A new intermediate for preparation of oxazole compounds
Technical Field
The present invention is related to a new intermediate for producing oxazole compounds and the preparation thereof.
Background of the Invention
Oxazole compounds represent a vast class of heterocyclic aromatic organic compounds. Oxazole compounds have become increasingly important because of biological activities and their use as intermediates for the preparation of new biological materials. The wide range of biological activities of oxazole compounds includes anti-inflammatory, analgesic, antibacterial, antifungal, hypoglycemic, antiproliferative, anti-tuberculosis, muscle relaxant and HIV inhibitor activity.
4-methyl-5-cyanooxazole is an important intermediate for producing vitamin B6. In industry, it is mainly produced by the process comprising the steps: a) ethyl acetoacetate is chlorinated to chloroethyl acetoacetate, b) chloroethyl acetoacetate is reacted with formamide to give 4-methyl-5-oxazolecarboxylic acid ethyl ester, and c) the obtained ester is dehydrated to 4-methyl-5-cyanooxazole via 4-methyl-5- oxazole carboxamide, (see H. Pauling, B. Weimann, Ullmann, VCH, (2012) 248; Werner Bonrath; Kun Peng, Qiong-Mei Zhang, Horst Pauling, Bernd-Jurgen Weimann, Ullmann's Encyclopedia of Industrial Chemistry (7th Edition) (2020)).
The above process has several disadvantages. For example, the chlorination step uses chlorine and the dehydration reaction uses phosphorus pentoxide or acetic anhydride, which are toxic or corrosive. In addition, the process produces many salts which cause environment problem.
Therefore, there is still demand of new processes for producing oxazole compounds.
Summary of the Invention
The present invention provides a new intermediate compound of formula (I) which can be converted to oxazole compounds easily in one step.
wherein R is H, or lower alkyl or aryl optionally substituted by one or more substituents; and X is halogen.
The present invention also provides a process for producing the compound of formula (I) and a process for producing oxazole compounds by using the compound of formula (I).
Detailed Description of the Invention
In the present invention, the term "lower alkyl" as used refers to Ci-Cw alkyl, i.e., branched or unbranched, cyclic or non-cyclic, saturated hydrocarbon comprising 1-10 carbon atoms. Preferably, the "lower alkyl" is Ci-C6 alkyl, including but not limited to methyl, ethyl, propyl, isopropyl, cyclopropyl, butyl, isobutyl, tertbutyl, cyclobutyl, pentyl, iso-pentyl, tert-pentyl, cyclopentyl, hexyl, isohexyl, tert-hexyl, cyclohexyl, octyl, isooctyl, tert-octyl, cyclooctyl, nonyl, isononyl, tert-nonyl, cyclononyl, decyl, isodecyl, tert-decyl, cyclodecyl. More preferably, the "lower alkyl" is methyl or ethyl.
In the present invention, the term "aryl" as used refers to aromatic hydrocarbon such as phenyl, benzyl, xylyl and naphthalenyl.
In the present invention, the term "lower alkoxyl" as used refers to the structure represented by (lower alkyl)-O-, wherein the lower alkyl is as defined above.
In the present invention, the term "halo" or "halogen" as used refers to a group of elements including fluorine (F), chlorine (Cl), bromine (Br) and iodine (I), preferably refers to Cl or Br.
In the present invention, the term "substituent" or "substituents" as used refers to lower alkyl, lower alkoxyl, hydroxyl, halo, -NH2, -NO2, cyano and/or isocyano.
In the present invention, a compound represented by a formula or a name also cover stereoisomers thereof, including diastereomers and enantiomers, such as cis/trans-isomers or E/Z-isomers.
In the first aspect, the present invention provides a new intermediate compound of formula (I):
wherein R is H, or lower alkyl or aryl optionally substituted by one or more substituents; and X is halogen.
