Biocatalytic Generation of o-Quinone Imines in the Synthesis of 1,4-Benzoxazines and Its Comparative Green Chemistry Metrics

1,4-Benzoxazines are important motifs in many pharmaceuticals and can be formed by a reaction sequence involving the oxidation of o-aminophenols to their corresponding quinone imine followed by an in situ inverse electron demand Diels-Alder (IEDDA) cycloaddition with a suitable dienophile. Reported herein is the development of a reaction sequence that employs horseradish peroxidase to catalyze the oxidation of the aminophenols prior to the IEDDA as a more sustainable alternative to the use of conventional stoichiometric oxidants. The synthesis of 10 example benzoxazines is demonstrated in this "one-pot, two-step" procedure with yields between 42% and 92%. The green chemistry metrics, including the E-factor and generalized reaction mass efficiency, for this biocatalytic reaction were compared against the conventional chemical approach. It was found that the reported biocatalytic route was approximately twice as green by these measures.

1,2-Benzoquinones in Diels-Alder reactions, dipolar cycloadditions, nucleophilic additions, multicomponent reactions and more

A brief account of the recent developments in the chemistry of 1,2-benzoquinones is presented in this tutorial review. The title compounds exhibit commendable versatility in both Diels-Alder and dipolar cycloaddition reactions. They have also been employed as electrophilic reaction partners in nucleophile-triggered catalytic processes and related multicomponent reactions. These, along with other reactions described here, lead to the synthesis of densely functionalised carbocyclic and heterocyclic frameworks that are otherwise difficult to access.

Variations in product in reactions of naphthoquinone with primary amines

Reaction of 1,2-naphthoquinone with primary amines gives a 2-amino-1,4-naphthoquinone derivative which is equivalent to 1,2 to 1,4 carbonyl transposition. For example the reaction of 1,2-naphthoquinone with 4-methoxyaniline gives 2-(4-methoxyanilino)-naphthoquinone-1,4-(4-methoxyanil) (1) and with n-butylamine gives 2-(butylamino)-naphthoquinone-1,4-butylimine (2) respectively. The compounds 1 and 2 are characterized by X-ray crystallography; they have hydrogen-bonded dimeric structures. Similar reaction of 1,4-naphthoquinone with 3-picolylamine and 4-picolylamine gives the corresponding 2-amino 1,4-naphthoquinones; two products are characterized by X-ray crystallography. The reaction of 1,4-naphthoquinone with 4-aminothiophenol and 1,4-naphthoquinone with 4-aminophenol are compared. The former leads to C-S and the latter to C-N bond formation. The reaction of 1,4-naphthoquinone with 4-aminothiophenol in an NMR tube is studied to explain that 2-(4-anilinothiolato) 1,4-naphthoquinone derivative to be the sole product in the reaction.

Three cyclooctapeptides and one glycoside from Microtoena prainiana

Three new cyclic octapeptides, microtoenins A-C (1-3), and a new glycoside, 3'''-O-methylcrenatoside (4), along with several known compounds, were isolated from the ethanolic extract of the stems of Microtoena prainiana. Their structures were determined by spectral and chemical evidence. At a concentration of 0.01 mg/mL, 3'''-O-methylcrenatoside (4), crenatoside (5), and isocrenatoside (6) inhibited angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) activity by more than 30%.