Piero Spagnolo

From Azides to Nitrogen‐Centered Radicals: Applications of Azide Radical Chemistry to Organic Synthesis

Over the last thirty years organic azides have drawn a great deal of attention as radical traps for carbon- and heteroatom-centered radicals, both in intra- and in intermolecular processes. The resulting intermediates (nitrogen-centered radicals such as triazenyls, aminyls, or even iminyls) can be conveniently employed in the synthesis of a variety of cyclic and acyclic nitrogen-containing compounds.

An Insight into the Radical Thiol/Yne Coupling: The Emergence of Arylalkyne-Tagged Sugars for the Direct Photoinduced Glycosylation of Cysteine-Containing Peptides

An explorative study of the Thiol-Yne Coupling (TYC) reaction has been carried out using an aliphatic (1-octyne) and an aromatic alkyne (phenylacetylene) and two alkanethiols (methyl thioglycolate and N-acetyl-L-cysteine methyl ester). The outcomes of the TYC reactions strongly depend on the experimental conditions (e.g., temperature, solvent, and alkyne/thiol ratio), but these can be properly adjusted to achieve selective production of either mono- or bis-coupling products. With respect to 1-octyne, phenylacetylene undergoes notably easier radical hydrothiolation, further showing a notably higher aptitude for monohydrothiolation exclusive of bis-hydrothiolation. The overall findings were exploited in glycosylation of cysteine derivatives as well as of cysteine-containing peptides. A sugar featuring an arylacetylene moiety gave rise to a true click-reaction, that is, glycosylation of the tripeptide glutathione in its native form, by means of virtually equimolar amounts of reagents. This reaction was successfully applied, under physiological conditions, to a cysteine-containing nonapeptide with marked advantages over the analogous Thiol-Ene Coupling (TEC) derivatization. A TYC/TEC sequence affording bis-armed cysteine derivatives through dual functionalization of an alkynyl sugar was additionally devised.

A Study of Vinyl Radical Cyclization onto the Azido Group by Addition of Sulfanyl, Stannyl, and Silyl Radicals to Alkynyl Azides☆

Thermal radical reactions of azidoalkynes 2, 8, 14, and 21a–c with thiols 1a–c afford 2-sulfanylvinyl radicals by selective addition of sulfanyl radicals to the triple bond. 1-Phenylvinyl radicals 23 and 30a, as well as vinyl radical 30b, undergo fast 5-cyclization onto the aromatic azide function to give cyclized indoles. In contrast, both 1-phenyl (15, 17) and 1-alkyl (3a,b, 9) vinyl radicals fail to add to their aliphatic azido substituents and exclusively undergo cyclization onto the aromatic sulfanyl ring and H transfer from the thiol precursor. Azidoalkynes 14 and 21a react with Bu3SnH and TMSS under radical conditions to give instead the corresponding amines as a result of preferential attack of Bu3Sn · and (TMS)3Si · radicals on the azido group rather than on the triple bond. Evidence is provided that alkyl radical cyclizations onto azides are not feasible in the presence of thiol, in contrast with the reported utility of these cyclization reactions in the presence of Bu3SnH and TMSS.

Reduction of azides to amines by samarium diiodide

Abstract Amines can be prepared by reduction with samarium diiodide under mild conditions and in good yields.

Iminyl Radicals from α-Azido o-Iodoanilides via 1,5-H Transfer Reactions of Aryl Radicals: New Transformation of α-Azido Acids to Decarboxylated Nitriles

The radical reaction of tributyltin hydride with o-iodo- N-methylanilides derived from alpha-azido acids provides an excellent access to alpha-(aminocarbonyl)iminyl radicals through 1,5-hydrogen transfer reaction of initially formed aryl radicals followed by beta-elimination of dinitrogen from ensuing alpha-azido-alpha-(aminocarbonyl)alkyl radicals. The outcoming iminyls display a peculiar tendency to form corresponding nitriles by beta-elimination of aminocarbonyl radicals.

Tin-free generation of alkyl radicals from alkyl 4-pentynyl sulfides via homolytic substitution at the sulfur atom.

Homolytic substitution at the sulfur atom of beta-(phenylsulfanyl)vinyl radicals, obtained by radical reaction of benzenethiol with easily accessible alkyl 4-pentynyl sulfides, is a mild, effective, tin-free route for the generation of all types of alkyl radicals. This protocol can be employed in reductive defunctionalizations as well as cyclizations onto both electron-rich and electron-poor C-C double bonds.

