Novel Bicyclic P,S-Heterocycles via Stereoselective hetero-Diels-Alder Reactions of Thiochalcones with 1-Phenyl-4H-phosphinin-4-one 1-Oxide.

Thiochalcones undergo cycloaddition reactions in THF solution at 60 °C with the synthetically unexplored 1-phenyl-4H-phosphinin-4-one 1-oxide in a highly regio- and stereoselective manner, yielding hitherto unknown bicyclic P,S-heterocycles containing fused thiopyran and phosphinine rings. The stereochemical structures of two of the obtained (4+2)-cycloadducts were unambiguously assigned by means of the X-ray single-crystal analysis. Based on these assignments, a concerted mechanism of the hetero-Diels-Alder reaction via the preferred endo approach of the heterodiene from the less hindered P=O side of the phosphininone molecule is postulated to explain the established rac-(4RS,8SR,9SR,10SR)-configured (4+2)-cycloadducts isolated as major products.

The Fluoride Anion-Catalyzed Sulfurization of Thioketones with Elemental Sulfur Leading to Sulfur-Rich Heterocycles: First Sulfurization of Thiochalcones.

Fluoride anion was demonstrated as a superior activator of elemental sulfur (S8) to perform sulfurization of thioketones leading to diverse sulfur-rich heterocycles. Due to solubility problems, reactions must be carried out either in THF using tetrabutylammonium fluoride (TBAF) or in DMF using cesium fluoride (CsF), respectively. The reactive sulfurizing reagents are in situ generated, nucleophilic fluoropolysulfide anions FS(8-x)-, which react with the C=S bond according to the carbophilic addition mode. Dithiiranes formed thereby, existing in an equilibrium with the ring-opened form (diradicals/zwitterions) are key-intermediates, which undergo either a step-wise dimerization to afford 1,2,4,5-tetrathianes or an intramolecular insertion, leading in the case of thioxo derivatives of 2,2,4,4-tetramethylcyclobutane-1,3-dione to ring enlarged products. In reactions catalyzed by TBAF, water bounded to fluoride anion via H-bridges and forming thereby its stable hydrates is involved in secondary reactions leading, e.g., in the case of 2,2,4,4-tetramethyl-3-thioxocyclobutanone to the formation of some unexpected products such as the ring enlarged dithiolactone and ring-opened dithiocarboxylate. In contrast to thioketones, the fluoride anion catalyzed sulfurization of their α,ß-unsaturated analogues, i.e., thiochalcones is slow and inefficient. However, an alternative protocol with triphenylphosphine (PPh3) applied as a catalyst, offers an attractive approach to the synthesis of 3H-1,2-dithioles via 1,5-dipolar electrocyclization of the in situ-generated α,ß-unsaturated thiocabonyl S-sulfides. All reactions occur under mild conditions and can be considered as attractive methods for the preparation of sulfur rich heterocycles with diverse ring-size.

Hetero-Diels-Alder Reactions of In Situ-Generated Azoalkenes with Thioketones; Experimental and Theoretical Studies.

The hetero-Diels-Alder reactions of in situ-generated azoalkenes with thioketones were shown to offer a straightforward method for an efficient and regioselective synthesis of scarcely known N-substituted 1,3,4-thiadiazine derivatives. The scope of the method was fairly broad, allowing the use of a series of aryl-, ferrocenyl-, and alkyl-substituted thioketones. However, in the case of N-tosyl-substituted cycloadducts derived from 1-thioxo-2,2,4,4-tetramethylcyclobutan-3-one and the structurally analogous 1,3-dithione, a more complicated pathway was observed. By elimination of toluene sulfinic acid, the initially formed cycloadducts afforded 2H-1,3,4-thiadiazines as final products. Advanced DFT calculations revealed that the observed high regioselectivity was due to kinetic reaction control and that the (4 + 2)-cycloadditions of sterically less unhindered thiones occurred via highly unsymmetric transition states with shorter C..S-distances (2.27-2.58 Å) and longer N..C-distances (3.02-3.57 Å). In the extreme case of the sterically very hindered 2,2,4,4-tetramethylcyclobutan-1,3-dione-derived thioketones, a zwitterionic intermediate with a fully formed C‒S bond was detected, which underwent ring closure to the 1,3,4-thiadiazine derivative in a second step. For the hypothetical formation of the regioisomeric 1,2,3-thiadiazine derivatives, the DFT calculations proposed more symmetric transition states with considerably higher energies.

