0-Quinodimethane

Malpass, 1977). Diels-Alder type [2 + 4]-cycloadditions are possible with certain hetero-"ene components (J.R. Malpass, 1977 S.F. Martin, 1980) or with highly reactive o-quinodimethanes as diene components (W. Oppoizer, I978A). 

Two approaches to convergent steroid syntheses are based on the thermal opening of benzocyclobutenes to the o-quinodimethane derivatives (see p. 80 W. Oppolzer, 1978 A) and their stereoselective intramolecular Diels-Alder cyclizations. T, Kametani (1977 B, 1978) obtained (+ )-estradiol in a six-step synthesis. The final Diels-Alder reaction occurred regio- and stereoselectively in almost quantitative yield, presumably because the exo transition state given below is highly favored over the endo state in which rings A and D would stcrically inter-... 

The Diels-Alder reaction of o-quinodimethanes (from benzocyclobutenes) with nitrogen-ubstituted enes has also been applied to alkaloids synthesis (see p. 280f. T. Kametani, 1972, 1973, 1974 W. Oppolzer, 1978 A). 

CATEGORY llegf CYCLIZATIONS - CYCLOADDITIONS INVOLVING PYRROLE-2,3-QUINODIMETHANE INTERMEDIATES AND EQUIVALENTS... 

This category corresponds to the construction of the carbocyclic ring by 2 + 4 cycloaddition with pyrrole-2,3-quinodimethane intermediates. Such reactions can be particularly useful in the synthesis of 5,6-disubstituted indoles. Although there are a few cases where a pyrrolequinodimethane intermediate is generated, the most useful procedures involve more stable surrogates. Both 1,5-di-hydropyrano[3,4-b]pyrrol-5(lf/)-ones[l] and l,6-dihyropyrano[4,3-b]pyrrol-6-(in)-ones[2] can serve as pyrrole-2,3-quinodimethane equivalents. The adducts undergo elimination of CO2. 

Indoles by cycloaddition with pyrrole-2,3-quinodimethane equivalents... 

Synthesis of carbazoles from indoles by quinodimethane intermediates... 

Pyrano[3,4-b]indol-3-ones are the most useful equivalents of the indol-2,3-quinodimethane synthon which are currently available for synthetic application. These compounds can be synthesized readily from indole-3-acetic acids and carboxylic anhydrides[5,6]. On heating with electrophilic alkenes or alkynes, adducts are formed which undergo decarboxylation to 1,2-dihydro-carbazoles or carbazoles, respectively. 

As was the case with reactions of vinylindoles, the most elaborate synthetic targets approached by the indole-2,3-quinodimethane route have been alka-loids[18]. The route has been applied to aspidospenna[l9 ] and kopsine[20] structures. The fundamental reaction pattern is illustrated in equation 16.7. An indole-2,3-quinodimethane is generated by W-acylation of an Ai-(pent-4-enyl)-imine of a 2-methyl-3-formylindole. Intramolecular 2 -P 4 cydoaddition then occurs. 

Fig. 3. Isolatable y)-xylylene derivatives (12), Thiele s hydrocarbon - 1904 [26392-12-1] (13), tetracyanoquiuodimethane [1518-16-7] (TCNQ) (14), tetrakis(methoxycarbonyl)-quiaodimethan [65649-20-9]-, (15), tetrakis(ethy1sii1fony1)quinodimethan [84928-90-5].

Aminomethylindoles are particularly important synthetic intermediates. 3-Dimethyl-aminomethylindole (gramine) (153) and especially its quaternary salts readily undergo displacement reactions with nucleophiles (Scheme 60). Indole-2,3-quinodimethanes, generated from 2-methylgramine as shown in Scheme 61, undergo intermolecular cycloaddition reactions with dienophiles to yield carbazole derivatives (82T2745). 

In 1972, the first stable organic conductor was reported, one of the forms of TCNQ, TetraCyaNo-Quinodimethane. Its room-temperature conductivity was... 

All the peaks are somewhat upfield of the aromatic region, suggesting polyene character. This stmcture would also be consistent with the observed reactivity since the polyene has a. quinodimethane structure (see Section 11.3). The implication of a nonaromatic stmcture is that the combination of ring strain and the antiaromaticity associated with the four--nembered ring results in a localized system. ... 

Indole-2,3-quinodimethanes have also been exploited as the key intermediates in indolo[2,3-a]caibazole synthesis, allowing the preparation of several interesting systems. Thus, when the starting materials 74a-b (obtained from the condensation of protected indole-2-carboxaldehydes with 2-aminostyrene) underwent treatment with methyl chloroformate in hot chlorobenzene, the carbamates 75a-b were obtained, and could subsequently be dehydrogenated into the aromatic compounds 76a-b (Scheme 11). However, all functionalization attempts of the methyl... 

Scheme 6. Vollhardt s tandem alkyne cyclotrimerization/o-quinodimethane cycloaddition strategy for polycycle synthesis.

The total synthesis of ( )-estrone [( )-1 ] by Vollhardt et al. is a novel extension of transition metal mediated alkyne cyclotrimeriza-tion technology. This remarkable total synthesis is achieved in only five steps from 2-methylcyclopentenone (19) in an overall yield of 22%. The most striking maneuver in this synthesis is, of course, the construction of tetracycle 13 from the comparatively simple diyne 16 by combining cobalt-mediated and ort/io-quinodimethane cycloaddition reactions. This achievement bodes well for future applications of this chemistry to the total synthesis of other natural products. 

Ojima-Holton method 670 olefin insertion 569 (+)-ophiobolin C 716 f. organoselenides 397 ortlio-quinodimethane 155 f.,... 

An example of this has been reported for reactions of certain quinodimethanes.9 On its own, this reactive species dimerizes. The substance shown actually yields several dimers, but only the major one is shown in Eq. (3-82). When a dienophile like methyl methacrylate is present, a competing reaction, Eq. (3-81), occurs, where again one of several isomeric products is shown. 

Finally, it should be of interest that the rearrangements of several cyclic benzylic sulfinates have also been described in the literature by Durst46 and Hogeveen47, and seem to proceed by a special two-step mechanism retro-Diels-Alder extrusion of S02, followed by its chelotropic addition to the unstable quinodimethane intermediate (e.g. equation 10). 

A highly efficient construction of the steroidal skeleton 166 is reported by Kametani and coworkers111 in the intramolecular Diels-Alder reaction of the a, jS-unsaturated sulfone moiety of 165 (equation 117). Thus, when the sulfone 165 is heated in 1,2-dichlorobenzene for 6h, the steroidal compound 166 can be obtained in 62% yield. The compound 166 produces estrone (167) by elimination of benzenesulfinic acid and subsequent hydrogenation of the formed double bond. The stereoselectivity of the addition reflects a transition state in which the p-tosyl group occupies the exo position to minimize the steric repulsion between methyl and t-butoxy groups and the o-quinodimethane group as shown in equation 117. 

During investigation of the synthesis of benzocyclobutane 193, Cava and coworkers118 found that o-quinodimethane 192, generated in the pyrolysis of 1,3-dihydrobenzo[c]thiophene 2,2-dioxide (191), can be trapped by Af-phenylmaleimide to give N-phenyl-1,2,3,4-tetrahydronaphthalene 2,3-dicarboimide (194) (equation 125). 

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