Combined directed ortho-zincation and palladium-catalyzed strategies: Synthesis of 4,n-dimethoxy-substituted benzo[b]furans.

A new route to regioselectively dialkoxy-functionalized benzo[b]furan derivatives has been developed from 3-halo-2-iodoanisoles bearing an additional methoxy group, which have been accessed through an ortho-zincation/iodination reaction. Two palladium-catalyzed processes, namely a Sonogashira coupling followed by a tandem hydroxylation/cyclization sequence, give rise to new and interesting dimethoxy-substituted benzo[b]furans.

Approaches to the synthesis of 2,3-dihaloanilines. Useful precursors of 4-functionalized-1H-indoles.

2,3-Dihaloanilines have been proved as useful starting materials for synthesizing 4-halo-1H-indoles. Subsequent or in situ functionalization of the prepared haloindoles allows the access to a wide variety of 2,4- or 2,3,4-regioselectively functionalized indoles in good overall yields. As no efficient synthetic routes to 2,3-dihaloanilines have been described in the literature, different approaches to the preparation of these 1,2,3-functionalized aromatic precursors are now presented. The most general one involves a Smiles rearrangement from the corresponding 2,3-dihalophenols and allows the preparation of 2,3-dihaloanilides in a straightforward and synthetically useful manner.

Scope and mechanism of direct indole and pyrrole couplings adjacent to carbonyl compounds: total synthesis of acremoauxin A and oxazinin 3.

Full details are provided for a recently invented method to couple indoles and pyrroles to carbonyl compounds. The reaction is ideally suited for structurally complex substrates and exhibits high levels of chemoselectivity (functional group tolerability), regioselectivity (coupling occurs exclusively at C-3 of indole or C-2 of pyrrole), stereoselectivity (substrate control), and practicality (amenable to scaleup). In addition, quaternary stereocenters are easily and predictably generated. The reaction has been applied to a number of synthetic problems including total syntheses of members of the hapalindole family of natural products, ketorolac, acremoauxin A, and oxazinin 3. Mechanistically, this coupling protocol appears to operate by a single electron-transfer process requiring generation of an electron-deficient radical adjacent to a carbonyl which is then intercepted by an indole or pyrrole anion.

Regioselective synthesis of 4- and 7-alkoxyindoles from 2,3-dihalophenols: application to the preparation of indole inhibitors of phospholipase A2.

An efficient and regioselective synthesis of 4- and 7-alkoxyindoles has been developed from commercially available starting materials such as 3-halophenols and 3-chloroanisole. Directed ortho-metalation followed by two palladium-catalyzed processes, a Sonogashira coupling and a tandem amination/cyclization reaction, allows the synthesis of regiochemically pure 4- and 7-substituted indoles. This strategy has been successfully applied to the preparation of 2-[3-(2-amino-2-oxoacetyl)-1-benzyl-2-ethyl-1H-indol-4-yloxy]acetic acid (LY315920), a known inhibitor of phospholipase A2.

A route to regioselectively functionalized carbazoles, dibenzofurans, and dibenzothiophenes through anionic cyclization of benzyne-tethered aryllithiums.

The treatment of 2-fluorophenyl 2-iodophenylamines, ether, and thioether, easily prepared from commercially available products, with 3.3 equiv of t-BuLi and further reaction with selected electrophiles gives rise to functionalized carbazole, dibenzofuran, and dibenzothiophene derivatives in a direct and regioselective manner. The process involves an anionic cyclization on a benzyne-tethered aryllithium intermediate.

A new and efficient synthesis of 4-functionalized benzo[b]furans from 2,3-dihalophenols.

Tandem Sonogashira coupling/5-endo-dig cyclization reactions on 2,3-dihalophenols suppose a straightforward entry to 4-halobenzo[b]furans, which can be easily transformed into 4-functionalized benzo[b]furans, that are difficult to synthesize by other procedures. On the other hand, the starting 2,3-dihalophenols are efficiently prepared from commercially available 3-halophenols, via their N,N-diethyl carbamates by selective lithiation at the 2-positions by treatment with s-BuLi/TMEDA or LDA at low temperature and reaction with halogen electrophilic reagents.