Indoles 2-methylindole

HOC1 released by activated leukocytes has been implicated in the tissue damage that characterizes chronic inflammatory diseases. The release of HOC1 can be measured by the production of taurine-chloramine. A group of substituted indole derivatives including indole, 2-methylindole,... 

NuH = MeOH, EiOH, indole, 2-methylindole, pyrrole, phenols, anilines, thiazol-2-amine... 

Verley, A. Sodamide as a dehydrating agent. Preparation of indole, methylindole and their homologs. Bull. soc. chim. 1924, 35, 1039-1040. 

Aiuline and a range of substituted anilines and other aromatic anilines eg diethylaniline, ethylbenzylaniline, ethyltolylaniline and antinonaphthalene were detected only in the extract from the industrial sludge. These compounds are commonly used intermediates in industrial synthesis and their presence reflects the catchment to this particular treatment works. In contrast, indole and a series of indoles (methylindole, methoxyindole) were detected only in the domestic sludge. Some of these compounds are constituents of human faeces and their presence is presumably due to the high proportion of domestic waste received by this treatment works. 

The cyclized products 393 can be prepared by the intramolecular coupling of diphenyl ether or diphenylamine(333,334]. The reaction has been applied to the synthesis of an alkaloid 394[335]. The intramolecular coupling of benzoyl-A-methylindole affords 5-methyl-5,10-dihydroindenol[l,2-b]indol-10-one (395) in 60% yield in AcOH[336]. Staurosporine aglycone (396) was prepared by the intramolecular coupling of an indole ring[337]. 

The classical conditions for the Madelung indole synthesis are illustrated by the Organic Syntheses preparation of 2-methylindole which involves heating o-methylacetanilide with sodium amide at 250 C[1]. 

A -(2 2-Diethoxyethyl)anilines are potential precursors of 2,3-unsubstituted indoles. A fair yield of 1-methylindole was obtained by cyclization of N-inethyl-M-(2,2-diethoxyethyl)aniline with BFj, but the procedure failed for indole itself[2], Nordlander and co-workers alkylated anilines with bromo-acetaldehyde diethyl acetal and then converted the products to N-trifliioro-acetyl derivatives[3]. These could be cyclized to l-(trifluoroacetyl)indoles in a mixture of trifluoroacetic acid and trifluoroacetic anhydride. Sundberg and... 

Indol-2-ylcopper reagents can also be prepared from 2-lithioindoles and they have some potential for the preparation of 2-substituted indoles. 1-Methyl-indol-2-ylcopper can be prepared by reaction of 2-lithio-l-methylindole with CuBr[10]. It reacts with aryl iodides to give 2-aryl-1-methylindoles. Mixed cyanocuprate reagents can be prepared using CuCN[ll], The cyan-ocuprate from 1-methylindole reacts with allyl bromide to give 2-allyl-l-methylindole. 

The reactivity sequence furan > tellurophene > selenophene > thiophene is thus the same for all three reactions and is in the reverse order of the aromaticities of the ring systems assessed by a number of different criteria. The relative rate for the trifluoroacetylation of pyrrole is 5.3 x lo . It is interesting to note that AT-methylpyrrole is approximately twice as reactive to trifluoroacetylation as pyrrole itself. The enhanced reactivity of pyrrole compared with the other monocyclic systems is also demonstrated by the relative rates of bromination of the 2-methoxycarbonyl derivatives, which gave the reactivity sequence pyrrole>furan > selenophene > thiophene, and by the rate data on the reaction of the iron tricarbonyl-complexed carbocation [C6H7Fe(CO)3] (35) with a further selection of heteroaromatic substrates (Scheme 5). The comparative rates of reaction from this substitution were 2-methylindole == AT-methylindole>indole > pyrrole > furan > thiophene (73CC540). 

Methylindole has a p/sTa of -4.6 and it is therefore a weaker base than indole itself this unusual effect has been ascribed in part to the decreased hyperconjugative stabilization of the conjugate acid (38) by the one hydrogen at position 3 compared with the two hydrogens at position 3 in the 3//-indolium ion (39). 

