Pyrazine preparation

Another method for pyrazine preparation is the cycloaddition of oxadiazinones with dienophiles. The oxadiazinone 208 undergoes cycloadditions with electron rich dienophiles such as 2,3-dihydrofuran to produce lumazines 209 <00JHC419>. 

Table 14 [1,2,4]Triazolo[4,3-a]pyrazines prepared from 2-hydrazinopyrazines or their derivatives Entry Product Yield (%) Reference...

Table 6 Tetrazolopyridazines, -pyrimidines, and -pyrazines prepared by nucleophilic substitution of haloazines by azide anion...

Trichloropyrazine may also be prepared by chlorination of 2,3-dichloro-pyrazine296 or, as previously mentioned, from triketopiperazine,273 296 but A-oxide rearrangement is probably the laboratory method of choice. A further application of A-oxide rearrangement for chloro-pyrazine preparation is taken from the work of Cragoe and his colleagues (Scheme 28).265... 

TABLE II.2 PYRAZINES PREPARED BY REDUCTION OF a-HYDROXYIMINO KETONES... 

Attempted preparations of the parent compound, pyrazine, from halogeneoacetal-dehyde and ammonia were not very successful (23, 237). Tschitschibabin and Schtschukina (237) made a careful study of this reaction their best yield, after oxidation with mercuric salts, was not higher than 11%. Some pyrazines prepared by this method are listed in Table 11.3 (3,10, 23,31,166,193, 209,236-247). 

TABLE II.3 PYRAZINES PREPARED BY AMMONOLYSIS OF a-HALOGENO CARBONYL COMPOUNDS... 

Some pyrazines prepared by this method are listed in Table II.4 (3,11,12,205, 257-267). 

TABLE II.4 PYRAZINES PREPARED FROM a-HYDROXY CARBONYL COMPOUNDS AND AMMONIA, AMMONIUM SALTS, OR FORMAMIDE... 

TABLE 11.5 PYRAZINES PREPARED FROM AMINO ACIDS BY THE AimON OF ACETIC ANHYDRIDE AND PYRIDINE FOLLOWED BY HYDROLYSIS... 

Pyrazines have been prepared by heating 1,2-dicarbonyl compounds with a-amino acids. Thus Rizzi (308) observed that under the conditions of the Strecker degradation, equimolar amounts of DL-valine (44) and butane-2,3-dione in refluxing bis(2-methoxyethyl) ether, diglyme, gave isobutyraldehyde, tetra-methylpyrazine (9%), and a mixture of cis- and trans-2-isopropyl-4,5-dimethyl-3-oxazoline (4%). He proposed a reductive amination mechanism in which butane-23-dione was converted to 2-aminobutan-3-one which underwent self-condensation to the pyrazine. Tetramethylpyrazine was also prepared when the same reactants were heated in dimethylformamide at 123° for 5 hours (and other pyrazines prepared similarly) (308a). 

The condensation of a, dicarbonyl compounds (49) with aj3-diamino compounds (50), which proceeds through the dihydropyrazine (51), has been much used for the synthesis of alkyl- and arylpyrazines (52). These reactions are usually carried out in methanol, ethanol, or ether in the presence of sodium or potassium hydroxide. The dihydropyrazines may be isolated, or oxidized directly to the pyrazine. Dehydrogenating agents that have been employed include oxygen in aqueous alkali (329), air in the presence of potassium hydroxide (330), sodium amylate in amyl alcohol (330a), alcoholic ferric chloride (24), and copper chromite catalyst at 300° (331) (see also Section 1). Pyrazines prepared by this method and modifications described below are listed in Table II.8 (2, 6, 24, 60, 80,195, 329-382) and some additional data are provided in Sections VI. 1 A, VlII.lA(l), and IX.4A(1). 

The pyrazine ring is relatively stable to oxidation, and many pyrazine-carboxylic acids have been prepared from quinoxalines, phenazines, and other fused pyrazines by oxidation with potassium permanganate. This reaction has been most used for the oxidation of quinoxalines, for example, 77 -> 78. The oxidations are usually carried out with potassium permanganate in alkali (397), but may also be effected without added base (398). Crippa and Perroncito (399) have also used chromic oxide in acetic acid-acetic anhydride to oxidize benzo(/]quinoxalines (79). Pyrazines prepared by this method are summarized in Table 11.9 (397-419). 

