Indoles 2-5-keto- from

The synthesis of cyclic ethers 137 was achieved by a Fischer indole synthesis starting from cyclic keto arylhydrazones generated in situ from 4-(hydroxy-methylene)-3,4-dihydrobenzo[ 7]oxepin-5(2H)-one 136 and the corresponding diazonium salt (Equation (20), 1993JHC1481). 

The key step in this synthesis is an intramolecular nucleophilic attack on the electron-rich indole nucleus by the carbocation derived from the p-keto sulfoxide in the presence of acid. Finally, the intermediate tetrahydrocarbazole aromatizes by elimination of methanethiol under the conditions of the reaction to produce the hydroxycarbazole (511) (Scheme 5.12). 

Muthusamy found that with the simple cyclohexyl keto-ylide derived from 189 (Ri = H) and an electron-withdrawing group protecting the indole nitrogen, that the indole would add in a regioreversed fashion producing the other possible... 

A recent example of this intramolecular tandem transformation is the Rh(ii)-catalyzed reaction of diazo keto ester 71. Depending on the structure of the diazo compound, a push-pull dipole intermediate derived from 71 can be trapped either by a tethered vinyl group (when n = 0) or by an indole 7r-bond (when n=l) (Equation (11)). This result clearly demonstrates a critical role of the conformation of the cycloaddition transition state. 

Pyrrole- and indole-carboxylic acid chlorides react with dialkyl- and diaryl-cadmium to yield the ketones and it is noteworthy that the reaction of the anhydride of indole-2,3-dicarboxylic acid with diphenylcadmium produces 3-benzoylindole-2-carboxylic acid and not its isomer (53JCS1889). The ability of l-methylindole-2-carboxylic acid to react with nucleophiles is enhanced by conversion into the mixed anhydride with methanesulfonic acid. The mixed anhydride reacts with carbanions derived from diethyl malonate and from methyl acetate to yield the indolyl (3- keto esters (80TL1957). 

In addition to preparation of arylhydrazones from the carbonyl compounds and an arylhydrazine, the Japp-Klingemann reaction of arenediazonium ions with enolates and enamines is an important method for preparation of arylhydrazones. This method provides a route to monoarylhydrazones of a-dicarbonyl compounds from /3-keto acids and to the hydrazones of pyruvate esters from / -keto esters. Enamines also give rise to monoarylhydrazones of a-diketones. Indolization of these arylhydrazones provides the expected 2-acyI-or 2-alkoxycarbonyl-indoles (equations 95-97). 

Some bifunctional 6 -OH Cinchona alkaloid derivatives catalyse the enantioselective hydroxyalkylation of indoles by aldehydes and a-keto esters.44 Indole, for example, can react with ethyl glyoxylate to give mainly (39) in 93% ee. The enan- tioselective reaction of indoles with iV-sulfonyl aldimines [e.g. (40)] is catalysed by the Cu(OTf)2 complex of (S)-benzylbisoxazoline (37b) to form 3-indolylmethanamine derivatives, in up to 96% ee [e.g. (41a)] 45 Some 9-thiourea Cinchona alkaloids have been found to catalyse the formation of 3-indolylmethanamines [e.g. (41b)] from indoles and /V-PhS02-phenyli mines in 90% ee.46 Aryl- and alkyl-imines also give enantioselective reactions. 

Novel indole derivatives continue to be found in marine organisms those reported recently include dendrodoine (3), a cytotoxic thiadiazole derivative, which occurs in the tunicate Dendrodoa grossularia, from Brittany,4 and the keto-lactam (4), one of two lactams isolated from the Caribbean sponge Hali-chondria melanodocia.5... 

The hydrazine 89 is made from the amine by nitrosation and reduction and the keto-acid 90 is available as levulinic acid. Now comes the big question when the Fischer indole synthesis is carried out on the hydrazone 91 which enamine is formed, the one we want 92, or the one we don t want 93 Since the Fischer indole is an acid- (or Lewis acid-) catalysed reaction we expect the more substituted enamine 92 to be favoured. 

The oxidation of vincamine by means of trifluoroperacetic acid simply gives the keto-lactam that results from oxidative fission of the indole 2,7 bond.71... 

The product from Step 1 (2.0 g) was dissolved in 50 ml toluene, triethylamine (8.87 mmol) added, then refluxed 2 hours. Thereafter, the mixture was cooled, diluted with 50 ml toluene, washed once with 100 ml 1M HCl, 3 times with 50 ml water, and concentrated. The residue was purified by flash chromatography using hexane/EtOAc, 10 1, and the product isolated in 30% yield as a mixture of keto and enol tautomers. An orange resin was obtained which, according to NMR, contained approximately 30% (E)-5-[3-(4-fluorophenyl)-l-isopropyl-lH-indol-2-yl]-3-oxopent-4-enoic acid methyl ester. 

In unpublished work, Gribble and Obaza-Nutaitis (60) have adapted the Saul-nier-Gribble ellipticine synthesis (61) to the synthesis of olivacine (Scheme 14). Keto lactam 85, available from indole in four steps (71% yield) (61), was treated sequentially with methyllithium and lithium triethylborohydride to give diol 86, which, without isolation, was reduced with sodium borohydride to give 1-de-methylolivacine (87). This had been previously converted to olivacine (4) by Kutney and co-workers (62). The success of this synthesis of 87 was due to the fact that Saulnier and Gribble (63) had previously established that the ketone carbonyl of keto lactam 85 is more reactive than the lactam carbonyl group. 

Gribble and Saulnier (79) have extended their ellipticine synthesis 43) to the synthesis of 9-methoxyellipticine (2) (Scheme 24). One of the key features of this approach is the regioselective nucleophilic addition to the C-4 carbonyl group of pyridine anhydride 28. The other noteworthy transformation is the conversion of keto lactam 142 to the diol 143 with methyllithium, a process that presumably involves cleavage of the initial adduct to a methyl ketone which undergoes cyclization at the C-3 position of the indolyl anion. Reduction of 143 with sodium borohydride completes the synthesis of 2, in 47% overall yield from 5-methoxyindole (139). Gribble and students 80) have also used this method to synthesize 8-methoxyellipticine (134), 9-fluoroellipticine (144), and the previously unknown 7,8,9,10-tetrafluorellipticine (145), each from the appropriate indole. 

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