1,2-Bis(1H-indol-2-yl)ethane (9) has been prepared and converted into indolo[2,3-c]carbazole (8) using palladium acetate in refluxing acetic acid. Reaction of 9 with CoF3 in hot TFA led to isolation of cyclohept[1,2-b:5,4-b']bisindole derivatives 11 and 12, which could be elaborated into further derivatives. Treatment of 9 with orthoesters, aldehydes and ketones under acidic conditions afforded additional bisindoles containing a seven-membered ring.
4-Oxo-4,5-dihydro-3H-pyrrolo[2,3-c]quinoline-1-carboxylic acid ethyl ester was obtained when TosMIC was reacted with 3-methylene-oxindole acetic acid ethyl ester. An alternative synthesis to this pyrroloquinolone was performed via a reduction of a 2,3,4-trisubstituted pyrrole obtained in turn by treatment of a vinyl sulfone with ethyl isocyanoacetate under basic conditions. A beta-carboline, isomeric with the pyrroloquinolone, was synthesised utilizing a tosylimine.
Syntheses of indolo[2,3-b]carbazole-6,12-dione and the isomeric indolo[3,2-b]carbazole-6,12-dione, an extremely efficient inducer of the aryl hydrocarbon (Ah) receptor are described. Initial oxidation of the parent indolo[3,2-b]carbazole followed by several different ring-closing strategies produced the latter compound. Entries into syntheses of unsymmetrical 6,12-disubstituted indolo[2,3-b]carbazoles are also described.
The fused heterocycles benzothiopyrano[2,3-b]indol-11-one and benzopyrano[2,3-b]indol-11-one, have been prepared from methyl 3-indole carboxylate in two steps.
Reduction of indolo[2,3-b]quinoxalines with zinc in the presence of an anhydride gave N,N-diacyl trapped 6,11-dihydroindolo[2,3-b]quinoxalines in 43-92% yields. When the reduction with zinc was performed in TFA/TFAA, an unexpected ring opened product was isolated in 49% yield. The structure of this product could be identified as 1,2-dihydro-1-trifluoroacetyl-3-[(2-trifluoroacetylamino)phenyl]quinoxal ine.
The total synthesis of all four known rhopaladins, A-D, isolated from the Okinawan marine tunicate Rhopalaea sp., in two synthetic steps is described, involving an imidate based cyclization with tryptophan esters as the key step to afford the appropriately substituted imidazolinone unit. A short and efficient new synthesis of indol-3-yl-carbonyl nitriles from indol-3-yl-carboxaldehydes and trimethylsilyl cyanide, followed by oxidation with DDQ is also described.
The sulfonation of various 1-phenylsulfonyl-1H-pyrroles and 1-phenylsulfonyl-1H-indoles using chlorosulfonic acid in acetonitrile has been studied, leading to the development of a clean and operationally simple protocol allowing direct synthesis of the corresponding 1-phenylsulfonyl-1H-pyrrole-3-sulfonyl chlorides and 1-phenylsulfonyl-1H-indole-3-sulfonyl chlorides, respectively, both of which may be easily converted to various sulfonamide derivatives by treatment with nitrogen nucleophiles. Efficient and selective removal of the phenylsulfonyl- or tosyl groups in the sulfonamide series may be achieved under mild conditions.
The exocyclic analogue of the indole alkaloid isolated from the marine sponge Halichondria melanodocia has been prepared via olefination of a phosphonoester derived from 3-(2-bromoacyl)indole. The formation of an unexpected indolylazepine is also discussed.
The indole alkaloid barettin (with bromine in 6-position), isolated from the marine sponge Geodia Barretti, has been synthesised via a Horner-Wadsworth-Emmons type reaction from 6-bromoindole-3-carboxaldehyde to introduce the dehydro-functionality. Subsequent deprotection and cyclisation afforded the natural product in Z-conformation.
The reaction between 3-aminocrotonates and 3-acetonylideneoxindole in refluxing toluene resulted in 2-pyrrolo-3 '-yloxindoles in high yields (around 90%). At room temperature the 2-pyrrolo-3 '-yioxindoles exists as keto-enol tautomers. Treatment with POCl3 yielded the 2-chloro-3-pyrrolyl indole, which gave the pyrrolo annulated indolopyran-2-one upon basic hydrolysis of 2-chloro-3-pyrrolyl indole methyl ester.
The reactions of 2-lithiated indole and 1-methylindole with elemental sulfur have been studied, leading e.g. to a rational approach to pentathiepino[6,7-b]indoles 5 and 10. Notable amounts of the previously known tetrathiocino[5,6-b:8,7-b ' ]diindole 11 could be observed as a side reaction in the preparation of 10. Treatment of the anions of indoline-2-thiones 6 or 7 with sulfur also gave the pentathiepins 5 or 10, respectively. In addition, a convenient and clean lithiation route to indoline-2-thione (6) has been developed.
Isatogens (3-oxo-3H-indole 1-oxides) possess interesting biological properties and development of a general method to construct these derivatives has now been developed. Indolines (2,3-dihydroindoles) and isatogens have been prepared in an efficient route starting from indoles substituted in position 2. Reduction of the 2-substituted indoles was performed with tin and hydrochloric acid to give racemic indolines, which were converted to isatogens by 3-chloroperoxybenzoic acid (m-CPBA).
A three-step synthesis of caulersin (3) from indole-2-acetic acid methyl ester and indole-2-carbonyl chloride is described. As the spectral data of the synthetic sample differed from those reported for the natural product, the structure was determined by X-ray crystallography.
A simple, high-yielding synthesis of 2-vinyl-3H-quinazolin-4-one, 2-(1-chlorovinyl)-3H-quinazolin-4-one and 2-(1-bromovinyl)-3H-quinazolin-4-one. The 2-vinylquinazolinones 11a and 14 participate readily in nucleophilic addition reactions. Treatment with both carbon and nitrogen nucleophiles results in a clean conversion into a variety of 2-substituted 3H-quinazolin-4-one derivatives. The 2-(1-halovinyl)-3H-quinazolin-4-ones 11b and Ile reacted with carbon nucleophiles to give several derivatives of 2-substituted 3H-quinazolin-4-one, such as dihydrofurancarboxylic ethyl ester 23.