Nucleophilic Substitution of Hydrogen Facilitated by Quinone Methide Moieties in Benzo[cd]azulen-3-ones

Org Lett. 2017 Apr 21;19(8):2030-2033. doi: 10.1021/acs.orglett.7b00588. Epub 2017 Apr 5.

Abstract

The built-in o- and p-QM (QM = quinone methide) moieties in benzo[cd]azulen-3-ones account for an easy switch between the bridged 10π- and 6π-aromatic systems in organic synthesis. We report conjugate additions, oxidative nucleophilic substitutions of hydrogen, and reversible Michael additions under very mild conditions. In the presence of thiol nucleophiles, the protonated σH-adducts could be isolated and characterized. The typical preference for either the o- or p-QM moiety led to high regioselectivity. Furthermore, the inhibitory potency of the novel benzo[cd]azulenes against the human Pim-1 kinase was evaluated.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't