Azo Coupling of Indoles Revisited: Synthesis of Biindolyl Photoswitches via the Azo-Coupling/C-H Functionalization Domino Approach.

When azo coupling of aryldiazonium salts with indoles was carried out in aprotic nonpolar solvent on air, a pseudo-three-component reaction has been discovered. Azo coupling is followed by a nucleophilic addition of a second indole unit to the indolium intermediate; aromatization and oxidation are achieved under air.

Domino Approach for the Synthesis of Pyridinium Salts and 1,2,3,8a-Tetrahydroimidazo[1,2-a]pyridines from 2-Imidazolines and Propiolic Acid Esters.

Adducts of 1-alkyl-2-imidazolines and two molecules of alkyl propiolate, possessing an N-propargyl-ß-enaminoester fragment, easily undergo a domino reaction to form pyridinium salts with ß-(alkylammonio)ethyl group at the nitrogen atom in the presence of 2 equiv of a protic acid. Treatment of the above reaction mixture with a base gives 1,2,3,8a-tetrahydroimidazo[1,2-a]pyridines. Reaction of the latter compounds with acid chlorides affords pyridinium salts with ß-(alkylamido)ethyl moiety at the nitrogen atom.

Chemoselective Divergent Transformations of N-(Propargyl)indole-2-carbonitriles with Nitrogen Nucleophiles: Alkyne Hydroamination or Domino Cyclizations.

Interactions of N-(propargyl)indole-2-carbonitriles with nitrogen nucleophiles were studied. It was found that lithium hexamethyldisilazane (LiHMDS)-promoted reactions give mixtures of two product types, originating from an initial attack onto carbon-carbon or carbon-nitrogen triple bonds. Performing the reaction at reduced temperature and in the presence of catalytic amounts of LiHMDS delivered alkyne hydroamination products exclusively. On the contrary, the one-pot reaction of N-(propargyl)indole-2-carbonitriles with methanol and LiHMDS on heating, followed by the addition of a nitrogen nucleophile, allowed a selective domino cyclization sequence toward 1-aminopyrazino[1,2-a]indoles. Anilines and nitrogen heterocycles could be employed as N-nucleophiles to obtain products of both types. Moreover, an alternative one-pot route toward a third product type has been developed. When N-(propargyl)indole-2-carbonitrile was first combined with aniline and LiHMDS at reduced temperature, further heating of the in situ generated hydroamination product led to the intramolecular cyclization into 1-imino-2-phenylpyrazino[1,2-a]indoles. Thus, chemodivergent transformations of the same starting material into three compound classes were investigated. The possible reaction routes were studied, and N-(allenyl)indole-2-carbonitrile was identified as the key intermediate. Acyclic and cyclic products exhibit fluorescence emission in the blue to green range.

Assembly of 1,2,3,4-Tetrahydropyrrolo[1,2-a]pyrazines via the Domino Reaction of 2-Imidazolines and Terminal Electron-Deficient Alkynes.

The transformation of 2-imidazolines into 1,2,3,4-tetrahydropyrrolo[1,2-a]pyrazines has been realized. A pseudo-three-component reaction of 2-imidazolines with terminal electron-deficient alkynes (2 equiv) first generates imidazolidines, containing an N-vinylpropargylamine fragment. The latter can then undergo a base-catalyzed domino aza-Claisen rearrangement/cyclization reaction sequence, simultaneously constructing pyrrole and pyrazine rings. The process works in a broad substrate scope, delivering pyrrolo[1,2-a]pyrazines in good to excellent yields (45-90%). This two-step approach can be carried out in a one-pot fashion without a noticeable decrease in yield. Remarkably, a three-component protocol for the introduction of two different alkynes has been also developed.

Three-Component Reactions of 3-Arylidene-3H-Indolium Salts, Isocyanides and Amines.

