Iron-mediated aromatic

A novel synthetic route for the preparation of unsymmetrically substituted benzophenones was developed in the laboratory of C.-M. Andersson utilizing an iron-mediated aromatic substitution as one of the key steps. The power of this method was demonstrated by the formal synthesis of the benzophenone moiety of the protein kinase C inhibitor balanol. In the late stages of the synthesis, it became necessary to convert the aromatic methyl ketone functionality of the highly substituted benzophenone substrate to the corresponding carboxylic acid. Bromine was added to sodium hydroxide solution, and the resulting sodium hypobromite solution was slowly added to the substrate at low temperature. Upon acidification the desired carboxylic acid was obtained in fair yield. 

Despite many applications of the iron-mediated carbazole synthesis, the access to 2-oxygenated tricyclic carbazole alkaloids using this method is limited due to the moderate yields for the oxidative cyclization [88,90]. In this respect, the molybdenum-mediated oxidative coupling of an arylamine and cyclohexene 2a represents a complementary method. The construction of the carbazole framework is achieved by consecutive molybdenum-mediated C-C and C-N bond formation. The cationic molybdenum complex, required for the electrophilic aromatic substitution, is easily prepared (Scheme 23). 

Tricarbonyliron-coordinated cyclohexadienylium ions 569 were shown to be useful electrophiles for the electrophilic aromatic substitution of functionally diverse electron-rich arylamines 570. This reaction combined with the oxidative cyclization of the arylamine-substituted tricarbonyl(ri -cyclohexadiene)iron complexes 571, leads to a convergent total synthesis of a broad range of carbazole alkaloids. The overall transformation involves consecutive iron-mediated C-C and C-N bond formation followed by aromatization (8,10) (Schemes 5.24 and 5.25). 

Over the past 15 years, we developed three procedures for the iron-mediated carbazole synthesis, which differ in the mode of oxidative cyclization arylamine cyclization, quinone imine cyclization, and oxidative cyclization by air (8,10,557,558). The one-pot transformation of the arylamine-substituted tricarbonyl(ri -cyclohexadiene) iron complexes 571 to the 9H-carbazoles 573 proceeds via a sequence of cyclization, aromatization, and demetalation. This iron-mediated arylamine cyclization has been widely applied to the total synthesis of a broad range of 1-oxygenated, 3-oxygenated, and 3,4-dioxygenated carbazole alkaloids (Scheme 5.24). 

The two key steps for the construction of the carbazole framework by the iron-mediated approach are, first, C-C bond formation by electrophilic aromatic substitution of the arylamine with the tricarbonyliron-complexed cyclohexadienyl cation and, second, C-N bond formation and aromatization by an oxidative cyclization. Application of this methodology provides murrayanine (9) and koenoline (8) in three steps and 15%, and in four steps and 14% overall yield, respectively, starting from the commercial nitroaryl derivative 601 (573,574) (Scheme 5.33). 

For the total synthesis of mukonidine (54), the required arylamine 656 was obtained quantitatively from commercial 4-aminosalicylic acid (659) using diazomethane (559). However, for large-scale preparation, this transformation was better achieved with sulfuric acid and methanol (81). The reaction of the arylamine 656 with the iron-complex salt 602 provided the iron complex 660 in 87% yield. The high yield of C-C bond formation was ascribed to the high nucleophilicity of the ortho-amino position of the aromatic nucleus arising from the hydroxy group in the 3-position of the arylamine. The iron-mediated arylamine cyclization of the complex... 

Electrophilic aromatic substitution of 708 with the iron-coordinated cation 602 afforded the iron-complex 714 quantitatively. The iron-mediated quinone imine cyclization of complex 714, by sequential application of two, differently activated, manganese dioxide reagents, provided the iron-coordinated 4b,8a-dihydrocarbazole-3-one 716. Demetalation of the iron complex 716 with concomitant... 

Electrophilic aromatic substitution of the arylamine 780a using the iron-complex salt 602 afforded the iron-complex 785. Oxidative cyclization of complex 785 in toluene at room temperature with very active manganese dioxide afforded carbazomycin A (260) in 25% yield, along with the tricarbonyliron-complexed 4b,8a-dihydro-3H-carbazol-3-one (786) (17% yield). The quinone imine 786 was also converted to carbazomycin A (260) by a sequence of demetalation and O-methylation (Scheme 5.86). The synthesis via the iron-mediated arylamine cyclization provides carbazomycin A (260) in two steps and 21% overall yield based on 602 (607-609) (Scheme 5.86). 