The reactions of various dipeptides with glyoxal at 100° and pH 5 have been studied and, besides other products, gave a series of new l-(l proposed mechanism involved an intermediate of type (109) in the formation of the pyrazine. Pyrazines prepared from dipeptides in this manner are listed in Table 11.12 (380, 381). The study has been extended to tri- and tetrapeptides (382). Some additional data are recorded in Section VI.9A(1). 

Pyrazinamide is one of the most powerful drugs available for the inhibition of urate excretion in man, consistently providing a 80-90% reduction in the renal clearance of uric acid (1401, 1403). 2-Morpholinocarbonylpyrazine and its 6-methoxy derivative are claimed to have antidiabetic activity (948, 949, 1351, 1387, 1404), and some 2-(p-ureidosulfonylphenethylcarbamoyl)pyrazines have been shown to have hypoglycemic activity in mice (1405). The effect of 2-amino-3-hydroxy-carbamoylpyrazine on DNA synthesis by Erlich ascites tumor cells in vitro has been investigated (1406) as well as the inhibition by 2-amino-3-hydroxycarbamoylpyrazine on L-histidine carboxylyase (1407) many 2-hydroxyimidazo[4,5-6]pyrazines (prepared from 2-amino-3-hydrazinocarbonylpyrazines with nitrous acid) are potent hypotensive agents in animals (880,891,963,1181). 

Reaction of 3,4-diaminopyridine with pyruvaldehyde (MeCOCHO) under neutral conditions gives the expected 2-methyl compound 23, identical with a sample obtained from the 2-methyl-3-thioxo derivative 24. The infrared spectrum of the compound is different to that of 3-methylpyrido[3,4-h]pyrazine prepared by an unambiguous route (see... 

Most pteridines are degraded to pyrazines and when they do yield pyrimidines, these may well be the ones from which they were made. However, some useful preparations of pyrimidines from pteridines are known. Thus, reduction of pteridin-7(8//)-one (732) and subsequent hydrolysis yields N-(4-aminopyrimidin-5-yl)glycine (733) (52JCS1620) and hydrolysis of 5,8-dimethylpteridine-6,7(5Ff,8Ff)-dione (734) gives dimethyl-... 

In the case of phenazine, substitution in the hetero ring is clearly not possible without complete disruption of the aromatic character of the molecule. Like pyrazine and quinoxa-line, phenazine is very resistant towards the usual electrophilic reagents employed in aromatic substitution reactions and substituted phenazines are generally prepared by a modification of one of the synthetic routes employed in their construction from monocyclic precursors. However, a limited range of substitution reactions has been reported. Thus, phenazine has been chlorinated in acid solution with molecular chlorine to yield the 1-chloro, 1,4-dichloro, 1,4,6-trichloro and 1,4,6,9-tetrachloro derivatives, whose gross structures have been proven by independent synthesis (53G327). 

Conflicting reports on the nitration of phenazine have appeared, but the situation was clarified by Albert and Duewell (47MI21400). The early work suggested that 1,3-dinitroph-enazine could be prepared in 66% yield under standard nitration conditions however, this proved to be a mixture of 1-nitrophenazine and 1,9-dinitrophenazine (24). As with pyrazines and quinoxalines, activating substituents in the benzenoid rings confer reactivity which is in accord with valence bond predictions thus, nitration of 2-methoxy- or 2-hydroxy-phenazine results in substitution at the 1-position. 

Inductive and resonance stabilization of carbanions derived by proton abstraction from alkyl substituents a to the ring nitrogen in pyrazines and quinoxalines confers a degree of stability on these species comparable with that observed with enolate anions. The resultant carbanions undergo typical condensation reactions with a variety of electrophilic reagents such as aldehydes, ketones, nitriles, diazonium salts, etc., which makes them of considerable preparative importance. 

Although most of the reactions of preparative importance involving the a-alkyl carbanions are usually carried out under controlled conditions with NHa /NHs being used as the base, a number of reactions using less severe conditions are known, both in the pyrazine and quinoxaline series. In the case of alkylquinoxalines, where an increased number of resonance possibilities exist, mildly basic conditions are usually employed in condensation reactions. 

