Palladium-Catalyzed Oxidative O–H/N–H Carbonylation of Hydrazides: Access to Substituted 1,3,4-Oxadiazole-2(3H)-ones

Copper-Catalyzed Oxidative Synthesis of 3-Aryl-5-fluoroalkyl-1,3,4-oxadiazol-2(3H)-ones Using Perfluorocarboxylic Anhydride as a Reagent

A copper-catalyzed oxidative annulation of sydnones with perfluorocarboxylic anhydride for the synthesis of 3-aryl-5-fluoroalkyl-1,3,4-oxadiazol-2(3H)-ones is developed. A diverse array of 3-aryl-5-fluoroalkyl-1,3,4-oxadiazol-2(3H)-ones are prepared with good yields (>73 examples, yields up to 95%). The synthetic utility of the developed protocol was demonstrated by gram-scale synthesis, and the synthetic transformation to 1,2,4-triazol-3-one products. A mechanistic study suggests that the reaction proceeds via the extrusion of carbon dioxide to generate the hydrazide intermediate, which then undergoes intramolecular cyclization and oxidation.

Electrochemical Oxidative Carbonylation of NH-Sulfoximines

The electrochemical synthesis of N-aroylsulfoximines features the use of tetra-n-butylammonium iodide (TBAI) as the medium and a broad substrate scope, thus affording a wide range of N-aroylated sulfoximines in moderate to good yields. The advantages of this electrochemical strategy are augmented by mild reaction conditions that are external oxidant-free, ligand-free, and easy to scale up to gram scale. Both the control experiments and the mechanistic studies revealed that the whole electrochemical process proceeded through a palladium (II/IV/II) catalytic cycle.

Oxidative C-H/N-H Carbonylation of Benzamide by Nickel Catalysis with CO as the Carbonyl Source

An efficient and direct carbonylation of aminoquinoline benzamides has been developed using abundant and inexpensive Ni(OAc)₂·4H₂O as the catalyst and carbon monoxide as a cost-efficient C1 building block. This process features good functional-group tolerance and can be conducted on gram scale. The directing group can be easily removed under mild conditions.

Investigation of Masked N-Acyl-N-isocyanates: Support for Oxadiazolones as Blocked N-Isocyanate Precursors

In contrast to carbon-substituted isocyanates that are common building blocks, N-substituted isocyanates remain underdeveloped and reports on their N-acyl derivatives (i. e. amido-isocyanates) are exceedingly rare. Herein, amido-isocyanates were investigated in the context of syntheses of aza-tripeptide and hydantoins subunits starting from simple bench-stable precursors. A key finding is that the amido-isocyanate formed in situ cyclized to yield an oxadiazolone, and that under suitable reaction conditions this heterocycle is a traceless blocked (masked) N-isocyanate. Using organic bases as catalysts and upon heating, oxadiazolone formation is observed, and various nucleophiles to provide the desired aza-dipeptides or hydantoins in moderate to high yields. Further support for an amido-isocyanate intermediate was obtained using carboxylic acids as nucleophiles, affording N-acylhydrazide products.

Palladium-Catalyzed Multistep Tandem Carbonylation/N-Dealkylation/Carbonylation Reaction: Access to Isatoic Anhydrides

A novel and efficient synthesis of isatoic anhydride derivatives was developed via palladium-catalyzed multistep tandem carbonylation/N-dealkylation/carbonylation reaction with alkyl as the leaving group and tertiary anilines as nitrogen nucleophiles. This approach features good functional group compatibility and readily available starting materials. Furthermore, it provided a convenient approach for the synthesis of biologically and medicinally useful evodiamine.

Palladium-catalyzed C3-selective C–H oxidative carbonylation of imidazo[1,2-a]pyridines with CO and alcohols: a way to access esters

A palladium-catalyzed C3-selective C–H oxidative carbonylation for the synthesis of various esters from imidazo[1,2-a]pyridines and CO with high efficiency and high atom economy has been developed.

One-pot synthesis of 1,3,4-oxadiazol-2(3H)-ones with CO2 as a C1 synthon promoted by hypoiodite

A convenient and efficient route has been developed to synthesize 1,3,4-oxadiazol-2(3H)-ones from CO₂, hydrazines and aryl or aliphatic aldehydes. Promoted by hypoiodite (IO^-) generated in situ from KI and oxidant TBHP, the one-pot synthesis could proceed smoothly to afford the desired products in moderate to high yields. Mechanism studies revealed that nitrile imine was an important intermediate in this transformation. Notably, a commercial herbicide Oxadiazon could be successfully synthesized by this route.

KI-catalyzed reactions of aryl hydrazines with α-oxocarboxylic acids in the presence of CO2: access to 1,3,4-oxadiazol-2(3H)-ones

A novel KI-catalyzed synthesis of 1,3,4-oxadiazol-2(3H)-ones from aryl hydrazines, α-oxocarboxylic acids and CO₂ was reported.

Current Parallel Solid-Phase Synthesis of Drug-like Oxadiazole and Thiadiazole Derivatives for Combinatorial Chemistry

Solid-phase organic synthesis is a powerful tool in the synthesis of small organic molecules and building of libraries of compounds for drug discovery. Heterocyclic compounds are important components of the drug discovery field as well and serve as a core for hundreds of marketed drugs. In particular, oxadiazole and thiadiazole cores are compounds of great interest due to their comprehensive biological activities and structural features. Therefore, a plethora of oxadiazole and thiadiazole synthesis methodologies have been reported to date, including solution and solid-phase synthesis methodologies. In this review, we concentrate on and summarize solid-phase synthetic approaches of the oxadiazole and thiadiazole derivatives.

A metal-free and mild approach to 1,3,4-oxadiazol-2(3H)-ones via oxidative C–C bond cleavage using molecular oxygen

A metal-free aerobic oxidative C–C bond cleavage reaction for the synthesis of 1,3,4-oxadiazol-2(3H)-ones is described.

Palladium-Catalyzed Intermolecular Oxidative Cyclization of Allyltosylamides with AcOH: Assembly of 3-Pyrrolin-2-ones

The first example of Pd-catalyzed oxidative cyclization of allyltosylamides with acetic acid is reported. This transformation involved C-N/C-C bond formation and provided 3-pyrrolin-2-ones in a one-pot manner with easy-operation, excellent atom economy and good yields. Mechanistic studies indicate that the reaction proceeds through intermolecular aminopalladation, migratory insertion, reinsertion and β-hydride elimination processes.

A Palladium-Catalyzed Carbonylation Approach to Eight-Membered Lactam Derivatives with Antitumor Activity

The reactivity of 2-(2-alkynylphenoxy)anilines under PdI2 /KI-catalyzed oxidative carbonylation conditions has been studied. Although a different reaction pathway could have been operating, N-palladation followed by CO insertion was the favored pathway with all substrates tested, including those containing an internal or terminal triple bond. This led to the formation of a carbamoylpalladium species, the fate of which, as predicted by theoretical calculations, strongly depended on the nature of the substituent on the triple bond. In particular, 8-endo-dig cyclization preferentially occurred when the triple bond was terminal, leading to the formation of carbonylated ζ-lactam derivatives, the structures of which have been confirmed by XRD analysis. These novel medium-sized heterocyclic compounds showed antitumor activity against both estrogen receptor-positive (MCF-7) and triple negative (MDA-MB-231) breast cancer cell lines. In particular, ζ-lactam 3 j' may represent a novel and promising antitumor agent because biological tests clearly demonstrate that this compound significantly reduces cell viability and motility in both MCF-7 and MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cell lines, without affecting normal breast epithelial cell viability.