The construction of the carbazole framework was achieved by slightly modifying the reaction conditions previously reported for the racemic synthesis (614). Reaction of the iron complex salt 602 with the fully functionalized arylamine 814 in air provided the tricarbonyliron-coordinated 4b,8a-dihydrocarbazole complex 819 via sequential C-C and C-N bond formation. This one-pot annulation is the result of an electrophilic aromatic substitution and a subsequent iron-mediated oxidative cyclization by air as the oxidizing agent. The aromatization with concomitant demetalation of complex 819 using NBS under basic reaction conditions, led to the carbazole. Using the same reagent under acidic reaction conditions the carbazole was... 

Four years later, we reported an improved iron-mediated total synthesis of furostifoline (224) (689). This approach features a reverse order of the two cyclization reactions by first forming the carbazole nucleus, then annulation of the furan ring. As a consequence, in this synthesis the intermediate protection of the amino function is not necessary (cf. Schemes 5.178 and 5.179). The electrophilic aromatic substitution at the arylamine 1106 by reaction with the iron complex salt 602 afforded the iron... 

In addition to aliphatic chain attack, hydroxyl radicals may also directly attack the aromatic ring. This is believed to be the case for the iron-mediated photo degradation of 3-chlorophenol (3CP) [12] with hydroxyl radicals that are formed on photolysis of FeOH2+ rapidly reacting with 3CP to form rad-... 

Electrophilic aromatic substitution of 5-hydroxy-2,4-dimethoxy-3-methylaniline by reaction with the iron complex salts affords the corresponding aryl-substituted tricarbonyliron-cyclohexadiene complexes. O-Acetylation followed by iron-mediated arylamine cydization with concomitant aromatization provides the substituted carbazole derivatives. Oxidation using cerium(IV) ammonium nitrate (CAN) leads to the carbazole-l,4-quinones. Addition of methyllithium at low temperature occurs preferentially at C-1, representing the more reactive carbonyl group, and thus provides in only five steps carbazomycin G (46 % overall yield) and carbazomycin H (7 % overall yield). 

Electrophilic substitution of the appropriately functionalized arylamine and subsequent iron-mediated oxidative cyclization with aromatization generates the carbazole skeleton. Annulation of the furan ring by treatment with catalytic amounts of amberlyst 15 affords furostifoline directly. Comparison of the six total syntheses reported so far for furostifoline demonstrates the superiority of the iron-mediated synthesis (Table 1 in ref. [43a]). Starting from the 2-methoxy-substituted tricarbonyliron-coordinated cyclohexadienylium salt this sequence has been applied to the synthesis of furoclausine-A (Scheme 15.12) [45]. 

One of the themes to emerge from Bunce s research is the use of cascade reactions to produce an internal nucleophile that is subsequently intercepted by an enone to deliver heterocyclic architectures. Thus, nitro aromatics of type 387 undergo an iron-mediated reduction to furnish benzo-fused heterocycles 388 in 88-98% yield (Scheme 72) (OOJOC2847). Exposure of unsaturated esters like 389 to NaOEt... 

However, work in hepatocytes suggested that acetaminophen toxicity may involve iron-mediated oxidative stress. Albano and coworkers (Albano et al. 1983) reported that incubation of acetaminophen with cultured mouse hepatocytes or with polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon-induced rat hepatocytes produced oxidative stress as indicated by peroxidation of lipids (malondialdehyde formation). Moreover, the importance of iron in the toxicity of acetaminophen has been shown in both rat and mouse hepatocytes by numerous investigators (Adamson and Harman 1993 Ito et al. 1994 Kyle et al. 1987). Collectively, these data... 

In 1989 we reported an iron-mediated route for the construction of the tricyclic carbazole skeleton [72, 73]. This convergent method was applied to the total synthesis of the naturally occurring alkaloid carbazomycin A [72]. Key steps of our iron-mediated approach are the consecutive C C bond formation and oxidative cyclization (formation of the C N bond) between an electrophilic tricarbonyl(ri -cyclohexadienyhum)iron complex salt 30 and an arylamine 31 (Scheme 10). Subsequent oxidation and demetalation provides the aromatized carbazole 32. 

