Nitrones, synthesis hydroxylamines

The most widely employed methods for the synthesis of nitrones are the condensation of carbonyl compounds with A-hydroxylamines5 and the oxidation of A+V-di substituted hydroxylamines.5 9 Practical and reliable methods for the oxidation of more easily available secondary amines have become available only recently.10 11 12 13. These include reactions with stoichiometric oxidants not readily available, such as dimethyldioxirane10 or A-phenylsulfonyl-C-phenyloxaziridine,11 and oxidations with hydrogen peroxide catalyzed by Na2W044 12 or Se02.13 All these methods suffer from limitations in scope and substrate tolerance. For example, oxidations with dimethyldioxirane seem to be limited to arylmethanamines and the above mentioned catalytic oxidations have been reported (and we have experienced as well) to give... 

Allylation of acyloyl-imidazoles and pyrazoles61 with allyl halide mediated by indium in aqueous media provides a facile regioselective synthesis of P, y-unsaturated ketones (Scheme 11.1), which has been applied to the synthesis of the monoterpene artemesia ketone. The same product can be obtained by indium-mediated allylation of acyl cyanide (Eq. 11.35).62 Samarium, gallium, and bismuth can be used as a mediator for the allylation of nitrones and hydrazones to give homoallylic hydroxylamine and hydrazides in aqueous media in the presence of Bu4NBr (Scheme 11.2).63 The reaction with gallium and bismuth can be increased dramatically under microwave activation. 

Reaction of porphyrins with nitrones has also been studied and the results obtained showed that this is a versatile approach leading to the synthesis of isoxazolidine fused-chlorins (Scheme 26). For instance, chlorin 74 was successfully prepared from the reaction of the jV-methylnitrone, generated in situ from JV-methyl hydroxylamine and paraformaldehyde, with porphyrin Id . It is important to note that bis-addition also took place, yielding exclusively bacteriochlorin type derivatives 76 and 77 (Figure 6). This result contrasts with those obtained in 1,3-DC reactions with azomethinic ylides where isobacteriochlorins were obtained preferentially. 

I.2. Oxidation of Amines Oxidation of primary amines is often viewed as a particularly convenient way to prepare hydroxylamines. However, their direct oxidation usually leads to complex mixtures containing nitroso and nitro compounds and oximes. However, oxidation to nitrones can be performed after their conversion into secondary amines or imines. Sometimes, oxidation of secondary amines rather than direct imine oxidation seems to provide a more useful and convenient way of producing nitrones. In many cases, imines are first reduced to secondary amines which are then treated with oxidants (26). This approach is used as a basis for a one-pot synthesis of asymmetrical acyclic nitrones starting from aromatic aldehydes (Scheme 2.5) (27a) and 3,4-dihydroisoquinoline-2-oxides (27b). 

I. Condensation of N-Monosubstituted Hydroxylamines with Carbonyl Compounds Condensation of N -monosubstituted hydroxylamines with carbonyl compounds is used as a direct synthesis of many acyclic nitrones. The synthesis of hydroxylamines is being carried out in situ via reduction of nitro compounds with zinc powder in the presence of weak acids (NH4CI or AcOH) (14, 18, 132). The reaction kinetics of benzaldehyde with phenylhydroxylamine and the subsequent reaction sequence are shown in Scheme 2.21 (133). 

Condensation of N -substituted hydroxylamines with aldehydes and ketones is widely used in the synthesis of various spin traps and biologically active nitrones (Fig. 2.5) (161-186). 

The chirality source in the synthesis of optically active nitrones (71) and (72) are known to be enantiopure chiral benzyl type hydroxylamines, (f )-a-methyl-benzylhydroxylamine (70a) and (f )-a-(hydroxymethyl)-benzylhydroxylamine (70b) (Scheme 2.25) (221). 