In the present invention, the compound of formula (I) may be a compound of formula (I'):
wherein R and X are as defined above, and Y is a metal element such as alkali metal elements (lithium (Li), sodium (Na), potassium (K), and cesium (Cs)), or alkaline-earth metal elements (beryllium (Be), magnesium (Mg), calcium (Ca), and barium (Ba)), or others such as copper (Cu), aluminum (Al) and Iron (ll/lll); or ammonium (NH4) or substituted ammonium. Preferably, Y is Na or K.
Preferably, R is H, or lower alkyl optionally substituted by one or more substituents. More preferably, R is H or Ci-C6 alkyl optionally substituted by one or more substituents. The most preferably, R is H or methyl or ethyl.
The compound of formula (I) can be converted directly to an oxazole compound for producing vitamin B6 in an simple and efficient way with low cost and high yield.
In the second aspect, the present invention provides a process for producing the compound of formula (I), comprising treating a compound of formula (II) with a base to produce the compound of formula (I),
Wherein R and X are dependently defined as above.
In process of the present invention, the base may be any organic or inorganic base or mixture thereof. Examples of the organic base include but are not limited to lower alkyl metal bases such as n-butyllithium, metal alkoxide bases such as potassium tert-butoxide (t-BuOK) and sodium t-pentyloxide, and amines or anilines such as l,8-diazabicyclo[5.4.0]undec-7-ene (DBU), l,5-diazabicyclo[4.3.0]non-5-ene (DBN), 1,5,7- triazabicyclo[4.4.0]dec-5-ene (TBD), 1,1,3,3-tetramethylguanidine (TMG), 1,8- bis(dimethylamino)naphthalene, 4-dimethylaminopyridine, quinuclidine, morpholine, pyrrole, collidine, l,4-diazabicyclo[2.2.2]octane (DBACO) and phosphazene base. Examples of the inorganic base include but are not limited to NaH, KOH, NaOH, Na2CO3, K2CO3, NaNH2 CaO and KF/AI2O3. Preferably, the base is NaH or NaNH2. The base may be used in an amount of from 0.05 mol to 5 mol, preferably from 0.08 mol to 3 mol, more preferably from 0.1 mol to 2 mol, such as 0.2, 0.3, 0.4, 0.5, 0.6, 0.7, 0.8, 0.9, 1.0, 1.2, 1.4, 1.5, 1.6, 1.8 or 2.0 mol, per 1 mol of the compound of formula (II).
In the process of the present invention, one or more solvents may be used. Examples of the suitable solvents include but are not limited to cycloalkane such as cyclohexane; alcohol such as methanol, ethanol, n-butanol and 2,2,2-trifluorethanol (TFE); ether such as methyl tert-butyl ether (MTBE), cyclopentyl methyl ether (CPME), 2-methyl tetra hydrofuran (Me-THF) and 1,4-dioxane; ester such as ethyl acetate, butylacetate, dimethyl carbonate (DMC), propylene carbonate (PC), triethyl phosphate and y- butyrolactone; ketone such as cyclohexanone, diisopropylketone, l,3-dimethyl-2-imidazodinone and Cyrene™; aprotic dipolar solvents such as tetramethylurea, N-formylmorpholine, dimethylformamide (DMF), dimethylacetamide (DMAc), N,N-dimethylbenzamide (DMBA), acetonitrile (ACN), benzonitrile, dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO), sulfolane, N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone (NMP) and dibutylformamide (DBF); halide solvents such as dichloroethane (DCE), dichloromethane (DCM) and chloroform; organic bases such as pyridine and quinoline; deep eutectic solvent such as choline chloride (ChCI)/urea, AcChCl/urea and ZnCI2/urea; and ionic liquid such as l-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate ([emim[[BF4]), 1-butyl- 3-methylimidazolium chloride ([bmim][CI]) and 1-butylpyridinium chloride ([bpy][CI]); and mixture
thereof. Preferably the solvent is butyl acetate, acetonitrile, PC, pyridine and/or DMF. The amount of the solvent used in the step may be from 0.1 L to 50 L, preferably from 0.5 L to 30 L, more preferably from 1 L to 20 mL, such as 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19 and 20 L, per 1 mol of the compound of formula (II).
