Nitriles heterocycles

The use of oximes as nucleophiles can be quite perplexing in view of the fact that nitrogen or oxygen may react. Alkylation of hydroxylamines can therefore be a very complex process which is largely dependent on the steric factors associated with the educts. Reproducible and predictable results are obtained in intramolecular reactions between oximes and electrophilic carbon atoms. Amides, halides, nitriles, and ketones have been used as electrophiles, and various heterocycles such as quinazoline N-oxide, benzodiayepines, and isoxazoles have been obtained in excellent yields under appropriate reaction conditions. 

Aromatic nitriles or nitrogen heterocycles Indicates either CHO or C2H5 Indicates either CH2O or NO Thiols... 

As a class of compounds, nitriles have broad commercial utility that includes their use as solvents, feedstocks, pharmaceuticals, catalysts, and pesticides. The versatile reactivity of organonitnles arises both from the reactivity of the C=N bond, and from the abiHty of the cyano substituent to activate adjacent bonds, especially C—H bonds. Nitriles can be used to prepare amines, amides, amidines, carboxyHc acids and esters, aldehydes, ketones, large-ring cycHc ketones, imines, heterocycles, orthoesters, and other compounds. Some of the more common transformations involve hydrolysis or alcoholysis to produce amides, acids and esters, and hydrogenation to produce amines, which are intermediates for the production of polyurethanes and polyamides. An extensive review on hydrogenation of nitriles has been recendy pubHshed (10). 

Although acetonitrile is one of the more stable nitriles, it undergoes typical nitrile reactions and is used to produce many types of nitrogen-containing compounds, eg, amides (15), amines (16,17) higher molecular weight mono- and dinitriles (18,19) halogenated nitriles (20) ketones (21) isocyanates (22) heterocycles, eg, pyridines (23), and imidazolines (24). It can be trimerized to. f-trimethyltriazine (25) and has been telomerized with ethylene (26) and copolymerized with a-epoxides (27). 

Dipolar cycloaddition reactions with azides, imines, and nitrile oxides afford synthetic routes to nitrogen-containing heterocycles (25—30). 

Cyclization reactions effected by intramolecular attack of the heteroatom on a nitrile group provide a useful source of 2-amino heterocycles. Some illustrative examples are depicted in Scheme 16. 

The synthetic application of reactions based upon the intramolecular addition of a carbanion or its enamine equivalent to a carbonyl or nitrile group has been explored extensively. One class of such reactions, namely the Dieckman, has already been discussed in Section 3.03.2.2, since ring closure can often occur so as to form either the C(2)—C(3) or C(3)—C(4) bond of the heterocyclic ring. Some illustrative examples of the application of this type of ring closure are presented in Scheme 46. 

In theory, three isoxazolines are capable of existence 2-isoxazoline (2), 3-isoxazoline and 4-isoxazoline. The position of the double bond may also be designated by the use of the prefix A with an appropriate numerical superscript. Of these only the 2-isoxazolines have been investigated in any detail. The preparation of the first isoxazoline, 3,5-diphenyl-2-isoxazoline, from the reaction of )3-chloro-)3-phenylpropiophenone with hydroxylamine was reported in 1895 (1895CB957). Two major syntheses of 2-isoxazolines are the cycloaddition of nitrile A-oxides to alkenes and the reaction of a,/3-unsaturated ketones with hydroxylamine. Since 2-isoxazolines are readily oxidized to isoxazoles and possess some of the unique properties of isoxazoles, they also serve as key intermediates for the synthesis of other heterocycles and natural products. 

The protonated azirine system has also been utilized for the synthesis of heterocyclic compounds (67JA44S6). Thus, treatment of (199) with anhydrous perchloric acid and acetone or acetonitrile gave the oxazolinium perchlorate (207) and the imidazolinium perchlorate (209), respectively. The mechanism of these reactions involves 1,3-bond cleavage of the protonated azirine and reaction with the carbonyl group (or nitrile) to produce a resonance-stabilized carbonium-oxonium ion (or carbonium-nitrilium ion), followed by attack of the nitrogen unshared pair jf electrons to complete the cyclization. 