A straightforward conversion of 1,4-quinones into polycyclic pyrazoles via [3 + 2]-cycloaddition with fluorinated nitrile imines.

In-situ-generated N-aryl nitrile imines derived from trifluoroacetonitrile efficiently react with polycyclic 1,4-quinones, yielding fused pyrazole derivatives as the exclusive products. The reactions proceed via the initially formed [3 + 2]-cycloadducts, which undergo spontaneous aerial oxidation to give aromatized heterocyclic products. Only for 2,3,5,6-tetramethyl-1,4-benzoquinone, the expected [3 + 2]-cycloadduct exhibited fair stability and could be isolated in moderate yield (53%). The presented method offers a straightforward access to hitherto little known trifluoromethylated polycyclic pyrazoles. All products were isolated as pale colored solids with medium-intensity absorption maxima in the range of 310-340 nm for naphthoquinone-derived products and low-intensity bands in the visible region (≈400 nm) for the anthraquinone series.

The [4+2]-Cycloaddition of α-Nitrosoalkenes with Thiochalcones as a Prototype of Periselective Hetero-Diels-Alder Reactions-Experimental and Computational Studies.

The [4+2]-cycloadditions of α-nitrosoalkenes with thiochalcones occur with high selectivity at the thioketone moiety of the dienophile providing styryl-substituted 4H-1,5,2-oxathiazines in moderate to good yields. Of the eight conceivable hetero-Diels-Alder adducts only this isomer was observed, thus a prototype of a highly periselective and regioselective cycloaddition has been identified. Analysis of crude product mixtures revealed that the α-nitrosoalkene also adds competitively to the thioketone moiety of the thiochalcone dimer affording bis-heterocyclic [4+2]-cycloadducts. The experiments are supported by high-level DFT calculations that were also extended to related hetero-Diels-Alder reactions of other nitroso compounds and thioketones. These calculations reveal that the title cycloadditions are kinetically controlled processes confirming the role of thioketones as superdienophiles. The computational study was also applied to the experimentally studied thiochalcone dimerization, and showed that the 1,2-dithiin and 2H-thiopyran isomers are in equilibrium with the monomer. Again, the DFT calculations indicate kinetic control of this process.

Synthesis and Solid State Conformation of Tetrapeptide Amides Containing two Aib and two (αMe)Phe Residues - Use of Enantiomerically Pure 2-Benzyl-2-methyl-2H-azirin-3-amines as (αMe)Phe-Synthons.

A series of tetrapeptide amides containing two aminoisobutyric acids (Aib) and two α-methylphenylalanine ((αMe)Phe) units were prepared through the 'azirine/oxazolone method'. New 2-benzyl-2-methyl-2H-azirin-3-amines have been used for the selective introduction of (S)- and (R)-(αMe)Phe, respectively. The solid-state conformations of five tetrapeptide amides were determined by X-ray crystallography. In all cases, two ß-turns stabilize 310 -helical conformations and it was confirmed that, in contrast to proteinogenic amino acids, the configuration of (αMe)Phe does not determine the screw sense of the helix.

2-Unsubstituted Imidazole N-Oxides as Novel Precursors of Chiral 3-Alkoxyimidazol-2-ylidenes Derived from trans-1,2-Diaminocyclohexane and Other Chiral Amino Compounds.

'Desymmetrization' of trans-1,2-diaminocyclohexane by treatment with α,ω-dihalogenated alkylation reagents leads to mono-NH2 derivatives ('primary-tertiary diamines'). Upon reaction with formaldehyde, these products formed monomeric formaldimines. Subsequently, reactions of the formaldimines with α-hydroxyiminoketones led to the corresponding 2-unsubstituted imidazole N-oxide derivatives, which were used here as new substrates for the in situ generation of chiral imidazol-2-ylidenes. Upon O-selective benzylation, new chiral imidazolium salts were obtained, which were deprotonated by treatment with triethylamine in the presence of elemental sulfur. Under these conditions, the intermediate imidazol-2-ylidenes were trapped by elemental sulfur, yielding the corresponding chiral non-enolizable imidazole-2-thiones in good yields. Analogous reaction sequences, starting with imidazole N-oxides derived from enantiopure primary amines, amino alcohols, and amino acids, leading to the corresponding 3-alkoxyimidazole-2-thiones were also studied.

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.

Efficient synthesis of ferrocifens and other ferrocenyl-substituted ethylenes via a 'sulfur approach'.

