Starting from a primary amine-tethered alkyne 1, a copper-catalyzed three-component tandem amination/cyanation/alkylation sequence gives α-CN pyrrolidine 6 in good yield and regioselectivity. Also, a silver mediated tandem amination/oxidation of a secondary amine-tethered alkyne 7 produces functionalized pyrrole 8 in good yield. All reactions were conducted in one pot without any protection/deprotection steps.
Keywords: amination; cyanation; pyrroles; pyrrolidines; tandem.