Concise and diversity-oriented route toward polysubstituted 2-aminoimidazole alkaloids and their analogues

Alkaloids of the naamine family were synthesized from diverse propargylamines in just two steps (see scheme: R 1=Me, R 2=substituted benzyl, R 3=Ar). Thus, the addition to a propargylamine of a carbodiimide generated in situ, silver(I)-catalyzed intramolecular hydroamidation, and subsquent deprotection provide access to the heterocyclic core of numerous natural products and biologically active compounds. Boc=tert-butoxycarbonyl, Cbz=carbobenzyloxy. Copyright © 2010 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.status: publishe