Smiles rearrangement for the synthesis of 5-amino-substituted [1]benzothieno[2,3-b]pyridine

The Smiles rearrangement was successfully applied to 4-hydroxybenzo[b]thiophene furnishing a facile entry to the 4-amino derivative. The rearrangement was extended to 5-methoxy-4-methoxycarbonyl[1]benzothieno[2,3-b]pyridine obtained via aza-Wittig/electrocyclization reaction of novel N-(4-methoxybenzothiophen-2-yl)iminomethyldiphenylphosphorane with methyl trans-4-oxo-2-pentenoate. The preparation of a novel 5-amino-4-methoxycarbonyl[1]benzothieno[2,3-b]pyridine, which is of interest as a potential secondary peptide structure mimic, was successfully achieved.

Radical chain reactions of α-azido ketones with tributyltin hydride: reduction vs nitrogen insertion and 1,2-hydrogen shift in the intermediate N-stannylaminyl radicals

Abstract The radical chain reactions of a variety of acyclic and cyclic α-azido ketones with tributyltin hydride have been investigated. The derived N-(tributylstannyl)aminyl radicals normally undergo H-abstraction reaction yielding corresponding amines, and thence symmetrical pyrazines by subsequent self-condensation, in competition with 1,2-H-migration from the α-carbon to nitrogen leading to α-imino ketone decomposition products with loss of the chain-carrying tributyltin radical. The noteworthy occurrence of a quite uncommon radical 1,2-hydrogen-atom shift is considered to be largely due to consequent formation of a highly stable, captodative carbon-centred radical. In contrast with our previous N-stannylaminyl radicals produced from α-azido-β-keto esters, the present aminyl congeners give poor amounts (or even none) of nitrogen-inserted amides/lactams, which are envisaged to arise from intramolecular three-membered cyclisation onto the ketone moiety followed by β-scission of the resultant alkoxyl radical. It is inferred that adequate stabilisation of the eventual ring-opened carbon radical be a major factor for the successful outcome of the regiospecific nitrogen insertion process. Evidence is also presented that chemoselective attack of tris(trimethylsilyl)silyl radical to the ketone oxygen of an α-azido ketone gives rise to deazidation as a likely consequence of β-elimination of azidyl radical by the ensuing α-silyloxyalkyl radical. X-Ray crystal structure analyses of the bromo ketone 5a , the azido ketone 5b , the caprolactam 22 , and the pyrazine 26 have been performed.

Boron trifluoride promoted reaction of benzenesulphenanilides with alkenes-arylaminosulphenylation of alkenes.

Abstract The addition of benzenesulphenanilides to alkenes in the presence of boron trifluoride provides a practicable synthetic procedure for the arylaminosulphenylation of alkenes.

Synthetic utility of 4'-nitrobenzenesulfenanilide in the functionalization of carbon-carbon double and triple bonds : its use in the bromosulfenylation of alkenes and alkynes

Abstract The reaction of 4′-nitrobenzenesulfenanilide (NBSA) with hydrobromic acid, suitably carried out at room temperature in the presence of cyclohexene, trans -hex-3-ene, hex-1-ene and 3,3-dimethylbut-1-ene, results in quantitative isolation of corresponding 2-bromoalkyl phenyl sulfides which occur with trans -stereospecificity and anti-Markovnikov regiospecificity through electrophilic addition of initially-formed benzenesulfenyl bromide to the alkene double bond. Similar reaction in the presence of mono- and di- substituted alkyl-and phenyl-acetylenes generally affords (E)-2-bromovinyl phenyl sulfides in good yields, which become lower with decreasing nucleophilic power of the alkyne employed. However, in the presence of parent acetylene, no virtual formation of the corresponding sulfide adduct occurs, but almost exclusive formation of diphenyl disulfide essentially ascribable to preferred decomposition of the highly unstable benzenesulfenyl bromide intermediate. The present additions of benzenesulfenyl bromide to alkenes and alkynes are believed to involve the initial intermediacy of thiiranium- and thiirenium-like ions, respectively, by analogy with related AdE reactions of sulfenyl chlorides.