Synthesis of 1,2,3,4-tetrahydroisoquinolines by microreactor-mediated thermal isomerization of laterally lithiated arylaziridines

Abstract

Flow chemistry: A flow-microreactor-mediated synthesis of 1,2,3,4-tetrahydroisoquinolines (THIQs) is reported (see scheme). Starting from a laterally lithiated aziridine, a tetrahydroisoquinoline lithiated at C4 was generated by thermally induced isomerization. Because the reaction temperature is a crucial parameter, the exquisite thermal control possible in a flow-microreactor system allowed for fast, efficient, and highly reproducible synthesis of functionalized aziridines or THIQs.