Iron-Catalyzed Cyclization of Nitrones with Geminal-Substituted Vinyl Acetates: A Direct [4 + 2] Assembly Strategy Leading to 2,4-Disubstituted Quinolines

Selective O-Acylation of Enol Silyl Ethers with Acyl Fluorides Catalyzed by Fluoride Ions Derived from Potassium Fluoride and 18-Crown-6

The fluoride ion-catalyzed selective O-acylation of enol silyl ethers with acyl fluorides using KF and 18-Crown-6 is described herein. This catalytic system facilitated the practical and facile reaction of a variety of enol silyl ethers derived from aromatic/aliphatic ketones and aldehydes with acyl fluorides to afford useful and valuable enol esters.

One-Pot Synthesis of Benzo[c]phenanthridine Alkaloids from 7-Azabenzonorbornadienes and Aryl Nitrones

An efficient synthesis of benzo[c]phenanthridine alkaloids via a synergistic combination of C-C bond formation and a cycloaromatization reaction is described. Aryl nitrones react with 7-azabenzonorbornadienes in the presence of a Rh(III) catalyst, providing pharmaceutically useful benzo[c]phenanthridine derivatives in good to moderate yields. Using this methodology, highly useful alkaloids such as norfagaronine, norchelerythrine, decarine, norsanguinarine, and nornitidine were prepared in a single step.

Rh(III)-Catalyzed Spiroannulation Reaction of N-Aryl Nitrones with 2-Diazo-1,3-indandiones: Synthesis of Spirocyclic Indole-N-oxides and Their 1,3-Dipolar Cycloaddition with Maleimides

An efficient strategy for the preparation of spirocyclic indole-N-oxide compounds through a Rh(III)-catalyzed [4 + 1] spiroannulation reaction of N-aryl nitrones with 2-diazo-1,3-indandiones as C1 synthons under extremely mild conditions is presented. From this reaction, 40 spirocyclic indole-N-oxides were easily obtained in up to 98% yield. In addition, the title compounds could be successfully used for the construction of structurally intriguing maleimide-containing fused polycyclic scaffolds via a diastereoselective 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition reaction with maleimides.

Three-Component Synthesis of 2-Substituted Quinolines and Benzo[f]quinolines Using Tertiary Amines as the Vinyl Source

A metal-free method for the construction of 2-substituted quinolines and benzo[f]quinolines from aromatic amines, aldehydes, and tertiary amines has been demonstrated. Cheap and readily available tertiary amines acted as the vinyl source. A new pyridine ring was selectively formed via [4 + 2] condensation that was promoted by ammonium salt under neutral conditions and an oxygen atmosphere. This strategy provided a new route for the preparation of various quinoline derivatives with different substituents at the pyridine ring, which provides the possibility of further modification.

Traceless Directing Groups in Sustainable Metal-Catalyzed C–H Activation

Sustainable transformations towards the production of valuable chemicals constantly attract interest, both in terms of academic and applied research. C–H activation has long been scrutinized in this regard, given that it offers a straightforward pathway to prepare compounds of great significance. In this context, directing groups (DG) have paved the way for chemical transformations that had not been achievable using traditional reactions. Few steps, high yields, selectivity and activation of inert substrates are some of the invaluable assets of directed catalysis. Additionally, the employment of traceless directing groups (TDG) greatly improves and simplifies this strategy, enabling the realization of multi-step reactions in one-pot, cascade procedures. Cheap, abundant, readily available transition metal salts and complexes can catalyze a plethora of reactions employing TDGs, usually under low catalyst loadings—rarely under stoichiometric amounts, leading in greater atom economy and milder conditions with increased yields and step-economy. This review article summarizes all the work done on TDG-assisted catalysis with manganese, iron, cobalt, nickel, or copper catalysts, and discusses the structure-activity relationships observed, by presenting the catalytic pathways and range of transformations reported thus far.

Lewis acid catalyzed reactivity switch: pseudo three-component annulation of nitrosoarenes and (epoxy)styrenes

A Lewis acid catalyzed annulation reaction via arene functionalization of nitrosoarenes and C-C cleavage of (epoxy)styrene to provide arylquinolines is reported. The Lewis acid catalyst altered the annulation pattern providing arylquinolines instead of oxazolidines. The reaction with styrene resulted in a mixture of 2,4-diarylquinoline and 4-arylquinoline, while only 3-arylquinoline was formed from the reaction of epoxystyrene.

