The Pummerer reaction of imidosulfoxides bearing tethered alkenyl groups has been employed for the synthesis of several alkaloids. The required imidosulfoxides necessary for the cascade sequence were easily obtained by heating the appropriate amide with (ethylsulfeny)acetyl chloride followed by sodium periodate oxidation. The initially formed thionium ion, obtained by treating the imidosulfoxide with acetic anhydride and p-toluenesulfonic acid, reacts with the neighboring imido group, and the resulting oxonium ion undergoes subsequent deprotonation to produce an isomünchnone dipole. This mesoionic betaine intermediate undergoes ready intramolecular dipolar cycloaddition across the neighboring pi-bond. Exposure of the resulting cycloadducts to additional acetic anhydride leads to ring opening and formation of a 5-acetoxy-substituted 2(1H)-pyridone. This six-ring heterocyclic system constitutes a valuable building block for the synthesis of a variety of pyridine, quinolizidine, and clavine alkaloids. The cyclization-deprotonation-cycloaddition cascade has been successfully applied to the synthesis of the naturally occurring alkaloids onychnine, dielsiquinone, (+/-)-lupinine, (+/-)-anagyrine, (+/-)-pumiliotoxin C, and (+/-)-costaclavine.

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A highly effective method for the synthesis of the core indolo[2,3-alpha]quinolizidine skeleton found in yohimbine is described. The reaction of N-monosubstituted thioamides with bromoalkenoyl chlorides furnishes thioisomünchnones as transient 1,3-dipoles that undergo ready intramolecular cycloaddition across the tethered pi-bond to give thio-bicycloannulated products in a one-pot operation. The stereochemical outcome of the intramolecular reaction is the consequence of an endo cycloaddition of the neighboring pi-bond across the transient thioisomünchnone dipole. A major limitation of the method is that when a hydrogen is present in the alpha-position of the thioamide the initially formed thio-N-acyliminium ion undergoes proton loss to produce a S,N-ketene acetal at a faster rate than dipole formation. Treatment of tetrahydro-beta-carboline-1-thione with 2-bromooct-7-enoyl chloride followed by reductive removal of sulfur from the cycloadduct resulted in the formation of (+/-)-alloyohimbanone. Attempts to cycloadd the thioisomünchnone dipole across several nucleophilic pi-bonds failed, and instead, products derived from cyclization of the pi-bond onto the initially formed thio-N-acyliminium ion were formed. The resulting N,S-ketals were further converted into several tetrahydroisoquinoline alkaloids in good yield.

A regioselective oxidation of N-indan-4-yl-acetamide or N-(5,6,7,8-tetrahydronaphthalen-1-yl)acetamide with potassium permanganate followed by acidic hydrolysis gave 7-aminoindan-1-one or 8-aminotetral-1-one in good yield. The amino ketones were converted to the corresponding 7-haloindanone or the 8-halotetralone. Another method to prepare 7-haloindan-1-ones was completed by a cyclization of 3-chloro-1-(2-halophenyl)propan-1-one under Friedel-Crafts conditions to produce the product in gram quantity.

(4S)‐(−)‐tert‐butyldimethylsiloxy‐2‐cyclopenten‐1‐one reactant: 7.67 g (54 mmol) of (1R,4S)‐(+)‐4‐hydroxy‐2‐cyclopentenyl acetate intermediate: (1R,4S)‐(−)‐4‐tert‐butyldimethylsiloxy‐2‐cyclopentenyl acetate product: (4S)‐(−)‐tert‐butyldimethylsiloxy‐2‐cyclopenten‐1‐one