In the process of the present invention, the reaction may be carried out at the temperature of from 0°C to 50°C, preferably from 5°C to 25°C, more preferably at room temperature. The obtained compound of formula (I) maybe directly used for the next step or easily isolated by any known process, such as filtration, extraction and/or crystallization, for use in the next step.
In the third aspect, the present invention provides a process for producing an oxazole compound of formula (III), comprising the steps: cyclizing the compound of formula (I) to obtain the compound of formula (III),
Wherein R and X are dependently defined as above.
In the process of the present invention, the cyclization may be achieved by heating the compound of formula (I). Preferably, in the process of the present invention, the compound of formula (I) is heated to the temperature of from 30°C to 200°C, more preferably from 40°C to 180°C, the most preferably from 50°C to 150°C such as 50, 60, 70, 80, 90, 100, 110, 120, 130, 140 and 150°C.
In the process of the present invention, the cyclization may be carried out in a solvent. Any solvent that can dissolve the compound of formula (I) should be suitable. The suitable solvent includes but is not limited to cycloalkane such as cyclohexane; alcohol such as methanol, ethanol, n-butanol and 2,2,2- trifluorethanol (TFE); ether such as methyl tert-butyl ether (MTBE), cyclopentyl methyl ether (CPME), 2- methyl tetra hydrofuran (Me-THF) and 1,4-dioxane; ester such as ethyl acetate, butylacetate, dimethyl carbonate (DMC), propylene carbonate (PC), triethyl phosphate and y-butyrolactone; ketone such as cyclohexanone, diisopropylketone, l,3-dimethyl-2-imidazodinone and Cyrene™; aprotic dipolar solvents
such as tetramethylurea, N-formylmorpholine, dimethylformamide (DMF), dimethylacetamide (DMAc), dibutylfromamide, N,N-dimethylbenzamide (DMBA), acetonitrile (ACN), benzonitrile, dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO), sulfolane, N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone (NMP) and dibutylformamide (DBF); halide solvents such as dichloroethane (DCE), dichloromethane (DCM) and chloroform; organic bases such as pyridine and quinoline; deep eutectic solvent such as PhCl/urea, AcPhCl/urea and ZnCI2/urea; and ionic liquid such as l-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate ([emim[[BF4]), l-butyl-3-methylimidazolium chloride ([bmim][CI]) and 1-butylpyridinium chloride ( [bpy] [Cl]); and mixture thereof. Preferably the solvent is DMF, NMP, PC, tetramethylurea, l,3-dimethyl-2-imidazodinone, ACN, sulfolane, triethyl phosphate, y- Butyrolactone and/or N- formylmorpholine. The amount of the solvent used in the cyclization may be from 0.1 L to 50 L, preferably from 0.5 L to 30 L, more preferably from 1 L to 20 mL, such as 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19 and 20 L, per 1 mol of the compound of formula (I).
Preferably, the cyclization in the process of the present invention is carried out in the presence of one or more bases. The suitable bases may be selected from alkoxide base such as potassium tert-butoxide (tBuOK), sodium tert-butoxide (tBuONa) and sodium t-pentyloxide (t-pentaONa); other organic base such as l,5-diazabicyclo(4.3.0)non-5-ene (DBN), l,8-diazabicyclo[5.4.0]undec-7-ene (DBU), 1, 1,3,3- tetramethylguanidine (TMG), tetramethylguanidine, l,5,7-Triazabicyclo[4,4,0]dec-5-ene (TBD); and inorganic base such as NaH, CaO, KOH, NaOH, Na2CO3, K2CO3, KF/AI2O3, Cs2CO3 and NaNH2; and the mixture thereof. Preferably the base is DBN, DBU, TMG, TBD, NaH, tBuONa, t-pentaONa, CaO, Na2CO3, K2CO3, KF/AI2O3, CS2CO3 and NaNH2, and mixture thereof. The amount of the bases used in the cyclization may be from 0.01 mol to 2 mol, preferably from 0.05 mol to 1.8 mol, more preferably from 0.1 moles to 1.5 moles, and the most preferable from 0.2 moles to 1.2 moles such as 0.2, 0.3, 0.4, 0.5, 0.6, 0.7, 0.8, 0.9, 1.0, 1.1 or 1.2 moles, per 1 mole of the compound of formula (I).