Nitrones resulting from the condensation of aldehydes and ketones with N-monosubstituted hydroxylamines were used in a four component Ugi reaction in a one-pot synthesis of a-acyloxyamino-amides (260). 

Enantio-pure five-membered cyclic nitrones (154) and (155) were formed in a one-pot synthesis from the corresponding lactols (152) and (153) as the result of their reactions with unsubstituted hydroxylamine and by (a) subsequent treatment with MsCl and NaOH (Scheme 2.55) (310a) or by (b) subsequent treatment with TBDMSC1,12, TPP, imidazole, and tetrabutylammonium fluoride (TBAF) (310b). 

Addition of organometalic compounds to nitrones is known as an efficient method of enantioselective synthesis of primary amines that can be easily obtained by the reduction of hydroxylamines which are the products of nucleophilic addition. 

Transformation of chiral nitrones into enantiomer enriched a-chiral N -hydroxylamines and their derivatives, has been successfully employed in the enantioselective synthesis of (+ )-(R)- and (—)-(S)-zileuton (216). An expeditious synthesis of thymine polyoxin C (347), based on the stereocontrolled addition of 2-lithiofuran (a masked carboxylate group) to the A-benzyl nitrone derived from methyl 2,3-O-isopropylidene-dialdo-D-ribofuranoside, is described (Scheme 2.151) (194). 

Addition of Lithiated Sulfoxides and Sulfones Nucleophilic addition of lithiated methylaryl sulfoxides (384) to nitrones of various structures proceeds easily and in good yields (622). The reactions are applied to the synthesis of optically active a-substituted and a,a-disubstituted hydroxylamines, to secondary amines (623), and to enantioselective syntheses of alkaloids (624). The preferred approach to (+ )-euphococcinine is based on the use of homochiral 3-sullinyl nitrones (385) (Scheme 2.167). 

Addition of lithium derivatives of acetylenides (Li—C=C-C02R) to chiral nitrones proceeds with high stereoselectivity, giving a-acetylene substituted hydroxylamines (410a,b) (656). This reaction has been successfully applied to the synthesis of y-hydroxyamino-a, 3-ethylene substituted acids (411a,b), formed in the reduction of (410) with Zn in the presence of acid (657, 658), and to chiral 5-substituted-3-pyrroline-2-ones (412a,b) (Scheme 2.184) (658). 

Double addition of Grignard reagents to A-glycosyl nitrones (336), in a domino fashion, affords hydroxylamines. Their usefulness has been shown with the synthesis of pyrroloazepine (418) via a ring closing metathesis key step (Scheme 2.187) (564). 

One of the processes most generally used for the synthesis of nitrones is based on reduction of AN to hydroxylamines followed by oxidation of the resulting intermediates. In this process, the nitrogen atom of the nitro group remains in the target nitrones. Another possible approach to the synthesis of nitrones from AN, which involves the replacement of the nitrogen atom that is present in AN, will be described later in this chapter. 

The general method, that has been widely used for the synthesis of perhydropyrrolo[1,2-6]isoxazoles, is based on a cycloaddition reaction of cyclic nitrones with dipolarophiles. The nitrone is easily available by oxidation of the corresponding hydroxylamine with mercuric chloride. The cycloaddition of nitrone to dipolarophiles is highly regioselective and stereoselective and have been often applied in the total synthesis of natural products <20010L1367, 2004BML3967, 2005JOC3157>. As one representative example of dipolar cycloaddition, reaction... 

Polymer-supported permthenate has also been used in two convergent pathways for the synthesis of isoxazoUdines with each route employing different starting materials in order to create the maximum structural diversity [73]. In the first route secondary hydroxylamines, readily prepared from amines by in situ treatment with dimethyldioxirane, were oxidized directly to nitrones using polymer-supported permthenate (PSP). Alternatively, primary alcohols were used as the... 

