3- Substituted imidazole 1-oxide reactions

Chichibabin reaction, 5, 409-410 UV spectra, 5, 356 Naphthimidazoles, 2-amino-tautomerism, 5, 368 Naphth[2,3-h]imidazoles oxidation, 5, 405 Naphth[l,2-d]imidazolium salts nucleophilic substitution, 5, 412 Naphth[l, 2-h]isoquinolines... 

The synthesis of the furan-imidazole derivatives, shown in Scheme 2, were also described by Wang et al. [34]. Reaction of 4-(dimethylamino)benzalde-hyde (20) with trimethylsilylcyanide (TMS)-CN in the presence of Znl2 produced the TMS cyanohydrin 21. Compound 21 was treated with LDA followed by the addition of 3,4,5-trimethoxybenzaldehyde to give the benzoin intermediate 22. Oxidation with CUSO4 in aqueous pyridine, followed by reaction with 3-furaldehyde in acetic acid, produced the substituted imidazole 23. 

Substituted imidazole 1-oxides 228 are predicted to be activated toward electrophilic aromatic substitution, nucleophilic aromatic substitution, and metallation as described in Section 1. Nevertheless little information about the reactivity of imidazole 1-oxides in these processes exists. The reason for this lack may be the high polarity of the imidazole 1-oxides, which makes it difficult to find suitable reaction solvents. Another obstacle is that no method for complete drying of imidazole 1-oxides exists and dry starting material is instrumental for successful metallation. Well documented and useful is the reaction of imidazole 1-oxide 228 with alkylation and acylation reagents, their function as 1,3-dipoles in cycloadditions, and their palladium-catalyzed direct arylation. 

Substituted imidazole 1-oxides 263 upon treatment with dimethyl or diethyl sulfate furnish l-alkoxy-3-subtituted imidazolium salts 283 that were converted to the tetrafluoroborate 283 (A- = BF4 ) or hexafluorophos-phates 283 (A = PF6-) by treatment with sodium tetrafluoroborate or hexa-fluorophosphate (2007ZN(A)295). The tetrafluoroborates 283 (A = BF4 ) reacted with cyanide ion to give 2-cyanoimidazoles 285 (1975JCS(P1)275). The reaction probably follows a mechanism similar to that suggested to be operative in the pyrazole series encompassing O-alkylation succeeded by nucleophilic addition and elimination of methanol (Scheme 85). 

A totally different approach to bis-carbene ligands on a cyclic scaffold comes from Burgess and coworkers [351], They start from AA -dimethyl-l,2-diaminocyclohexane and acetylate this compound with chloroacetic acid chloride. Addition of an N-substituted imidazole yields the chiral bis-imidazolium salt (see Figure 3.110). Reaction with silver(I) oxide and carbene transfer to palladium(II) completes the reaction sequence. 

The medium has no specific oxidative action towards the alkyl radicals, and in the presence of protonated base the major reaction is a substitution. Thus, imidazoles and 1-substituted imidazoles are alkylated exclusively at C-2, albeit in rather low yields. The use of isopropyl and r-butyl radicals gives improved yields (80-90%) but benzyl and allyl radicals tend to dimerize in preference. Benzimidazoles are also alkylated at C-2, and with isopropyl and t-butyl radicals yields of 50-80% can be achieved (80AHC(27)24l, 74AHC(16)123). 

The reactions of 2-lithio- and 2-sodio-imidazoles and -benzimidazoles are not particularly novel. The compounds do, however, prove a means of introducing a variety of functional groups into the 2-position of the heterocyclic ring. Such metalation reactions at C-2 can only occur readily when there is no alternative site for the metal. Therefore, only N-substituted imidazoles are of synthetic utility, and it may be necessary to select an N-substituent which can be removed later. For this reason, benzyl (removed by reductive or oxidative methods), benzenesulfonyl (removed by ammoniacal ethanol), trityl (hydrolyzed by mild acid treatment) and alkoxymethyl (easily hydrolyzed in acid or basic medium) groups have proved useful in this context. A typical reaction sequence is shown in Scheme 136 <78JOC438l, 77JHC517). In addition, reactions with aldehydes and ketones (to form alcohols), with ethyl formate (to form the alcohol) and with carbon dioxide (to form carboxylic acids) have found application (B-76MI40701). 

Nitroimidazoles are readily made by nitration of imidazole or 1-substituted imidazoles in concentrated sulfuric acid (see Section 7.2.1). It is much more difficult to make 2-nitroimidazoles since direct nitration is seldom observed in the 2-position. Although electrophilic nitrodehalogenation reactions, too, occur mainly at C-4(5) [1], Katritzky has recently selectively nitrodeiodinated 2,4,5-triiodoimidazole to prepare 2,4(5)-dinitro-5(4)-iodo-and 2,4,5-triiiitroimidazoles, albeit in poor yield [2], Other routes to 2-nitroimidazoles include those which react a diazonium fluoroborate with the nitrite ion, and methods which oxidize 2-amino derivatives, themselves often only available by laborious sequences. The most appealing routes to 2-nitroimidazoles are the methods which make the 2-lithio derivative and treat it with a source of nitronium ion (e.g. n-propyl nitrate or N2O4) [3-5] (see Section 7.2.2). 

Photochemical transformations of pyrimidines can also give rise to some imidazole products. For example, in benzene or methanol, photolysis of a number of substituted 1-oxides yielded small quantities of imidazoles " " (Eq. 20). These reactions have been explained by involving oxaziridines, 1,2,4-oxadiazepines, or zwitterions as possible intermediates. 

Pyrazine Al-oxides and 2,3-dihydropyrazines also rearrange photochem-ically into imidazoles. From 2,5-disubstituted pyrazine 1-oxides (73) two products, 2-acyl(or aroyl) 4-substituted imidazole (74) and 2,4-disubstituted imidazole (75), result. " " The reaction (Scheme 16) presumably takes place through two isomeric oxaziridine derivatives. 

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