The cyclization in the process of the present invention may be carried out in the absence of a catalyst. Alternatively, a catalyst may be used to accelerate the cyclization reaction. The catalyst suitable for the cyclization in process of the present invention may be any metal catalyst, preferably any Lewis acid salt, for example, those formed by metal element of Group IB, 11 B and VI I IB in the Periodic Table of Elements such as element silver (Ag), cobalt (Co), copper (Cu), iron (Fe), indium (In), lanthanum (La), manganese (Mn), nickel (Ni), platinum (Pt), palladium (Pd), rhodium (Rh) and zinc (Zn) ); or any quaternary ammonium salt catalyst such as tetrabutylammonium chloride (TBAC), tetrabutylammonium bromide (TBAB), tetrabutylammonium iodide (TBAI), benzalkonium chloride (BAC), dimethyldioctadecyl-ammonium
bromide (DDAB) and dodecyl trimethyl ammonium chloride (DTAC). Examples of the catalyst include but are not limited toAg2CO3, silver acetate (AgOAc), silver triflate (AgOTf), silver tungstate (Ag2WO4), Cobalt(ll) acetylacetonate (Co(acac)2), Co(OAc)2, Cu(acac)2, Cu(OAc)2, Cu(OTf)2, Fe(acac)2, Fe(OTf)3, Pd(OAc)2, PtCI2, Zn(OTf)2, ZnCI2, and Zn(OAc)2. The catalyst may be added into the reaction in an amount of from 0.01 mol to 0.5 mol, preferably from 0.02 mol to 0.4 mol, more preferably from 0.03 mol to 0.2 mol, such as 0.03, 0.04, 0.05, 0.06, 0.07, 0.08, 0.09, 0.1, 0.11, 0.12, 0.13, 0.14, 0.15, 0.16, 0.17, 0.18, 0.19 and 0.2 mol, per 1 mol of the compound of formula (I).
The obtained oxazole compound of formula (III) may be easily isolated by any known process, such as extraction and/or crystallization.
Accordingly, the present invention hereby provides a new simple process for producing oxazole compounds, which saves steps and cost, avoids salts by-products, and provides high yield.
In the fourth aspect, the invention further provides a process for producing an oxazole compound of formula (III), comprising the steps: a) treating a compound of formula (II) with a base to produce the compound of formula (I), and
b) cyclizing the compound of formula (I) to obtain the compound of formula (III),
(HI)
(I) wherein the substituents R and X, and the condition of the steps are as defined above.
The present invention will be further illustrated by the following examples.
Examples
Example 1
A dried four necked round bottom flask was charged with liquid ammonia (50 mL, 2.05 mol, 16 eq). After the flask was flushed with argon, iron nitrate nonahydrate (35 mg, 0.087 mmol, 0.00067 eq) was added. Then sodium (2.96 g, 129 mmol, 1.0 eq) was added in small pieces and stirred for 30 mins at -40°C to - 50°C. At the same temperature anhydrous acetonitrile (11.65 g, 283 mmol, 2.2 eq) was added dropwise in 15 mins and anhydrous toluene (40 mL) was added immediately. The reaction mixture was warmed to room temperature in 1 hour and stirred for additional 1 hour to obtain a grey suspension.
