Manganese-catalyzed late-stage aliphatic C-H azidation

J Am Chem Soc. 2015 Apr 29;137(16):5300-3. doi: 10.1021/jacs.5b01983. Epub 2015 Apr 14.

Abstract

We report a manganese-catalyzed aliphatic C-H azidation reaction that can efficiently convert secondary, tertiary, and benzylic C-H bonds to the corresponding azides. The method utilizes aqueous sodium azide solution as the azide source and can be performed under air. Besides its operational simplicity, the potential of this method for late-stage functionalization has been demonstrated by successful azidation of various bioactive molecules with yields up to 74%, including the important drugs pregabalin, memantine, and the antimalarial artemisinin. Azidation of celestolide with a chiral manganese salen catalyst afforded the azide product in 70% ee, representing a Mn-catalyzed enantioselective aliphatic C-H azidation reaction. Considering the versatile roles of organic azides in modern chemistry and the ubiquity of aliphatic C-H bonds in organic molecules, we envision that this Mn-azidation method will find wide application in organic synthesis, drug discovery, and chemical biology.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
  • Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.

MeSH terms

  • Azides / chemical synthesis
  • Azides / chemistry*
  • Benzyl Compounds / chemical synthesis
  • Benzyl Compounds / chemistry
  • Catalysis
  • Chemistry Techniques, Synthetic
  • Hydrocarbons / chemical synthesis
  • Hydrocarbons / chemistry*
  • Manganese / chemistry*
  • Models, Molecular

Substances

  • Azides
  • Benzyl Compounds
  • Hydrocarbons
  • Manganese