Phenanthridines => carboxylic acids

Phenanthridine-6-carboxylic acids synthesis, 2, 415 Phenanthridines amination, 2, 236 bromination, 2, 320 hydrogenation, 2, 328 nitration, 2, 319 nomenclature, 2, 5 5-oxides... 

The former passes into the second on further oxidation with hydrogen peroxide, indicating that it is an a-keto-carboxylic acid. Acid (b) loses carbon dioxide on fusion and gives a neutral substance, CjaHj OgN, m.p. 238°, which was shown to be 6 7-methylenedioxy-A-methylphenanthri-done (I), by comparison with a synthetic specimen. The position of the carboxyl group in (b) could not be determined by synthetic methods but is probably at since dihydrolycorineanhydromethine, Cl 7 7 2 ) m.p. 87-5° [picrate, m.p. 174° (dec.) methiodide, m.p. 236° (dec.)] on distillation with zinc dust yields a mixture of phenanthridine, 1-methyl-phenanthridine and 6 7-methylenedioxyphenanthridine, m.p. 142° [picrate, m.p. 257° (dec.)], the identity of the two latter being established by comparison with the synthetic products. These results indicate for lycorineanhydromethine formula (II). 

The formation of a phenanthridine lactone by the persulfate oxidation of 2 -cyanobiphenyl-2-carboxylic acid is interesting in that little is known of the addition of radicals to the C=N system. The mechanism proposed below (Scheme 1) also accounts for the occurrence of fluorenone as a by-product.64... 

Indirect conversion of 6-methylphenanthridine to phenanthridine-6-carboxylic acid has been achieved by heating with benzaldehyde in the presence of zinc chloride and oxidizing the resulting styryl derivative with permanganate in acetone.245... 

Synthetic and degradative use has been made in several instances of the easy decarboxylation of phenanthridine-6-carboxylio acids.30, 80, 324 The corresponding iV-oxide is decarboxylated by heating in aqueous sulfuric acid.77 Phenanthridine-3,8-dicarboxylic acids are more resistant to decarboxylation, which can be achieved (in poor yield) by heating with copper powder in quinoline.194 The usual carboxyl derivative inter con versions (esterification, amide formation, ester and amide hydrolyses, etc.) proceed normally with both phenanthridine-6-carboxylic acid and its A-oxide,77, 232, 352 although an unsuccessful attempt to prepare 6-acetylphenanthridine from the acid with methyllithium has been reported.232... 

On acid catalysis, 2-aminobiphenyl-2 -carboxylic acids 31 cyclize affording phenanthridones 32, which are reduced by zinc or LiAlH4 to phenanthridines 34. The aminobiphenylcarboxylic acids 31 are accessible from the corresponding nitro compounds 33 by reduction. 

A common intermediate in the synthesis of benzo[c]phenanthridines is the 2-aryl-l-tetralone, which provides rings A, B, and D of the alkaloid nucleus. In 1973, two independent research groups reported the synthesis of nitidine via the 3,4-dihydro-2-(3,4-dimethoxyphenyl)-6,7-methylenedioxy-(2/7)-naphthalone 29 (Scheme 2). The synthesis of this intermediate was arrived at by two different routes. Kametani ei al. (73JHC31) reduced 3-(3,4-methylenedioxyphenyl)proprionate 21 to the corresponding alcohol 22 with lithium aluminium hydride, which was then converted to the chloride 23 with thionyl chloride. After production of the nitrile 24 by reaction with sodium cyanide and subsequent hydrolysis to the carboxylic acid 25, Friedel-Crafts cyclization of the acid chloride 26 afforded the tetralone intermediate 27. Reaction with l-bromo-3,4-dimethoxybenzene 28 in the presence of sodium amide yielded the tetralone intermediate 29 in an overall yield of 4%. 

Rate constants have been determined for these processes, and it is concluded that in the case of the benziloxy radicals real-time monitoring provides a direct observation of the transition state for C-C bond scission. A highly selective photodecarboxylation of aralkyl carboxylic acids such as 3-indolepro-pionic acid and 1-naphthylacetic acid has been achieved by irradiating the two-component crystals formed with acridine or phenanthridine as electron acceptor at -70 Electron transfer followed by proton transfer produces a carboxylate radical and either a hydroacridine or hydrophenanthridine radical which decays by decarboxylation. 

Synthetic and degradative use has been made in several instances of the easy decarboxylation of phenanthridine-6-carboxylic acids, The corresponding iV-oxide is decarboxylated by... 

Aliphatic carboxylic acids can be photodecarboxylated to alkanes in the presence of heteroaromatic compounds like acridine, phenanthridine, phenazine, quinoline etc. and t-BuSH (equation The latter serves as the hydrogen donor. The reaction proceeds... 

Aminobiphenyl-2 -carboxylic acids 32 undergo acid-catalyzed cyclization to phenanthridones 33, which can be reduced (by zinc or LiAlH4) to phenanthridines 34 ... 

A possible way to induce selectivity in the photodecarboxylation process could be through photosensitized reactions in the soHd state. In fact, when a two-component molecular crystal of phenanthridine and 3-indoleacetic acid is irradiated at low temperature (-70°C), 3-methyHndole is formed in high yield as the sole product by contrast, when the same reaction is carried out in acetonitrile solution, four products are obtained.Furthermore, irradiation of two-component molecular crystals of arylalkyl carboxylic acids with stoichiometric amounts of electron acceptor causes decarboxylative condensation between the two components with important selectivities. " Thus, irradiation of (S)-naproxen in a chiral crystal with 1,2,4,5-tetracyanobenzene produces a decarboxylated condensation product retaining the initial chirality." Photolysis of an enantiomorphous bimolecular crystal of acridine with the R or S enantiomer of 2-phenylpropionic acid causes stereoselective condensation to give three optically active products. An absolute asymmetric synthesis has also been achieved by the enantioselective decarboxylative condensation of a chiral molecular crystal formed from achiral diphenylacetic acid and acridine (Scheme 9). ... 

A six-membered ring is formed in the reduction of 2-nitrobiphenyl-2 -carboxylic acid68 or 6,6 -dinitrobiphenyl-2,2 -dicarboxylic acid.69 In the former case a phenanthridine is formed, in the latter a 4,9-diazapyrene. Similarly, a seven-membered ring is obtained when 2-nitro-2 -isothiocyano-biphenyl (15) is reduced in acidic solution with the formation of 6-mercapto-dibenzo[d/]-l,3-diazepine 3-oxide (16)70 [Eq. (28)]. 

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