Bornholdt et al.
JOCNote
SCHEME 3. Synthesis and Stability of BtsCl and BtsOPFPa
opened byproduct and some triethylsilyl-containing byproduct.
Recrystallization from methanol by dissolving it in 40 °C warm
methanol and cooling to -78 °C afforded 3 (3.30 g, 50%) as a
slightly rose-colored solid: mp 56.5-57.5 °C; [R]20 = -32.0 (c
D
1.10, EtOAc); 1H NMR (300 MHz, CDCl3) δ 8.31-8.20 (m, 1H),
8.05-7.95 (m, 1H), 7.69-7.54 (m, 2H), 3.84-3.72 (m, 2H),
3.31-3.19 (m, 1H), 2.93 (d, J = 7.0, 1H), 2.50 (d, J = 4.8, 1H),
0.80 (s, 9H), -0.02 (s, 3H), -0.04 (s, 3H); 13C NMR (75 MHz,
CDCl3) δ 163.1, 152.5, 137.0, 128.2, 127.7, 125.8, 122.3, 61.8, 42.2,
32.2, 25.8, 18.4, -5.3, -5.4; HRMS calcd for C16H25N2O3S2Si
[M þ H] 385.1075, found 385.1061.
aKey: (a) NaOCl, HCl, CH2Cl2, -10 °C;20 (b) HOPFP, Et3N,
CH2Cl2, -30 °C.21
The very mild conditions used for the deprotection highlight
the advantage of using the Bts-group. BtsCl, originally intro-
duced by Vedejs,18 is readily prepared from inexpensive19
2-mercaptobenzothiazole (8) using NaOCl as the oxidant;20
see Scheme 3. BtsCl can be stored for several months in the
freezer with minimal deterioration. Alternatively, BtsCl can be
converted to the corresponding pentafluorophenyl sulfonate
ester (BtsOPFP) (10), which is stable at rt and reacts readily with
primary and secondary amines to form the corresponding Bts-
protected amines in very high yields.21 Most importantly, the
Bts group is readily removed under mild conditions using
thiolates,22 analogously to the nosyl group. Thus, the Bts group
should be applicable in many other settings where the tosyl and
nosyl groups currently are being used.
In conclusion, we have developed a new Cu-catalyzed
ring-opening of an N-Bts activated aziridine with Grignard
reagents. Subsequent ring annulation and deprotection
under mild conditions provided enantiopure 3-substituted
morpholines. This efficient protocol can be used to access
both enantiomers of 3-substituted morpholines, not directly
accessible from the chiral pool of amino acids.
General Procedure for Ring-Opening of 3 with Grignard
Reagents: Synthesis of (S)-N-(1-(tert-Butyldimethylsilyloxy)-
pentan-2-yl)benzo[d]thiazole-2-sulfonamide (4b). Copper(I) bro-
mide dimethyl sulfide (72 mg, 0.35 mmol) was added to a flame-
dried Schlenk flask under argon. Dry THF (14 mL) was added,
and the slurry was stirred at rt for 15 min and then cooled to
-55 °C (externally). Ethylmagnesium bromide (3.10 mL,
0.97 M, 3.00 mmol) in THF was added dropwise at -55 °C.
The resulting mixture was stirred at -55 to -50 °C for 30 min
and then cooled to -78 °C. Compound 3 (769 mg, 2.00 mmol) in
dry THF (3.5 mL) was added dropwise by syringe. The reaction
mixture was stirred at -78 °C for 1 h and then quenched with
8 mL of an aqueous (NH4)2SO4/NH3 solution (1 mol of (NH4)2SO4
and 30 mL of 25% NH4OH diluted to 500 mL with water) at
-78 °C and then allowed to warm to rt. The mixture was
transferred to a 100 mL flask, and the THF was removed in vacuo.
The aqueous residue was extracted with ether (1 ꢀ 25 mL and 2 ꢀ
15 mL), and the combined organic phases were washed with 0.05 M
Na2EDTA (10 mL) and brine (20 mL), dried with Na2SO4, filtered,
and concentrated in vacuo. The residue was purified by FC on silica
(EtOAc/PE, 0:100-1:3) to afford 4b (545 mg, 66%) as a colorless
solid: mp 49.5-50.5 °C; [R]20D = -10.2 (c 1.07, CHCl3); 1H NMR
(300 MHz, CDCl3) δ 8.19-8.13 (m, 1H), 8.00 -7.94 (m, 1H),
7.65-7.51 (m, 2H), 5.25 (d, J = 8.4, 1H), 3.71-3.48 (m, 3H),
1.61-1.50 (m, 2H), 1.47-1.23 (m, 2H), 0.87 (t, J = 7.3, 3H), 0.81
(s, 9H),-0.05 (s, 3H), -0.08 (s, 3H); 13C NMR (75 MHz, CDCl3) δ
167.0, 152.6, 136.6, 127.7, 127.5, 125.3, 122.3, 64.3, 56.1, 34.5, 25.9,
19.0, 18.4, 13.9, -5.5; HRMS calcd for C18H31N2O3S2Si [M þ H]
415.1545, found 415.1532.