Ethyl formate (10.71 g, 142 mmol, 1.1 eq) dissolved in anhydrous toluene (20 mL) was added dropwise in 20 mins. The reaction mixture was stirred overnight to obtain a grey and thick suspension. TBME (100 mL) was added and the mixture was filtrated over a paper filter (7 cm diameter) to obtain a filter cake.
The filter cake was loaded in a four necked round bottom flask under argon atmosphere. Butyl acetate (100 mL) was added and acetic acid (7.75 g, 129 mmol, 1.0 eq) was added dropwise in 5 mins. The reaction mixture was stirred for 30 mins at room temperature and then filtered over a paper filter (7 cm diameter). The filtrate was dried at 45°C (2 mbar) to produce a colorless oil which crystallized slowly to obtain the compound 1 (13.22 g, 98.8wt% purity, 92% yield).
Example 2
To a solution of the compound 1 (2.27 g, 20.0 mmol) in DMF (50 mL) was added N-Bromosuccinimide (2.19 g, 24.6 mmol) portion wise (four portions) within 30 minutes at room temperature. After addition
completed, the reaction mixture was stirred at the same condition for additional 2 hours. Then the reaction was quenched by water (20.0 g). The organic phase was separated and dried over anhydrous Na2SO4 and concentrated under vacuum. Then heptane was added to conduct crystallization at 60 °C. After filtration and drying, compound 2 was obtained as yellowish solid (3.36g, 89.1% yield).
NMR data for E-isomer E-2: XH NMR (400 MHz, DMSO-d6) 6 10.03 (m, 1H), 2.45 (s, 3H);
NMR data for Z-isomer Z-2: TH NMR (400 MHz, DMSO-d6) 6 8.53 (m, 1H), 2.26 (s, 3H).
Example 3
To a three-necked flask, compound 2 (114.5 g, 600 mmol) and butyl acetate (700 ml) were added. The reaction mixture was stirred (500 rpm) and even slightly heated to 45°C to make sure complete dissolution. Then the resulting solution was cooled to 0°C. NaH (19.21 g, 60% w/w in mineral oil, 480 mmol) was added in portions to maintain internal temperature below 10°C. After addition completed, the reaction was allowed to slowly warm to 25°C and it was further stirred at this temperature for 20 hours. The formed precipitate was filtrated and washed by fresh butyl acetate (50 ml) twice, and then dried in vacuum (5-10 mbar) for 2 hours. The desired compound 3 was finally collected as white powder (104.2 g, purity 95.2%, yield 98.0%).
NMR data for E-isomer E-3: TH NMR (400 MHz, DMSO-d6) 8 8.87 (s, 1H), 2.15 (s, 3H);
NMR data for Z-isomer Z-3: TH NMR (400 MHz, DMSO-d6) 8 8.62 (s, 1H), 2.02 (s, 3H).
Example 4
Under N2 atmosphere, compound 3 (211 mg, 1 mmol) was placed in 10 mL reaction tube, then solution of a base (0.2 mmol) in DMF (5 ml) was added. The reaction mixture was stirred at 80°C for 2 hours and then cooled down to room temperature to obtain compound 4. The used bases and yield by HPLC are shown in Table 1.
Table 1
Example 5
Under N2 atmosphere, compound 3 (211 mg, 1 mmol) was placed in 10 mL reaction tube, then solution of DBU (0.2 mmol) in a solvent (5 ml) was added. The reaction mixture was stirred under the reaction condition and then cooled down to room temperature to obtain compound 4. The solvents, the reaction condition (temperature and time) and yield by HPLC are shown in Table 2.
Table 2
Example 6
Under N2 atmosphere, compound 3 (211 mg, 1 mmol) was placed in 10 mL reaction tube, then a solvent (5 ml) was added. The reaction mixture was stirred at 80°C for 4 hours and then cooled down to room temperature to give solution of compound 4. The solvents and yield determined by HPLC are shown in Table 3.
Table 3