1- -p-carbolin

In the laboratory of S.F. Martin, a biomimetic approach toward the total synthesis of ( )-strychnine was developed by using tandem vinylogous Mannich addition and HDA reaction to construct the pentacyclic heteroyohimboid core of the natural product.The commercially available 4,9-dihydro-3/-/-P-carboline was first converted to the corresponding A/-acylium ion and then reacted with 1-trimethylsilyloxybutadiene in a vinyiogous Mannich reaction. The resulting cycloaddition precursor readily underwent the expected HDA reaction in 85% yield. 

Later, conditions were found that provided complete stereoselectivity for the cis-1,3 p-carboline. The two substituent groups are then used to construct the remainder of the alkaloid skeletons [332]. 

A special application of the Japp-Klingemann/Eischer sequence is in the preparation of tryptamines from piperidone-3-carboxylate salts, a method which was originally developed by Abramovitch and Shapiro[2]. When the piperidone is subjected to Japp-Klingemann coupling under mildly alkaline conditions decarboxylation occurs and a 3-hydrazonopiperidin-2-one is isolated. Fischer cyclization then gives 1-oxotetrahydro-p-carbolines which can be hydrolysed and decarboxylated to afford the desired tryptamine. 

The Bischler-Napieralski reaction involves the cyclization of phenethyl amides 1 in the presence of dehydrating agents such as P2O5 or POCI3 to afford 3,4-dihydroisoquinoline products 2. This reaction is one of the most commonly employed and versatile methods for the synthesis of the isoquinoline ring system, which is found in a large number of alkaloid natural products. The Bischler-Napieralski reaction is also frequently used for the conversion of N-acyl tryptamine derivatives 3 into p-carbolines 4 (eq 2). 

A few years later, Tatsui developed this process for use with indole bases and prepared l-methyl-l,2,3,4-tetrahydro-P-carboline 11 from tryptamine 9 and acetaldehyde 10 under acid catalysis. ... 

Several factors influence the diastereoselectivity of the Pictet-Spengler condensation to form 1,3-disubstituted and 1,2,3-trisubstituted tetrahydro-P-carbolines (39 and 40, respectively). The presence or absence of an alkyl substituent on the nitrogen of tryptophan has a large influence on the relative stereochemistry of the tetrahydro-P-carboline products formed from a condensation reaction with an aldehyde under various reaction conditions. 

For the kinetically controlled formation of 1,3-disubstituted tetrahydro-P-carbolines, placing both substituents in equatorial positions to reduce 1,3-diaxial interactions resulted in the cw-selectivity usually observed in these reactions." Condensation reactions carried out at or below room temperature in the presence of an acid catalyst gave the kinetic product distribution with the cw-diastereomer being the major product observed, as illustrated by the condensation of L-tryptophan methyl ester 41 with benzaldehyde. At higher reaction temperatures, the condensation reaction was reversible and a thermodynamic product distribution was observed. Cis and trans diastereomers were often obtained in nearly equal amounts suggesting that they have similar energies."... 

Conversely, when A-alkyl tryptophan methyl esters were condensed with aldehydes, the trans diastereomers were observed as the major products." X-ray-crystal structures of 1,2,3-trisubstituted tetrahydro-P-carbolines revealed that the Cl substituent preferentially adopted a pseudo-axial position, forcing the C3 substituent into a pseudo-equatorial orientation to give the kinetically and thermodynamically preferred trans isomer." As the steric size of the Cl and N2 substituents increased, the selectivity for the trans isomer became greater. A-alkyl-L-tryptophan methyl ester 42 was condensed with various aliphatic aldehydes in the presence of trifluoroacetic acid to give predominantly the trans isomers. ... 

When the indole 3-position is already substituted, electrophilic reagents attack the 2-position instead often through a 3,3-spiro intermediate. For example, when 2-(3-indolyl)ethylmercaptan (27) reacts with methyl acetoacetate, the thia-p-carboline analogue 31 results. It seems plausible that the reaction involves initial hemithioketal formation (28), followed by electron release by the indole nitrogen and hydroxide... 

P-Carboline alkaloids (harmaline, har-malol, harmane, harmol, harmine) 0.3-150 0.25-90 2.9-3.1 Harmaline was determined in plasma samples DNPO was used as aryl oxalate 45... 

