The Hofmann Degradation

The advantage of the Hofmann degradation over other methods of producing amines is that other methods rely upon an Ss-2 mechanism. This prevents the production of amines on a tertiary carbon. The Hofmann degradation can produce amines with a primary, secondary, or tertiary alkyl position, 

Notice the rearrange meet of tire f group. This reaction is sometimes called the Hofmarm Rearrangement. 

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We have meet NO2 and CN before, but a primary amine can also be made from an amide by the Hofmann degradation (see Norman p.446-7 or Tedder, vol.2, p.281-2). 

Subsequent chlorination of the amide takes place ia a two-phase reaction mixture (a dispersion of diamide ia hydrochloric acid) through which a chlorine stream is passed. The temperature of this step must be maintained below 10°C to retard the formation of the product resulting from the Hofmann degradation of amides. Reaction of the A/,A/-dichloroamide with diethylamine [109-89-7] ia the presence of base yields /n j -l,4-cyclohexane-bis-l,3-diethylurea (35), which is transformed to the urea hydrochloride and pyroly2ed to yield the diisocyanate (36). 

Putrescine dihydrochloride has been prepared by the Hofmann degradation of adipamide 3.. s by the Curtius degradation of adipyl hydrazide through the urethane by the Curtius degradation of adipyl azide obtained from adipyl chloride and sodium azide by the Schmidt degradation of adipic acid with hydrogen azide by the reduction of succinonitrile, succinaldoxime, or 7-phthalimidobutyronitrile with sodium and from N-ben-zoyl-7-iodobutylamine ... 

Later Goto and Shishido prepared di-3-ethoxy-5 6-dimethoxy-A -ethylnoraporphine ethiodide, m.p. 186-7°, and this, by the Hofmann degradation process, gave the ethiodide of the de-At-ethyl base, m.p. 194°, from which the dimethoxyethoxyvinylphenanthrene, m.p. 108°, was obtained, identical with that from natural Z-tuduranine. The latter is therefore 3-hydroxy-5 6-dimethoxy-A -H0)aporphine. A later paper (1941) also relating to tuduranine is not yet accessible. 

Unlike most alkaloids of the group, glaueine was assigned a formula without the use of the Hofmann degradation process, but since then this process has been applied to glaueine or its derivatives by a number of workers, especially in connection with the investigation of boldine (p. 325) and of laurotetanine (p. 320). 

A-methylanonaine, prepared from the natural alkaloid by the action of formaldehyde and formic acid, was isolated as the hydriodide, m.p. 246-7° (dec.). dZ-A-methylanonaine was also synthesised and characterised as the hydriodide, m.p. 244° (dec.), and methiodide, m.p. 210-1°. It is regarded as identical with dZ-rcemerine (p. 314), and it may be noted that the melting-point of the Hofmann degradation product of rcemerine is very similar to that of anonaine (IV NMe NH) (Barger and Weitnauer). "... 

Phaeanthine, C3JH42O0N2. (Item 8 list, p. 350.) This alkaloid was isolated by Santos.It has m.p. 210°, [a]u°° — 278° (CHCI3), yields a hydriodide, m.p. 268°, picrate, m.p. 263°, aurichloride, m.p. 170-1°, and a platinichloride, m.p. 280° (dec.), and contains four methoxyl and two methylimino groups. By the Hofmann degradation process it yields an optically inactive methine base A, m.p. 173°, which is oxidised by potassium permanganate in acetone to 2-methoxy-5 4 -dicarboxydiphenyl ether (p. 348). A comparison of the properties of phseanthine and tetrandrine by Kondo and Keimatsu indicates that these two alkaloids are optical antipodes, so that phseanthine will be represented by either (XXXIX) or (XL) as given on p. 348, 1 and of these two formula (R = Me) one must represent oxyacanthine methyl ether and the other berbamine methyl ether (centres of asymmetry d- and 1-) tetrandrine (centres of asymmetry both d-) and phseanthine (centres of asymmetry both 1-). 

Ahl and Reichstein have pointed out that though it is certain that the structure of emetine includes one, and possibly two, 6 7-dimethoxy-tetrahydroisoquinoline nuclei, the suggestions so far made as to the nature of the rest of the molecule are speculative. They investigated the Hofmann degradation of A-acetylemetine, m.p. 97-9°. This forms a monomethiodide, m.p. 2ia-6°, from which, by the action of silver oxide and potassium hydroxide, followed by eautious tbermal deeomposition and reacetylation,... 

Amine oxides 2, which can be prepared by oxidation of amines 1, react upon heating to yield an olefin 3 and a hydroxylamine 4. This reaction is called the Cope elimination reaction,and as a synthetic method is a valuable alternative to the Hofmann degradation reaction of quaternary ammonium salts. 

