Naphthalenes and Quinolines by Domino Reactions of Morita-Baylis-Hillman Acetates

Domino Aldol-SNAr-Dehydration Sequence for [3+3] Annulations to Prepare Quinolin-2(1H)-ones and 1,8-Naphthyridin-2(1H)-ones

A domino aldol-SNAr-dehydration [3+3] annulation strategy has been utilized to fuse six-membered cyclic amides onto aromatic substrates. 2-Arylacetamides have been reacted with 2-fluorobenzaldehyde derivatives activated toward SNAr reaction by an electron-withdrawing substituent (NO2, CN, CF3, CO2Me) at C5 to prepare 3,6-disubstituted quinolin-2(1H)-ones. Additionally, 3-substituted 1,8-naphthyridin-2(1H)-ones have been similarly derived from 2-fluoronicotinaldehyde. Fifteen examples are reported, and two possible mechanistic scenarios are presented and discussed.

Synthesis and Elimination Pathways of 1-Methanesulfonyl-1,2-dihydroquinoline Sulfonamides

A series of new Morita–Baylis–Hillman acetates were prepared and reacted with methanesulfonamide (K2CO3, DMF, 23 °C) to produce tertiary dihydroquinoline sulfonamides in high yields. Subsequent efforts to eliminate the methylsulfonyl group from these derivatives (K2CO3, DMF, 90 °C) as a route to quinolines were met with mixed results. Although dihydroquinoline sulfonamides prepared from ethyl acrylate and acrylonitrile generally underwent elimination to give excellent yields of quinolines, those generated from 3-buten-2-one failed to undergo elimination and instead decomposed. The failure of these ketone substrates to aromatize presumably derives from the enolizable methyl ketone at C-3. Finally, the attempted aromatization of the acrylate-derived 6,7-difluoro-1,2-dihydroquinoline sulfonamide demonstrated that other interesting processes could occur in preference to the desired elimination.

Dihydroquinolines, Dihydronaphthyridines and Quinolones by Domino Reactions of Morita-Baylis-Hillman Acetates

An efficient synthetic route to highly substituted dihydroquinolines and dihydronaphthyridines has been developed using a domino reaction of Morita-Baylis-Hillman (MBH) acetates with primary aliphatic and aromatic amines in DMF at 50–90 °C. The MBH substrates incorporate a side chain acetate positioned adjacent to an acrylate or acrylonitrile aza-Michael acceptor as well as an aromatic ring activated toward S_NAr ring closure. A control experiment established that the initial reaction was an S_N2′-type displacement of the side chain acetate by the amine to generate the alkene product with the added nitrogen nucleophile positioned trans to the S_NAr aromatic ring acceptor. Thus, equilibration of the initial alkene geometry is required prior to cyclization. A further double bond migration was observed for several reactions targeting dihydronaphthyridines from substrates with a side chain acrylonitrile moiety. MBH acetates incorporating a 2,5-difluorophenyl moiety were found to have dual reactivity in these annulations. In the absence of O₂, the expected dihydroquinolines were formed, while in the presence of O₂, quinolones were produced. All of the products were isolated in good to excellent yields (72–93%). Numerous cases (42) are reported, and mechanisms are discussed.