Thiazole decarboxylation

The nucleophUic reactivity in neutral medium has been used extensively to prepare various thioethers of thiazole (122). In acidic medium, alkylation may be performed with alcohols (123, 124). An unexpected reaction encountered was the decarboxylation of 2-mercapto-4-methyl-5-thiazolecarboxyhc acid (60) when treated with butyl alcohol under acidic conditions (Scheme 27) (123). Reaction between A-4-thiazoline-2-thione... 

Probably first obtained by Hantzsch and Arapides (105) by condensation of a,/3-dichlorether with barium thiocyanate, and identified by its pyridine-like odor, thiazole was first prepared in 1889 by G. Popp (104) with a yield of 10% by the reduction in boiling ethanol of thiazol-2-yldiazonium sulfate resulting from the diazotization of 2-aminothiazole. prepared the year before by Traumann (103). The unique cyclization reaction affording directly the thiazole molecule was described in 1914 by Gabriel and Bachstez (106). They applied the method of cyclization, developed by Gabriel (107, 108), to the diethylacetal of 2-formylamino-ethanal and obtained thiazole with a yield of 62% - Thiazole was also formed in the course of a study on the ease of decarboxylation of the three possible monocarboxylic acids derived from it (109). On the other... 

Thiazole carboxylic acid (70), R, - Rj = H, can be also obtained from decarboxylation of 2,5-thiazole dicarboxylic acids. 

The three isomers of thiazoleacetic acid can be decarboxylated, the order of facility being 2>5>4, though the relative stability depends on each particular compound and the reaction conditions (72-75). This reaction may be used to obtain certain alkylthiazoles (73). Malonic derivatives can also be decarboxylated to give aliphatic thiazole acids (49, 51)... 

Reactions. Heating an aqueous solution of malonic acid above 70°C results in its decomposition to acetic acid and carbon dioxide. Malonic acid is a useful tool for synthesizing a-unsaturated carboxyUc acids because of its abiUty to undergo decarboxylation and condensation with aldehydes or ketones at the methylene group. Cinnamic acids are formed from the reaction of malonic acid and benzaldehyde derivatives (1). If aUphatic aldehydes are used acryhc acids result (2). Similarly this facile decarboxylation combined with the condensation with an activated double bond yields a-substituted acetic acid derivatives. For example, 4-thiazohdine acetic acids (2) are readily prepared from 2,5-dihydro-l,3-thiazoles (3). A further feature of malonic acid is that it does not form an anhydride when heated with phosphorous pentoxide [1314-56-3] but rather carbon suboxide [504-64-3] [0=C=C=0], a toxic gas that reacts with water to reform malonic acid. 

Alkyl radicals produced by oxidative decarboxylation of carboxylic acids are nucleophilic and attack protonated azoles at the most electron-deficient sites. Thus imidazole and 1-alkylimidazoles are alkylated exclusively at the 2-position (80AHC(27)241). Similarly, thiazoles are attacked in acidic media by methyl and propyl radicals to give 2-substituted derivatives in moderate yields, with smaller amounts of 5-substitution. These reactions have been reviewed (74AHC(i6)123) the mechanism involves an intermediate cr-complex. 

Azoleacetic acids with a carboxymethyl group also decarboxylate readily, e.g. all three thiazole isomers, by a mechanism similar to that for the decarboxylation of /3-keto acids cf. Section 4.02.3.1.2. The mechanism has been investigated in the oxazole case, (396) (397) (398) <72JCS(P2)1077). 

Claisen ester condensation, 6, 279 Thiazolecarboxylic acid chlorides reactions, 6, 279-280 Thiazolecarboxylic acid hydrazides synthesis, 6, 280 Thiazolecarboxylic acids acidity, 6, 279 decarboxylation, 6, 279 reactions, S, 92 6, 274 Thiazole-2-carboxylic acids decarboxylation, S, 92 Thiazole-4-carboxylic acids stability, S, 92 Thiazole-5-carboxylic acids decarboxylation, S, 92 Thiazole-4,5-dicarboxylic acid, 2-amino-diethyl ester reduction, 6, 279 Thiazole-4,5-dicarboxylic acids diethyl ester saponification, 6, 279 Thiazolediones diazo coupling, 5, 59 Thiazoles, 6, 235-331 ab initio calculations, 6, 236 acidity, S, 49 acylation, 6, 256 alkylation, S, 58, 73 6, 253, 256 analytical uses, 6, 328 antifogging agents... 

The same is true of the thiazole acid 40. Although discovered as a growth factor, it is unable to sustain the growth of a thiazole-deficient mutant of E. coli in a liquid medium. It does not decarboxylate in water solution at pH 7. Phosphate 41 (Scheme 17) is also biologically inactive. In any case, if there is only one metabolic route to the thiazole of thiamine, the very structures of 39 and 40 show that they cannot both be intermediates. 

Strecker aldehyde are generated by rearrangement, decarboxylation and hydrolysis. Thus the Strecker degradation is the oxidative de-amination and de-carboxylation of an a-amino acid in the presence of a dicarbonyl compound. An aldehyde with one fewer carbon atoms than the original amino acid is produced. The other class of product is an a-aminoketone. These are important as they are intermediates in the formation of heterocyclic compounds such as pyrazines, oxazoles and thiazoles, which are important in flavours. 