Stable and non-odorous alkyl ferrocenyl thioketones react with bis(4-methoxyphenyl)diazomethane according to the 'two-fold extrusion' reaction principles, and tetrasubstituted ethylenes obtained thereby can be demethylated to give (Fc,2OH)-ferrocifens in good yields. The method offers an alternative approach to this class of medically relevant compounds. A similar protocol with alkyl ferrocenyl thioketones and selected diaryldiazomethanes leads to ferrocenyl-substituted ethylenes including dibenzofulvenes. These products are of potential interest for electrochemical and photophysical studies.

First thia-Diels-Alder reactions of thiochalcones with 1,4-quinones.

Aryl and hetaryl thiochalcones react smoothly with 1,4-quinones in THF solution at 60 °C yielding the corresponding fused 4H-thiopyrans after spontaneous dehydrogenation of the initially formed [4 + 2] cycloadducts. In general, the yields of the isolated products were high. With 5-chloro-10-hydroxy-1,4-anthraquinone, the thia-Diels-Alder reaction occurred with complete regioselectivity. In the case of the reaction of vitamin K3 (menadione) with diphenylthiochalcone, the initial cycloadduct was isolated in 37% yield.

Dialkyl dicyanofumarates and dicyanomaleates as versatile building blocks for synthetic organic chemistry and mechanistic studies.

The scope of applications of dialkyl dicyanofumarates and maleates as highly functionalized electron-deficient dipolarophiles, dienophiles and Michael acceptors is summarized. The importance for the studies on reaction mechanisms of cycloadditions is demonstrated. Multistep reactions with 1,2-diamines and ß-aminoalcohols leading to diverse five- and six-membered heterocycles are discussed. Applications of dialkyl dicyanofumarates as oxidizing agents in the syntheses of disulfides and diselenides are described. The reactions with metallocenes leading to charge-transfer complexes with magnetic properties are also presented.

Dimerization reactions of aryl selenophen-2-yl-substituted thiocarbonyl S-methanides as diradical processes: a computational study.

An intriguing stepwise diradical mechanism of the dimerization of the reactive intermediate (thiocarbonyl S-methanide) appearing in the reaction of phenyl selenophen-2-yl thioketone with diazomethane was studied by means of computational methods. The preferred formation of the unusual macroheterocycle, competitive with the 1,3-ring closure leading to a thiirane and the head-to-head dimerization yielding a 1,4-dithiane derivative, respectively, was explained based on the analysis of the structure of the favored conformer of the intermediate, delocalized diradical species. The influence of selenium as a 'heavy atom' for stabilization of this intermediate has been emphasized.

A novel application of 2-silylated 1,3-dithiolanes for the synthesis of aryl/hetaryl-substituted ethenes and dibenzofulvenes.

Trimethylsilyldiazomethane (TMS-CHN2) reacts readily with hetaryl thioketones to give sterically crowded 2-trimethylsilyl-4,4,5,5-tetrahetaryl-1,3-dithiolanes with complete regioselectivity at -75 °C as well as at rt. Thiofluorenone, a relatively stable and highly reactive aryl thioketone, yields upon treatment with TMS-CHN2 at -60 °C the corresponding 1,3,4-thiadiazoline. This unstable cycloadduct undergoes decomposition at ca. -45 °C and the silylated thiocarbonyl S-methanide generated thereby is trapped with complete regioselectivity by aryl or hetaryl thioketones forming also sterically crowded 2-trimethylsilyl-1,3-dithiolanes. The obtained 1,3-dithiolanes, by treatment with an equimolar amount of TBAF in a one-pot procedure, are converted in high yields into hetaryl/aryl-substituted ethenes or dibenzofulvenes, respectively, via a cycloreversion reaction of the intermediate 1,3-dithiolane carbanion. The presented protocol offers a new, highly efficient approach to tetrasubstituted ethenes and dibenzofulvenes bearing aryl and/or hetaryl substituents.

Diradical reaction mechanisms in [3 + 2]-cycloadditions of hetaryl thioketones with alkyl- or trimethylsilyl-substituted diazomethanes.

