Synthesis of Medium Ring Heterocycles Using an Intramolecular Heck Reaction

Room-temperature, ligand- and base-free Heck reactions of aryl diazonium salts at low palladium loading: sustainable preparation of substituted stilbene derivatives

The Pd(OAc)(2)-catalyzed Heck reaction of aryl diazonium salts with 2-arylacrylates led to cis-stilbenes with good to excellent stereoselectivity. The environmentally friendly protocol developed in this work features low palladium loading in technical-grade methanol at room temperature under base-, additive-, and ligand-free conditions. The same protocol applied to simple Heck coupling of aryl diazonium salts with methyl acrylate allows astonishingly low palladium loading, down to 0.005 mol%. The stereoselectivity experimentally observed for the synthesis of cis-stilbenes has been rationalized by DFT calculations. Moreover, the role of methanol in promoting the reaction has been clarified by a computational study.

Rapid synthesis of sulfone derivatives as potential anti-infectious agents

An original one-pot microwave reaction was developed for the synthesis of sulfone derivatives as new potent antimicrobial agents. This eco-friendly methodology conducted in 30min led to desired products with good yields. The sulfones (4a and 4b) were obtained via the reaction of 3a with the corresponding halo-derivatives in the presence of sodium hydride. All compounds were tested for their antibacterial and antifungal activities against four bacterial strains (two gram positive, and two gram negative ones) and two yeasts. The disk diffusion method has shown an interesting antibacterial activity for seven compounds (3b-g and 4b) against Staphylococcus aureus. Among these seven compounds, five derivatives (3b-e and 3g) showed activity against Candida tropicalis.

Synthesis of highly substituted dibenzo[b,f]azocines and their evaluation as protein kinase inhibitors

Synthetic routes towards highly substituted eight membered ring heterocycles fused to aryl rings such as the dibenzo[b,f]azocine system are still lacking. Herein, we present a convenient convergent synthetic route towards this heterocyclic class of compounds with possible variations at positions 4, 7, and 11. One member of a library of dibenzo[b,f]azocines with different substituents at position 11 was identified to inhibit protein kinase A activity (IC(50)=122microM) but not protein kinase C.

Solid Phase Approaches to N-Heterocycles Using a Sulfur Linker Cleaved by SmI2

A sulfur HASC (alpha-hetero-atom substituted carbonyl) linker has been utilized in solid-phase approaches to oxindoles and tetrahydroquinolones. The route to oxindoles employs the first Pummerer cyclizations on solid phase, whereas the route to tetrahydroquinolones involves a microwave-assisted Heck reaction followed by a Michael cyclization. In both cases, the linker is cleaved in a traceless fashion by electron transfer from samarium(II) iodide. The routes illustrate the compatibility of the linker system with a number of reaction types and its utility for library synthesis.

Ligand Effects in the Synthesis of N-Heterocycles by Intramolecular Heck Reactions

Chemo- and regioselectivity of intramolecular Heck reactions are dependent on the type of ligand employed. Six- to eight-membered benzolactams are produced in good yields using PPh3 as ligand. In contrast, a biaryl coupling occurred preferentially under ligandless conditions to form a dihydrophenanthridine product. Conformations of the seven- and eight-membered benzolactams in the solid state were examined by X-ray crystallography.

Solid-Phase Approach to Tetrahydroquinolones Using a Sulfur Linker Cleaved by SmI2

[reaction: see text] A sulfur alpha-heteroatom-substituted carbonyl (HASC) linker has been utilized in a solid-phase approach to tetrahydroquinolones. The route illustrates the compatibility of the linker system with palladium-catalyzed transformations and its utility for library synthesis. The linker is cleaved by electron transfer from samarium(II) iodide.

A new recyclable ditribromide reagent for efficient bromination under solvent free condition

1,2-Dipyridiniumditribromide-ethane (DPTBE) has been synthesized and explored as a new efficient brominating agent. The crystalline ditribromide reagent is stable for months and acts as a safe source of bromine requiring just 0.5 equiv for complete bromination. It has high active bromine content per molecule and shows a remarkable reactivity compared to other tribromide reagents toward various substrates by just grinding the reagent and substrates in a porcelain mortar at room temperature. No organic solvent has been used during any stage of the reaction for substrates giving product as solid. Product can easily be isolated by just washing the highly water soluble 1,2-dipyridiniumdibromide-ethane (DPDBE) from the brominated product. The spent reagent can be recovered, regenerated, and reused without any significant loss.