Unsaturated -oxazolones

The 4-unsaturated-5-oxazolones provide convenient starting materials for the synthesis of other nitrogen-containing heterocyclic systems. The preparation of tetrazoles and isoquinolines is discussed in Sections II,B, 1 and II,B,2,b. 

The isolation of several pairs of geometric isomers of 4-unsaturated-5-oxazolones has been described. Generally, only one isomer is obtained when an aldehyde reacts with hippuric acid in the presence of acetic anhydride. Occasionally, mixtures have been separated in base-catalyzed reactions. In acetic anhydride-sulfuric acid or in 100% sulfuric acid, a mixture is obtained, and it has been suggested that sulfuric acid inhibits mutarotation of the intermediate addition product 53, which is a mixture of diastereomers (see, e.g., compound... 

One strategy to prepare saturated 5(4//)-oxazolones from unsaturated oxazo-lones takes advantage of the reactivity of the exocyclic double bond. In this context, numerous reactions have been explored including reductions, Michael reactions, cycloaddition reactions, and many others. These reactions will be discussed in the context of the reactivity of the exocyclic double bond of the unsaturated oxazolones and will be described in Section 7.4.3. 

Unsaturated 5(477)-oxazolones have been well known for many years and new examples are constantly described every year in specialized organic journals. In general, a wide variety of substituted unsaturated oxazolones have been prepared and many applications have been described for these compounds (Fig. 7.40). 

The first procedure to prepare unsaturated 5(4//)-oxazolones was the Erlenmeyer synthesis" " that was described more than one hundred years ago and is still used extensively with some variations in the experimental conditions. In general, the reaction employs an acylamino acid, for example, A-acetyl- or A-benzoylglycine are the most common, and a carbonyl compound, usually an aldehyde, in the presence of a cyclodehydrating agent such as acetic anhydride (Scheme 7.114). Hundreds of unsaturated oxazolones 363 have been obtained via this procedure and these compounds are valuable intermediates for the synthesis of many interesting organic compounds. 

There are cases in which appropriate modification of one unsaturated oxazolone yields a new unsaturated oxazolone analogue. Most of the examples described in the literature involve modification of the substituent on the exocyclic double bond. For example, a series of 4-[2-hydroxy-3-(aminomethyl)benzylidene]-5(4//)-oxazo-lones 382 that were evaluated for bactericidal and fungicidal activities were obtained from Mannich reaction of 4-(2-hydroxybenzylidene)-5(4//)-oxazolones 381 (Scheme 7.123). ... 

Ethoxymethylene)-2-phenyl-5(47/)-oxazolone 404, readily available from hippuric acid and triethyl orthoformate, has also been used as a starting material for other unsaturated oxazolones via addition-elimination reactions. Nitrogen nucleophiles are most commonly used and amines give rise to 4-(aminomethyl-ene)-2-phenyl-5(4//)-oxazolones 405 (Scheme 7.130 Table 7.37, Fig. 7.48) which, in many cases have been evaluated as antihypertensives. 

Heterocyclic amines also react as nucleophiles and, in this context, indole reacts with 404 to yield the unsaturated oxazolone 406, an intermediate in the synthesis of tryptophan (Scheme 7.13It is noteworthy that 406 is the product of carbon-carbon bond formation. Imidazole also reacts with 404 but in this case the product is 396, identical with that obtained from the 4-(chloromethylene) derivative 395. ... 

Ammomethylene)-5(4/i/)-oxazolones 412 have also been used as starting materials to prepare unsaturated oxazolones. Alkylation of the exocyclic nitrogen gives 4-(A,A-disubstituted-l-aminoalkylidene)-5(4/f)-oxazolones 413 that are intermediates for peptides, pharmaceuticals and pesticides (Scheme 7.133). Heterocyclic rings such benzimidazole or benzotriazole have been prepared as well (Scheme 7.134). ... 

Bromo-1 -(dimethylaminoethylidene)] -2-phenyl-5(47/)-oxazolone 426, obtained by bromination of 424, reacts with A, Al-dimethyl-Al -heteroarylformamidines to afford the interesting heterocyclic unsaturated oxazolones 428 (Scheme 7.140). ... 

