Synthesis and selected transformations of 2-unsubstituted 1-(adamantyloxy)imidazole 3-oxides: straightforward access to non-symmetric 1,3-dialkoxyimidazolium salts.

Adamantyloxyamine reacts with formaldehyde to give N-(adamantyloxy)formaldimine as a room-temperature-stable compound that exists in solution in monomeric form. This product was used for reactions with α-hydroxyiminoketones leading to a new class of 2-unsubstituted imidazole 3-oxides bearing the adamantyloxy substituent at N(1). Their reactions with 2,2,4,4-tetramethylcyclobutane-1,3-dithione or with acetic acid anhydride occurred analogously to those of 1-alkylimidazole 3-oxides to give imidazol-2-thiones and imidazol-2-ones, respectively. Treatment of 1-(adamantyloxy)imidazole 3-oxides with Raney-Ni afforded the corresponding imidazole derivatives without cleavage of the N(1)-O bond. Finally, the O-alkylation reactions of the new imidazole N-oxides with 1-bromopentane or 1-bromododecane open access to diversely substituted, non-symmetric 1,3-dialkoxyimidazolium salts. Adamantyloxyamine reacts with glyoxal and formaldehyde in the presence of hydrobromic acid yielding symmetric 1,3-di(adamantyloxy)-1H-imidazolium bromide in good yield. Deprotonation of the latter with triethylamine in the presence of elemental sulfur allows the in situ generation of the corresponding imidazol-2-ylidene, which traps elemental sulfur yielding a 1,3-dihydro-2H-imidazole-2-thione as the final product.

Synthesis, Selected Transformations, and Biological Activity of Alkoxy Analogues of Lepidilines A and C.

Condensation of diacetyl monooxime with formaldimines derived from alkoxyamines in glacial acetic acid at room temperature leads to corresponding 2-unsubstituted imidazole N-oxides bearing an alkoxy substituent at the N(1) atom of the imidazole ring. Subsequent O-benzylation afforded, depending on the type of alkylating agent, either symmetric or nonsymmetric alkoxyimidazolium salts considered as structural analogues of naturally occurring imidazole alkaloids, lepidilines A and C. Some of the obtained salts were tested as precursors of nucleophilic heterocyclic carbenes (NHCs), which in situ reacted with elemental sulfur to give the corresponding N-alkoxyimidazole-2-thiones. The cytotoxic activity of selected 4,5-dimethylimidazolium salts bearing either two benzyloxy or benzyloxy and 1-adamantyloxy groups at N(1) and N(3) atoms was evaluated against HL-60 and MCF-7 cell lines using the MTT (3-(4, 5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2, 5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide) assay. Notably, in two cases of alkoxyimidazolium salts, no effect of the counterion exchange (Br- → PF6-) on the biological activity was observed.