The only problem for the matrix-isolation of 21 consisted in the non-availability of a reasonable diazo precursor molecule suited for this technique. But since we already had experience with the preparation of 2,3-dihydrothiazol-2-ylidene46 (see below) by photofragmentation of thiazole-2-carboxylic acid we tried the same method with imidazole-2-carboxylic acid (20). Indeed, irradiation of 20 with a wavelength of 254 nm leads to decarboxylation and the formation of a complex between carbene 21 and CO2. This is shown by the observation that the experimental IR spectrum fits only with the calculated spectrum of complex 21-CC>2 (calculated stabilization energy relative to its fragments 4.3 kcal mol-1). The type of fixation of CO2 to 21 is indicated in the formula S-21 C02. 

Thiazoles play a prominent role in nature. For example, the thiazolium ring present in vitamin Bi serves as an electron sink and its coenzyme form is important for the decarboxylation of a-keto-acids. Furthermore, thiazoles are useful building blocks in pharmaceutical agents as exemplified by 2-(4-chlorophenyl)thiazole-4-acetic acid, a synthetic anti-inflammatory agent. 

Reaction of the thia-amino acid 392 with trifluoroacetic anhydride gave the 2,2,2-trifluoro-l-[7-(trifluoromethyl)-l//-pyrrolo[l,2-c]-[l,3]thiazol-6-yl] ethanone pyrrole 395. The formation of the pyrrole can be rationalized by a sequence involving trifluoroacetylation of the enamine 392 affording dione 393 followed by loss of water and carbon dioxide to give the aromatic product 395. These decarboxylations afford fluorinated derivatives of heterocyclic skeletons known to exhibit interesting biological activity (Scheme 58) <2000T7267>. 

Assisted decarboxylation of pyruvic acid by thiamine pyrophosphate (only the thiazole portion of the coenzyme is shown)... 

Thiamine diphosphate (TPP, 3), in cooperation with enzymes, is able to activate aldehydes or ketones as hydroxyalkyl groups and then to pass them on to other molecules. This type of transfer is important in the transketo-lase reaction, for example (see p. 152). Hydroxyalkyl residues also arise in the decarboxylation of 0x0 acids. In this case, they are released as aldehydes or transferred to lipoamide residues of 2-oxoacid dehydrogenases (see p. 134). The functional component of TPP is the sulfur- and nitrogen-containing thiazole ring. 

Methylimidazo[2,l-h]thiazole-5-carboxylic acid was obtained by alkaline hydrolysis of the corresponding ethyl ester. Subsequent decarboxylation was achieved by heating with hydrochloric acid [92JCS(P1)2029]. 

The dihydrothiazol-2-ylidene (4) was generated by photolysis of matrix-isolated thiazol-2-carboxylic acid.12 Calculations suggested that the barrier to isomerization to thiazole is about 42.3 kcal mol 1 and that the carbene resembles the related imidazol-2-ylidene in structure. An ab initio study of hydroxyoxiranone predicted that the decarboxylation of the zwitterion (5) to form hydroxycarbene (6) would be favourable in vacuo but not in water.13 A theoretical study showed that dihalosulfenes (X2C=S02) are best viewed as dihalocarbenc-SO complexes with a carbon-sulfur bond order of approximately zero.14 hi a study directed at the elusive thionformic acid (7), tandem mass spectrometric methods were applied to isomeric ethyl thioformates.15 The results suggest that the radical cations generated have the carbene structure [(HS)C(OH)]+ ... 

Many desirable meat flavor volatiles are synthesized by heating water-soluble precursors such as amino acids and carbohydrates. These latter constituents interact to form intermediates which are converted to meat flavor compounds by oxidation, decarboxylation, condensation and cyclization. 0-, N-, and S-heterocyclics including furans, furanones, pyrazines, thiophenes, thiazoles, thiazolines and cyclic polysulfides contribute significantly to the overall desirable aroma impression of meat. The Maillard reaction, including formation of Strecker aldehydes, hydrogen sulfide and ammonia, is important in the mechanism of formation of these compounds. 

The relatively easy decarboxylation of many azolecarboxylic acids is a result of inductive stabilization of intermediate zwitterions of type 608 (cf. Section 3.4.1.8.1). Kinetic studies show that oxazole-2- and -5-carboxylic acids are both decarboxylated via the zwitterionic tautomers. Thiazole-2-carboxylic acids, and to a lesser extent -5-carboxylic acids, are decarboxylated readily thiazole-4-carboxylic acids are relatively stable. Isothiazole-5-carboxylic acids are decarboxylated readily, the 3-isomers less so while the 4-isomers require high temperatures. The 1,2,4-, 1,2,5-, and 1,3,4-thiadiazolecar-boxylic acids are also easily decarboxylated their stability is increased by electron-donating substituents. Most 1,2,3-triazolecarboxylic acids lose carbon dioxide when heated above their melting points. Decarboxylation of 2-hydroxytetra-zole-5-carboxylic acid requires severe conditions (HC1, reflux, 90 h) to produce 2-hydroxytetrazole (40%) <1999TL6093>. 

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