Removal of the pyridine directing group from α-substituted N-(pyridin-2-yl)piperidines obtained via directed Ru-catalyzed sp3 C-H functionalization.

Two strategies, "hydrogenation-hydride reduction" and "quaternization-hydride reduction", are reported that make use of mild reaction conditions (room temperature) to efficiently remove the N-pyridin-2-yl directing group from a diverse set of C-2-substituted piperidines that were synthesized through directed Ru-catalyzed sp(3) C-H functionalization. The deprotected products are obtained in moderate to good overall yields irrespective of the strategy followed, indicating that both methods are generally equally effective. Only in the case of 2,6-disubstituted piperidines, could the "quaternization-hydride reduction" strategy not be used. The "hydrogenation-hydride reduction" protocol was successfully applied to trans- and cis-2-methyl-N-(pyridin-2-yl)-6-undecylpiperidine in a short synthetic route toward (±)-solenopsin A (trans diastereoisomer) and (±)-isosolenopsin A (cis diastereoisomer). The absolute configuration of the enantiomers of these fire ant alkaloids could be determined via VCD spectroscopy.

Ruthenium-catalyzed α-(hetero)arylation of saturated cyclic amines: reaction scope and mechanism.

Transition-metal-catalyzed sp(3) C-H activation has emerged as a powerful approach to functionalize saturated cyclic amines. Our group recently disclosed a direct catalytic arylation reaction of piperidines at the α position to the nitrogen atom. 1-(Pyridin-2-yl)piperidine could be smoothly α-arylated if treated with an arylboronic ester in the presence of a catalytic amount of [Ru3(CO)12] and one equivalent of 3-ethyl-3-pentanol. A systematic study on the substrate and reagent scope of this transformation is disclosed in this paper. The effect of substitution on both the piperidine ring and the arylboronic ester has been investigated. Smaller (pyrrolidine) and larger (azepane) saturated ring systems, as well as benzoannulated derivatives, were found to be compatible substrates with the α-arylation protocol. The successful use of a variety of heteroarylboronic esters as coupling partners further proved the power of this direct functionalization method. Mechanistic studies have allowed for a better understanding of the catalytic cycle of this remarkable transformation featuring an unprecedented direct transmetalation on a Ru(II)-H species.