One-Pot Synthesis of 2-Acetyl-1H-pyrroles from N-Propargylic β-Enaminones via Intermediacy of 1,4-Oxazepines

[Au]-Catalyzed Cyclization of Propargyl-Tethered Ene-Amides: Substrate-Dependent Access to Tetrasubstituted Pyrroles, Aminophenols, and Dihydropyridines

[Au]-catalyzed and substrate-dependent intramolecular cyclization of sulfonyl ene-amides with a pendant propargyl group afford tetrasubstituted pyrroles, o-aminophenols, or 1,6-dihydropyridine carbaldehydes. While the pyrroles and aminophenols are formed when the propargylic alkyne is terminal, dihydropyridines are formed when internal alkyne is present. Internal alkyne substrates with 2-thienyl and 3-thienyl groups give different types of dihydropyridines. The dihydropyridines so obtained can be readily converted to nicotinaldehydes with concomitant sulfonyl migration upon heating in xylene.

Tunable vicinal, geminal diphosphorylation and C-N bond phosphorylation of enaminones toward divergent phosphorylated ketone derivatives

This paper reports the trifunctionalization reactions of tertiary enaminones in the fashion of selective gem- and vicinal diphosphorylation, leading to the tunable synthesis of α,α- and α,β-diphosphoryl ketones. In addition, the C-N bond phosphorylation with improved substrate tolerance has been achieved.

N-Propargylic β-enaminones in breast cancer cells: Cytotoxicity, apoptosis, and cell cycle analyses

Breast cancer is one of the most common cancers worldwide and the discovery of new cytotoxic agents is needed. Enaminones are regarded to be a significant structural motif that is found in a variety of pharmacologically active compounds however the number of studies investigating the anticancer activities of N-propargylic β-enaminones (NPEs) is limited. Herein we investigated the potential cytotoxic and apoptotic effects of 23 different NPEs (1-23) on human breast cancer cells. Cytotoxicity was evaluated via MTT assay. Apoptotic cell death and cell cycle distributions were investigated by flow cytometry. CM-H2DCFDA dye was used to evaluate cellular ROS levels. Expression levels of Bcl-2, Bax, p21, and Cyclin D1 were measured by quantitative real-time PCR. ADME properties were calculated using the ADMET 2.0 tool. NPEs 4, 9, 16, and 21 showed selective cytotoxic activity against breast cancer cells with SI values >2. NPEs induced apoptosis and caused significant changes in Bcl-2 and Bax mRNA levels. The cell cycle was arrested at the G0/G1 phase and levels of p21 and Cyclin D1 were upregulated in both breast cancer cells. ROS levels were significantly increased by NPEs, suggesting that the cytotoxic and apoptotic effects of NPEs were mediated by ROS. ADME analysis revealed that NPEs showed favorable distributions in both breast cancer cell lines, meaning good lipophilicity values, low unfractionated values, and high bioavailability. Therefore, these potential anticancer compounds should be further validated by in vivo studies for their appropriate function in human health with a safety profile, and a comprehensive drug interaction study should be performed.

Thiazole-5-carbaldehyde Synthesis by Cascade Annulation of Enaminones and KSCN with Dess-Martin Periodinane Reagent

The Dess-Martin periodinane (DMP) reagent-mediated reactions of tertiary enaminones with potassium thiocyanate for the synthesis of thiazole-5-carbaldehydes are developed. The product formation involves cascade hydroxyl thiocyanation of the C═C double bond, intramolecular hydroamination of the C≡N bond, and thiazole annulation by condensation on the ketone carbonyl site, representing novel reaction pathways in the reactions between enaminones and thiocyanate salt. DMP plays dual roles in mediating the free radical thiocyanation and inducing the unconventional selective thiazole-5-carbaldehyde formation by masking the in situ generated formyl group during the reaction process.

Ultrasound-Promoted Synthesis of α-Thiocyanoketones via Enaminone C═C Bond Cleavage and Tunable One-Pot Access to 4-Aryl-2-aminothiazoles

Ultrasound has been successfully employed to promote the thiocyanation of the C═C bond in enaminones for the synthesis of α-thiocyanoketones and 2-aminothiazoles. The reactions of enaminones with ammonium thiocyanate provide α-thiocyanoketones with ultrasound irradiation at room temperature. More interestingly, simply further heating the vessel after ultrasonic irradiation leads to the selective synthesis of 2-aminothiazoles with an unconventional 4-aryl substructure.

Base-Promoted Annulative Difluoromethylenation of Enaminones with BrCF2CO2Et toward 2,2-Difluorinated 2,3-Dihydrofurans

A practical method for the synthesis of 2,2-difluorinated 2,3-dihydrofurans has been established via the [4 + 1] annulation of enaminones and BrCF₂CO₂Et with Na₂CO₃ promotion. This new protocol does not employ any transition metal reagent and enables the annulative difluoromethylation by the partial cleavage of the C═C double bond. In addition, the further treatment with hydrochloric acid in one pot leads to β-keto enoic acids (4-oxo-2-butenoic acids) via a formal enaminone C-N carboxylation.

CuCl2·2H2O/TBHP mediated synthesis of β-enaminones via coupling reaction of vinyl azides with aldehydes

A facile and efficient oxidative functionalization of vinyl azides with aldehydes furnishing a diverse array of β-acylated enaminones was developed. The cross coupling was accomplished in the presence of CuCl₂·2H₂O/TBHP and produced the desired β-acylated enaminones in a (Z)-stereo-selective and atom-economic manner, which make this protocol particularly attractive. In the transformation, the new C-C and C-N bonds were formed via a one-pot strategy including the process of radical addition and recombination.

Copper-catalyzed C-H/N-H annulation of enaminones and alkynyl esters for densely substituted pyrrole synthesis

Herein, the copper-catalyzed annulation of enaminones with alkynyl esters for the facile synthesis of different pyrroles with a 2,3,4,5-tetrasubstituted structure has been developed. With Cu(OAc)₂ as the only catalyst, the tunable synthesis of 2-vinyl and 2,3-dicarboxyl-functionalized pyrroles has been achieved by using terminal and internal alkynyl esters, respectively. The synthesis of 2-vinyl pyrroles represents the first example accessing 2-vinyl substituted pyrroles via direct cascade reactions involving vinylation and pyrrole ring formation.