Construction of trinuclear N-fused hybrid scaffolds by coupling and cyclization of 2-bromoaryl- and 2-bromovinylimidazoles with ureas under recyclable Cu/C–Al2O3 catalysis

Recyclable Magnetic Cu-MOF-74-Catalyzed C(sp2)-N Coupling and Cyclization under Microwave Irradiation: Synthesis of Imidazo[1,2-c]quinazolines and Their Analogues

Magnetic Cu-MOF-74 (Fe₃O₄@SiO₂@Cu-MOF-74) was synthesized for the first time by grafting MOF-74 (copper as the metal center) on the surface of core-shell magnetic carboxyl-functionalized silica gel (Fe₃O₄@SiO₂-COOH), which was prepared by coating core Fe₃O₄ nanoparticles with hydrolyzed 2-(3-(triethoxysilyl)propyl)succinic anhydride and tetraethyl orthosilicate. The structure of Fe₃O₄@SiO₂@Cu-MOF-74 nanoparticles was characterized by Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS), and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The prepared Fe₃O₄@SiO₂@Cu-MOF-74 nanoparticles could be applied as a recyclable catalyst to the synthesis of N-fused hybrid scaffolds. 2-(2-Bromoaryl)imidazoles and 2-(2-bromovinyl)imidazoles were coupled and cyclized with cyanamide in DMF in the presence of a catalytic amount of Fe₃O₄@SiO₂@Cu-MOF-74 along with a base to give imidazo[1,2-c]quinazolines and imidazo[1,2-c]pyrimidines, respectively, in good yields. The Fe₃O₄@SiO₂@Cu-MOF-74 catalyst could be easily recovered by a super magnetic bar and recycled more than four times while almost maintaining catalytic activity.

Synthesis of Imidazo[1,2-f]phenanthridines by Recyclable Magnetic MOF-Catalyzed Coupling and Cyclization of 2-(2-Bromoaryl)imidazoles with Cyclohexane-1,3-diones Followed by Aromatization

2-(2-Bromoaryl)imidazoles react with cyclohexane-1,3-diones in the presence of a catalytic amount of recyclable Fe₃O₄@SiO₂@MOF-199 and a base to give the corresponding C-C coupled and cyclized products 6,7-dihydroimidazo[1,2-f]phenanthridin-8(5H)-ones in high yields. The magnetic MOF catalyst could be easily recovered and reused four times without any significant loss of catalytic activity. The coupled and cyclized scaffolds were aromatized to imidazo[1,2-f]phenanthridines in high yields by a one-pot sequential procedure including reduction, dehydration, and oxidation. The present protocol could be applied to the synthesis of Zephycandidine A, which is known to exhibit anti-tumor activity.