The pyrrolo[3, 4 2,3]azepino[4,5,6-cd] indole-8,10-dione system can be accessed by reaction, under conditions used for the Pictet-Spengler reaction, of the imines from condensation of 3-amino-4-(3-indolyl) pyrrolin-2,5-diones with aldehydes or ketones. Cyclisation to the pyrrolo-P-carbolines did not occur under the conditions <00JHC1177>. 

Key intermediate 368 of Swan s ( )-yohimbone (305) synthesis (169) has also been achieved by Kametani et al. (215). Thermolysis of 3,4-dihydro-l-(5-methoxybenzocyclobutanyl)-P-carboline hydrochloride (381) afforded deca-... 

In 1969, Szantay and co-workers published a linear synthesis of (+)-yohimbine and (—)-P-yohimbine (75) in full detail (220). Tetracyclic key intermediate 400, obtained from 3,4-dihydro-p-carboline and a properly substituted a,p-unsatu-rated ketone (173), was treated with a proper phosphonoacetic acid derivative to give unsaturated nitrile 401 or unsaturated ester 402. Catalytic reduction of the latter resulted almost exclusively in 404 with normal stereo arrangement, while reduction of 401 supplied a mixture of normal and epialloindolo[2,3-a] quinolizines 403 and 405, respectively. Dieckmann ring closure of diester 404 gave 18a-methoxycarbonylyohimbone (407) as the thermodynamically favored... 

Qudguiner s group enlisted a combination of directed metalation and a Pd-catalyzed crosscoupling reaction for the construction of heteroaryl natural products [49]. One example was the total synthesis of bauerine B (64), a -carboline natural product [50], Or/fio-lithiation of 2,3-dichloro-A-pivaloylaminobenzene (61) was followed by reaction with trimethylborate to provide boronic acid 62 after hydrolysis. The Suzuki reaction between 62 and 3-fluoro-4-iodopyridine led to the desired biaryl product 63 contaminated with the primary amine (ca. 30%), both of which were utilized in the total synthesis of bauerine B (64). Another p-carboline natural product, the antibiotic eudistomin T (65), and a few other hydroxy p-carbolines have also been synthesized in the same fashion [3,51]. 

A cationic-cationic domino process of a 3-hydro-xytetrahydro-P-carboline which leads to a stereo-seledive preparation of ( )-ulein was described by Blechert et al.1151 Although the intermediates of this fast proceeding sequence could not be identified definitely, it is acceptable to assume that the process is initiated by the formation of a 2-indolyl carbocation, which cyclizes after tautomerization to a more stable iminium ion. 

A. Synthesis and Reactions of 3,4-Dihydro-P-carboline Reissert Compounds... 

The Reissert reaction of 3,4-dihydro-p-carboline (213) has also been studied 47,48). It has been shown that 3,4-dihydro-p-carboline (213) afforded 1-cyano-2,9-dibenzoyl-l,2,3,4-tetrahydro-P-carboline (214) with a phase-transfer catalyst and trimethylsilyl cyanide (Scheme 27). However, the normal Reissert product 2-benzoyl-l-cyano-l,2,3,4-tetrahydro-p-carboline (215) was obtained when a catalytic amount of anhydrous aluminum chloride was used in addition to the trimethylsilyl cyanide reagent. Reaction of 214 with sodium... 

Dodd and co-workers (5) reported the first known synthesis of 11//-indolizino[8,7-h]indoles by the cycloaddition reaction of a nonstabilized ylide 21 and diethylacetylene dicarboxylate (DEAD). The azomethine ylide, formed by the alkylation of the 3,4-dihydro-p-carboline (22) with trimethylsilyl methyl triflate to the triflate salt, followed by in situ desilyation with cesium fluoride, underwent cycloaddition with DEAD at low temperature. The expected major cycloadduct 23 was isolated, along with quantities of a minor product 24, presumed to have been formed by initial reaction of the ylide with 1 equiv of DEAD and the intermediate undergoing reaction with a further equivalent of DEAD before cyclization. Dodd offers no explanation for the unexpected position of the double bond in the newly generated five-membered ring, although it is most likely due to post-reaction isomerization to the thermodynamically more stable p-amino acrylate system (Scheme 3.5). 

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