Nitrogen-containing heterocycles are ubiquitous in natural
products, as well as in drugs and drug candidates.[1,2] Among
nitrogenous
heterocycles,
the
tetrahydroisoquinoline
(THIQ) core represents a relevant structural motif frequent-
ly found in natural products and biologically active com-
pounds.[3] Of the various synthetic approaches to nitroge-
nous heterocycles, the use of organometallic compounds has
recently emerged as a particularly robust methodology.[4]
Our recent studies on the chemistry of lithiated three-mem-
bered nitrogenous heterocycles[5] demonstrated the impor-
tance of this methodology to the preparation of other nitro-
gen-containing heterocycles, such as piperazines,[6] phtha-
lanes,[7] and isochromanes.[8]
Herein, we report a new synthetic strategy for the prepa-
ration of C4-functionalized 1,2,3,4-tetrahydroisoquinolines,
which exploits the chemistry of lithiated aziridines and the
advantages of flow-microreactor technology.[9] It is worth
mentioning that, because of their biological relevance, new
synthetic routes to substituted THIQs are desired.[10]
During previous work evaluating the reactivity of laterally
lithiated 1-methyl-2-(ortho-tolyl)aziridine, we reported the
solvent-dependent stereochemical outcome of the lithiation
reaction. In fact, when enantioenriched (e.r.>99:1) aziridine
(S)-1a was subjected to a lithiation–electrophilic-trapping
protocol in THF at À788C, racemic (Æ)-[D1]-1a was ob-
tained upon quenching with a deuterium source. In striking
contrast, in a less polar solvent, such as hexane or toluene,
Scheme 1. Solvent dependent lithiation–deuteration of 1-methyl-2-(ortho-
tolyl)aziridine.
caused by the instability of 2-Li with respect to 1-Li. Never-
theless, assuming the presence of the equilibrium depicted
in Scheme 2, we reasoned that the nucleophilic nitrogen
highly
enantioenriched
(S)-[D1]-1a
was
recovered
(Scheme 1). This result could be ascribed to the effect of the
solvent on the nature and aggregation state of the lithiated
intermediate.[11]
It has been proposed that a more polar solvent, such as
THF, could promote an aziridine ring opening with the for-
mation of the ortho-quinodimethane intermediate, 2-Li. This
intermediate promptly undergoes a reclosing reaction on
either enantiotopic face of the double bond, leading to the
observed epimerization (Scheme 1).[12] With the aim of dem-
onstrating the intermediacy of the ortho-quinodimethane, 2-
Li, strong dienophiles, such as maleic anhydride and tetra-
cyanoethylene, were added to the reaction mixture as trap-
ping agents, but without any satisfactory outcome. The in-
ability of a strong dienophile to trap 2-Li is likely to be
Scheme 2. Reaction pathways for laterally lithiated aziridine 1-Li.
À
(N Li) could attack either Cb, leading to 1-Li, or Ca, giving
access to 3-Li, a tetrahydroisoquinoline scaffold lithiated at
C4 (Scheme 2).[13] This strategy would allow, starting from
the same parent aziridine, the preparation of either func-
tionalized aziridines 4 or THIQs 5 upon electrophilic trap-
ping.
After a thorough screening of the reaction parameters, we
were happy to find evidence of the presence of 3-Li by
warming a sample of 1-Li, generated in toluene at À788C,
to a temperature in the range À30 to À408C. With ClSiMe3
as the electrophile, the trapping product 5a was obtained in
modest yield.[14] However, this optimization study furnished
evidence of the intermediacy of 2-Li, as well as demonstrat-
ing the crucial role of the temperature for reproducibility of
the reaction outcome.
[a] Dr. A. Giovine, Dr. B. Musio, Dr. L. Degennaro, Prof. R. Luisi
Department of Pharmacy, University of Bari “Aldo Moro”
Via E. Orabona 4, 70125 Bari (Italy)
Fax : (+39)080-5442539
[b] Dr. A. Falcicchio
Istituto di Cristallografia (IC-CNR)
Via Amendola 122/o, 70125 Bari (Italy)
[c] Dr. A. Nagaki, Prof. J.-i. Yoshida
The critical importance of reaction temperature to the
outcome of the reaction prompted us to investigate this
process by using the microreactor technology. The main ad-
vantages of flow microreactor procedures are exquisite ther-
mal control and efficient heat transfer derived from the in-
creased surface-to-volume ratio possible on the microscale.
Department of Synthetic Chemistry and Biological Chemistry
Graduate School of Engineering, University of Kyoto
Nishikyo-ku, Kyoto, 615-8510 (Japan)
Supporting information for this article is available on the WWW
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