Recent synthetic efforts in the preparation of 2-(3,4)-alkenyl (aryl) quinoline molecules towards anti-kinetoplastid agents

Leishmaniasis, Chagas disease and African sleeping sickness have been considered some of the most important tropical protozoan afflictions. As the number of drugs currently available to treat these human illnesses is severely limited and the majority has poor safety profiles and complicated administration schedules, actually there is an urgent need to develop new effective, safe and cost-effective drugs. Because quinoline alkaloids with antiprotozoal activity (quinine, chimanine, cryptolepine or huperzine groups) were historically and are still essential models for drug research to combat these parasitic infections, synthetic or semi-synthetic quinoline-based molecules are important for anti-kinetoplastid drug design approaches and synthetic methods of their preparation become a key task that is the central subject of this review. Its goal is to highlight the advances in the conventional and current syntheses of new 2-(3,4)-alkenyl (aryl) quinoline derivatives, which kill the most important kinetoplastid protozoa, - Leishmania and Trypanosoma and could be useful models for antileishmanial and antitrypanosomal research. An attempt has been made to present and discuss the more recent contributions in this field over the period 2015-2019, paying special attention to molecular design, synthetic efforts to new green reaction conditions for classical methods such as Skraup synthesis, Friedländer synthesis, Conrad-Limpach, Doebner-Miller, as well as contemporary methods like Gould-Jacobs, Meth-Cohn and Povarov reactions. This review includes brief general information on these neglected tropical diseases, their current chemotherapies, and primary natural models (quinoline alkaloids), suitable for development of anti-kinetoplastid quinoline-based agents. The main part of the review comprises critical discussion on the synthesis and chemistry of new quinolines diversely substituted by alkyl (alkenyl, aryl) fragments on the pyridine part of the quinoline skeleton, which could be considered interesting analogues of chimanine alkaloids. The methods described in this review were developed with the aim of overcoming the drawbacks of the traditional protocols using revolutionary precursors and strategies.

N-Heterocyclic carbene copper catalyzed quinoline synthesis from 2-aminobenzyl alcohols and ketones using DMSO as an oxidant at room temperature

A facile and practical process for the synthesis of quinolines through an N-heterocyclic carbene copper catalyzed indirect Friedländer reaction from 2-aminobenzyl alcohol and aryl ketones using DMSO as an oxidant at room temperature is reported. A series of quinolines were synthesized in acceptable yields.

A facile and practical process for the synthesis of quinolines through an N-heterocyclic carbene copper catalyzed indirect Friedländer reaction from 2-aminobenzyl alcohol and aryl ketones using DMSO as an oxidant at room temperature is reported.

Ring-opening and cyclization of aziridines with aryl azides: metal-free synthesis of 6-(triflyloxy)quinolines

A metal-free synthesis of 6-(triflyloxy)quinolines has been developed via the ring-opening and cyclization of 2-aryl-1-tosylaziridines with 2-azidobenzaldehydes in the presence of TfOH.

Synthesis of 3-acylquinolines through Cu-catalyzed double C(sp3)–H bond functionalization of saturated ketones

A novel synthesis of 3-acylquinolines through Cu-catalyzed one-pot reactions of 2-aminoaryl aldehydes/ketones with inactivated ketones featured with double C(sp³)–H bond functionalization is presented.

Silver-catalyzed cyclization of nitrones with 2-azetine: a radical approach to 2,3-disubstituted quinolines

A silver-catalyzed intermolecular cyclization of nitrones with 2-azetine has been developed for the synthesis of 2,3-disubstituted quinolines under mild conditions.

Palladium-catalyzed synthesis of quinolines from allyl alcohols and anilines

A process for quinoline synthesis through palladium-catalyzed oxidative cyclization of aryl allyl alcohols and anilines is described.

Carbon annulation of ortho-vinylanilines with dimethyl sulfoxide to access 4-aryl quinolines

A palladium-catalyzed annulation of ortho-vinylanilines with dimethyl sulfoxide was developed to access 4-aryl quinolines in moderate to good yields.