Reduction of Amides, Lactams and Imides

Reduction of amides may yield aldehydes, alcohols or amines. Which of these three classes is formed depends on the structure of the amide, on the reducing agent, and to a certain extent on reaction conditions. 

From a simplified scheme of reduction of the amide function it can be seen that the first stage is formation of an intermediate with oxygen and nitrogen atoms linked to an sp carbon. Such compounds tend to regenerate the original sp system by elimination of ammonia or an amine. Thus an aldehyde is formed and may be isolated, or reduced to an alcohol. Alternatively the product is an amine resulting from direct hydrogenolysis of the sp intermediate. 

Reduction of amides to aldehydes was accomplished mainly by complex hydrides. Not every amide is suitable for reduction to aldehyde. Good yields were obtained only with some tertiary amides and lithium aluminum hydride, lithium triethoxyaluminohydride or sodium bis 2-methoxyethoxy)aluminum hydride. The nature of the substituents on nitrogen plays a key role. Amides derived from aromatic amines such as JV-methylaniline [1103] and especially pyrrole, indole and carbazole were found most suitable for the preparation of aldehydes. By adding 0.25 mol of lithium aluminum hydride in ether to 1 mol of the amide in ethereal solution cooled to —10° to —15°, 37-60% yields of benzaldehyde were obtained from the benzoyl derivatives of the above heterocycles [1104] and 68% yield from N-methylbenzanilide [1103]. Similarly 4,4,4-trifluorobutanol was prepared in 83% yield by reduction of N-(4,4,4-trifluorobutanoyl)carbazole in ether at —10° [1105]. 

Even better results than those reached by reduction of the aromatic hetero- 

Better reagents than lithium aluminum hydride alone are its alkoxy derivatives, especially di- and triethoxyaluminohydrides prepared in situ from lithium aluminum hydride and ethanol in ethereal solutions. The best of all, lithium triethoxyaluminohydride, gave higher yields than its trimethoxy and tris(/er/-butoxy) analogs. When an equimolar quantity of this reagent was added to an ethereal solution of a tertiary amide derived from dimethylamine, diethylamine, W-methylaniline, piperidine, pyrrolidine, aziridine or pyrrole, and the mixture was allowed to react at 0° for 1-1.5 hours aldehydes were isolated in 46-92% yields [95,1107], The reaction proved unsuccessful for the preparation of crotonaldehyde and cinnamaldehyde from the corresponding dimethyl amides [95]. 

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For a review, see Challis Challis, in Zabicky The Chemistry of Amides, Wiley New York, 1970, pp. 795-801. For a review of the reduction of amides, lactams, and imides with metallic hydrides, see Gaylord. Ref. 536. pp. 544-636. For a lisl of reagents, with references, see Ref. 21. pp. 432-433. 

The carbonyl group of amides, lactams, and imides is reducible at lead and mercury cathodes in strongly acidic media, usually to the corresponding methylene compound. In media of lesser acidity cathodic cleavage may occur, and depending on the structure of the starting material and the detailed reaction conditions, the products outlined in Eq. (32) are accessible by cathodic reduction. 

IV. Cathodic reduction of amides, lactams, imides, and hydrazides... 

IV. CATHODIC REDUCTION OF AMIDES, LACTAMS, IMIDES, AND HYDRAZIDES... 

This chapter is concerned with the cathodic reduction of carboxylic acids and their derivatives, that is, esters, amides, anhydrides, acyl halides, hydrazides, nitriles, and corresponding thio derivatives. Cyclic derivatives of substituted carboxylic and polycarboxylic acids, such as lactones, lactams, imides, and anhydrides, are also included. Only those transformations in which the functional group itself is involved are discussed. Reductive coupling of carboxylic acids and derivatives is covered in Chapter 22, and there is some overlap with reduction of heterocycles in Chapter 18. 

A different approach to enantiotopic group differentiation in bicyclic anhydrides consists of their two-step conversion, first with (/ )-2-amino-2-phcnylethanol to chiral imides 3, then by diastereoselective reduction with sodium bis(2-methoxyethoxy)aluminum hydride (Red-Al) to the corresponding chiral hydroxy lactames 4, which may be converted to the corresponding lactones 5 via reduction with sodium borohydride and cyclization of the hydroxyalkyl amides 101 The overall yield is good and the enantioselectivity ranges from moderate to good. Absolute configurations of the lactones are based on chemical correlation. 

Funk s synthesis in 2004 [28] of perophoramidine (Scheme 3), commenced with a base-catalyzed coupling reactiOTi between indole 19 and 3-bromoindolin-2-one 20. Boc protectiOTi of the resulting lactam 21 followed by reduction of the azido functionality led to transamidation and closure of the resulting carbamate upon the indolenine to deliver the aminal 22. Chemoselective chlorination and protection of the lactam followed by a two-step deprotection and conversion of the resulting alcohol to the azide afforded amide 23. A second transamidation reaction followed by selective methylation gave lactam 24. Treatment of lactam 24 with Meerwein s reagent gave imidate 25, which imderwent a Fukuyama deprotection of the sulfur... 

The problem is apparently due to some residual aluminum that is hard to remove. If, however, the reduction is carried out in a iV-methylmorpholine solution, followed by addition of potassium tartrate, a pure product can be isolated. A -Methylmorpholine is a good solvent for reductions of various macromolecules with metal hydrides.In addition, the solvent permits the use of strong NaOH solutions to hydrolyze the addition complexes that form. Other polymers that can be reduced in it are those bearing nitrile, amide, imide, lactam, and oxime pendant groups. Reduction of polymethacrylonitrile, however, yields a product with only 70% of primary amine groups. Complete reductions of pendant carbonyl groups with LiAlH4 in solvents other than A -methyl-morpholine, however, were reported. Thus, a copolymer of methyl vinyl ketone with styrene was fully reduced in tetrahydrofuran. ... 

Nitro compounds are reduced to the corresponding amine. Unlike hydride reductions, both alkyl nitro compounds (2-methyl-2-nitro-1,3-propanediol was reduced to l-amino-2-methyl-1,3-propanediol in 95% yield)566 and aromatic nitro derivatives [nitrobenzene was reduced to aniline with Ti(S04)3 in sulfuric acid and cetyltrimethylammonium bromide] are electrolytically reduced. 7 jf conditions are modified, reductive coupling can give azoxy compounds such as 568 (from 569) or diazo compounds. A variety of acid derivatives are reduced under electrochemical conditions, including nitriles (to amines), acids (to alcohols),5 E572 estejs (jq alcohols), and amides (to alcohols). It is possible to selectively reduce a cyclic imide to a lactam.575... 

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