5 -Oxazolones from amino acids

Several reactions of amino acids result in heterocyclic derivatives. In one example, the carbonyl unit of leucine (55) is converted to its iV-acetyl derivative (94). Subsequent treatment with acetic anhydride and sodium acetate leads to a heterocycle, 5-oxazolone, 95. An oxazolone derived from amino acids has the common name ofazlactone, so 95 is the azlactone of leucine. 

Carbamates can be used as protective groups for ammo acids to minimize race-mization in peptide synthesis. Raccmi/ation occurs during the base-catalyzed coupling reaction of an W-protected, catboxyl-uc ivated amino acid, and takes place in the intermediate oxazolone that foro S readily from an N-acyl protected amino... 

The last comprehensive review of the chemistry of oxazolones covered the literature through 1954. Most of the studies up to that time stemmed from either interest in the role of azlactones as precursors of a-amino acids and peptides or the monumental studies on penicillin, which, for a time, was thought to possess an oxazolone ring, rather than the correct jS-lactam moiety. 

Difficulties are often encountered in the formation of peptides from a-amino acids which lack an a-hydrogen atom, e.g. a-methylalanine, presumably because of steric hindrance. This problem is obviated by use of the oxazolone 35, an excellent reagent for the addition of a single a-methylalanyl residue to an amine or amino acid [Eq. (22)]... 

Several approaches to the 1,2,3-triazole core have been published in 2000. Iodobenzene diacetate-mediated oxidation of hydrazones 152 led to fused 1,2,3-triazoloheterocycles 153 <00SC417>. Treatment of oxazolone 154 with iso-pentyl nitrite in the presence of acetic acid gave 1,2,3-triazole 155, a precursor to 3-(W-l,2,3-triazolyl)-substituted a,P-unsaturated a amino acid derivatives <00SC2863>. Aroyl-substituted ketene aminals 156 reacted with aryl azides to provide polysubstituted 1,23-triazoles 157 <00HC387>. 2-Aryl-2T/,4/f-imidazo[43-d][l,2,3]triazoles 159 were prepared from the reaction of triethyl AM-ethyl-2-methyl-4-nitro-l//-imidazol-5-yl phosphoramidate (158) with aryl isocyanates <00TL9889>. 

FIGURE 2.14 Peptide-bond formation from chlorides of A-alkoxycarbonylamino acids. N-9-Fluorenylmethoxycarbonylamino-acid chlorides.41 The base is NaHCO, Na2C03, or a tertiary amine. The reaction is carried out in a one- or two-phase system. The latter is used to try to suppress formation of the 2-alkoxy-5(4//)-oxazolone that is generated by the action of the base on the acid chloride. The method is applicable primarily to Fmoc-amino-acid derivatives that do not have acid-sensitive protecting groups on their side chains. 

Benkovic and co-workers also isolated spirocyclic 2-amino-4(5/7)-oxazolones during their studies on pterin-dependent amino acid hydroxylases (Scheme 6.24). Reaction of 91 with 0-methyl hydroxylamine or semicarbazide at pH 4.8 yielded 92a and 92b, respectively. The authors showed that 92 does not simply result from reaction of the corresponding oxazolidinedione with either reagent. Further, by using H2 0 as the solvent they demonstrated that there was no incorporation into the product. Two different but precedented mechanisms were proposed to account for this rearrangement. The stereochemistry of 92b was confirmed by single-crystal X-ray. 

Saturated 5(4//)-oxazolones are easily obtained from //-acylamino acids in the presence of a cyclization agent and have been used extensively in coupling reactions as synthetic equivalents of a-amino acids in the synthesis of peptides. In this context, tautomeric equilibrium can be a significant problem due to the racemization associated with the isomerization. For example, trifluoroacetylation of tryptophan in ether affords the 5(4//)-oxazolone 5 without racemization. However, upon dissolution in acetonitrile, 5 completely racemizes. Further, upon heating, an aqueous dioxane solution of 5 cleanly isomerizes to the isomeric 5(2//)-oxazolone 6 (Scheme 7.2). 

The availability of a general procedure to prepare 4-alkyl-2-(trifluoromethyl)-5(2F0-oxazolones 12 from a-amino acids and TFAA, and taking into account the tautomerization process, has led to many efforts to direct the alkylation reaction toward C-2 or C-4. For example, in the presence of triethylamine, Michael addition of 12 occurs at C-2 when tert-butylacrylate is used as electrophile. The resulting... 