Experimental Section
(S)-2-(2-((tert-Butyldimethylsilyloxy)methyl)aziridin-1-ylsul-
fonyl)benzo[d]thiazole (3). Trifluoroacetic acid (5.51 mL, 72 mmol)
was added dropwise by syringe to a stirred solution of 2 (7.73 g,
18 mmol) and triethylsilane (11.5 mL, 72 mmol) in dry CH2Cl2
(90 mL) at -5 °C under argon. The mixture was stirred 2.5 h at
-5 to þ4 °C until TLC showed full consumption of the starting
material. The reaction mixture was poured into cold 2 M K2CO3 (90
mL) under vigorous stirring. The layers were separated, and the
aqueous layer was extracted with ether (2 ꢀ 30 mL). The combined
organic layers were concentrated in vacuo to remove the CH2Cl2.
The residue was dissolved in EtOAc (80 mL), 2 M K2CO3 (35 mL)
was added, and the mixture was cooled to 0 °C in an ice bath. Solid
benzothiazole-2-sulfonyl chloride (BtsCl) (4.00 g, 17.1 mmol) was
added in small portions under vigorous stirring. After 2 h at 0 °C,
the mixture was allowed to warm to rt. Excess BtsCl was quenched
with 25% NH4OH (2 ꢀ 200 μL) until TLC showed full conversion.
The reaction mixture was then diluted with EtOAc (20 mL), and the
layers were separated. The aqueous layer was extracted with ether
(40 mL). The combined organic layers were washed with 0.5 M
NaH2PO4 (40 mL), water (40 mL), and satd Na2SO4 (40 mL), dried
over Na2SO4, filtered, and concentrated in vacuo. The residue was
purified by flash chromatography (FC) on silica (EtOAc/PE, 5:95 to
14:86) providing 4.96 g of material containing 3% of a chloride ring
General Procedure for the Deprotection of the TBS Group
Exemplified by the Synthesis (S)-N-(1-Hydroxypentan-2-yl)benzo-
[d]thiazole-2-sulfonamide (5b). HF (87 μL, 40%, 1.23 mmol,
1.5 equiv) was added to a stirred solution of 4b (415 mg, 1.30
mmol) in acetonitrile (2.3 mL) cooled to 0 °C in an ice bath. The
mixture was stirred 30 min at 0 °C and then at ambient
tempratue for 2 h while the reaction progress was moni-
tored by TLC and UPLC-MS. The reaction mixture was then
neutralized with satd NaHCO3 and concentrated in vacuo to
remove acetonitrile. The residue was partitioned between brine
(10 mL) and EtOAc (15 mL). The aqueous layer was extracted
with EtOAc (2 ꢀ 15 mL). The combined organic layers were
washed brine (10 mL), dried over Na2SO4, and concentrated in
vacuo. The solid residue was purified by FC on silica (EtOAc/
PE, 7:13) to afford the title compound 5b as a colorless solid (361
mg, 92%): mp 136-137 °C; [R]20D = þ4.5 (c 1.00, EtOAc); 1H
NMR (300 MHz, CDCl3) δ 8.12-8.06 (m, 1H), 7.98-7.93 (m,
1H), 7.62-7.51 (m, 2H), 5.74 (d, J = 8.1, 1H), 3.80-3.65 (m,
2H), 3.57 (dd, J = 5.7, 11.8, 1H), 3.26 (s, 1H), 1.61-1.50 (m,
2H), 1.49-1.28 (m, 2H), 0.88 (t, J = 7.2, 3H); 13C NMR (75
MHz, CDCl3) δ 167.9, 151.6, 136.4, 127.9, 127.7, 124.9, 122.4,
64.6, 57.4, 34.5, 19.0, 13.8; HRMS calcd for C12H17N2O3S2
[M þ H] 301.0681, found 301.0693.
(18) Vedejs, E.; Lin, S. Z.; Klapars, A.; Wang, J. B. J. Am. Chem. Soc.
1996, 118, 9796.
(19) 2-Mercaptobenzothiazole is used on large scale in several industrial
settings, among them as a vulcanizing agent in the rubber and latex industry.
Thus, 2-mercaptobenzothiazole is readily available at very low cost.
(20) Wright, S. W.; Hallstrom, K. N. J. Org. Chem. 2006, 71, 1080.
(21) Bornholdt, J.; Fjaere, K. W.; Felding, J.; Kristensen, J. L. Tetra-
hedron 2009, 65, 9280.
General Procedure for the Annulation Reaction: Synthesis of
(S)-3-Propyl-4-(benzo[d]thiazol-2-ylsulfonyl)morpholine (6b). To
a 20 mL capped microwave vial under argon was added triethyl-
amine (600 μL, 4.26 mmol, 4 equiv) dropwise to a stirred mix-
ture of 5b (320 mg, 1.07 mmol) in dry CH2Cl2 (8 mL) at 0 °C.
(22) Wuts, P. G. M.; Gu, R. L.; Northuis, J. M.; Thomas, C. L. Tetra-
hedron Lett. 1998, 39, 9155.
7456 J. Org. Chem. Vol. 75, No. 21, 2010