in the preparation of 7-oxygen-ated indoles[3]. 

The oxygen analogue of the Fischer cyclization requires the formation of 0-vinyl derivatives of iV-arylhydroxylarnines. These are readily converted to indoles but are less readily accessible than the arylhydrazones used for the Fischer cyclization. 

The Fischer Indole Synthesis and Related Sigmatropic Syntheses. In the Fischer indole synthesis (26) an Ai-aryUiydra2one is cyclized, usually under acidic conditions, to an indole. The key step is a [3,3] sigmatropic rearrangement of an enehydra2one tautomer of the hydra2one. 

Unsaturated hydrazones, unsaturated diazonium salts or hydrazones of 2,3,5-triketones can be used as suitable precursors for the formation of pyridazines in this type of cyclization reaction. As shown in Scheme 61, pyridazines are obtainable in a single step by thermal cyclization of the tricyanohydrazone (139), prepared from cyanoacetone phenylhydrazone and tetracyanoethylene (76CB1787). Similarly, in an attempted Fischer indole synthesis the hydrazone of the cyano compound (140) was transformed into a pyridazine (Scheme 61)... 

The Piloty-Robinson pyrrole synthesis (74JOC2575,18JCS639) may be viewed as a monocyclic equivalent of the Fischer indole synthesis. The conversion of ketazines into pyrroles under strongly acidic conditions apparently proceeds through a [3,3] sigmatropic rearrange-... 

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