A General, One-Step Synthesis of Substituted Indazoles using a Flow Reactor

Synthesis of Trifluoromethylated Pyrimido[1,2-b]indazole Derivatives through the Cyclocondensation of 3-Aminoindazoles with Ketoester and Their Functionalization via Suzuki-Miyaura Cross-Coupling and SNAr Reactions

A new series of trifluoromethylated pyrimido[1,2-b]indazol-4(1H)-one derivatives was synthesized with good to excellent yields through a simple condensation of 3-aminoindazole derivatives with ethyl 4,4,4-trifluoro 3-oxobutanoate. The functionalization of the corresponding chlorinated fused tricyclic scaffolds via Suzuki-Miyaura and aromatic nucleophilic substitution reactions led to the synthesis of highly diverse trifluoromethylated pyrimido[1,2-b]indazole derivatives with good yields.

N N ‑

The use of electricity as a traceless oxidant enables a sustainable and novel approach to N,N′-disubstituted indazolin-3-ones by an intramolecular anodic dehydrogenative N–N coupling reaction. This method is characterized by mild reaction conditions, an easy experimental setup, excellent scalability, and a high atom economy. It was used to synthesize various indazolin-3-one derivatives in yields up to 78%, applying inexpensive and sustainable electrode materials and a low supporting electrolyte concentration. Mechanistic studies, based on cyclic voltammetry experiments, revealed a biradical pathway. Furthermore, the access to single 2-aryl substituted indazolin-3-ones by cleavage of the protecting group could be demonstrated.

A novel sustainable electrochemical synthetic route to N,N′-disubstituted indazolin-3-ones by direct anodic oxidation with mild reaction conditions, a simple galvanostatic setup, broad scope and excellent scalability is established.

Development of a Late-Stage Diversification Strategy for the 4- and 5-Positions of 4,5,6-Trisubstituted Indazoles

Indazoles represent a privileged motif in drug discovery. However, the formation of highly substituted indazoles can require the execution of lengthy synthetic routes with minimal opportunities to introduce diversity. In this report, we disclose the development of a late-stage diversification strategy for the 4- and 5-positions of 4,5,6-trisubstituted indazoles. A regioselective C-H functionalization and subsequent nucleophilic aromatic substitution provide two sequential points of diversification. The synthetic sequence delivers rapid access to an array of 4,5,6-trisubstituted indazoles in only four steps from readily available starting materials.

Davis-Beirut Reaction: Diverse Chemistries of Highly Reactive Nitroso Intermediates in Heterocycle Synthesis

Indazoles are an important class of nitrogen heterocycles because of their excellent performance in biologically relevant applications, such as in chemical biology and medicinal chemistry. In these applications, convenient synthesis using commercially available and diverse building blocks is highly desirable. Within this broad class, 2H-indazoles are relatively underexploited when compared to 1H-indazole, perhaps because of regioselectivity issues associated with the synthesis of 2H-indazoles. This Account describes our unfolding of the synthetic utility of the Davis-Beirut reaction (DBR) for the construction of 2H-indazoles and their derivatives; parallel unfoldings of mechanistic models for these interrelated N-N bond forming reactions are also summarized. The Davis-Beirut reaction is a robust method that exploits the diverse chemistries of a key nitroso imine or nitroso benzaldehyde intermediate generated in situ under redox neutral conditions. The resulting N-N bond-forming heterocyclization between nucleophilic and electrophilic nitrogens can be leveraged for the synthesis of multiple classes of indazoles and their derivatives, such as simple or fused indazolones, thiazolo-indazoles, 3-alkoxy-2H-indazoles, 2H-indazole N-oxides, and 2H-indazoles with various substitutions on the ring system or the nitrogens. These diverse products can all be synthesized under alkaline conditions and the various strategies for accessing these heterocycles are discussed. Alternatively, we have also developed methods involving mild photochemical conditions for the nitrobenzyl → aci-nitro → nitroso imine sequence. Solvent consideration is especially important for modulating the chemistry of the reactive intermediates in these reactions; the presence of water is critically important in some cases, but water's beneficial effect has a ceiling because of the alternative reaction pathways it enables. Fused 2H-indazoles readily undergo ring opening reactions to give indazolones when treated with nucleophiles or electrophiles. Furthermore, palladium-catalyzed cross coupling, the Sonagashira reaction, EDC amide coupling, 1,3-dipolar cycloadditions with nitrile oxides, copper-catalyzed alkyne-azide cycloadditions (click reaction), as well as copper-free click reactions, can all be used late-stage to modify 2H-indazoles and indazolones. The continued development and applications of the Davis-Beirut reaction has provided many insights for taming the reactivity of highly reactive nitro and nitroso groups, which still has a plethora of underexplored chemistries and challenges. For example, there is currently a limited number of nonfused 2H-indazole examples containing an aryl substitution at nitrogen. This is caused by relatively slow N-N bond formation between N-aryl imine and nitroso reactants, which allows water to add to the key nitroso imine intermediate causing imine bond cleavage to be a competitive reaction pathway rather than proceeding through the desired N-N bond-forming heterocyclization.

Photochemical Preparation of 1,2-Dihydro-3 H-indazol-3-ones in Aqueous Solvent at Room Temperature

o-Nitrosobenzaldehyde is a reactive intermediate useful in the synthesis of nitrogen heterocycles. Previous strategies for using o-nitrosobenzaldehyde involve its isolation via chromatography and/or formation under harsh conditions. Herein, this intermediate was photochemically generated in situ from o-nitrobenzyl alcohols in a mild, efficient manner for the construction of 1,2-dihydro-3 H-indazol-3-ones using an aqueous solvent at room temperature. This convenient reaction offers several advantages over reported methods. The commercially available photoreactor employed 3 × 18 W bulbs outputting broad emission above 365 nm.

