Tautomer conversion

Tautomer conversion involves nonlocal structural editing, and substructural patterns must generally be defined more carefully. 2-Pyridones are consistently registered in the AstraZeneca database as their typically less stable 2-hydroxypyridine tautomers. The conversion can be carried out by first defining an atom type corresponding to a nonfused aromatic carbon atom. 

In the Meth-Cohn quinoline synthesis, the acetanilide becomes a nucleophile and provides the framework of the quinoline (nitrogen and the 2,3-carbons) and the 4-carbon is derived from the Vilsmeier reagent. The reaction mechanism involves the initial conversion of an acylanilide 1 into an a-iminochloride 11 by the action of POCI3. The a-chloroenamine tautomer 12 is subsequently C-formylated by the Vilsmeier reagent 13 derived from POCI3 and DMF. In examples where acetanilides 1 (r = H) are employed, a second C-formylation of 14 occurs to afford 15 subsequent cyclisation and... 

Replacement of a benzene ring by its isostere, thiophene, is one of the more venerable practices in medicinal chemistry. Application of this stratagem to the NSAID piroxicam, gives tenoxicam, 136, a drug with substantially the same activity, nie synthesis of this compound starts by a multi-step conversion of hydroxy thiophene carboxylic ester 130, to the sulfonyl chloride 133. Reaction of that with N-methylglycinc ethyl ester, gives the sulfonamide 134. Base-catalyzed Claisen type condensation serves to cyclize that intermediate to the p-keto ester 135 (shown as the enol tautomer). The final product tenoxicam (136) is obtained by heating the ester with 2-aminopyridine [22]. 

The mechanism for conversion of one tautomer to another is discussed in Chapter 12 (Reaction 12-3). 

Although the conversion of an aldehyde or a ketone to its enol tautomer is not generally a preparative procedure, the reactions do have their preparative aspects. If a full mole of base per mole of ketone is used, the enolate ion (10) is formed and can be isolated (see, e.g., 10-105). When enol ethers or esters are hydrolyzed, the enols initially formed immediately tautomerize to the aldehydes or ketones. In addition, the overall processes (forward plus reverse reactions) are often used for equilibration purposes. When an optically active compound in which the chirality is due to an asymmetric carbon a to a carbonyl group (as in 11) is treated with acid or base, racemization results. If there is another asymmetric center in the molecule. 

Another related reaction is the Barton reaction, by which a methyl group in the 0 position to an OH group can be oxidized to a CHO group. The alcohol is first converted to the nitrite ester. Photolysis of the nitrite results in conversion of the nitrite group to the OH group and nitrosation of the methyl group. Hydrolysis of the oxime tautomer gives the aldehyde, for example,... 

The recently reported (757) conversion of 5-pyrazolones directly to a,j8-acetylenic esters by treatment with TTN in methanol appears to be an example of thallation of a heterocyclic enamine the suggested mechanism involves initial electrophilic thallation of the 3-pyrazolin-5-one tautomer of the 5-pyrazolone to give an intermediate organothallium compound which undergoes a subsequent oxidation by a second equivalent of TTN to give a diazacyclopentadienone. Solvolysis by methanol, with concomitant elimination of nitrogen and thallium(I), yields the a,)S-acetylenic ester in excellent (78-95%) yield (Scheme 35). Since 5-pyrazolones may be prepared in quantitative yield by the reaction of /3-keto esters with hydrazine (168), this conversion represents in a formal sense the dehydration of /3-keto esters. In fact, the direct conversion of /3-keto esters to a,jS-acetylenic esters without isolation of the intermediate 5-pyrazolones can be achieved by treatment in methanol solution first with hydrazine and then with TTN. 

Under similar conditions, reactions between pyrrolidine derivatives 632 and MTAD proceed much more slowly and less cleanly with formation of a polymeric material. When the reaction is stopped before 50% conversion is reached, starting compound 632 is isolated as the main component (c. 40%) and compound 637 as a minor product (10-14%). Mechanistically, the most difficult problem lies in the fact that a reduction step has to be involved and no particular reduction agent is present. A proposed mechanism is shown in Scheme 103. The pathway includes a Cannizzaro-type hydride transfer between dipole 633 and product 634 (keto tautomer), resulting in the formation of the iminium derivative 635, which might be responsible for the polymeric material, and hydroxy derivative 636, the direct precursor of the final products 637. The low experimental yield of 637 could be explained by this mechanism <2003EJ01438>. 

Other conversions of hydroxyl-substituted compounds (or their lactam tautomers), their thio analogues, as well as amines are listed in Table 8. These reactions involve 0-, N-, or -alkylations or acylations, O-S exchange reactions, or other analoguous processes. 

There is a distinct relationship between keto-enol tautomerism and the iminium-enamine interconversion it can be seen from the above scheme that enamines are actually nitrogen analogues of enols. Their chemical properties reflect this relationship. It also leads us to another reason why enamine formation is a property of secondary amines, whereas primary amines give imines with aldehydes and ketones (see Section 7.7.1). Enamines from primary amines would undergo rapid conversion into the more stable imine tautomers (compare enol and keto tautomers) this isomerization cannot occur with enamines from secondary amines, and such enamines are, therefore, stable. 

Figure 8. Absorption onset experiments for photoinduced conversion of compound 10 NH-tautomers in EPIP at 77 K (A) Initial spectrum (B,C) Monitored spectra after irradiation (At 30 min) by the polarized light (Xg = 638 nm). Conditions for polarized excitation and polarized monitoring are shown by arrows. The displacement of inner protons in tautomers conforms to experimental data. The direction of X-axis is chosen for tautomer 1 to be parallel to vector E of exciting light. (Reproduced with permission from Ref. 15. Copyright 1985 North-Holland Physics Publishing Company.)...

Quinolines are reduced in alkaline solution at a lead cathode or by sodium and alcohol to another cla.s.s of dimeric product [85,86]. The meso-4,4 -hydrodimer is again an intermediate in the process. It undergoes slower conversion to the imine tautomer under alkaline conditions and the intramolecular aldol condensation between one imine function and the remaining enamine function leads to the product 23 [86]. 

A ring-opening/ring-closure pathway has also been proposed to explain the conversion of 4-phenylfuroxan to the 3-phenyl tautomer under electrochemical oxidation conditions <86IZV1691>. The factors influencing both the equilibrium constants and the equilibration rates have been dis-... 

Chatani s proposed mechanism bears some similarity to that of Jun s reaction (Scheme 9.12). They both begin with hydroamination of the C=C 7t-bond of a rhodium vinylidene. The resultant aminocarbene complexes (71 and 62) are each in equilibrium with two tautomers. The conversion of 71 to imidoyl-alkyne complex 74 involves an intramolecular olefin hydroalkynylation. Intramolecular syn-carbome-tallation of intermediate 74 is thought to be responsible for ring closure and the apparent stereospecificity of the overall reaction. In the light of the complexity of Chatani and coworkers mechanism, the levels of chemoselectivity that they achieved should be considered remarkable. For example, 5 -endo-cyclization of intermediate 72 was not observed, though it has been for more stabilized rhodium aminocarbenes bearing pendant olefins [27]. 

Robert and co-workers (239,240) discovered novel conversions of 2-amino-1,3-dithiolium-4-olates (348) into other mesoionic heterocycles. For example, reaction of 348 with carbon disulfide, phenyl isocyanate, or phenyl isothiocyanate affords l,3-dithiolium-4-thiolates (349), l,3-thiazolium-4-olates (350), and 1,3-thiazolium-4-thiolates (351), respectively. Some of these reactions proceed via the ring-opened ketene tautomer of 348 (240). 

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