Vinylic indoles

The photocyclization of iV-vinylanilines is an e.xarnple of a general class of photocyclizations[l]. If the vinyl substituent has a potential leaving group or the reaction is carried out so that oxidation occurs, the cyclization intermediate can aromatize to an indole. 

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. 

Indoles are usually constructed from aromatic nitrogen compounds by formation of the pyrrole ring as has been the case for all of the synthetic methods discussed in the preceding chapters. Recently, methods for construction of the carbocyclic ring from pyrrole derivatives have received more attention. Scheme 8.1 illustrates some of the potential disconnections. In paths a and b, the syntheses involve construction of a mono-substituted pyrrole with a substituent at C2 or C3 which is capable of cyclization, usually by electrophilic substitution. Paths c and d involve Diels-Alder reactions of 2- or 3-vinyl-pyrroles. While such reactions lead to tetrahydro or dihydroindoles (the latter from acetylenic dienophiles) the adducts can be readily aromatized. Path e represents a category Iley cyclization based on 2 -I- 4 cycloadditions of pyrrole-2,3-quinodimcthane intermediates. 

As illustrated in Scheme 8.1, both 2-vinylpyrroles and 3-vinylpyiroles are potential precursors of 4,5,6,7-tetrahydroindolcs via Diels-Alder cyclizations. Vinylpyrroles are relatively reactive dienes. However, they are also rather sensitive compounds and this has tended to restrict their synthetic application. While l-methyl-2-vinylpyrrole gives a good yield of an indole with dimethyl acetylenedicarboxylate, ot-substitiients on the vinyl group result in direct electrophilic attack at C5 of the pyrrole ring. This has been attributed to the stenc restriction on access to the necessary cisoid conformation of the 2-vinyl substituent[l]. 

Donor substituents on the vinyl group further enhance reactivity towards electrophilic dienophiles. Equations 8.6 and 8.7 illustrate the use of such functionalized vinylpyrroles in indole synthesis[2,3]. In both of these examples, the use of acetyleneic dienophiles leads to fully aromatic products. Evidently this must occur as the result of oxidation by atmospheric oxygen. With vinylpyrrole 8.6A, adducts were also isolated from dienophiles such as methyl acrylate, dimethyl maleate, dimethyl fumarate, acrolein, acrylonitrile, maleic anhydride, W-methylmaleimide and naphthoquinone. These tetrahydroindole adducts could be aromatized with DDQ, although the overall yields were modest[3]. 

Ethyl-4-methyl-l-(phenylsulfonyl)indole 4-Ethyl-7-methyl-l-phenylsulfonyl-l,5-dihydropyrano-[3,4-b]pyrrol-5-one phenyl vinyl sulfoxide 60 [3]... 

Lithiation at C2 can also be the starting point for 2-arylatioii or vinylation. The lithiated indoles can be converted to stannanes or zinc reagents which can undergo Pd-catalysed coupling with aryl, vinyl, benzyl and allyl halides or sulfonates. The mechanism of the coupling reaction involves formation of a disubstituted palladium intermediate by a combination of ligand exchange and oxidative addition. Phosphine catalysts and salts are often important reaction components. 

The best procedures for 3-vinylation or 3-arylation of the indole ring involve palladium intermediates. Vinylations can be done by Heck reactions starting with 3-halo or 3-sulfonyloxyindoles. Under the standard conditions the active catalyst is a Pd(0) species which reacts with the indole by oxidative addition. A major con.sideration is the stability of the 3-halo or 3-sulfonyloxyindoles and usually an EW substituent is required on nitrogen. The range of alkenes which have been used successfully is quite broad and includes examples with both ER and EW substituents. Examples are given in Table 11.3. An alkene which has received special attention is methyl a-acetamidoacrylate which is useful for introduction of the tryptophan side-chain. This reaction will be discussed further in Chapter 13. 

C Vinyl stannane coupling 9 3-Bromo-l-(methanesulfonyl)indole Pd(OAc)2, chloranil Z-(2-Etho,xy vinyl)tri-n-butylstannane, Pd(PPh3)2Cl2 83 [9]... 

Because Pd(II) salts, like Hgtll) salts, can effect electrophilic metallation of the indole ring at C3, it is also possible to carry out vinylation on indoles without 3-substituents. These reactions usually require the use of an equiv. of the Pd(ll) salt and also a Cu(If) or Ag(I) salt to effect reoxidation of the Pd. As in the standard Heck conditions, an EW substitution on the indole nitrogen is usually necessary. Entry 8 of Table 11.3 is an interesting example. The oxidative vinylation was achieved in 87% yield by using one equiv. of PdfOAcfj and one equiv. of chloranil as a co-oxidant. This example is also noteworthy in that the 4-broino substituent was unreactive under these conditions. Part B of Table 11.3 lists some other representative procedures. 

Standard Heck conditions were used to introduce the dchydroalanine side-chain with 4-bromo-3-iodo-l-(4-methylphenylsulfonyl)indole[12]. Using 4-fluoro-3-iodo-l-(4-methylphenylsulfonyl)indole as the reactant, Merlic and Semmelhack found that addition of 2 eq, of LiCl or KCl improved yields in reactions carried out with 10% Pd/C as the catalyst[13]. The addition of the dehyroalanine side chain can also be done by stoichiometric Pd-mediated vinylation (see Section 11.2). A series of C-subslituled dehydro tryptophans was prepared in 40-60% yield by this method[14]. 

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. 

Heck type vinylation of 4-bromo-l-(4-methylphenylsulfonyl)-indole proceeds in good yield with such alkenes as methyl acrylate, styrene and N-vinylphthalimide using Pd(OAc)2 (5 mol%) and tri-o-tolylphosphine as the... 