Reactions of dihetaryl and aryl/hetaryl thioketones with 2-diazopropane, diazoethane, and (trimethylsilyl)diazomethane were studied at variable temperature. The experiments showed that reactions with 2-diazopropane carried out at -75 °C occur mainly via the initially formed, relatively stable 1,3,4-thiadiazolines as products of the [3 + 2]-cycloaddition of the diazo dipole onto the C=S bond. The latter decompose only at higher temperature (ca. -40 °C) to generate thiocarbonyl S-isopropanide. In the absence of the starting thioketone, the corresponding thiiranes and/or ethene derivatives, formed from them via spontaneous desulfurization, are the main products. In contrast, reactions with diazoethane occurred predominantly via initially formed diradicals, which in cascade processes gave sterically crowded 4,4,5,5-tetrahetaryl-1,3-dithiolanes as major products. Finally, the reaction of dihetaryl thioketones with (trimethylsilyl)diazomethane occur smoothly at -75 °C leading to the corresponding 4,4,5,5-tetrahetaryl-1,3-dithiolanes as the exclusive [3 + 2]-cycloadducts formed via a cascade of postulated diradicals. The presence of S or Se atoms in the hetaryl rings is of importance for stabilizing diradical intermediates. Remarkably, in no single case, the 'head-to-head dimerization' of aryl/hetaryl and dihetaryl substituted thiocarbonyl ylides was observed.

Synthesis of ferrocenyl-substituted 1,3-dithiolanes via [3 + 2]-cycloadditions of ferrocenyl hetaryl thioketones with thiocarbonyl S-methanides.

Ferrocenyl hetaryl thioketones react smoothly with in situ generated thiocarbonyl S-methanides to give 1,3-dithiolanes. In the case of aromatic S-methanides, the sterically more crowded 4,4,5,5-tetrasubstituted 1,3-dithiolanes (2-CH2 isomers) were formed as sole products. The reactions with cycloaliphatic S-methanides led to mixtures of 2-CH2 and 5-CH2 isomers with the major component being the sterically more crowded 2-CH2 isomers. The preferred formation of the latter products is explained by the assumption that the formal [3 + 2]-cycloadducts were formed via a stepwise reaction mechanism with a stabilized 1,5-diradical as a key intermediate. The complete change of the reaction mechanism toward the concerted [3 + 2]-cycloaddition was observed in the reaction of a sterically crowded cycloaliphatic thiocarbonyl ylide with ferrocenyl methyl thioketone.

Hetero-Diels-Alder reactions of hetaryl and aryl thioketones with acetylenic dienophiles.

Selected hetaryl and aryl thioketones react with acetylenecarboxylates under thermal conditions in the presence of LiClO4 or, alternatively, under high-pressure conditions (5 kbar) at room temperature yielding thiopyran derivatives. The hetero-Diels-Alder reaction occurs in a chemo- and regioselective manner. The initially formed [4 + 2] cycloadducts rearrange via a 1,3-hydrogen shift sequence to give the final products. The latter were smoothly oxidized by treatment with mCPBA to the corresponding sulfones.

Attempts toward the synthesis of the peptaibol antiamoebin by using the 'azirine/oxazolone method'.

The two segments, 1-9 and 10-16, of the peptaibol antibiotic antiamoebin I, i.e., the nonapeptide Ac-Phe-Aib-Aib-Aib-D,L-Iva-Gly-Leu-Aib-Aib-OH (15) and the heptapeptide Z-Hyp-Gln-D,L-Iva-Hyp-Aib-Pro-Pheol (34), have been prepared as mixtures of the epimers containing D,L-Iva. All α,α-disubstituted α-amino acids were introduced by the 'azirine/oxazolone method', in which amino or peptide acids are coupled with the corresponding 2H-azirin-3-amines, followed by selective hydrolysis of the terminal amide bond. The amino acids Hyp and Gln were introduced as Z-protected(4) ) (2S,4R)-4-(tert-butoxy)proline (19) and methyl N-[bis(4-methoxyphenyl)methyl]glutamine (26). Coupling of peptide segments was achieved via the 'mixed anhydride' method, the DCC/HOBt or TBTU/HOBt strategy. The crystal structure of the segment 6-9 was determined by X-ray crystallography and displayed the presence of a ß-turn conformation.

(S)-N-[(4-{(S)-1-[2-(4-Meth-oxy-benz-amido)-2-methyl-propano-yl]pyrrolidine-2-carboxamido}-3,4,5,6-tetra-hydro-2H-pyran-4-yl)carbon-yl]proline dimethyl sulfoxide monosolvate (4-MeBz-Aib-Pro-Thp-Pro-OH).

