A procedure on palladium-catalyzed selective aminocarbonylation of styrenes with nitroarenes for the synthesis of α,β-unsaturatedamides has been developed. A range of substituted α,β-unsaturatedamides were synthesized in moderate to good yields. Interestingly, nitroarenes act as both a nitrogen source and oxidant, and Mo(CO)6 acts as a solid CO source and reductant in this catalytic system.
Four series of acidamides were synthesized, and through measurement using a fluorogenic substrate assay with human recombinant MMP-1, MMP-2 and MMP-9, compound 3f showed considerable inhibitory activities against MMP-2, MMP-9 and the best selectivity over MMP-1. Preliminary structure–activity relationship analysis indicated that caffeicacidamides with electron-donating groups at para-position of
β-unsaturated amides and alkenyl nitriles from readily available propargylic alcohols. The reaction proceeded smoothly under the neutral conditions with hydroxylaminehydrochloride (NH2OH·HCl) as the nitrogen source. The development of these new strategies has significantly extended the application of hydroxylaminehydrochloride to the chemistry of propargylic alcohols. Moreover, both secondary and tertiary alcohols