One of the fundamental cleavage reactions of the heterocyclic ring in unsaturated oxazolones is the conversion to acids or esters. This process leads to dehydroamino acid derivatives from which a wide variety of amino acids are prepared by hydrogenation. The side chain of the final amino acid is determined by the aldehyde used to prepare the unsaturated oxazolone. For example, benzalde-hyde and an A -acylglycine afford 2-acylaminocinnamic acids 434 after hydrolysis of the oxazolone 433. In turn, 434 are excellent precursors to phenylalanine. 

Other alcohols ring-open unsaturated oxazolones including glycerol that was used to prepare monoglycerides of acylamino acids.In addition, alcoholysis with 3,4,4-trifluorobut-3-enol leads to amino acid fluorobutenyl esters that are used as pesticides.Finally, (dimethylamino)ethanol and other amino alcohols have also been used to obtain the corresponding aminoalkyl esters. 

The hydrolysis and alcoholysis reactions have been extended to the heterocyclic series. A systematic study has been published of the hydrolysis of unsaturated oxazolones derived from a selection of heterocyclic aldehydes. A detailed study of the synthesis and stereospecific hydrolysis and methanolysis of the (Z) and ( ) isomers of 2-methyl (or phenyl)-4-(thienylmethylene)-5(4F/)-oxazo-lones 435 and 437 has also been described (Scheme 7.144). The synthesis of 2-acylamino-3-(indol-3-yl or carbazol-3-yl)acryhc acid derivatives as potential antifertility agents via oxazolone hydrolysis has also been published. ... 

More drastic hydrolysis conditions of unsaturated oxazolones 448 leads to further hydrolysis of the intermediate 2-acylamino-2-alkenoic acid 449 and produces the corresponding a-keto acids 450. For example, phenylpyruvic acid " and other aryl(heteroaryl)pyruvic acids of biological interest have been obtained in this manner (Scheme 7.148). 

Hydrogenation of the double bond in dehydroamino acids prepared from unsaturated 5(4H)-oxazolones derived from unsymmetrical ketones gives rise to two stereogenic centers. As a consequence, four stereoisomers are possible. If the hydrogenation of each geometric isomer is performed separately, then the erythro and threo pair of enantiomers can be obtained independently. In this respect, the unsaturated oxazolones from 2-butanone have been prepared as a Z/E) mixture. The mixture was separated and each stereoisomer was independently converted to the erythro and threo pairs of enantiomers. ... 

Depending on the reaction conditions used for hydrolysis, either 3-benzoyl-amino-5-methylpyran-2-one 489 or 3-methylpyrrole 492 have been obtained from the 3-ethoxy-2-methylpropanal derived unsaturated oxazolone 487 (Scheme 7.156). ... 

There are a number of comprehensive studies reported of the reactions of a particular unsaturated oxazolone with nitrogen nucleophiles. On the other hand, unsaturated 5(4/f)-oxazolones react with a variety of amines to yield acylamino amides with interesting agrochemical properties. ... 

The mechanism of the aminolysis and the electronic effects of substituents at C-2 or C-4 on the kinetics of amide bond formation have been studied. In some cases, ring opening with amines occurs with partial isomerization of the exocyclic double bond. However, with more hindered compounds, such as unsaturated oxazolones derived from ketones, ring opening is stereospecific.Ring opening using diamines has also been described. Selected examples of dehydroamino acid amides prepared by aminolysis of unsaturated 5(4//)-oxazolones are shown in Table 7.40 (Fig. 7.51). 

The direct condensation of unsaturated oxazolones with tryptamine in hydrochloric acid is an important and interesting case that deserves special attention. The reaction occurs via in situ hydrolysis of the oxazolone to a keto acid followed by a Pictet-Spengler-like reaction with tryptamine. This protocol affords a tetrahydro-p-carboline wherein the oxazolone is the synthetic equivalent of an arylacetalde-hyde. The reaction has been extended to substituted tryptamines 500 thus, allowing access to 1,3,4-trisubstituted tetrahydro-p-carbolines 501 as shown in Scheme 7.159. Some of these compounds have shown promising central nervous system activity. 

Therefore, suitable unsaturated oxazolones can be used as intermediates to prepare dehydropeptides wherein the synthetic strategy used will depend on the position of the double bond in the final compound. If the double bond is located in the N-terminal amino acid, ring opening of the oxazolone 516 with the appropriate amino acid or peptide generates the desired dehydropeptide 517 directly. 