The iron-mediated arylamine cyclization (mode A in Scheme 12) proceeds via the steps cyclodehydrogenation, aromatization, and concomitant demetalation, and can be achieved with various oxidizing agents (e.g., very active manganese dioxide [92, 93], iodine in pyridine [94—96], and ferroceifium hexafluorophosphate [92,97, 98]). Applications of this procedure to the total symthesis of carbazole alkaloids include for example hyellazole [97] and carazostatin [98] for reviews, see [18-20, 83]. More recent applications of this route to natural product synthesis are described in Sect. 3.1.1. 

From a mechanistic point of view, after a CDC reaction and the loss of a proton (see 4.3), the imine intermediate 32-B is produced and can then react with terminal alkynes to give the all nylated species 32-C. Then, via a Friedel-Crafts reaction of the electron-rich aryl ring with the internal triple bond, followed by an iron-mediated re-aromatization, the desired quinolines are obtained (Scheme 4.32). 

Yamakawa described an interesting iron-mediated oxidative trifluoromethylation of aromatic compounds using iodotrifluoromethane and an iron catalyst in the presence of hydrogen peroxide. The reaction was effective for an extensive range of (hetero)aromatic substrates, again with the production of regioisomers in some cases (Scheme 15.96). 

Reduction of monocyclic aromatic nitro compounds has been demonstrated (a) with reduced sulfur compounds mediated by a naphthoquinone or an iron porphyrin (Schwarzenbach et al. 1990), and (b) by Fe(II) and magnetite produced by the action of the anaerobic bacterium Geobacter metallireducens (Heijman et al. 1993). Quinone-mediated reduction of monocyclic aromatic nitro compounds by the supernatant monocyclic aromatic nitro compounds has been noted (Glaus et al. 1992), and these reactions may be signihcant in determining the fate of aromatic nitro compounds in reducing environments (Dunnivant et al. 1992). 

Crich and Rumthao reported a new synthesis of carbazomycin B using a benzeneselenol-catalyzed, stannane-mediated addition of an aryl radical to the functionalized iodocarbamate 835, followed by cyclization and dehydrogenative aromatization (622). The iodocarbamate 835 required for the key radical reaction was obtained from the nitrophenol 784 (609) (see Scheme 5.85). lodination of 784, followed by acetylation, afforded 3,4-dimethyl-6-iodo-2-methoxy-5-nitrophenyl acetate 834. Reduction of 834 with iron and ferric chloride in acetic acid, followed by reaction with methyl chloroformate, led to the iodocarbamate 835. Reaction of 835 and diphenyl diselenide in refluxing benzene with tributyltin hydride and azobisisobutyronitrile (AIBN) gave the adduct 836 in 40% yield, along with 8% of the recovered substrate and 12% of the deiodinated carbamate 837. Treatment of 836 with phenylselenenyl bromide in dichloromethane afforded the phenylselenenyltetrahydrocarbazole 838. Oxidative... 

The special case of metal-mediated stoichiometric electrophilic oxygen atom transfer to aromatic ligands will be discussed in more detail in the next chapter. Suffice it to say here, that numerous examples of transition metal-mediated (particularly copper and iron) oxygen atom transfer are known, although many of these processes are catalytic. 

Reduction of nitro aromatic compounds often appears to be a two-step process, in which a mediator is required for facile transfer of electrons from a bulk reductant to the contaminant. A well documented example is the coupling of organic matter oxidation by iron reducing bacteria to "abiotic" nitro reduction by biogenic Fe(II) that is adsorbed to mineral surfaces in a column containing aquifer material (36, 39, 76). 

Like the various forms of iron, NOM apparently serves as both bulk reductant and mediator of reduction as well as bulk reductant (recall section 2.2.2). NOM also can act as an electron acceptor for microbial respiration by iron reducing bacteria (26), thereby facilitating the catabolism of aromatic hydrocarbons under anaerobic conditions (103). In general, it appears that NOM can mediate electron transfer between a wide range of donors and acceptors in environmental systems (104,105). In this way, NOM probably facilitates many redox reactions that are favorable in a thermodynamic sense but do not occur by direct interaction between donor and acceptor due to unfavorable kinetics. 

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