Theoretical Mechanistic Study of Novel Ni(0)-Catalyzed [6 – 2 + 2] Cycloaddition Reactions of Isatoic Anhydrides with Alkynes: Origin of Facile Decarboxylation

15.4.5 Quinolinones and Related Systems (Update 2022)

Quinolinones, of which the quinolin-4(1H)-one ring system can be highlighted, represent an exciting class of nitrogen heterocycles. The quinolinone motif can be found in many natural compounds and approved drugs for several diseases. This chapter is a comprehensive survey of the methods for the synthesis of quinolin-2(1H)-ones, quinolin-4(1H)-ones, and their thio- and amino derivatives, and is an update to the previous Science of Synthesis chapter (Section 15.4), covering the period between 2003 and 2020.

Short-chain aurachin D derivatives are selective inhibitors of E. coli cytochrome bd-I and bd-II oxidases

Cytochrome bd-type oxidases play a crucial role for survival of pathogenic bacteria during infection and proliferation. This role and the fact that there are no homologues in the mitochondrial respiratory chain qualify cytochrome bd as a potential antimicrobial target. However, few bd oxidase selective inhibitors have been described so far. In this report, inhibitory effects of Aurachin C (AurC-type) and new Aurachin D (AurD-type) derivatives on oxygen reductase activity of isolated terminal bd-I, bd-II and bo₃ oxidases from Escherichia coli were potentiometrically measured using a Clark-type electrode. We synthesized long- (C10, decyl or longer) and short-chain (C4, butyl to C8, octyl) AurD-type compounds and tested this set of molecules towards their selectivity and potency. We confirmed strong inhibition of all three terminal oxidases for AurC-type compounds, whereas the 4(1H)-quinolone scaffold of AurD-type compounds mainly inhibits bd-type oxidases. We assessed a direct effect of chain length on inhibition activity with highest potency and selectivity observed for heptyl AurD-type derivatives. While Aurachin C and Aurachin D are widely considered as selective inhibitors for terminal oxidases, their structure–activity relationship is incompletely understood. This work fills this gap and illustrates how structural differences of Aurachin derivatives determine inhibitory potency and selectivity for bd-type oxidases of E. coli.

Rhodium-catalyzed decarbonylative cycloadditions of 1H-indene-1,2,3-triones and alkynes via direct C–C bond activation: divergent synthesis of indenones and quinones

A one-step preparation method for indenone and quinone derivatives via rhodium-mediated [5 + 2 − 2] and [5 + 2 − 1] decarbonylative cycloadditions of 1H-indene-1,2,3-triones and alkynes has been achieved.

Nickel-Catalyzed Reactions Directed toward the Formation of Heterocycles

Heterocycles have garnered significant attention because they are important functional building blocks in various useful molecules, such as pharmaceuticals, agricultural chemicals, pesticides, and materials. Several studies have been conducted regarding the preparation of heterocyclic skeletons with an emphasis on selectivity and efficiency. Three strategies are typically employed to construct cyclic molecules, namely, cyclization, cycloaddition, and ring-size alterations. Although each method has certain advantages, cycloaddition may be superior from the viewpoint of divergence. Specifically, cycloadditions enable the construction of rings from several pieces. However, the construction of heterocycles via cycloadditions is more challenging than the construction of carbocycles. For heterocycle construction, simple pericyclic reactions rarely work smoothly because of the large HOMO-LUMO gap unless well-designed combinations, such as electron-rich dienes and aldehydes, are utilized. Thus, a different approach should be employed to prepare heterocycles via cycloadditions. To this end, the use of metallacycles containing heteroatoms is expected to serve as a promising solution. In this study, we focused on the preparation of heteroatom-containing nickelacycles. Because nickel possesses a relatively high redox potential and an affinity for heteroatoms, several methods were developed to synthesize heteronickelacycles from various starting materials. The prepared nickelacycles were demonstrated to be reasonable intermediates in cycloaddition reactions, which were used to prepare various heterocycles. In this Account, we introduce the following four methods to prepare heterocycles via heteronickelacycles. (1) Direct oxidative insertion of Ni(0) to α,β-unsaturated enone derivatives: treatment of 3-ethoxycarbonyl-4-phenyl-3-buten-2-one with Ni(0) afforded an oxa-nickelacycle, which reacted with alkynes to give pyrans. (2) Substitution of a part of a cyclic compound with low-valent nickel, accompanied by elimination of small molecules such as CO, CO2, and acetophenone: treatment of phthalic anhydride with Ni(0) in the presence of ZnCl2 afforded the oxanickelacycle, which was formed via decarbonylative insertion of Ni(0) and reacted with alkynes to give isocumarins. (3) Cyclization to a nickelacycle, accompanied by two C-C σ-bond activations: insertion of Ni(0) into an arylnitrile, followed by aryl cyanation of an alkyne, gave alkenylnickel as an intermediate. The alkenylnickel species subsequently underwent an intramolecular nucleophilic attack with an arylcarbonyl group to form a cyclized product with concomitant cleavage of the C-C σ-bond between the carbonyl and aryl groups. (4) Assembly of several components to form a heteroatom-containing nickelacycle via cycloaddition: a new [2 + 2 + 1] cyclization reaction was carried out using an α,β-unsaturated ester, isocyanate, and alkyne via a nickelacycle. On the basis of these four strategies, we developed new methods to prepare heterocyclic compounds using nickelacycles as the key active species.