Preparation 1,3-cyanomethyl ketones

It is sometimes impossible to isolate the resultant jS-ketonitrile derivatives as such as they are unstable and readily polymerize, e.g. cyano-acetone. They are therefore identified as their corresponding arylhydrazones. The simpler alkyl-w-cyanomethyl ketones are, however, much more stable and their production through the cleavage of 5-alkylisoxazoles has been suggested as a preparative synthetic method. ... 

These are usually prepared by the following methods (a) the Willgerodt reaction on the corresponding methyl ketone,82,98,337,485, 557 (6) hydrolysis of the corresponding cyanomethyl compound,77,337, 485,499,517,521,568 cyclization reactions (Section IV, C) (for 3-acetic acids only),143,209,310,311,313,351 or (d) the Arndt-Eistert reaction on the corresponding carbonyl chloride, which may lead directly to the acetic acid 689 or its amide.337, 568... 

A related approach exploited a A-cyanomethyl group to serve in the dual role of a nitrogen protecting group and a latent precursor of the formaldehyde im-inium ion (e.g., 478), and this innovative modification in tactics resulted in a simplified route to the c/.v-3a-aryloctahydroindole 474 (203a,c). To this end, the amino ketone 482 was readily prepared in one step by the reaction of 1,2-bis(trimethylsilyloxy)cyclopentene with A -benzyl-A -cyanomethyl amine. When 482 was exposed to [l-(3,4-methylenedioxyphenyl)ethenyl]lithium, a mixture (1 14) of 483 and 484 was obtained. It is noteworthy that the stereochemical sense... 

Bicyclic amino-ketones (12) are important intermediates for alkaloid synthesis and their preparation has been simplified by using a cyanomethyl group both to protect the basic nitrogen of the starting material and subsequently to allow the formation of a formaldehyde iminium ion intermediate leading to cyclization (Scheme 22). The use of this chemistry for a total synthesis of the Amaryl-lidaceae alkaloid J/-crinine is described. 

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