The well-known Robinson-Schbpf reaction has been applied to the synthesis of JZ-adaline (107) from ketoglutaric acid (457), ammonium chloride, and keto-aldehyde (458) (Scheme 58) 338). The second synthesis of starts with nitrone 459 462). Reaction of 459 with pentylmagnesium bromide gave a hydroxylamine (460) which was oxidized to yield a mixture of nitrones 461 and 462. Without separation of the nitrones (461 and 462), successive treatments with allylmagnesium bromide and then mercuric oxide gave a mixture of desired nitrones 466 and 467 and by-product 468. Nitrones 466 and 467 are capable of 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition and, on heating in chloroform, 466 and 467... 

A previous review has highlighted the following methods of ring synthesis intramolecular cyclization of oximes, nitro alkenes, and nitrones, and [4+2] cycloaddition reactions <1996CHEC-II(6)279>. In addition to that, this review includes the intramolecular cyclization of hydroxylamines, hydroxamates, hetero-Diels-Alder [4+2], 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition of nitrile oxides to alkenes, and [3+3] cycloaddition reactions. This review does not cover cycloaddition reactions of the [4+2] [3+2] and [4+2] [3+2] [3+2] types which primarily led to heterocycle-fused oxazine ring systems. 

As part of an extensive study of the 1,3-dipolar cycloadditions of cyclic nitrones, Ali et al. (392-397) found that the reaction of the 1,4-oxazine 349 with various dipolarophiles afforded the expected isoxazolidinyloxazine adducts (Scheme 1.78) (398). In line with earlier results (399,400), oxidation of styrene-derived adduct 350 with m-CPBA facilitated N—O cleavage and further oxidation as above to afford a mixture of three compounds, an inseparable mixture of ketonitrone 351 and bicyclic hydroxylamine 352, along with aldonitrone 353 with a solvent-dependent ratio (401). These workers have prepared the analogous nitrones based on the 1,3-oxazine ring by oxidative cleavage of isoxazolidines to afford the hydroxylamine followed by a second oxidation with benzoquinone or Hg(ll) oxide (402-404). These dipoles, along with a more recently reported pyrazine nitrone (405), were aU used in successful cycloaddition reactions with alkenes. Elsewhere, the synthesis and cycloaddition reactions of related pyrazine-3-one nitrone 354 (406,407) or a benzoxazine-3-one dipolarophile 355 (408) have been reported. These workers have also reported the use of isoxazoles with an exocychc alkene in the preparation of spiro[isoxazolidine-5,4 -isoxazolines] (409). 

Sneider et al. (27,28) applied a familiar nitrone for the synthesis the immunosuppressant (—)-FR901483 (14) in a recent study (Scheme 12.7). The nitrone 12 is generated in situ from ketone 10 and the optically pure hydroxylamine 11 at 25 °C. The resultant nitrone 12 underwent a 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition reaction with ethyl acrylate in refluxing toluene to give the diastereomer 13 with 71 % diastereomeric excess (de). In 22 synthetic steps including the 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition, the target molecule 14 was obtained. 

Alkenyl nitrones, having the alkene connected to the nitrone nitrogen atom, have been used in another approach to intramolecular reactions (231-235). Holmes and co-workers have this method for the synthesis of the alkaloid (—)-indolizidine 209B 137 (210,231). The alkenyl nitrone 134, was obtained from the chiral hydroxylamine 133 and an aldehyde. In the intramolecular 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition, 135 was formed as the only isomer (Scheme 12.45). The diastereofacial selectivity was controlled by the favored conformation of the cyclohexane-like transition state in which the pentyl group was in a pseudoequatorial position, as indicated by 134. Further transformation of 135 led to the desired product 137. 

Imidazole synthesis. A new synthesis of 4,5-diarylimidazoles (2) involves reaction of catalytic amounts of aqueous elhanolic K.CN with N-methyl-C-aryl nitrones (1), prepared by condensation of aryl aldehydes with N-methyl-hydroxylamine. The reaction involves an intermediate cyanoimine (n). 

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