Indole can be nitrated with benzoyl nitrate at low temperatures to give 3-nitroindole. More vigorous conditions can be used for the nitration of 2-methylindole because of its resistance to acid-catalyzed polymerization. In nitric acid alone it is converted into the 3-nitro derivative, but in a mixture of concentrated nitric and sulfuric acids 2-methyl-5-nitroindole (47) is formed. In sulfuric acid, 2-methylindole is completely protonated. Thus it is probable that it is the conjugate acid which is undergoing nitration. 3,3-Dialkyl-3H-indolium salts similarly nitrate at the 5-position. The para directing ability of the immonium group in a benzenoid context is illustrated by the para nitration of the conjugate acid of benzylideneaniline (48). 

The possibility of activating the indole nucleus to nucleophilic substitution has been realized by formation of chromium tricarbonyl complexes. For example, the complex from TV-methylindole (215) undergoes nucleophilic substitution with 2-lithio-l,3-dithiane to give a product (216) which can be transformed into l-methylindole-7-carbaldehyde (217) (78CC1076). 

Essentially the present procedure converted 1-methylindole to l-methyl-3-(N,N-dimethylaminomethyl)indole and a-methyl-styrene to o -(N,N-dimethylaminoethyl)styrene. ... 

Methylindole has been prepared from the a5-methylphenyl-hydrazone of pyruvic acid, by the action of sodium amide or sodium hydride on indole followed by methyl iodide at elevated temperatures,by treatment of indole with methyl p-toluene-sulfonatc and anhydrous sodium carbonate in boiling xylene, and by the action of inelhyl sulfate on indole previously treated... 

Methylindole has also been prepared by lithium aluminum hydride reduction of 1-methylindoxyl. Compounds giving rise to NH absorption in the infrared (indole, skatole) can be completely removed by refluxing the crude 1-methylindole over sodium for 2 days and then distilling the unreacted 1-methylindole from the sodio derivatives and tarry decomposition products. 

Rauwolscine gives colour reactions like those of yohimbine and the absorption curves of the hydrochlorides of the two alkaloids are very similar. Heated to 300°/5 mm. rauwolscinic acid forms barman (p. 490) and 3-ethylindole and on fusion with potassium hydroxide decomposes into indole-2-carboxylic acid, isophthalic acid, barman and an unidentified indole derivative. Rauwolscine itself on distillation with zinc dust produces barman, 2-methylindole (scatole) and tsoquinoline. It is suggested that the alkaloid has the skeletal strueture suggested by Seholz (formula XIV, p. 508) for yohimbine, the positions of the hydroxyl and earbomethoxy grouf s being still imdetermined. 

In 1989, Bartoli reported that vinylmagnesium bromide reacted with 2-nitrotoluene (4) at -40 C in THF to furnish 7-methylindole (5) in 67% yield. The reaction process also proceeded well with other 2-substituted nitrobenzenes. However, the 3- or 4-substituted nitrobenzenes provided either no indole products or indoles in poor yield. ... 

The arylhydrazone 24 generally gives the 3-alkyl-2-methylindole 25 as major product. However, the indolization of ethyl methyl ketone has been reported to provide both 2,3-dimethyl indole and 2-ethyl indole. " ... 

In 1974, Gassman et al. reported a general method for the synthesis of indoles. For example, aniline 5 was reacted sequentially with r-BuOCl, methylthio-2-propanone 6 and triethylamine to yield methylthioindole 7 in 69% yield. The Raney-nickel mediated desulfurization of 7 then provided 2-methylindole 8 in 79% yield. The scope and mechanism of the process were discussed in the same report by Gassman and coworkers as well. 

Oddo reported over 50 years ago that the interaction of methyl iodide with indole magnesium iodide at the reflux temperature of ether for 12 hours produced 3-methylindole (2). Rather surprisingly,... 

Recently two further examples of the 1-acetylation of indoles by this route have been observed by Heacock and Hutzinger. l-Acetyl-5-benzyloxyindole (216) and l-acetyl-5-benzyloxy-3-methylindole (217) were obtained by the action of ethyl acetate on the relevant indole Grignard reagents at low temperatures. ... 

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