A synthetic methodology for the synthesis of α-aminoacidprecursors directly from the corresponding aldehydes using N,O-dialkylated hydroxylamines and masked acyl cyanide (MAC) reagents was developed. The one-pot reaction can be carried out under mild conditions and without a separate purification step of the imino species. The method was applied to the synthesis of optically pure (+)-4-methylphenylglycine
The palladium catalysed reactions of masked formyl cyanides 1 with aldehydes 2, followed by treatment with either diketene or acetic anhydride–pyridine, afford the addition products protected with acetylacetate 5 or acetyl group 6, respectively.
An alternative method for the preparation of MAC reagents, H-C(CN)2O-R, was developed. Using the proposed method, MAC reagents with acyl moiety were synthesized from malononitrile in more than 60% overall yields in three steps.
A new acyl anion equivalent for the preparation of masked activated esters, the protected hydroxymalonitrile 1, readily undergoes conjugate addition to alpha,beta-unsaturated carbonyl derivatives 2 to give the masked 1,4-dicarbonyl compounds 3 in good to high yields. 1,4-Dicarbonyl compounds 4, in which one of the two carbonyl groups has a reactivity different from the other, can be prepared selectively from 3.