Indole ring reductive

Boron trichloride, usually in conjunction with an additional Lewis acid, effects o-chloroacetylation of anilines. The resulting products are converted to indoles by reduction with NaBH4.[l], The strength of the Lewis acid required depends upon the substitution pattern on the ring. With ER substituents no additional... 

While catalytic reduction of the indole ring is feasible, it is slow because of the aromatic character of the C2-C3 double bond. The relative basicity of the indole ring, however, opens an acid-catalysed pathway through 3if-indoleninm intermediates. 

A traditional method for such reductions involves the use of a reducing metal such as zinc or tin in acidic solution. Examples are the procedures for preparing l,2,3,4-tetrahydrocarbazole[l] or ethyl 2,3-dihydroindole-2-carbox-ylate[2] (Entry 3, Table 15.1), Reduction can also be carried out with acid-stable hydride donors such as acetoxyborane[4] or NaBHjCN in TFA[5] or HOAc[6]. Borane is an effective reductant of the indole ring when it can complex with a dialkylamino substituent in such a way that it can be delivered intramolecularly[7]. Both NaBH -HOAc and NaBHjCN-HOAc can lead to N-ethylation as well as reduction[8]. This reaction can be prevented by the use of NaBHjCN with temperature control. At 20"C only reduction occurs, but if the temperature is raised to 50°C N-ethylation occurs[9]. Silanes cun also be used as hydride donors under acidic conditions[10]. Even indoles with EW substituents, such as ethyl indole-2-carboxylate, can be reduced[ll,l2]. 

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. 

In spite of its formal similarity to the above mentioned annulation processes, the reaction shown in 4.37. includes a unique migration step. Oxidative insertion of the palladium into the phenyl-iodine bond is followed by the migration of the palladium onto the more electron rich indole ring. The 2-indolylpalladium complex than carbopalladates the pendant alkync moiety and the process ends by the formal activation of a C-H bond of the phenyl substituent and subsequent reductive elimination, furnishing the pentacyclic product.48 The same strategy has been utilised in the preparation of the indoloindolone framework from /V-bcnzoyl-3-(o-iodophcnyl)-indolc in an oxidative addition - palladium migration - C-H activation sequence.49... 

Vigorous catalytic reduction of indole (H2/Pd/AcOH/HCI, 80°C) results in the formation of cis-octahydroindole. Catalytic reduction of isoindoles occurs in the pyrrole ring. Reduction of indolizine with hydrogen and a platinum catalyst gives an octahydro derivative. With a palladium catalyst in neutral solution, reduction occurs in the pyridine ring but in the presence of acid, reduction occurs in ... 

Pyrrole and indole rings can also be constructed by intramolecular addition of nitrogen to a multiple bond activated by metal ion complexation. Thus, 1-aminomethyl-l-alkynyl carbinols (obtained by reduction of cyanohydrins of acetylenic ketones) are cyclized to pyrroles by palladium(II) salts. In this reaction the palladium(II)-complexed alkyne functions as the electrophile with aromatization involving elimination of palladium(II) and water (Scheme 42) (81TL4277). 

Reduction of the carbonyl groups at the 2-position of the pyrrole ring and at the 3-position of the indole ring with LAH or diborane generally leads to the formation of the corresponding alkyl derivatives, due to the facile nucleophilic displacement of the hydroxy group of the carbinols by the mechanism depicted in Scheme 69 (see Section 3.05.2.2). Predictably,... 

The enzyme as isolated is in a stable blue radical form (Fig. 23-50 also Fig. 15-13) which must undergo a one-electron light-induced reduction to the anion FADH- before becoming active. A nearby indole ring... 

Oxidative cross-coupling with alkenes is possible with Pd(OAc)2 [109], The reaction proceeds by the palladation of benzene to form phenylpalladium acetate (164), followed by alkene insertion and elimination of /1-hydrogen. Heteroaromatics such as furan and thiophene react more easily than benzene [109]. Stilbene (177) is formed by the reaction of benzene and styrene. The complex skeleton of paraberquamide 179 was obtained in 80% yield by the Pd(II)-promoted coupling of the indole ring with the double bond in 178, followed by reduction of the intermediate with NaBELt [110]. 

A brief and elegant new synthesis86" of ( )-3-ep/-uleine (121) employs the recently developed866 reaction of dihydropyridine endoperoxides [e.g. (122)] with stannous chloride in the presence of nucleophiles. With indole as nucleophile, ring-opening of the peroxide, alkylation with indole, and reduction afford... 

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