Oxindoles formation

The perfluoroacetamide catalysts, rhodium(II) trifluoroacetamidate [Rh2(tfm)4] and rhodium(II) perfluorobutyramidate [Rh2(pfbm)4], are interesting hybrid molecules that combine the features of the amidate and perfluorinated ligands. In early studies, these catalysts were shown to prefer insertion over cycloaddition [30]. They also demonstrated a preference for oxindole formation via aromatic C-H insertion [31], even over other potential reactions [86]. In still another example, rhodium(II) perfluorobutyramidate showed a preference for aromatic C-H insertion over pyridinium ylide formation, in the synthesis of an indole nucleus [32]. Despite this demonstrated propensity for aromatic insertion, the perfluorobutyramidate was shown to be an efficient catalyst for the generation of isomtinchnones [33]. The chemoselectivity of this catalyst was further demonstrated in the cycloaddition with ethyl vinyl ethers [87] and its application to diversity-oriented synthesis [88]. However, it was demonstrated that while diazo imides do form isomtinchnones under these conditions, the selectivity was completely reversed from that observed with rhodium(II) acetate [89, 90]. 

Intramolecular cyclizations have been used to prepare a variety of ring sizes. Carbon-carbon bond formation resulting in oxindole formation has been done in this manner by intramolecular reaction of A-acyl-o-chloroanilines (equation 85)571,572. A similar process has been used to prepare isoquinolinones571,573,574. Cephalotaxinone, an intermediate in the synthesis of the anti-leukaemia agent cephalotoxin, has been prepared by reaction of a complex enone iodide with base (equation 86)575. This reaction may occur via a radical mechanism and it has been used to prepare larger rings in reasonable yields540. 

The use of rhodium catalysts to obtain 3-carbo-ethoxyoxindoles from N-(2-diazomalonyl)anilines was explored. <94J0C2447> Rhodium(II) trifluoroacetamide and rhodium(II) perfluorobutanamides were found to be preferable to rhodium carboxylates both in terms of reaction rate and selectivity for oxindole formation. 

Scheme 11.6 Pfizer s oxindole formation by a selective C-H bond functionalization reaction.

Acid-catalyzed oxindole formation from aniline and a-chlorocarboxylic acid chloride. 

Irradiation of 4-hydroxy- and 4-alkoxy-3-pyrazolin-5-one derivatives (163 R = OH, OR) leads to ring cleavage with the formation of /3-diamides (165) 69TL271). The methylene blue sensitized rearrangement of the same pyrazolinone (R = H) to the oxindole (166) also... 

The three-component reaction between isatin 432a, a-aminoacids 433 (proline and thioproline) and dipolarophiles in methanol/water medium was carried out by heating at 90 °C to afford the pyrrolidine-2-spiro-3 -(2-oxindoles) 51. The first step of the reaction is the formation of oxazlidinones 448. Loss of carbon dioxide from oxazolidinone proceeds via a stereospecific 1,3-cycloreversion to produce the formation of oxazolidinones almost exclusively with /razw-stereoselectivity. This /f-azomethine ylide undergo 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition with dipolarophiles to yield the pyrrohdinc-2-r/ V -3-(2-oxindolcs) 51. (Scheme 101) <2004EJ0413>. 

Two possible mechanisms for the formation of the oxindoles from 3-ehloroin-dolenines have been proposed (267, 268) as shown on p. 225. 

Knoevenagel adduct 239 of oxohomophthalimide 240 with malononitrile 27a in reactions with CH-acids behaves ambiguously (82CPB1215). Reactions of 239 with acetylacetone, ethyl esters of acetoacetic and ben-zoylacetic acids, as well as methyl pyruvate led to the formation of the desired spiropyrans 241. However, benzoylacetone, dibenzoylmethane, cyanacetamide, and oxindole always gave the same 242. Authors explain this feature in terms of a retro-cleavage of adducts of Michael product 239... 

In another early application to natural product synthesis, Fleming and coworkers utilized this approach in the efficient formation of the gelsemine model (47) from 45 according to Scheme 8. The cyclization step to form the spiro-oxindole (46) proceeded in 85% yield and provided a means of generating the spiro-fused quaternary carbon without the need for carbenium ion or carbanion chemistry. 

The probable pathway of the reaction is shown in Fig. 14 and it seems to be an addition of the indole to the carbonyl group of isatin, followed by the condensation of a second indole moiety on the same carbon, resulting in the formation of 3,3-di (3-indolyl)oxindole. 

The palladium catalyzed intramolecular coupling of aryl halides and classical carbanions, sometimes considered a variant of the Buchwald-Hartwig coupling, might also be used for the formation of heterocyclic systems. 7V-(2 -bromophenyl)-propionamides were converted in the presence of the appropriate palladium catalyst and lithium hexamethyldisilazide to oxindoles (3.2.). Under the applied conditions a series of electron deficient and electron rich aniline derivatives, including 2-chloroanilines were transformed successfully.2... 

Similar to A-allvlanilincs. their ease of formation makes N-acryloylanilines also an attractive starting material for the preparation of indole derivatives. Acrylates having an cr-substituent give rise to chiral oxindole derivatives, both a common building block of natural products and a frequently employed synthon en route to them.18 By using a chiral palladium-BINAP catalyst Overmann was able to achieve high enantioselectivity in the transformation shown in 3.14.19... 

A major group of photochemical reduction reactions are oxidation-reduction processes. As typical examples, phenazine (CXXI) and alloxan (CXXIII) are reduced by ethanol to give dihydrophenazine (CXXIl)/ 2 and alloxantin (CXXIV).42 Isatin (CXXV) in the presence of ace-naphthene (CXXVI) is reduced to isatide (CXXVII).204 The photoreaction proceeds at the expense of the alcohol, or (CXXVI) acetaldehyde and acenaphthylene (CXXVIII), are formed as by-products respectively. The formation of CXXVII may be due to the interaction of CXXV with the intermediate oxindole (CXXIX). 

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