Malonic acid amides barbituric acids

The barbiturates were widely used as sedative-hypnotic drugs. Barbital was introduced as a drug in 1903. The method of synthesis for thousands of its analogs has undergone little change. Urea reacts with various derivatives of malonic acid, usually a diethyl ester of a dialkyl substituted malonic acid. This is a classic example of a nucleophilic acyl substitution. A derivative of ammonia reacts with esters to form an amide, only in this case a cyclization to a strainless six-membered ring results because of the proximity of the bifunctionality. 

Barbituric acid and barbiturates can be synthesised by reacting a malonate with a urea, " or a bis primary amide of a snbstitnted malonic acid with diethyl carbonate. ... 

Heterocycles are almost invariably formed by inter- and intramolecular Schiff base or lactam formation. We cite here the classical Knorr pyrrole synthesis (see Scheme 1.3.4) and Baeyer s barbituric acid synthesis, where the amide nitrogen atoms of urea are nucleophilic enough to add to malonic acid esters (Scheme 1.4.2). 

Diesters also react smoothly with the urea derivatives, which undergo displacement of the alkoxy groups to create amide bonds. Barbituric acid can be made this way by reaction of diethyl malonate (9.122, R=R =H) with urea (Scheme 9.64). An important family of pharmaceutical agents results from the use of substituted malonic esters. Thus, with a phenyl and an ethyl substituent the important hypnotic agent, phenobarbital (9.123) is produced. Veronal, which is another important hypnotic, is prepared from diethyl-substituted malonates. 

Sodium hydroxidelliq. ammonia Barbituric acids from malonic acid amides... 

---