The asymmetric unit of the title compound, C28H38N4O8·C2H6OS, contains one tetra-peptide and one disordered dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) mol-ecule. The central five-membered ring (Pro(2)) of the peptide mol-ecule has a disordered envelope conformation [occupancy ratio 0.879 (2):0.121 (2)] with the envelope flap atom, the central C atom of the three ring methylene groups, lying on alternate sides of the mean ring plane. The terminal five-membered ring (Pro(4)) also adopts an envelope conformation with the C atom of the methylene group closest to the carboxylic acid function as the envelope flap, and the six-membered tetra-hydro-pyrane ring shows a chair conformation. The tetra-peptide exists in a helical conformation, stabilized by an intra-molecular hydrogen bond between the amide N-H group of the heterocyclic α-amino acid Thp and the amide O atom of the 4-meth-oxy-benzoyl group. This inter-action has a graph set motif of S(10) and serves to maintain a fairly rigid ß-turn structure. In the crystal, the terminal hy-droxy group forms a hydrogen bond with the amide O atom of Thp of a neighbouring mol-ecule, and the amide N-H group at the opposite end of the mol-ecule forms a hydrogen bond with the amide O atom of Thp of another neighbouring mol-ecule. The combination of both inter-molecular inter-actions links the mol-ecules into an extended three-dimensional framework.

Synthesis and crystal structures of new chiral 3-amino-2H-azirines and the Pd complex of one of them.

3-Amino-2H-azirines are potentially versatile building blocks in heterocyclic and peptide synthesis. Three new 3-amino-2H-azirines have been synthesized as racemates or mixtures of diastereoisomers in cases where another chiral residue is incorporated as the exocyclic amine. The crystal structures of two of them, an approximately 1:1 diastereoisomeric mixture of (2R)- and (2S)-2-ethyl-3-[(2S)-2-(1-methoxy-1,1-diphenylmethyl)pyrrolidin-1-yl]-2-methyl-2H-azirine, C23H28N2O, 11, and 2-benzyl-3-(N-methyl-N-phenylamino)-2-phenyl-2H-azirine, C22H20N2, 12, and the third as its diastereoisomeric trans-PdCl2 complex, trans-dichlorido[(2R)-2-ethyl-2-methyl-3-(X)-2H-azirine][(2S)-2-ethyl-2-methyl-3-(X)-2H-azirine]palladium(II), where X = N-{[(1S,2S,5S)-6,6-dimethylbicyclo[3.1.1]heptan-2-yl]methyl}-N-phenylamino, [PdCl2(C21H30N2)2], 14, have been determined and the geometries of the azirine rings compared with those of 11 other 3-amino-2H-azirine structures reported in the literature. Most notable is the very long formal N-C single bond, which is, with one exception, around 1.57 Å. Each compound has crystallized in a chiral space group. The Pd atom in the trans-PdCl2 complex is coordinated by one of each of the pair of diastereoisomers, while both of the diastereoisomers share the same crystallographic site in the structure of 11; this property thereby manifesting itself as disorder. The chosen crystal of 12 is either an inversion twin or composed of a pure enantiomorph, but this could not be established specifically.

Total synthesis of the peptaibols hypomurocin A3 and hypomurocin A5, and their conformation analysis.

The total syntheses of hypomurocin A3 and hypomuricin A5 (HM A3 and HM A5, resp.) in solution phase are described. These syntheses have been successfully achieved by applying the 'azirine/oxazolone method' to introduce the two Aib-Pro units into the backbone of these undecapeptaibols in one step with methyl 2,2-dimethyl-2H-azirine-3-prolinate as the 'Aib-Pro synthon'. The coupling of Z-protected (Z=(benzyloxy)carbonyl) amino acids or peptide acids with amino acid tert-butyl esters and of peptide segments was carried out according to the TBTU (=O-(benzotriazol-1-yl)-N,N,N',N'-tetramethyluronium tetrafluoroborate) and HOBt (=1-hydroxybenzotriazole) protocol. Purification by reversed-phase HPLC gave the peptides in pure form. The products were characterized by optical rotation, NMR and IR spectroscopy, mass spectrometry, and elemental analysis. The crystal structures of HM A3 and of an octapeptide fragment of HM A5 could be obtained. An NMR analysis was also carried out with HM A3 and HM A5 to determine their conformations in solution. A global structural comparison between the three sequences of HM A1, HM A3, and HM A5 was performed, as well as the HPLC correlation of the natural HM A family and the synthetic samples.