It was shown previously that saturated 5(4//)-oxazolones or 2-oxazolm-5-ones with only one substituent at C-4 can be considered as the tautomeric form of saturated 5(2//)-oxazolones or 3-oxazolin-5-ones. These compounds can also be considered as amino acid derivatives and, indeed, cyclization procedures are the most commonly used to prepare these compounds. The cyclization reaction employs a variety of cyclodehydrating agents and the general method is shown in Scheme 7.23, with an A-acyl-a-amino acid being the most typical starting material used. In this way, 5(4//)-oxazolones derived from most natural amino acids 99 (R3 = H) have been obtained by heating the corresponding A-acyl derivatives in the presence of acetic anhydride. 

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... 

The use of mixed anhydrides derived from Al-acyl-a-amino acids has become an interesting strategy for synthesis of saturated 5(4//)-oxazolones 101 (Scheme 7.26). For example, reaction of Al-acyl-a-amino acids with methyl chloroformate in the presence of Al-methylmorpholine affords racemic 5(47/)-oxazolones. 

In the cases where optically active substrates were used as starting materials, chiral, saturated 5(47/)-oxazolones were obtained with good enantiomeric excesses (ee). Oxazolones derived from Al-formyl-a-amino acids are better prepared using isopropenyl chloroformate, rather than methyl chloroformate, in the presence of N-methylmorphohne. ... 

Alkylation. Saturated 5(47/)-oxazolones are readily available compounds that can be easily obtained from a wide variety of natural amino acid derivatives. These heterocyclic compounds can be considered as nucleophilic synthons of a-amino acids and their most exploited reactivity, apart from oxazolone ring opening, is the reaction at C-4 with a variety of electrophiles. 

Alkylation of saturated 5(4//)-oxazolones at C-4 is a well-known reaction that can be achieved under a wide variety of conditions. Numerous articles have described this reaction as a means to prepare 4,4-dialkyl-5(477)-oxazolones 147 that are valuable intermediates to prepare ot,ot-disubstituted a-amino acids. For instance,2-phenyl-5(4//)-oxazolone 146 readily obtained from hippuric acid and A,A -dicyclohexylcarbodiimide (DCC), is alkylated at C-4 with allyl, benzyl, or phenacyl halides if the reaction is conducted in dipolar aprotic solvents in the presence of weak bases. Hydrolysis of the resulting 5(477)-oxazolones leads to a,a-dialkylglycines 148 (Scheme 7.43). 

Similarly, reaction of 2-dimethylaminomethylene-3-oxoalkanoates or 2-di-methylaminomethylene-1,3-cyclohexanediones with 2-phenyl-5(4/7)-oxazolone 146, generated in situ from hippuric acid, affords 6-substituted 3-(benzoyl-amino)-2-oxo-2//-pyran-5-carboxylates 204 and 3-(benzoylamino)-7,8-dihydro-2//-l-benzopyran-2,5(6//)-diones 206, respectively. These compounds showed strong local anesthetic activity (Scheme 7.62). ... 

In cases where 2-alkoxy-5(4/7)-oxazolones are generated from A -alkoxycarbo-nyl-a-amino acids, the enantiomerization that occurs during preparation and incorporation of these residues into peptides, the properties, and methods of preparation of the 2-alkoxy-5(4/7)-oxazolones together with the practical uses of these compounds have recently been reviewed. ... 

Amino acids have been used as nucleophiles to effect the ring opening of saturated 5(477)-oxazolones 253 as a coupling method in an attempt to describe a general procedure for peptide synthesis (Scheme 7.82). However, the problems arising from racemization, that is, when a proton is present at C-4 of the oxazolone, render this procedure of limited synthetic utility. 

Mesoionic oxazolones (munchnones) 297 can be generated by cyclodehydration of N-substituted a-amino acids 295 or by alkylation of oxazolones 296 (Scheme 7.98). These compounds are reactive and versatile 1,3-dipoles that undergo cycloaddition reactions with dipolarophiles to generate a variety of heterocyclic systems. In particular, this is an extremely versatile methodology to prepare pyrroles that result from elimination of carbon dioxide from the initial cycloadduct. Numerous examples have appeared in the literature in recent years and several have been selected for discussion. The reader should consult Part A, Chapter 4 for an extensive discussion and additional examples. 

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