The N-bromination of amides with bromine and alkali has been extensively researched as the first step of the Hofmann degradation. However, it is difficult to isolate the N-bromoamides because of their subsequent reaction to produce amines, which proceeds very readily under excessive alkaline conditions. Now, the reaction of amides with a stoichiometric amount of BTMA Br3 and sodium hydroxide in ice-water gave N-bromoamides in fairly good yields. Our method can be applied to various types of aliphatic, aromatic, and heterocyclic amides (Fig. 31) (ref. 39). 

Fig. 32. Reaction scheme of the Hofmann degradation of amides with BTMA Br3 BTMA Bfj, rt or 70 C...

The Hofmann degradation is the most well-known C—N bond cleavage reaction, and its value to structural elucidation of alkaloids has been demonstrated (76). Hofmann degradation of tetrahydroberberine methohy-droxide (1) led to two products base A (2), the C-14—N bond cleavage product, and base B (3), the C-6—N bond cleavage product (Scheme 2) (17,18). The former was the major product when 1 was heated under reduced pressure, but the latter, the thermodynamically controlled product, predominated when the reaction was carried out at atmospheric pressure or in an alkaline medium because base A recyclized back to the starting quaternary base through the transannular reaction. In fact, 2 was heated in aqueous alcohol to afford 1. The mechanism of this recyclization reaction was discussed by Kirby et al. (19). 

The stereochemistry of corydalic acid methyl ester (8) was confirmed by correlation with the Hofmann degradation product of mesotetrahydro-... 

Scheme 4. C-8—N Bond cleavage by the Hofmann degradation. Reagents a, PhCH2MgBr b, NaBH c, Mel d, KOH, MeOH.

Scheme 36. Acid-catalyzed cyclization of the Hofmann degradation products of dihydro-protoberberines. Reagents a, cone HC1 b, POCl3 c, H2S04 d, 10% HC1. 

The first successful transformation of protoberberines to benzo[c]-phenanthridines was reported by Onda et al. (122,123). Irradiation of the enamines 200 and 195, the Hofmann degradation products of the corresponding protoberberines, in benzene afforded the initial photoproducts 201, which immediately rearranged to the tetrahydrobenzo[c]phenanthridines 202 in 70% yield (Scheme 37). Dehydrogenation of 202 afforded dihydro-chelerythrine (203) and dihydrosanguinarine (204), which were further oxidized with dichlorodicyanobenzoquinone (DDQ) to yield chelerythrine (205) and sanguinarine (206), respectively. 

Lead tetraacetate oxidation was applied to construct a benzo[c]-phenanthridine skeleton. The Hofmann degradation product 224 derived from the phenolic protoberberine 59a was oxidized with lead tetraacetate to afford the p-quinol acetate 225, which was cyclized to the benzo[c]-... 

The Hofmann degradation product 252 used for a synthesis of corynoline (254) was again a useful starting material for ( )-corydalic acid methyl ester (8). It was reduced with sodium cyanoborohydride to the trans derivative 10 as a major product, which was converted to 8 via acetal 268 and aldehyde 269 (143). 

Scheme 52). The reaction will proceed via the enolate 292 and the quinodimethide 293 as key intermediates. Basic treatment of 291 did not cause the Stevens rearrangement but gave the Hofmann degradation product 295. 

Kano et al. (161,162) also investigated the Stevens rearrangement of tetrahydroprotoberberine metho salts 302 with dimsylsodium and obtained the spirobenzylisoquinolines 303 in high yield (Scheme 56). Similarly C-homoprotoberberine 304 gave the new spiro compound 305, whereas B-homoprotoberberine 306 afforded only the Hofmann degradation product 307. 

In the synthesis of methyl corydalate (55) Nonaka et al. (65) used the methiodide of (-t-)-tetrahydrocorysamine (65) as substrate and the Hofmann degradation method for ring opening (Scheme 16). The methine base (66) on hydroboration afforded alcohol 67, identical with a product obtained from 55 by lithium aluminium hydride reduction. 

Ene lactams can be obtained directly from quaternary phthalideisoquino-linium salts by treating them with concentrated ammonium hydroxide. In this way fumaramine (111) was synthesized from bicuculline (88) methiodide (121,124), fumaridine (113) from methiodides of both diastereomeric / - (91) and a-hydrastines (92) (5,124-126), and narceine imide (116) from narcotine (94) methiodide (122,127,128). In the case of the hydrastines (91 and 92) the Hofmann degradation of their methiodides in ammonia was not stereospecific but yielded the thermodynamically more stable Z isomer (113) (5). It seems, however, that from narcotine (94) a mixture of the Z and E forms was produced rather than a single isomer (123,127). 

Several degradation reactions were performed with ene lactams. The Hofmann degradation of fumaridine (113) methiodide led to des base 153 (131), the correct structure of which and consequently of fumaridine (113) was... 

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