5 -Oxazolones carbodiimides

FIGURE 1.18 2-AI koxy-5(4/7)-oxazol ones as intermediates in reactions of IV-alkoxycarbo-nylamino acids.22 After removal of the symmetrical anhydride from a reaction mixture containing Boc-valine and ethyl-(3-dimethylaminopropyl)-carbodiimide hydrochloride, the filtrate contained a novel activated form of Boc-valine (20% yield) that was established to be the 2-alkoxy-5(4H)-oxazolone. Slow addition of Boc-valine to ethyl-(3-dimethylamino-propyl)-carbodiimide hydrochloride in dilute solution gave a 55% yield. Petrol = petroleum ether, bp 40-60°. 

NL Benoiton, FMF Chen. 2-Alkoxy-5(4/7)-oxazolones fromlV-alkoxycarbonylamino acids and their implication in carbodiimide-mediated reactions in peptide synthesis. Can J Chem 59, 384, 1981. 

Additives increase efficiency in carbodiimide-mediated reactions by preventing intermediates from undergoing side reactions and by transforming them into activated esters that become the precursors of the peptide products. A-hydroxysuccinimide and 4-hydroxy-3-oxo-3,4-dihydrobenzotriazine are the best nucleophiles or acceptors of activated species. They trap oxazolones before they have time to isomerize. The popularity of HONSu as an additive has diminished considerably during the... 

Cyclization of A-acyl-oc-amino acids under acidic reaction conditions is sometimes problematic due to the difficulty in separation of the desired oxazolone from by-products while avoiding decomposition of the reactive oxazolone. This finding is particularly true in the case of 2-phenyl-5(47i)-oxazolone, an interesting compound that is a very useful intermediate to prepare a variety of novel products. The use of carbodiimides as dehydrating agents has been described as a means to improve the results. In particular, treatment of an A-acyl-a-amino acid with A-cyclohexyl-A -2-(A-methylmorpholinio)ethylcarbodiimide p-toluensulfo-nate (Scheme 7.25) is especially useful as a general synthesis of the desired saturated 5(47i)-oxazolones 101 in excellent yields.This same carbodiimide was used to study the kinetics of the formation of saturated 5(47i)-oxazolones from N-protected dipeptides... 

Iminophosphoranes derived from readily available ot-azidocinnamates react with aroyl chlorides to give the corresponding 2-aryl-4-arylidene-5(4//)-oxazolones 37 2 500,501 AjteiTjatively, these iminophosphoranes are converted to the corresponding 2-arylamino-4-arylidene-5(4//)-oxazolones 373 via heterocyclization of an intermediate carbodiimide as shown in Scheme 7.119 (Table 7.32, Fig. 7.43). ° ... 

TABLE 7.32. SYNTHESIS OF UNSATURATED 5(4/T)-OXAZOLONES VIA CYCLIZATION OF a,P-DIDEHYDROAMINO ACIDS OR a,P-UNSATURATED CARBODIIMIDES... 

Carbodiimide method, a procedure for peptide bond formation using carbodi-imides, R-N=C=N-R, such as dicyclohexyl carbodiimide (DCC), diisopropyl carbodiimide (DIC) and water-soluble carbodi-imides. The carbodiimide reacts in a one-pot procedure with the carboxylate anion of the carboxy component to form a highly reactive O-acylisourea intermediate. The former reacts immediately with the amino function of the amino component to yield the desired peptide derivative and the urea byproduct. Indeed, a more complex mechanism must be taken into consideration. Unwanted side reactions are racemization via the oxazolone mechanism and formation of the unreactive N-acylurea by base-catalyzed acyl migration from the isourea oxygen to nitrogen. The side reactions can be diminished by preparing the O-acylisourea at 0 °C... 

Figure 10. Carbodiimide activation of peptides. The initially formed 0-acylurea can either rearrange to an inactive A -acylurea or, if it is COOH-terminal, be converted to a 5(4//)-oxazolone. In the presence of hydroxybenzortriazole, the corresponding ester is formed. See discussion in text.

An alternative route to Fc-peptides, developed by Beck and coworkers, uses ferrocenyl oxazolones, which can be obtained by the reaction of Fc-amino acids (19) with a carbodiimide (Scheme 5). The resulting oxazolone (20) undergoes a nucleophilic ring-opening reaction with the amino group of a C-protected amino acid to give the desired Fc-peptide (4). 

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