Sequential Nitrile Amidination-Reduction as a Straightforward Procedure to Selective Linear Polyamine Preparation

J Org Chem. 2023 Dec 15;88(24):17274-17283. doi: 10.1021/acs.joc.3c02128. Epub 2023 Nov 25.

Abstract

A straightforward strategy toward the efficient synthesis of linear saturated polyamines containing 1,2-diaminoethane and/or 1,3-diaminopropane fragments has been developed. The procedure is based on the chemistry of 5- and 6-membered cyclic amidines, including their efficient synthesis from nitrile precursors and subsequent chemoselective reductive-opening by a borane-dimethyl sulfide complex. This two-step procedure provides a robust methodology for the synthesis of linear polyamine skeletons under nonharsh conditions and free of using selective protective groups or tedious workups.