Quinolines reduction, regioselective

Grignon-Dubois and coworkers have shown that reduction of a quinoline using zinc and acetic acid in THF gives the dimeric compound 3-177 via intermediate 3-176 (Scheme 3.47) [70J. Usually, a mixture of the syn- and anti-products is formed the substituent has some influence on the regioselectivity of the dimerization and cydization step. With R = H and R = 6-Me, only the benzazepine 3-177 were produced, by a head-to-head dimerization. 

Bennasar et al. reported a new radical-based route for the synthesis of calothrixin B (378) (869). This synthesis starts from the 2,3-disubstituted N-Boc indole 1558 and uses a regioselective intramolecular acylation of a quinoline ring as the key step for the construction of the calothrixin pentacyclic framework. Chemoselective reaction of in s/fM-generated 3-lithio-2-bromoquinoline [from 2-bromoquinoline 1559 with LDA] with the 3-formylindole 1558 followed by triethylsilane reduction of the... 

The results for tfiis reductive cyclization applied to several 2-(3-hy-droxyphenyl)ethyl ketone 0-2,4-dinitrophenyloxime derivatives 80 ate listed in Table 11. In all reactions, the corresponding 1,2,3,4-tetra-hydroquinolin-8-ol derivatives 83 were obtained regioselectively without any quinolines being formed. 

Sodium hydride reduction of quinoline in HMPA leads to a 2 3 mixture of 1,2-dihydroquinoline (82) and 1,4-dihydroquinoline (83) isolated as the A-methoxycarbonyl derivatives. In situ produced copper hydride reagents react with pyridinium species with high regioselectivity generating 1,4-dihydropyridine... 

Several homogeneous systems have been reported to catalyze the hydrogenation of polynuclear N-heterocycles efficiently the regioselective reduction of the N-containing ring in quinoline, isoquinoline, indole, benzoquinolines, acridine and other related molecules can be achieved with relative ease and under moderate conditions of temperature and pressure. A number of metals are known to be active (Cr, Mo, W, Mn, Fe, Ru, Os, Co, Rh, Ir) but most of the published work has concentrated on ruthenium and rhodium precursors [95-100] as shown in Table 3.3. 

This product was used by Comins in his synthesis of mappicine. The antiviral alkaloid is the alcohol formed by borohydride reduction of mappicine ketone 124. Strategic disconnections 124 split the molecule into a quinoline 125 and a pyridone 126 and correspond to a simple SN2 and a Heck reaction. If the Heck reaction is performed last it will be intramolecular and hence regioselective. 

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