Oxazoline N-oxide mediated [2 + 3] cycloadditions. Application to a formal synthesis of (+)-carpetimycin A

PtII-Mediated 1,3-Dipolar Cycloaddition of Oxazoline N-Oxides to Nitriles as a Key Step to Dihydrooxazolo-1,2,4-oxadiazoles

A novel type of heterocycle, viz., 2,3a-disubstituted 5,6-dihydro-3aH-[1,3]oxazolo[3,2-b][1,2,4]oxadiazoles, was generated by an intermolecular PtII-mediated 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition (1,3-DCA) between the oxazoline N-oxide C(Me)2CH2OC(R)=N+(O-) (R = Me, Et) and coordinated nitriles in the complexes trans/cis-[PtCl2(R'CN)2] [R' = Me, Et, CH2Ph, Ph, N(C5H10)]. The reaction is unknown for free RCN and oxazoline N-oxides, but under PtII-mediated conditions, it proceeds smoothly (CH2Cl2, 20-25 degrees C, 18-20 h) and gives pure complexes [PtCl2{N=C(R')ONC(R)OCH2CMe2}2] [R/R' = Me/Me, 1; Me/Et, 2; Me/CH2Ph, 3; Me/Ph, 4; Me/N(C5H10), 5; Et/Me, 6; Et/Et, 7; Et/CH2Ph, 8; Et/Ph, 9; Et/N(C5H10), 10] in 42-84% yields after column chromatography. Compounds 1-10 were characterized by elemental analyses (C, H, N), FAB+-MS, IR, and 1H and 13C{1H} NMR spectroscopies, and X-ray diffraction (for 1, 2, 5, and 9). With the exception of benzonitrile complexes, 1,3-DCA of oxazoline N-oxides to the PtII-ligated nitriles occurred diastereoselectively and afforded mixtures of enantiomers. Depending on the substituents on nitriles, asymmetric atoms in both of the formed heterocyclic ligands have the same (SS/RR) or different (SR/RS) configurations. The heterocyclic ligands were liberated from 1-4 and 6-9 by treatment with excess ethane-1,2-diamine (en) in CH2Cl2 for 1 day at 20-25 degrees C (for R' = Me, Et, CH2Ph) and at 50 degrees C (for R' = Ph) to achieve the free organic species and the well-known [Pt(en)2](Cl)2; the products were separated, and 2,3a-disubstituted 5,6-dihydro-3aH-[1,3]oxazolo[3,2-b][1,2,4]oxadiazoles (11-18) were characterized by ESI+-MS and 1H and 13C{1H} NMR spectroscopies.

A Stereoselective Entry into Functionalized 1,2-Diamines by Zinc-Mediated Homologation of α-Aminoacids

A general, stereoselective synthesis of 4,5-disubstituted imidazolidines-2-ones from alpha-aminoacids has been developed: the key steps are a Blaise reaction of bromoacetate on alpha-aminonitriles and further reduction. Although reduction with sodium cyanoborohydride afforded a mixture of cis and trans isomers 6a-e with moderate to good stereoselectivity, reduction with sodium in liquid ammonia gave the trans isomers 8a-e with complete stereoselectivity. Acidic hydrolysis of the urea gave 4-amino-pyrrolidinones, which can be precursors to beta,gamma-diaminoacids or 3-aminopyrrolidines.

A Versatile Synthesis of Fluorinated Uracils in Solution and on Solid-Phase

[reaction: see text] An efficient and convenient two-step synthesis of new fluorinated uracils is described. The first step involves the condensation of an ester enolate with a fluorinated nitrile to furnish fluorinated beta-enamino esters. In turn, these compounds react with organic isocyanates or isothiocyanates to give C-6 fluorinated uracils or thiouracils, respectively, in excellent yields. This synthesis has been successfully adapted to solid-phase conditions with high diversity, thereby facilitating the creation of small (thio)uracil libraries.