Quinoline Meth-Cohn synthesis

The Meth-Cohn quinoline synthesis involves the conversion of acylanilides 1 into 2-chloro-3-substituted quinolines 2 by the action of Vilsmeier s reagent in warmed phosphorus oxychloride (POCI3) as solvent.  

The classical Vilsmeier-Haack reaction is one of the most useful general synthetic methods employed for the formylation of various electron rich aromatic, aliphatic and heteroaromatic substrates. However, the scope of the reaction is not restricted to aromatic formylation and the use of the Vilsmeier-Haack reagent provides a facile entry into a large number of heterocyclic systems. In 1978, the group of Meth-Cohn demonstrated a practically simple procedure in which acetanilide 3 (R = H) was efficiently converted into 2-chloro-3-quinolinecarboxaldehyde 4 (R = H) in 68% yield. This type of quinoline synthesis was termed the Vilsmeier Approach by Meth-Cohn.  

Typically, an acetanilide (1 mol. equiv.) was treated with the Vilsmeier reagent generated from POCI3 (7 mol. equiv.) and V,V-dimethylformamide (DMF, 2.5 mol. equiv.) at 75 °C for 4 - 20 h. The reaction products were readily obtained by filtration after pouring the reaction mixture onto ice-water minor reaction products were isolated after basification of the filtrate. A variety of acetanilides were studied under these optimised reaction conditions and some significant observations were noted. Activated acetanilides 3 [e.g. R = 4-Me (70%), 4-OMe (56%)] reacted faster and in better yield to give quinolines 4 than other strongly deactivated systems 3 [e.g. R = 4-Br (23%), 4-Cl (2%), 4-NO2 (0%)] — in these cases, formamidines 5 and acrylamides 6 were the major reaction products. 

When iV-substituted acylanilides 9 are treated under the same reaction conditions, the corresponding lV-substituted-2-quinolones 10 are isolated in high yields. This reaction was initially misinterpreted, but it has since been demonstrated to follow a similar mechanistic pathway to the Meth-Cohn quinoline synthesis.  

In the Meth-Cohn quinoline synthesis, the acetanilide becomes a nucleophile and provides the framework of the quinoline (nitrogen and the 2,3-carbons) and the 4-carbon is derived from the Vilsmeier reagent. The reaction mechanism involves the initial conversion of an acylanilide 1 into an a-iminochloride 11 by the action of POCI3. The a-chloroenamine tautomer 12 is subsequently C-formylated by the Vilsmeier reagent 13 derived from POCI3 and DMF. In examples where acetanilides 1 (r = H) are employed, a second C-formylation of 14 occurs to afford 15 subsequent cyclisation and 

The reaction mechanism involves initial conversion of acylanilides in to a-iminochloride by the action of phosphorous oxychloride. The formed chloroenamine is treated with Vilsmeier reagent, providing the active iminium salt, which is readily cyclized to provide 2-chloro-3-alkyl quinolines.  

As in the case of other quinoline syntheses, which started with substituted anilines, electron-donating groups on the arene accelerate the reaction. /weto-Substituted anilines react selectively, yielding only 7-substituted quinolines. 

The Meth-Cohn quinoline synthesis provides a versatile and reliable entry in to 3-substituted 2-chloroquinolines. In several cases, the Meth-Cohn reaction plays a pivotal role for the preparation of biological important compounds as in the synthesis of E-ring modified derivatives of camptothecin or for the syntheses of selected NMDA antagonists with analgesic activity.  

In 1880, Skraup synthesized quinolines by reaction of aniline and glycerol in a solution of sulfuric acid and an oxidizing reagent. What Skraup discovered was generalized one year later by Doebner and von Miller by using a,P-unsaturated aldehydes instead of glycerol in order to prepare substituted quinolines. 

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In a useful extension to the Meth-Cohn quinoline synthesis, pyridoquinolin-2-ones 27 are readily prepared in a one-pot procedure by sequential treatment of an acetanilide 3, firstly with the Vilsmeier reagent from DMF and POCI3 to afford the intermediate 16, which is then further reacted in situ with another secondary amide. ... 

Similarly, W-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) antagonists 32 with analgesic activity were prepared, again using the Meth-Cohn quinoline synthesis as the key entry reaction, subsequent functional group manipulation giving the desired target compound. 

Moore, A. J. Meth-Cohn quinoline synthesis In Name Reactions in Heterocycl. Chemistry, Li, J. J. Corey, E. J., Eds. Wiley Sons Hoboken, NJ, 2005, 443—450. (Review). 

Madelung synthesis (indole) 137 Marckwald cleavage, of furans 79 Marckwald synthesis (imidazole) 224 Meth-Cohn synthesis (quinoline) 402 Meyer s oxazoline method 183 Morin reaction 456 Mukaiyama reaction 380 Mukaiyama reagents 53, 380... 

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