6-Methyl-2 -pyrazinone alkylation

Alkylation of pyrazinones and quinoxalinones may be carried out under a variety of conditions and it is usually observed that while O-alkylation may occur under conditions of kinetic control, to yield the corresponding alkoxypyrazines or alkoxyquinoxalines, under thermodynamic control the A-alkylated products are formed. Alkylation using trialkyl-oxonium fluoroborate results in exclusive O-alkylation, and silylation under a variety of conditions (75MI21400) yields specifically the O-silylated products. Alkylation with methyl iodide or dimethyl sulfate invariably leads to A-methylation. 

Ring nitrogens in pyrazines and the benzo derivatives react with electrophiles to form quaternary ammonium species such as iV-alkylpyrazinium salts and pyrazine iV-oxides. N-Alkylation has generally been performed by treatment with a reactive alkyl iodide. The N-1 nitrogen in 2(l//)-pyrazinone 5 is methylated using chloro(chloromethyl)dimethyl-silane followed by desilylation with cesium fluoride to yield l-methyl-2(l//)-pyrazinone <2000TL4933>. 

Methyl-2(lH)-pyrazinone (57) underwent quatemization to l-benzyl-3-methyl-5-oxo-4,5-dihydropyrazinium bromide (58) (PhCH2Br, EtOH, reflux, N2, 24 h 80%) that then gave the zwitterionic base, l-benzyl-5-methylpyrazin-l-ium-3-olate (59) [H20—MeOH, (Amberlite IRA-400, HO ) column 97% this indirect route offers a procedure for N-alkylation on a ring-N that is not adjacent to the oxo substituent] 341 l,5-dimethylpyrazin-l-ium-3-olate was made somewhat similarly.1478... 

Most such pyrazinones have been made by primary synthesis (Chapters 1 and 2) or N-alkylation of tautomeric pyrazinones (Section 5.1.2.2). The minor route by rearrangement of alkoxypyrazines (H 184) appears to be unpresented in recent literature, but there are examples of the hydrolysis of nontautomeric iminopyrazines to corresponding pyrazinones. Thus 3-imino-4-methyl-3, 4-dihy-dro-2-pyrazinamine hydriodide (191, R = H) (i.e., 2,3-diamino-l-methyl-pyrazinium iodide) underwent hydrolysis in 2 M sodium hydroxide during 1 h at 100°C to afford 3-amino-1 -methyl-2(l//)-pyrazinonc (192, R = H) ( 40%) without any evidence of Dimroth rearrangement to 3-methylamino-2-pyrazinamine 1008 l-methyl-3-methylamino-2(l//)-pyrazinimine (191, R = Me) likewise gave 1-methyl-3-methylamino-2(l//)-pyrazinone (192, R = Me) ( 50%) 1008 and other examples have been reported.598... 

Conventional methods have been used to prepare ribonucleoside analogues from 2-(l//)pyrazinone, 3,5-disubstituted pyridines (including a-anomers), 6-methyl-l,3-oxazine-2,4-dione and 6-methyluracil, 2-alkyl-4,5-dicarboxamido-imidazoles, 7-membered ring analogues (4) and (5) of uracil and tetrahydro-uracil [one diastereomer of (4) being the most potent inhibitor of cytidine deaminase yet discovered], 2-alkylthioadenine, 8-aza-3-deaza-guanine/ ... 

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