A multicomponent reaction of isocyanides with aryl(indol-3-yl)methylium salts and amines has been found. A series of aryl(indol-3-yl)acetimidamides was obtained in up to 96% yields. In the case of ethyl isocyanoacetate, the reaction is followed by cyclization to form 3,5-dihydro-4H-imidazol-4-one derivatives.

A Domino Route toward Polysubstituted Pyrroles from 2-Imidazolines and Electron-Deficient Alkynes.

The reaction of 1,2-disubstituted 2-imidazolines with electron-deficient alkynes proceeds as a pseudo-three-component process and forms imidazolidines with an N-vinylpropargylamine fragment. Heating the resulting imidazolidines in xylene on air leads to an effective formation of polysubstituted pyrroles through a domino sequence of aza-Claisen rearrangement/transannular nucleophilic addition/oxidative ring opening reactions. The direct one-pot transformation of 2-imidazolines to pyrroles has been also realized.

Aza-Henry and aza-Knoevenagel reactions of nitriles for the synthesis of pyrido[1,2-a]indoles.

N-(Propargyl)indole-2-carbonitriles undergo DBU-catalyzed addition of CH-acids to nitriles, followed by cyclization to give 9-aminopyrido[1,2-a]indoles. The reaction proceeds through the initial formation of a push-pull enamine, alkyne-allene rearrangement and intramolecular nucleophilic cyclization. Nitromethane and malonate esters can be employed as the CH-acids. The resulting compounds were found to exhibit fluorescence properties.

Three-Component Reaction of 3-Arylidene-3H-Indolium Salts, Isocyanides, and Alcohols.

A novel isocyanide-based multicomponent synthesis of alkyl aryl(indol-3-yl)acetimidates has been established. Starting from aryl(indol-3-yl)methylium tetrafluoroborates, aromatic isocyanides and alcohols, the imidates were obtained in moderate to very good yields. Consecutive four-component synthesis of the above mentioned imidates from N-alkylindoles, aromatic aldehydes, aromatic isocyanides and alcohols was also proposed. In addition, it was shown that in the presence of water, aryl(indol-3-yl)methylium tetrafluoroborates reacted with isocyanides to furnish aryl(indol-3-yl)acetamides.

Homophtalonitrile for Multicomponent Reactions: Syntheses and Optical Properties of o-Cyanophenyl- or Indol-3-yl-Substituted Chromeno[2,3-c]isoquinolin-5-Amines.

Malononitrile is a useful reagent for multicomponent reactions with hundreds of methods developed. In this paper, we suggest α-(cyano)-o-tolunitrile (homophtalonitrile) to work as a vinylogous malononitrile. Thus, a organocatalytic pseudo-three-component reaction of homopthalonitrile (2 equiv) and o-hydroxybenzaldehyde, leading to the diastereoselective formation of 5-amino-12H-chromeno[2,3-c]isoquinolin-12-yl)(cyano)methyl)benzonitriles, was discovered. The possibility to employ other nucleophiles was demonstrated for indoles, and a sequential three-component reaction of homophtalonitrile, o-hydroxybenzaldehyde, and (aza)indole, giving 12-(1H-Indol-3-yl)-12H-chromeno[2,3-c]isoquinolin-5-amines, was developed. The photophysical properties of the synthesized compounds have been studied, revealing high fluorescence quantum yields (42-70 %) for indol-3-yl substituted 12H-chromeno[2,3-c]isoquinolin-5-amines and reversible fluorescence quenching under acidic conditions.

DBU-Catalyzed Alkyne-Imidate Cyclization toward 1-Alkoxypyrazino[1,2- a]indole Synthesis.

1-(Propargyl)indol-2-carbonitriles react with alcohols to afford 1-alkoxypyrazino[1,2- a]indoles under DBU-catalyzed microwave-assisted conditions. The reaction scope includes a wide range of indoles, primary and secondary alcohols, and a thiol. The initial mechanistic study shows that the domino process presumably proceeds through an alkyne-allene rearrangement, imidate formation, and nucleophilic cyclization reaction sequence.