The Suzuki coupling of arylboronic acids and aryl halides has proven to be a useful method for preparing C-aryl indoles. The indole can be used either as the halide component or as the boronic acid. 6-Bromo and 7-bromoindolc were coupled with arylboronic acids using Pd(PPh3)4[5]. No protection of the indole NH was necessary. 4-Thallated indoles couple with aryl and vinyl boronic acides in the presence of Pd(OAc)j[6]. Stille coupling between an aryl stannane and a haloindole is another option (Entry 5, Table 14.3). 

A solution of l-methylpyrano[4,3-b]indol-3-one (1 mmol) and methyl vinyl ketone (5 ml) in toluene (5 ml) containing 5% Pd/C (40 mg) was heated for 48 h in a sealed tube at 110°C. The reaction mixture was evaporated in vacuo and the residue purified by silica gel chromatography to give the product in 80% yield. 

Vinyl chloride reacts with sulfides, thiols, alcohols, and oximes in basic media. Reaction with hydrated sodium sulfide [1313-82-2] in a mixture of dimethyl sulfoxide [67-68-5] (DMSO) and potassium hydroxide [1310-58-3], KOH, yields divinyl sulfide [627-51-0] and sulfur-containing heterocycles (27). Various vinyl sulfides can be obtained by reacting vinyl chloride with thiols in the presence of base (28). Vinyl ethers are produced in similar fashion, from the reaction of vinyl chloride with alcohols in the presence of a strong base (29,30). A variety of pyrroles and indoles have also been prepared by reacting vinyl chloride with different ketoximes or oximes in a mixture of DMSO and KOH (31). 

Benzo[Z)]furans and indoles do not take part in Diels-Alder reactions but 2-vinyl-benzo[Z)]furan and 2- and 3-vinylindoles give adducts involving the exocyclic double bond. In contrast, the benzo[c]-fused heterocycles function as highly reactive dienes in [4 + 2] cycloaddition reactions. Thus benzo[c]furan, isoindole (benzo[c]pyrrole) and benzo[c]thiophene all yield Diels-Alder adducts (137) with maleic anhydride. Adducts of this type are used to characterize these unstable molecules and in a similar way benzo[c]selenophene, which polymerizes on attempted isolation, was characterized by formation of an adduct with tetracyanoethylene (76JA867). 

The course of the photochemically mediated isomerization of vinylazirines is dependent on the stereochemistry of the vinyl group, as is illustrated in Scheme 94a (75JA4682). Under thermal conditions the isomerization proceeds through formation of the butadienylnitrene and subsequent pyrrole formation. Analogous conversions of azirines to indoles have also been effected (Scheme 94b). It is possible that some of the vinyl azide cyclizations discussed in Section 3.03.2.1 proceed via the azirine indeed, such an intermediate has been observed... 

Indole, l-methyl-2-sulfonamido-tautomerism, 4, 200 Indole, l-methyl-3-sulfonamido-tautomerism, 4, 200 Indole, (methylthio)-synthesis, 4, 368 Indole, 3-(methylthio)-synthesis, 4, 338, 368 Indole, l-methyl-3-vinyl-oxidation, 4, 280 Indole, nitro-rearrangement, 4, 297 Indole, 3-nitro-nitration, 4, 211, 213 reduction, 4, 362 synthesis, 4, 210, 363 Indole, 5-nitro-synthesis, 4, 211, 363 Indole, nitroso-rearrangement, 4, 297 Indole, 1-nitroso-reduction, 4, 362 Indole, 3-nitroso-reduction, 4, 362 Indole, nitrovinyl-... 

The reaction of the o-substituted nitrobenzene 1 with 3 moles of the vinyl magnesium halide 2 gives the 7-substituted indole 3 as the major product. 

B. Methyl indole-4-carboxylate (30). A mixture of 7.0 g (28 mmol) of methyl trans-2-[ -(dimethylamino)vinyl]-3-nitrobenzoate(29) in 140 mL of dry benzene which contained 1.4 g of 10% Pd/C was shaken in a Parr apparatus under Hj (50 psi) for 1.5 h. The catalyst was removed by filtration, and the benzene solution was washed with 30 mL of 5% aq. HCl, brine and dried over MgS04. After removal of the solvent under reduced pressure, the residue was purified via chromatography on silica gel to furnish 6.9 g (82%) of methyl indole-4-carboxylate (30). 

The Hegedus indole synthesis involves one of the earlier (formal) examples of olefin hydroamination. An ortho-vinyl or ortho-nllyl aniline derivative 1 is treated with palladium(II) to deliver an intermediate resulting from alkene aminopalladation. Subsequent reduction and/or isomerization steps then provide the indoline or indole unit 2, respectively. 

That electrocyclic reaction is related to the Claisen rearrangement of phenyl vinyl ether. In a final step a cyclization takes place with subsequent elimination of ammonia to yield the indole 2 ... 

Thermolysis of the vinyl azide 11 in toluene furnishes a mixture of ethyl 2-phenyl-l//-3-benz-azepine-4-carboxylate(12), ethyl 4-(2-phenylvinyl)indole-2-carboxylate(13) and ethyl 1-benzyl-isoquinoline-3-carboxylate (14).82... 

Thermolysis of the vinyl azide 26 in xylene yields ethyl 8-(mcthoxymcthyl)-l,8-dihydro-benz[2,3]azepino[4,5- >]indole-2-carboxylate (27) by attack of the vinyl nitrene at the 2-phenyl group.83... 

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