Direct oxidation of ethylpyrazines to the corresponding acetylpyrazines may also be carried out in favourable circumstances using hot chromic acid (75JOC1178). Treatment of 2-ethyl-3-alkylpyrazines with chromic acid yields the corresponding 2-acetyl-3-alkyl-pyrazines in yields of 50-70%. In the absence of the 3-alkyl substituent the yields fall dramatically to less than 10%. Acetylpyrazines are more generally prepared by the inverse addition of a Grignard reagent to a cyanopyrazine. 

Many pyrazine and quinoxaline syntheses yield mono- or di-N-oxides (76H(4)769). The condensation of a-aminooximes with 1,2-diketones results in the direct formation of pyrazine mono-N-oxides. The a-aminooximes themselves are not easily prepared but 2-amino-2-deoxy sugars readily form the oximes, which have been condensed with glyoxal to yield the pyrazine 4-oxides (Scheme 18) (72JOC2635, 80JOC1693). 

Ring substituents show enhanced reactivity towards nucleophilic substitution, relative to the unoxidized systems, with substituents a to the fV-oxide showing greater reactivity than those in the /3-position. In the case of quinoxalines and phenazines the degree of labilization of a given substituent is dependent on whether the intermediate addition complex is stabilized by mesomeric interactions and this is easily predicted from valence bond considerations. 2-Chloropyrazine 1-oxide is readily converted into 2-hydroxypyrazine 1-oxide (l-hydroxy-2(l//)-pyrazinone) (55) on treatment with dilute aqueous sodium hydroxide (63G339), whereas both 2,3-dichloropyrazine and 3-chloropyrazine 1-oxide are stable under these conditions. This reaction is of particular importance in the preparation of pyrazine-based hydroxamic acids which have antibiotic properties. 

The fusion of a benzene ring to pyrazine results in a considerable increase in the resistance to reduction and it is usually difficult to reduce quinoxalines beyond the tetrahydroquinoxa-line state (91). Two possible dihydroquinoxalines, viz. the 1,2- (92) and the 1,4- (93), are known, and 1,4-dihydroquinoxaline appears to be appreciably more stable than 1,4-dihydropyrazine (63JOC2488). Electrochemical reduction appears to follow a course anzdogous to the reduction of pyrazine, giving the 1,4-dihydro derivative which isomerizes to the 1,2- or 3,4-dihydroquinoxaline before subsequent reduction to 1,2,3,4-tetra-hydroquinoxaline (91). Quinoxaline itself is reduced directly to (91) with LiAlH4 and direct synthesis of (91) is also possible. Tetrahydroquinoxalines in which the benzenoid ring is reduced are well known but these are usually prepared from cyclohexane derivatives (Scheme 30). 

In many instances the primary reaction product is a dihydropyrazine and aromatization may be required as a final step. In addition, many pyrazines are prepared by the structural modification of a preformed pyrazine ring and hence would be classified as a reaction of the ring rather than a ring synthesis such processes are discussed more fully in Section 2.14.2. 

An alternative approach to the use of a-aminoketones involves acetals (72JOC221) and pyrazine-2,3-diones have been synthesized by this route (Scheme 58). The acetals are readily available from the phthalimido derivatives via the a-chloroketones. Hemiacetals have also served as a starting point for pyrazine synthesis, although in most cases hemiacetals are too labile to be easily prepared examples are common in the 2-amino-2-deoxy sugar series 2-amino-2-deoxy-D-glucose for example dimerizes to the pyrazine (101) when generated in situ from the hydrochloride salt (68JAP6813469). 

The cleavage of fused pyrazines represents an important method of synthesis of substituted pyrazines, particularly pyrazinecarboxylic acids. Pyrazine-2,3-dicarboxylic acid is usually prepared by the permanganate oxidation of either quinoxalines or phenazines. The pyrazine ring resembles the pyridine ring in its stability rather than the other diazines, pyridazine and pyrimidine. Fused systems such as pteridines may easily be converted under either acidic or basic conditions into pyrazine derivatives (Scheme 75). 

---