This synthesis came shortly after one by Prelog, Kohlberg, Cerkovnikov, Rezek and Piantanida (1937) based on a series of reactions which, with modifications and extensions. Prelog and his colleagues have applied to the syntheses of bridged heterocyclic nuclei, of which this is an example. 4-Hydroxymethyltetrahydropyran (VI R =. OH) is converted via the bromo-compound (VI R = Br) and the nitrile (VI R = CN) into tetrahydropyran-4-acetic acid of which the ethyl ester (VII) is reduced to 4-()3-hydroxyethyl)-tetrahydropyTan (VIII). This is converted by fuming hydrobromic acid into 3-(2-bromoethyl)-l 5-dibromopentane (IX) which with ammonia in methyl alcohol yields quinuclidine (V). 

Reactions offluorinated dipoles. In recent years, much effort has been devoted to the preparation of tnfluoromethyl-substituted 1,3-dipoles with the goal of using them to introduce trifluoromethyl groups into five-membered nng heterocycles Fluorinated diazoalkanes were the first such 1,3-dipoles to be prepared and used in synthesis A number of reports of cycloadditions of mono- and bis(tnfluo-romethyl)diazomethane appeared prior to 1972 [9] Other types of fluonne-substi-tuted 1,3-dipoles were virtually unknown until only recently However, largely because of the efforts of Tanaka s group, a broad knowledge of the chemistry of tnfluoromethyl-substituted nitrile oxides, nitnle imines, nitnle ylides, and nitrones has been accumulated recently... 

The chalcogene heterocycles have been used as stable precursors for sulfur-said selenium-cantaining hetero-l,3-dienes in cycloaddition reactions 3//-l,2,4-Thiaselenazoles are a convenient source of 4,4-bis(trifluoromethyl)-l-thia-3-aza-buta-1,3-dienes, and 3//-diselenazoles are a convenient source of 4,4-bis(trifluoromethyl)-l-selena-3-azabuta-l,3-dienes as well as bis(tnfluoro-methyl)-substrtuted nitrile ylides [137]... 

Nearly every substitution of the aromatic ring has been tolerated for the cyclization step using thermal conditions, while acid-promoted conditions limited the functionality utilized. Substituents included halogens, esters, nitriles, nitro, thio-ethers, tertiary amines, alkyl, ethers, acetates, ketals, and amides. Primary and secondary amines are not well tolerated and poor yield resulted in the cyclization containing a free phenol. The Gould-Jacobs reaction has been applied to heterocycles attached and fused to the aniline. 

The only known representative of this type of compound, 91, was prepared by 1,3-dipolar addition of mesityl nitrile oxide to telluroketone 85 (93JA7019 94MI1). The reaction proceeds smoothly on heating equimolar amounts of the reactants at 80°C, giving rise to 91 in 70% yield. The heterocycle is a thermally unstable and light-sensitive compound. Thermolysis of a deuterochloroform solution of 91 at 60-90°C in a sealed ampule affords 1,1,3,3-tetramethylindanone and mesityl isonitrile (94MI1). 

Interaction of carbonyl compounds with a, (3-unsaturated nitriles as a convenient route to carbo- and heterocycles 98UK442. 

Intramolecular reactions of nitrile imines as a fruitful source of heterocycles 98H(47)541. 

An analogous reaction is the Houben-Hoesch reaction,(sometimes called the Hoesch reaction) using nitriles 7 to give aryl ketones 8. This reaction also is catalyzed by Lewis acids often zinc chloride or aluminum chloride is used. The Houben-Hoesch reaction is limited to phenols—e.g. resorcinol 6—phenolic ethers and certain electron-rich aromatic heterocycles ... 

The ketoxime derivatives, required as starting materials, can be prepared from the appropriate aromatic, aliphatic or heterocyclic ketone. Aldoximes (where R is H) do not undergo the rearrangement reaction, but rather an elimination of toluenesulfonic acid to yield a nitrile. With ketoxime tosylates a Beckmann rearrangement may be observed as a side-reaction. 

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