N-N Bond Formation between Primary Amines and Nitrosos: Direct Synthesis of 2-Substituted Indazolones with Mechanistic Insights

A concise, one-step route to indazolones from primary alkyl amines and o-nitrobenzyl alcohols is reported. The key step in this readily scalable indazolone forming process involves base-mediated in situ o-nitrobenzyl alcohol → o-nitrosobenzaldehyde conversion. Although this functional group interconversion is known to be useful for 2 H-indazole synthesis, its reactivity was modulated for indazolone formation.

Syntheses of 1-Aryl-5-nitro-1H-indazoles and a General One-Pot Route to 1-Aryl-1H-indazoles

An efficient route to substituted 1-aryl-1H-indazoles has been developed and optimized. The method involved the preparation of arylhydrazones from acetophenone or benzaldehyde substituted by fluorine at C2 and nitro at C5, followed by deprotonation and nucleophilic aromatic substitution (S_NAr) ring closure in 45–90%. Modification of this procedure to a one-pot domino process was successful in the acetophenone series (73–96%), while the benzaldehyde series (63–73%) required a step-wise addition of reagents. A general one-pot protocol for 1-aryl-1H-indazole formation without the limiting substitution patterns required for the S_NAr cyclization has also been achieved in 62–78% yields. A selection of 1-aryl-1H-indazoles was prepared in high yield by a procedure that requires only a single laboratory operation.

Copper-mediated annulation of 2-(1-arylvinyl) anilines and aryl nitrosos towards 2,3-diaryl-2H-indazoles

A copper-mediated annulation of 2-(1-substituted vinyl)anilines and aryl nitrosos is developed, giving 2,3-diaryl pyrazoles in moderate to good yields.

Discovery of Potent, Selective, and Orally Bioavailable Small-Molecule Modulators of the Mediator Complex-Associated Kinases CDK8 and CDK19

The Mediator complex-associated cyclin-dependent kinase CDK8 has been implicated in human disease, particularly in colorectal cancer where it has been reported as a putative oncogene. Here we report the discovery of 109 (CCT251921), a potent, selective, and orally bioavailable inhibitor of CDK8 with equipotent affinity for CDK19. We describe a structure-based design approach leading to the discovery of a 3,4,5-trisubstituted-2-aminopyridine series and present the application of physicochemical property analyses to successfully reduce in vivo metabolic clearance, minimize transporter-mediated biliary elimination while maintaining acceptable aqueous solubility. Compound 109 affords the optimal compromise of in vitro biochemical, pharmacokinetic, and physicochemical properties and is suitable for progression to animal models of cancer.

Direct access to acylated azobenzenes via Pd-catalyzed C-H functionalization and further transformation into an indazole backbone

Azobenzenes were readily acylated at the 2-position through a Pd-catalyzed C-H functionalization from simple aromatic azo compounds and aldehydes in good yields. The obtained acylated azobenzenes could be efficiently converted into the corresponding indazole derivatives in nearly quantitative yields.

Characterization of Dispersion Effects on Reaction Optimization and Scale-Up for a Packed Bed Flow Hydrogenation Reactor

A well known advantage of flow chemistry reactors in chemical synthesis is the ability to screen multiple catalysts and reaction parameters with optimal conditions scaled accordingly. This approach, however, consumes significant quantities of material as the reactor must be equilibrated with the reactants in a continuous, steady-state mode before the start of the reaction. In this work we explore a screening and reaction approach using bolus injections, which is more conducive to the lower material consumption that may be required in a drug discovery setting. A commercially available ThalesNano H-Cube® was evaluated to determine the practicality of this approach for heterogeneous hydrogenations. When working with boluses in flow systems, one of the biggest limitations can be the inherent dispersion of the reactant stream caused by the reactor. The dispersion on the H-Cube® was characterized to determine the minimum volume for the reactor to reach a steady-state. The H-Cube® fluidics and heating coil were found to generate significantly more dispersion than the reaction cartridge (CatCart®) itself, increasing the minimum volume of injection required to achieve steady-state. A 2 mL injection was found as a good compromise between maximizing material conservation and sufficient volume of reaction at steady-state condition. Conditions optimized at 2 mL screening scale were successfully scaled five-fold, while lower volume bolus injections were shown to be less predictable. A stacked injection protocol using lower volume boluses was found to be a reliable alternative to scale reactions while efficiently conserving material. This application of small bolus injections to flow reaction screening and scale-up provides a desirable alternative to traditional continuous flow approaches in the material-limited discovery setting.

Establishing a flow process to coumarin-8-carbaldehydes as important synthetic scaffolds

Despite their usefulness as fluorophores and synthetic precursors, efficient and reliable routes to coumarin-8-carbaldehydes are lacking. We describe here a high-yielding continuous flow synthesis that requires no manual intermediate purification or work-up, giving access to multigram quantities of the aldehyde product.

Synthesis of fused indazole ring systems and application to nigeglanine hydrobromide

The single-step synthesis of fused tricyclic pyridazino[1,2-a]indazolium ring systems is described. Structural details revealed by crystallography explain the unexpected reactivity. The method is applied to the gram scale synthesis of nigeglanine hydrobromide.