Nitrosation cleavage

Recently [35a] it has been found that, contrary to common belief, tertiary aliphatic amines react with aqueous nitrous acid to undergo dealkylation to form a carbonyl compound, a secondary nitrosoamine, and nitrous oxide. Base-weakening groups markedly reduce nitrosative cleavage, and quaterniza-tion prevents it completely. Several examples of this reaction are shown in Table II. 

A new approach to a variety of a-branched alkynes 70 was achieved by a Knoevenagel type condensation of 4-unsubstituted isoxazolin-5-ones 66 with aldehydes or ketones 67, followed by conjugate addition of an organometallic species and nitrosative cleavage of the heterocyclic ring <02SL1257>. 

Since nicotine is the major precursor to NNN in tobacco and tobacco smoke, the reaction of nicotine with sodium nitrite was studied to provide information on formation of other tobacco specific nitrosamines, especially NNK and NNA, which could arise by oxidative cleavage of the l -2 bonds or l -5 bond of nicotine followed by nitrosation (26). The reaction was investigated under a variety of conditions as summarized in Table I. All three nitrosamines were formed when the reaction was done under relatively mild conditions (17 hrs, 20 ). The yields are typical of the formation of nitrosamines from tertiary amines (27). At 90 , with a five fold excess of nitrite, only NNN and NNK were detected. Under these conditions, both NNK and NNA gave secondary products. NNK was nitrosated a to the carbonyl to yield 4-(N-methyl-N-nitrosamino)-2-oximino-l-(3-pyridyl)-1-butanone while NNA underwent cyclization followed by oxidation, decarboxylation and dehydration to give l-methyl-5-(3-pyridyl)pyrazole, as shown in Figure 4. Extensive fragmentation and oxidation of the pyrrolidine ring was also observed under these conditions. The products of the reaction of nicotine and nitrite at 90 are summarized in Table II. 

In modern medicinal chemistry, the creation of diversity on a structural framework is important. In principle, diversity at positions 2, 4, 6, 7, and 8 of pteridines can be achieved using such solid-phase chemistry. This prototype solid-phase synthesis involved nitrosation of the resin-bound pyrimidine, reduction of nitroso group with sodium dithionite, and subsequent cyclization with biacetyl to afford pteridines 114 and 115. Cleavage from the resin by nucleophilic substitution of the oxidized sulfur linker using w-chloroperbenzoic acid or DMDO led to the pteridine products 116 and 117 (Scheme 23). 

There appears to have been no systematic study, at least in recent years, of the nitrosation of substituted hydrazines. Work at the beginning of the century indicates that the nitrosation of primary hydrazines may result in the intermediate formation of nitroso compounds, but that these compounds subsequently react further, in the presence of nitrous acid, to give a variety of products. 1-Benzyl-1-nitrosohydrazine evidently has been prepared and subsequently benzoylated. The resultant A-nitrosohydrazide apparently is reasonably stable [61]. More recently, A-nitroso-A-alkylhydrazides have been prepared by ring cleavage of compounds such as A-benzamidopiperidine and A-benzamidopyrrolidine [62]. This method, however, does not appear to have very general applicability. 

The nitrosative decomposition of phenoxy azides leads predominantly to the formation of phenol by cleavage of the ether moiety (Table 17).84... 

The optically active N-aminoindoline (265) has been applied to the asymmetric synthesis of a variety of a-amino acids (70JA2476, 2488). Starting from TV-benzoyl-1,2,3,4-tetrahy-droquinaldine (257), the chloro amide (258) was prepared by von Braun cleavage. Thermolysis converted (258) to the rrans-unsaturated amide (259) which was epoxidized. On base treatment the epoxide (260) underwent intramolecular nucleophilic displacement and amide hydrolysis to afford indoline (261) stereospecifically. Resolution of (261) was accomplished via the brucine salt of the N-o-carboxybenzoyl derivative (262). Alkaline hydrolysis, N-nitrosation and reduction yielded the levorotatory 1-aminoindoline (265). Reaction of... 

Similarly, the a-methylene group of acetoacetic ester is oximinated by the action of sodium nitrite in glacial acetic acid (63%). Nitrosation of alkylated malonic, acetoacetic, and benzoyl acetic esters with subsequent cleavage affords an excellent synthesis for a-oximino esters, RC(=-NOH)COjC2Hj. A survey of several possible procedures for this conversion has been made." If a /3-keto acid is nitrosated, then the Carboxyl group is lost and an a-oximino ketone is formed, viz.,... 

A major side reaction in the synthesis of azides is the formation of amides. This was detected for the first time in the preparation of Z-Lys(Z)-N3 via the NaN02/HCl procedure where Z-Lys(Z)-NH2 was obtained as a side product. " Sinnilarly, in the case of Z-Cys(Bzl)-N3 the related amide is readily formed.b ] As this side reaction does not occur when the azide is prepared from the acid chloride and sodium azide, it was proposed that the mechanism involves cleavage of the nitrosated hydrazide as shown in Scheme 6.h l... 

The best known and most widely used diazoalkane is diazomethane (95 equation 39). Preparative methods for diazomethane involve, in general, the nitrosation of a methylamine derivative (93), followed by cleavage under alkaline conditions. Methylamine derivatives used have included the urethanes, ureas,carboxamides, sulfonamides, guanidines and even the methylamine adducts of unsaturated ketones and sulfones. N-nitroso-N-methyl p-toluenesulfonamide (Diazald, Aldrich) is currently the most commonly used diazomethane precursor. Diazomethane is both toxic and explosive. Although in the past it has been purified by codistillation with ether, it is now usually generated, stored and used as an ether solution without distillation. 

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