Oxazoles, reduction

Oxygen-containing azoles are readily reduced, usually with ring scission. Only acyclic products have been reported from the reductions with complex metal hydrides of oxazoles (e.g. 209 210), isoxazoles (e.g. 211 212), benzoxazoles (e.g. 213 214) and benzoxazolinones (e.g. 215, 216->214). Reductions of 1,2,4-oxadiazoles always involve ring scission. Lithium aluminum hydride breaks the C—O bond in the ring Scheme 19) 76AHC(20)65>. 

Isoxazotes are readily reduced, usually with concomitant ring fission (e.g. 262 — 263). They behave as masked 1,3-diketones 79AHC(25)147). 1,2-Benzisoxazoles are easily reduced to various products (Scheme 28) (67AHC(8)277). Chemical or catalytic reduction of oxazoles invariably cleaves the heterocyclic ring (Scheme 29) <74AHQ 17)99). For similar reactions of thiazoles, see Section 4.02.1.5.1. 

Oxazole, 2-dimethylamino-4-phenyl-nitration, 6, 190 Oxazole, 2,5-diphenyl-irradiation, 6, 189 nitration, 6, 190 oxidation, 6, 187 reduction, 6, 194 synthesis, 6, 222 Oxazole, 4,5-diphenyl-mercuration, 6, 190 2-substituted... 

Acyloins are useful starting materials for the preparation of a wide variety of heterocycles (e.g., oxazoles and imidazoles ) and carbocyclic compounds (e.g., phenols ). Acyloins lead to 1,2-diols by reduction, and to 1,2-diketones by mild oxidation. 

An example of this methodology was its use in the synthesis of vitamin Be, pyridoxine 12. Cycloaddition of oxazole 9, prepared from ethyl A-acetylalanate and P2O5, with maleic anhydride initially gave 10. Upon exposure to acidic ethanol, the oxabicyclooctane system fragments to afford pyridine 11. Reduction of the ester substituents with LiAlIU generated the desired product 12. 

Treatment of a 3-aminotriazolopyridine with acid gave the imidazopyridine 242 (81T1787), also obtained from the 3-nitro derivative by catalytic reduction (83AHC79). Quaternary salts derived from compound 2, when treated with tri-ethylamine and subsequently heated give 2-pyridylcyanamides 243 or 2-(oxazol-l-yl)pyridines 244 depending on the alkyl group (86H(24)2563) the ylides are presumably intermediates (see also Section IV.I). 

Extreme differences between 5% palladium-on-carbon and platinum oxide were found on reduction of the 5-aryl substituted oxazole 14. Over palladium, 15 was formed in quantitative yield by hydrogenolysis of the benzyl hydroxyl, whereas over Pt, scission of the oxazole occurred to give 13 quantitatively (48). Hydrogenation of 15 over platinum oxide gave the phenethylamide 16. 

The synthesis of 3-H-oxazol-2-ones was described by Nam et al. [69]. The substituted benzoin 89 was formed from the coupling of 3,4,5-trimethoxy-benzaldehyde 18 with 3-nitro-4-methoxybenzaldehyde, Scheme 22. Reaction with PMB-isocyanate and subsequent cyclization gave the protected oxazolone derivative 90. The PMB group was removed by reflux in TFA and reduction of the nitro-group was performed using Zn to give the combretoxazolone-aniline 91. 

---