Methyl-substituted indoles

Methyl-substituted indole has been the subject of an investigation and the degradation metabolites were identified [346], An indole-degrading methanogenic consortium induced a two-step reaction on 3-methylindole, through a hydroxylation pathway that... 

Padwa and coworkers found that a-cyanoaminosilane 12a is a convenient synthon for azomethine ylide 15 which is extensively used in heterocyclic synthesis [7]. AgP has been adopted to generate the ylide 15 from 12a for the preparation of pyrrolidine derivative 14 (Sch. 4). Various dipolarophiles including A-phenylmaleimide (13) can be used for the cycloaddition. When iV-[(trimethylsilyl)methyl]-substituted indole 16 is reacted with AgP in the presence of maleimide 13, pyrrolo[l,2-a]indole 17 is formed in good yield, retaining the CN group [8]. A silver-bonded carbonium ion is assumed to be a reactive intermediate. Reaction of a cyano-substituted azomethine ylide, derived from (silylmethylamino)malononitrile 12b and AgP, with methyl propiolate (18) provides 3-carbomethoxy-A-benzylpyrrole (19) [9]. Epibatidine, a novel alkaloid, was successfully synthesized by employing the [3 + 2] cycloaddition of azomethine ylide with electron-deficient alkenes as a key step [10]. 

The synthesis of pyrrolo[l,2-a]indoles (113) has been successfully accomplished in 85% yield through a 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition reaction using A-(trimethylsilyl)methyl substituted indoles (112) (Equation (6)) <89JOC644>. 

Padwa A, Fryxell GE et al (1989) A dipolar cycloaddition approach to pyrrolo[l,2-a]indoles using N-[(trimethylsilyl)methyl]-substituted indoles. J Org Chem 54 644-653... 

Fragmentation Analogous to pyrrole HCN elimination (Am 27) from M" " and from fragments. From M" " also CH2N (Am 28) elimination (in one or two steps). In methyl-substituted indoles, [M-l] is dominant. In A/-methylindoles, [M-15] is significant. Benzyhc-type cleavage in C- and iV-alkylindoles with or without (nonspecific) H rearrangements. 

Molecular ion Strong. No tendency to protonate. In methyl-substituted indoles, strong signal for [M-l]". ... 

Indol-2-ylcopper reagents can also be prepared from 2-lithioindoles and they have some potential for the preparation of 2-substituted indoles. 1-Methyl-indol-2-ylcopper can be prepared by reaction of 2-lithio-l-methylindole with CuBr[10]. It reacts with aryl iodides to give 2-aryl-1-methylindoles. Mixed cyanocuprate reagents can be prepared using CuCN[ll], The cyan-ocuprate from 1-methylindole reacts with allyl bromide to give 2-allyl-l-methylindole. 

A variety of 2-substituted indoles can be prepared by the Gassman process. For example, when methyl phenacyl sulfide 22 was employed with aniline, the 2-phenyl indole was obtained in 81% yield as shown here. 

Investigation of a related indole template, however, yielded potent compounds, as exemplified by the sulphonamide derivative (33). Activity was improved further by introducing steric constraints to the sidechain and introduction of a 7-methyl substituent on the indole ring, leading to compound (34) [82]. Derivatives generally possessed only moderate pharmacokinetic properties however (clearance 25-45 ml/min/kg in dog), which was attributed to metabolic vulnerability of the indole (C2-C3) double bond. Attempts to block metabolism by C2, C3 di-methyl substitution resulted in the loss of oxytocin activity. 

Transition metal catalysis on solid supports can also be applied to indole formation, as shown by Dai and coworkers [41]. These authors reported a palladium- or copper-catalyzed procedure for the generation of a small indole library (Scheme 7.23), representing the first example of a solid-phase synthesis of 5-arylsulfamoyl-substituted indole derivatives. The most crucial step was the cydization of the key polymer-bound sulfonamide intermediates. Whereas the best results for the copper-mediated cydization were achieved using l-methyl-2-pyrrolidinone (NMP) as solvent, the palladium-catalyzed variant required the use of tetrahydrofuran in order to achieve comparable results. Both procedures afforded the desired indoles in good yields and excellent purities [41]. 

Ethyl 3-azido-l-methyl-177-indole-2-carboxylate 361 is prepared in 70% yield by diazotization of amine 360 followed by substitution of the created diazonium group with sodium azide. In cycloadditions with nitrile anions, azide 361 forms triazole intermediates 362. However, under the reaction conditions, cyclocondensation of the amino and ethoxycarbonyl groups in 362 results in formation of an additional ring. This domino process provides efficiently 4/7-indolo[2,3-i ]l,2,3-triazolo[l,5- ]pyrimidines 363 in 70-80% yield (Scheme 57) <2006TL2187>. 

Somei adapted this chemistry to syntheses of (+)-norchanoclavine-I, ( )-chanoclavine-I, ( )-isochanoclavine-I, ( )-agroclavine, and related indoles [243-245, 248]. Extension of this Heck reaction to 7-iodoindoline and 2-methyl-3-buten-2-ol led to a synthesis of the alkaloid annonidine A [247]. In contrast to the uneventful Heck chemistry of allylic alcohols with 4-haloindoles, reaction of thallated indole 186 with 2-methyl-4-trimethylsilyl-3-butyn-2-ol affords an unusual l-oxa-2-sila-3-cyclopentene indole product [249]. Hegedus was also an early pioneer in exploring Heck reactions of haloindoles [250-252], Thus, reaction of 4-bromo-l-(4-toluenesulfonyl)indole (11) under Heck conditions affords 4-substituted indoles 222 [250], Murakami described the same reaction with ethyl acrylate [83], and 2-iodo-5-(and 7-) azaindoles undergo a Heck reaction with methyl acrylate [19]. 

A reinvestigation of the experiments on the UV irradiation of l-acetyl-l,2-dihydroquinoline-2-carbonitriles (Reissert compounds) 561 unequivocally demonstrated that the rearrangement via the diradical intermediate 562 gave 4//-3,l-benzoxazines 563 and 565 rather than the benzazete derivatives described earlier. The yields and the type of products were strongly influenced by the substituent R at position 4 while irradiation of the unsubstituted quinoline 561 (R=H) gave 3,1-benzoxazine 563 in nearly quantitative yield, the amount of the corresponding methyl-substituted analog 565 that could be isolated was considerable lower, due to its irreversible isomerization via 562 to the stable cycloprop[/ ]indole derivative 564 (Scheme 107) <199811(49)121 >. 

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