A route to aryl-substituted quinolines from N-tosyl 1-azadienes is described. The key steps are a [4+2] cycloaddition with benzyne followed by base treatment of the 1,4-dihydroquinoline product. The N-tosyl 1-azadienes were prepared from readily accessible cinnamaldehyde and chalcone substrates by condensation with p-TsNH2. Supplemental materials are available for this article. Go to the publisher's online edition of Synthetic Communications (R) to view the free supplemental file.
A copper-mediated formal [5 + 1] oxidative annulation of 2-vinylanilines and glyoxylic acid to 4-arylated quinolines was developed. A series of 4-arylated quinoline derivatives were obtained in good to excellent yields. This protocol could be carried out efficiently on gram scale. The transformation probably underwent nucleophilic addition/6π electrocyclization/oxidative aromatization and the elimination