Inter- and Intramolecular Hetero Diels-Alder Reactions, Part XXVI. Diastereoselectivity and Kinetics of Intermolecular Hetero Diels-Alder Reactions under High Pressure. A Significant Pressure-Induced Increase in Stereoselectivity

A New Method for the Synthesis of 3-Thiocyanatopyrazolo[1,5-a]pyrimidines

In this article, we demonstrate how an original effective "metal-free" and "chromatography-free" route for the synthesis of 3-thiocyanatopyrazolo[1,5-a]pyrimidines has been developed. It is based on electrooxidative (anodic) C-H thiocyanation of 5-aminopyrazoles by thiocyanate ion leading to 4-thiocyanato-5-aminopyrazoles (stage 1, yields up to 87%) following by their chemical condensation with 1,3-dicarbonyl compounds or their derivatives (stage 2, yields up to 96%). This method is equally effective for the synthesis of 3-thiocyanatopyrazolo[1,5-a]pyrimidines, both without substituents and with various donor (acceptor) substituents in the pyrimidine ring.

Factors Controlling the Diels-Alder Reactivity of Hetero-1,3-Butadienes

We have quantum chemically explored the Diels-Alder reactivities of a systematic series of hetero-1,3-butadienes with ethylene by using density functional theory at the BP86/TZ2P level. Activation strain analyses provided physical insight into the factors controlling the relative cycloaddition reactivity of aza- and oxa-1,3-butadienes. We find that dienes with a terminal heteroatom, such as 2-propen-1-imine (NCCC) or acrolein (OCCC), are less reactive than the archetypal 1,3-butadiene (CCCC), primarily owing to weaker orbital interactions between the more electronegative heteroatoms with ethylene. Thus, the addition of a second heteroatom at the other terminal position (NCCN and OCCO) further reduces the reactivity. However, the introduction of a nitrogen atom in the backbone (CNCC) leads to enhanced reactivity, owing to less Pauli repulsion resulting from polarization of the diene HOMO in CNCC towards the nitrogen atom and away from the terminal carbon atom. The Diels-Alder reactions of ethenyl-diazene (NNCC) and 1,3-diaza-butadiene (NCNC), which contain heteroatoms at both the terminal and backbone positions, are much more reactive due to less activation strain compared to CCCC.

Recent Advances in Inverse-Electron-Demand Hetero-Diels-Alder Reactions of 1-Oxa-1,3-Butadienes

This review is an endeavor to highlight the progress in the inverse-electron-demand hetero-Diels-Alder reactions of 1-oxa-1,3-butadienes in recent years. The huge number of examples of 1-oxadienes cycloadditions found in the literature clearly demonstrates the incessant importance of this transformation in pyran ring synthesis. This type of reaction is today one of the most important methods for the synthesis of dihydropyrans which are the key building blocks in structuring of carbohydrate and other natural products. Two different modes, inter- and intramolecular, of inverse-electron-demand hetero-Diels-Alder reactions of 1-oxadienes are discussed. The domino Knoevenagel hetero-Diels-Alder reactions are also described. In recent years the use of chiral Lewis acids, chiral organocatalysts, new optically active heterodienes or dienophiles have provided enormous progress in asymmetric synthesis. Solvent-free and aqueous hetero-Diels-Alder reactions of 1-oxabutadienes were also investigated. The reactivity of reactants, selectivity of cycloadditions, and chemical stability in aqueous solutions and under physiological conditions were taken into account to show the potential application of the described reactions in bioorthogonal chemistry. New bioorthogonal ligation by click inverse-electron-demand hetero-Diels-Alder cycloaddition of in situ-generated 1-oxa-1,3-butadienes and vinyl ethers was developed. It seems that some of the hetero-Diels-Alder reactions described in this review can be applied in bioorthogonal chemistry because they are selective, non-toxic, and can function in biological conditions taking into account pH, an aqueous environment, and temperature.

Synthesis of 3,4-dihydro-2H-pyrans by hetero-Diels–Alder reactions of functionalized α,β-unsaturated carbonyl compounds with N-vinyl-2-oxazolidinone

Cycloadditions of 3-aryl-2-benzoyl-2-propenenitriles and 3-phenylsulfonyl-3-buten-2-one to N-vinyl-2-oxazolidinone proceed regio- and diastereoselectively yielding cis and trans diastereoisomers of 4-aryl-3,4-dihydro-2-(2-oxo-3-oxazolidinyl)-2H-pyrans in 37-65% yield. Cycloadducts cis- were the major products. Reaction of 5-arylidene-1,3-dimethylbarbituric acids with dienophile afforded mixtures of 2H-pyrano[2,3-d]pyrimidine-2,4(3H)-diones trans and products resulted from an elimination of 2-oxazolidinone, in 50-52% yield. To confirm the experimental results, semiempirical AM1 and PM3 calculations of frontier orbital energies have been performed.