Seven-multicomponent reaction

Because of the retained isocyano functionality, the dihydropyridone MCR product 85 can be used in various follow-up (multicomponent) reactions. For example, the Passerini reaction between 85, a carboxylic acid, and an aldehyde or ketone produces a series of dihydropyridone-based conformationally constrained depsipeptides 86 [171]. The subsequent Passerini reaction could also be performed in the same pot, resulting in a novel 6CR toward these complex products containing up to seven points of variation. Reaction of 85 with an aldehyde or ketone and amine component resulted in the isolation of dihydrooxazolopyridines (DHOPs, 87) [172] via a similar approach as the 2,4,5-trisubstituted oxazole variant toward 42 reported by Tron and Zhu (Fig. 15) [155]. The corresponding DHOPs (87), which... 

This multicomponent reaction was used to construct much larger ligand structures, including scorpion ligands,and recent advances extend to the preparation of ligand structures from seven components in a single step ... 

It should be noted that carbonyl compounds, more often aldehydes, are usual second reagent in both the groups. Other building-blocks in these multicomponent processes, leading to the formation of five-, six-, and seven-membered heterocycles, can be numerous acids and their derivatives, p-dicarbonyl compounds or other CH-acids, isocyanides, etc. At this, three-component reactions of ABC and ABB types [32] are the most typical for aminoazole, although some four-component ABCC processes were also published. 

With a similar rationale, Cai and coworkers tried to expand the product library by aiming for structural analogs of the widely applied 1,4-benzoxazepines [42]. These seven-membered rings are usually synthesized in a multistep process, but are now available from three simple starting materials in a palladium-catalyzed multicomponent approach. The reaction cascade is initiated by deprotonation and successive ring opening of the electron-poor aziridine 167 by the phenolate 168. Oxidative addition of palladium to the aryl iodide allows isocyanide insertion to furnish 172. Base-induced... 

A further small tweaking of the reaction conditions involves great changes a further new cascade channel is breaking. This is accomplished by modulation of the nucleophilicity of the activated methylene compounds applied. When used with isocyanoacetate 87 instead of cyanoacetates 86 as a methylene-activated component, an Ugi-like multicomponent cascade reaction is observed. This reaction was first detected by deployment of ethyl isocyanoacetate 87 in reactions of ribose and proline. In these experiments, proline—once the catalyst in the Knoevenagel condensation/ketalization/oxa-Michael cascade reactions—is directly incorporated into the product. As a result of that, seven-membered lactone 89 is formed. This sharp difference is demonstrated in Scheme 2.18 [40]. 

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