March 2022

A facile and convenient reaction of o-alkynylisocyanobenzenes with various active-methylene compounds, including 1,3-diesters, 1,3-diketones, β-keto esters, and β-keto amides, under Brønsted basic conditions, has been developed. Diethyl malonate reacted smoothly with a collection of o-alkynylisocyanobenzenes to provide the corresponding 2-quinolin-2-yl malonates in excellent yields. Acetylacetone gave a mixture of quinolin-4-yl and quinolin-2-yl derivatives. Acetoacetate esters and acetoacetyl amide derivative initially gave 2-quinolin-2-yl adducts that underwent partial deacetylation under the reaction conditions.

A novel dimerization of 3-chlorooxindoles promoted by potassium ethylxanthate to access isoindigo derivatives is described. The reactions proceeded readily at room temperature in short reaction times. A mechanistic study revealed that the 3-chlorooxindole is initially converted into O-ethyl S-(2-oxo-2,3-dihydro-1H-indol-3-yl) dithiocarbonate, which subsequently undergoes dimerization with elimination of carbon disulfide. In almost all cases, analytically pure isoindigos were isolated in moderate to good yields without a requirement for chromatographic purification.

Three different heterocyclic systems (3-amidocoumarins, 3-amidoazacoumarins, and N-benzoylindol-2-carboxamides) were synthesized based on the strikingly different selectivity of copper-mediated C–O/C–N bond formation from azlactones under various heating conditions. The stereochemistry of the double bond dictated the nature of the products. Microwave irradiation played an important role in the isomerization of the trisubstituted olefin leading to the formation of 3-amidocoumarins and 3-amidoazacoumarins. Three products showed promising-to-good cytotoxic activities against a panel of cancer cell lines, including HepG2 (hepatoblastoma) and MOLT-3 (T-lymphoblast acute lymphoblastic leukemia).