Reaction of unsaturated 5(4//)-oxazolones with bis(nucleophiles) opens the way for the preparation of diverse heterocyclic compounds depending on the nucleophilic atoms of the reagent. First, if we consider nitrogen-containing bis(nucleo-philes), the reaction of anthranilic acid with unsaturated oxazolones 550 gives rise to substituted 3,l-benzoxazin-4-ones 551 (Scheme 7.174). " °... 

Urea, thiourea, and 5-alkylisothiouronium halides have also been used as bis(nucleophiles) in reactions with unsaturated oxazolones. Reaction with urea and thiourea leads to the corresponding imidazolones. The use of... 

Classical ring-opening reactions of unsaturated oxazolones are the most well studied reactions and generate a wide variety of interesting products. However, reactions of the exocyclic double bond have also been investigated and open the way to a tremendous variety of new possibilities. 

It is well known that hydrogenation of dehydroamino acid derivatives derived from ring opening of unsaturated 5(4H)-oxazolones affords new racemic amino acids and, in some cases, enantiomerically pure compounds. On the other hand, a number of attempts have been made to hydrogenate the double bond of the unsaturated oxazolone itself. For example, 4-benzyl-2-methyl-5(4//)-oxazolone was prepared from 4-benzylidene-2-methyl-5(4H)-oxazolone using Raney Ni as a catalyst. This process is reported to be a general procedure to prepare saturated oxazolones directly (Scheme 7.194). 

Catalytic hydrogenation of the exocychc double bond of several oxazolones 611, in the presence of acetic acid, gives a-acylamino alcohols 613 via the saturated derivatives 612 (Scheme 7.196). Selected examples of amino acid derivatives and amino alcohols available from reduction of unsaturated oxazolones are shown in Table 7.45 (Fig. 7.56). 

Some examples of the Michael reaction on the exocyclic double bond of an unsaturated oxazolone have been discussed in previous sections. The synthesis of unsaturated 5(4//)-oxazolones from unsaturated 5(4/l/)-oxazolones via an addition-elimination sequence and the sequential reaction of unsaturated 5(4/i/)-oxazolones with a l,3-bis(nucleophile) have already been considered. This section will review Michael additions exclusively and, in this respect, a wide array of nucleophiles has been studied. 

Although it is well known that sulfur nucleophiles are excellent candidates for Michael reactions, they have scarcely been examined with unsaturated oxazolones. Nevertheless, 4-methyltoluene-a-thiol reacts with 4-benzylidene-2-methyl-5 (4//)-oxazolone 614 to give 615 as a mixture of erythro and threo isomers (Scheme 7.197). ° ... 

Organophosphorous compounds have also been used as nucleophiles with unsaturated oxazolones. Initially, Michael reaction of a trialkyl- or dialkylphosphite gives 617 or 619 that undergo subsequent ring opening to yield a 2-acylamino-3-phosphonyl-618 or 2-acylammo-3-phosphinyl-620 derivative of the corresponding carboxylic acid, respectively (Scheme 7.198). ° ... 

Previously, Friedel-Crafts alkylation of unsaturated oxazolones with xylenes leading to the ring-opened products was described in Section 7.4.2.7. In contrast,... 

Sulfur ylides are among the most interesting carbon nucleophiles and their synthetic importance has been recently reviewed.One especially interesting use of these ylides is their application to the synthesis of cyclopropane derivatives using unsaturated oxazolones. For example, stabilized sulfur yhdes react with unsaturated oxazolones 629 via a Michael reaction to give oxazolone spirocyclopropanes 630 as shown in Scheme 7.202 and Table 7.46 (Fig. 7.57), whereas the less stabilized sulfur ylides give ring-opened products 631 as the major compounds (Scheme 7.202). ... 

Since (Z)- and ( )-stereoisomers of unsaturated oxazolones can be obtained using appropriate isomerization procedures, cis and trans isomers of cyclopropane derivatives can be obtained in a stereoselective manner, although special care must be taken with experimental conditions to obtain the best stereoselectivity. Both racemic cis- and fraui-l-amino-2-phenylcyclopropanecarboxylic acid 641 and 644 have been obtained from the corresponding (Z)- or ( )-4-benzylidene-2-phenyl-5(4//)-oxazolone 621 and 642 using diazomethane. Care was taken to affect the... 

