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A. Kudelko et al. / Tetrahedron Letters 54 (2013) 4637–4640
Table 1
Optimization of the reaction conditions for the preparation of 1-[(1-ethoxyethyl-
ene)amino]-2-methyl-4-(4-hydroxybenzyl)imidazol-5(4H)-one (7a)
O
O
N
N
HO
Entry
Molar ratio
Solvent 7a
Yielda (%)
2a
H
N
Hydrazide 5a CH3C(OC2H5)3 p-TsOH
Yielda (%)
1
2
3
4
5
1
1
1
1
1
5
5
3
3
1
—
0.07
0.07
0.07
0.07
—
—
48
68
0
0
10
7
Figure 1. The structure of 1-[(1-ethoxypropylene)amino]-2-ethyl-4-(4-hydroxy-
benzyl)imidazol-5(4H)-one.
CH3CN 55
Xylene 75
Xylene
5
66
a
Yield with respect to the starting hydrazide 5a.
Derivatives of 1,2,4-triazine (2) were obtained in satisfactory
yields from the reactions of hydrazides bearing an electron-donat-
ing group (EDG) at the
a position (Scheme 1). These substituents
and in the presence of a catalytic amount of p-toluenesulfonic acid
(p-TsOH) (Table 1, entry 4). Decreasing the molar ratio of hydrazide
5a and CH3C(OC2H5)3 to an equimolar amount changed the reac-
tion course and resulted in the formation of the six-membered
1,2,4-triazin-6(5H)-one 2 (method B) (Table 1, entry 5).
The yields of the reactions leading to the five-membered imida-
zol-5(4H)-ones 7a–i were high and varied from 51% to 78% (Ta-
ble 2). It was found that compounds possessing alkyl groups
(R2 = CH3, C2H5) at position 2 were formed more easily than their
counterparts substituted with a phenyl group. In addition, the ste-
ric hindrance caused by the R1 substituent in the starting hydra-
zide also played an important role. The yields of imidazol-5(4H)-
increase both the nucleophilicity and basicity of the amino group.
In this way, the amino center responsible for the formation of the
six-membered ring becomes more reactive than the competing
carbonyl. Heating
L
-(ꢀ)-tyrosine hydrazide in the presence of an
excess of the orthoester, we obtained another five-membered het-
erocycle identified as 1-[(1-ethoxypropylene)amino]-2-ethyl-4-(4-
hydroxybenzyl)imidazol-5(4H)-one (Fig. 1).25
Inspired by this unexpected result, we decided to investigate
the reactions of selected
der to obtain this interesting class of heterocycles. The starting
hydrazides were obtained from commercially available -amino-
carboxylic acids according to well known procedures. Thus,
-(+)-isoleucine, and
a-aminocarboxylic acid hydrazides in or-
a
L
-
-
ones 7g–i obtained from
L-(+)-isoleucine hydrazide (5c) were
(ꢀ)-tyrosine,
L-(ꢀ)-phenylalanine,
L
D
-(ꢀ)-
a
relatively lower than those prepared from the hydrazides of
phenylglycine (3a–d) were transformed into the corresponding
methyl ester hydrochlorides 4a–d with methanol and thionyl chlo-
ride. The resulting compounds 4a–d were then converted into the
final hydrazides 5a–d by reaction with hydrazine hydrate under
mild conditions (Scheme 2).
L
-(ꢀ)-tyrosine (5a) and
L
-(ꢀ)-phenylalanine (5b). The six-
membered 1,2,4-triazin-6(5H)-ones 2a–i, produced in the reac-
tions with equimolar amounts of orthoester, were also obtained
in high yields of 56–80% (Table 2). The structure of the products
both from the family of imidazol-5(4H)-one 7 and 1,2,4-triazin-
6(5H)-one 2 was confirmed by X-ray analysis,25,26 elemental
analysis, and typical spectroscopic methods.
Acid hydrazides 5a–c were heated with excess amounts of tri-
ethyl orthoesters: orthoacetate, orthopropionate, and orthobenzo-
ate (R2 = CH3, C2H5, C6H5, Scheme 3) yielding the derivatives of
imidazol-5(4H)-one 7 (method A). The optimization of the reaction
conditions revealed that the formation of the desired imidazol-
5(4H)-ones 7 proceeded smoothly in a non-polar solvent (xylene)
However, regardless of the presence or absence of a catalyst, we
did not obtain any acyclic intermediates 6 or 8, which accompa-
nied the reactions starting from
aminocarboxylic acids and orthoesters.27,28 Thus, the compounds
possessing a free amino group at the position, were more reac-
tive than their -hydroxy or N-protected -amino counterparts
and underwent cyclization immediately after their formation.
Hydrazides of -aminocarboxylic acids constitute materials pos-
sessing at least two nucleophilic sites susceptible to attack by
orthoesters: the free amino group adjacent to the carbon and
a-hydroxy- and N-protected a-
a
a
a
NH2
NH2*HCl
NH2
ii
i
H
H
H
COOH
3a-d
R1
R1
COOCH3
4a-d
R1
CONHNH2
5a-d
R1
a
a
a
b
c
d
4-HOC6H4CH2
C6H5CH2
C2H5(CH3)HC
C6H5
4a
5a
(95%)
(85%)
the hydrazine group. Generally, the amino group is more reactive
than the hydrazine that neighbors the carbonyl functionality. The
4b (90%)
4c (93%)
5b (80%)
5c (78%)
reaction of
D
-(ꢀ)-
a-phenylglycine methyl ester (9) with triethyl
4d
5d
(80%)
(95%)
orthoacetate leading to N-(1-ethoxyethylene) derivative (10) pro-
ceeded smoothly with heating for about 30 min, while the trans-
formation of phenylacetic acid hydrazide 5e into the
Scheme 2. Synthesis of the starting a-aminocarboxylic acid hydrazides 5. Reagents
and conditions: (i) MeOH, SOCl2, 0 °C, 6 h; (ii) N2H4ꢁH2O, MeOH, rt, 24 h.
R2
N
R2
C
O
O
R1
method A
O
N
H
N
O
C
N
H
C
O
N
R2
H
N
N
R1
NH2
R2C(OC2H5)3
R2
6
7
H
CONHNH2
R1
R2
C
H
N
5
R1
H
R2
method B
N
O
R1 = 4-HOC6H4CH2, C6H5CH2, C2H5(CH3)HC
R2 = CH3, C2H5, C6H5
H
O
N
H
CONHNH2
R1
2
8
Scheme 3. Reactions of
a-aminocarboxylic acid hydrazides 5 with triethyl orthoesters: method A – conducted with excess orthoester (3 equiv), xylene, p-TsOH (0.07 equiv),
reflux 2–20 h; method B—conducted with equimolar amounts of orthoester (1 equiv), xylene, p-TsOH (0.07 equiv), reflux 2–6 h.