Photoreactivities of some (Z)-unsaturated oxazolones 765 have been studied. The authors found that irradiation of 765 with a 450-W medium pressure mercury... 

Finally, X-ray analyses of several unsaturated oxazolones have been reported. In some cases an X-ray study has been used to determine the stereochemistry of the double bond, as for ( )-4-(but-2-en-l-ylidene)-2-phenyl-5(4//)-oxazolone, ° (Z)-4-(l-ethoxyethylidene)-2-phenyl-5(4//)-oxazolone, (Z)-(N-acetyl-4-[(2-phen-... 

On the other hand, as synthetic equivalents of amino acids, unsaturated oxazolones are and will continue to be very important intermediates for the synthesis of new non-proteinogenic a-amino acids, particularly for the asymmetric synthesis of these compounds using diastereo- or enantioselective methodologies. In addition, the exocyclic double bond will continue as an important focus to build new constrained amino acids for the design of peptides with improved properties. 

The chiral adduct 753, obtained from the unsaturated oxazolone 632 derived from (R)-glyceraldehyde and Danishefsky s diene, has been conveniently elaborated to the valuable azabicyclic intermediate 844 used for the synthesis of... 

X-ray analysis of two new unsaturated oxazolones 4-(ferrocenylmethylene)-2-phenyl-5(4//)-oxazolone ° and 2-phenyl-4-(4-toluidinomethylene)-5(4//)-oxazo-lone have recently been reported. 

Bunuel, E. Gil, A. M. Diaz-de-Villegas, M. D. Cativiela, C. Synthesis of constrained prolines by Diels—Alder reaction using a chiral unsaturated oxazolone derived from (R)-glyceralde-hyde as starting material. Tetrahedron 2001,... 

The azlactones of a-benzoylaminocinnamic acids have traditionally been prepared by the action of hippuric acid (1, Ri = Ph) and acetic anhydride upon aromatic aldehydes, usually in the presence of sodium acetate. The formation of the oxazolone (2) in Erlenmeyer-Plochl synthesis is supported by good evidence. The method is a way to important intermediate products used in the synthesis of a-amino acids, peptides and related compounds. The aldol condensation reaction of azlactones (2) with carbonyl compounds is often followed by hydrolysis to provide unsaturated a-acylamino acid (4). Reduction yields the corresponding amino acid (6), while drastic hydrolysis gives the a-0X0 acid (5). ... 

Several improved methods for the preparation of known unsaturated azlactones as well as some interesting new compounds of this type have been reported. Crawford and Little observed that the direct use of 2-phenyl-5-oxazolone (1) in the Erlenmeyer reaction gave much improved yields (35-74%) of unsaturated azlactones with aliphatic aldehydes and with ketones such as acetone and cyclohexanone [Eq, (1)], The usual procedure of mixing a carbonyl compound, hippuric acid, acetic anhydride, and sodium (or lead) acetate affords poor yields in the aliphatic series. 

A new synthesis of unsaturated azlactones, which is especially useful in cases where the aldehyde is not readily available, has been developed. The reaction involves the nucleophilic displacement of chlorine in 4-chloromethylene-2-phenyl-5(4Z )-oxazolone (6) by a... 

In contrast to the saturated azlactones, the Friedel-Crafts reaction of 2-substituted-4-arylidene-5-oxazolones is quite complex and may follow several different courses, often concurrently, depending on both reaction conditions and structural variations in the arylidene ring. This behavior is readily interpreted in terms of the a,)S-unsaturated carbonyl moiety and the cross-conjugated system containing nitrogen, both of which provide potential reaction sites in addition to the lactone carbonyl group. The reaction has been investigated " ... 

The behavior of unsaturated azlactones with organometallic reagents has been studied in detail. Arylmagnesium halides and phenyllithium attack 4-arylidene-5-oxazolones at the carbonyl carbon to give ring-opened amido tertiary alcohols (26) and oxazolines (27) (by ring closure), usually as mixtures [Eq. (17)]. The nature of the... 

---